Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

World’s 43rd Largest Bank Wants a Piece of the $1.7 Trillion Cryptocurrency Market

British banking giant Standard Chartered is leaping into the crypto industry. The banks innovation and ventures unit, SC Ventures, is collaborating with an Asian partner to launch a digital asset brokerage and exchange platform for institutional and corporate clients in the UK and Europe.　　It will initially target the European market, connecting institutional traders to counterparties in order to deliver deep pools of liquidity in Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital assets.　　According to the announcement, Standard Chartered is partnering with the leading public fintech and digital asset company in Asia, BC Technology, which operates the Hong Kong-licensed cryptocurrency exchange OSL.　　The banks expansion into crypto trading marks another leap forward for the industry. Headquartered in the UK, Standard Chartered PLC ranks 43rd among banks around the world and currently manages just over $720 billion.　　Head of SC Ventures Alex Manson wants to ensure that the company is prepared to ride the crypto wave as adoption from institutional investors continues to see an uptick.　　“We have a strong conviction that digital assets are here to stay and will be adopted by the institutional market as a highly relevant asset class. We are constructing the building blocks for a safe and reliable investment infrastructure: on the back

2021-06-03Deep Dive

ECB says digital euro may be needed to combat 'artificial currencies'

The European Central Bank has warned that a CBDC or digital euro may be required to head off the spectre of “artificial currencies” dominating cross-border payments.　　In ECB‘s annual review of the euro dubbed “The international role of the euro”, economists Massimo Ferrari and Arnaud Mehl conveyed concerns over the rise of artificial currencies led by unnamed “foreign tech giants” — likely a veiled reference to Facebook’s Diem project:　　“One concern could be a situation in which domestic and cross-border payments are dominated by non-domestic providers, including foreign tech giants potentially offering artificial currencies in the future.”　　“Not only could this threaten the stability of the financial system, but individuals and merchants alike would be vulnerable to a small number of dominant providers with strong market power,” the pair added.　　The ECB has long-held concerns over the rise of artificial currencies or stablecoins in Europe and previously asked EU lawmakers for veto powers regarding private stable projects such as Facebooks Diem coin.　　The ECB has taken a careful approach to launching a digital euro, with ECB‘s president Christine Lagarde noting in January that “it’s going to take a good chunk of time to make sure its safe,” and adding, “I would hope that its no

2021-06-03Deep Dive

Guggenheim Partners’ New Fund May Seek Exposure to Bitcoin, an SEC Filing Showed

Guggenheim Partners may invest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets through its latest fund called Guggenheim Active Allocation Fund. A recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed the giants plans to receive the exposure through cash-settled derivatives instruments.　　CryptoPotato reported last year Guggenheims filing in which the behemoth sought SEC approval to allocate up to $500 million in bitcoin through its Macro Opportunities Fund.　　The large organization has further dabbled with the primary cryptocurrency since then, and the latest development on this front came on Tuesday, according to a new filing with the SEC.　　The document reads that the Wall Street behemoth had filed for a new establishment called Guggenheim Active Allocation Fund. It will operate as a diversified, closed-end management investment fund that “may seek investment exposure to cryptocurrency (notably, Bitcoin).”　　Guggenheim aims for cash-settled derivatives instruments, including exchange-traded futures. Such products are already available in the US through regulated exchanges on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and CBOE Global Markets.　　Nevertheless, Guggenheims filing outlined the potential risks of allocating funds in crypto assets. Those include the lack of clear regulations, the somewhat controversial public perception, cyber threats, and the “possible cessation or reversal in the adoption and use of cryptocurrency and

2021-06-03Deep Dive

Google Is Rethinking Its Stance Against Crypto Ads

Google has updated its advertising policy, clearly delineating which cryptocurrency companies are able to advertise on its services.　　Crypto Companies Must Be Registered　　In a new statement, Google has stated that crypto exchanges and wallets will be able to advertise when they are registered with FinCEN as a Money Services Business or registered with a chartered bank.　　Those businesses must also comply with state and federal requirements and comply with all Google Ads policies.　　The new policy will take effect this August, and Google will revoke previous certifications when its application form is published in July.　　Googles updated policy will still ban ads for ICOs, DeFi platforms, and specific cryptocurrencies. It will also disallow ads for cryptocurrency aggregators, trading signals, and trading advice.　　Will More Companies Be Allowed to Advertise？　　Google, along with several other tech companies such as Facebook and Twitter, banned cryptocurrency advertising in March 2018.　　In September 2018, Google loosened those restrictions, allowing exchanges and mining services to advertise once again.　　Todays news does not strictly broaden the category of companies that are able to advertise with Google. Rather, it sets out a stricter process for companies that wish to advertise.　　However, the new policy makes room for hosted wallets (ie. online or custodial wallets), a category

2021-06-03Deep Dive

Kraken Launches Cryptocurrency Mobile App in the US Citing High Demand

Krakens mobile application will be available to US-based users as well, while Coinbase integrated its Coinbase Card with Apple Pay and Google Pay.　　The skyrocketing demand towards cryptocurrency assets has pushed the veteran US exchange Kraken to release a mobile application in the country.　　In another development coming from American exchanges, Coinbase integrated its debit card with Apple Pay and Google Pay.　　Kraken Mobile App Arrives in the US　　Founded almost a decade ago, Kraken is among the latest and most popular digital asset trading platforms. The firms latest expansion initiative comes through a mobile application that will enable US-based retail investors to interact with bitcoin and more than 50 other digital assets.　　“This consumer app is our first major foray into supporting wider consumer adoption in a much more simplified, easy-to-use interface,” commented Krakens Chief Product Officer – Jeremy Welch.　　The executive further touched upon the recent growth in USD prices in the market, which consequently led to growing demand and users on the exchange.　　“The last five months have been pretty unreal at Kraken. We have seen a surge in new clients and in all-time highs.” – he added.　　The app, which was first launched in Europe, will offer “the lowest fees in the industry,” Kraken

2021-06-03Deep Dive

Popular Trader Explains Why Ethereum Will Pay A Hefty Price For Early Design Mistakes

Bitcoin YouTuber, trader, and analyst “BTC Jack Sparrow” has dished out his two cents on what he believes the Ethereum network has become.　　The popular trader who has garnered over 190,000 followers on Twitter and famous for letting the cryptocurrency community in on his cryptocurrency price analysis has explained very recently, why he believes the Ethereum network has flopped.　　Is Ethereum a Vaporware network？　　Referring to the possibility of the Ethereum network being “Vaporware”, a term used to describe projects that “have been advertised but is not yet available to buy, either because it is only a concept or because it is still being written or designed,” Sparrow opines that it wont be too long before Ethereum is kicked out of the cryptocurrency industry by Bitcoin or any other leading project.　　In his tweet, he compares the network to web service provider Yahoo, which quickly fell off after its founders made what investors refer to as “poor business choices”, causing rival platform Google to steal the spotlight and take the center stage. Hinting that Ethereum is very likely to follow the same path, he wrote:　　“Chances ETH is vaporware are high. Either BTC second layer takes it out of business or other protocols take over

2021-06-03Deep Dive

Pre-2019 Bitcoins now make up just 44% of the BTC active supply

Bitcoin (BTC) is less active than at any time this year, new data shows as traders stubbornly refuse to sell.　　One metric from on-chain monitoring resource Glassnode reveals that the Bitcoin supply is becoming less and less available despite lower prices.　　“Spooked” hodlers cling to BTC　　On June 2, Bitcoins active supply hit a five-month low of 44.5%.　　Bitcoin two-year active supply vs. BTC/USD chart. Source: Glassnode/ Twitter　　The number measures coins which have moved in the past two years or earlier — and last time it measured that low, BTC/USD traded at around $22,000.　　The figure shows just how unattractive the idea of selling Bitcoin at current prices is to investors who purchased up until the 2019 bull run. As Cointelegraph reported, 2017 buyers already represent a strong cohort of “hodlers of last resort.”　　This goes some way to shoring up morale over future price action — as various indicators including sentiment measure the Crypto Fear & Greed Index show, a $36,000 Bitcoin appears undervalued.　　Nonetheless, the May sell-off ushered in a surge of newly-liquid coins, something which managed to buck a two-year accumulation trend.　　“The magnitude of accumulation over the past two years is remarkable, however, the scale of the sell-pressure in May is also notable,” Glassnode

2021-06-02Deep Dive

Binance CEO CZ Slams Tesla And Elon Musk, Bares It All Out

Elon Musk may continue to deal with a lot of heat from the Bitcoin community, at least until community members are tired of proving that Bitcoins level of energy consumption does not compare to the level of energy that many traditional companies use.　　Binance CEO On Teslas Energy Consumption Level　　Over the past week, many Bitcoin proponents expressed their distaste in Elon Musks change of attitude towards Bitcoin, a currency which he once agreed with Twitters Jack Dorsey, to be one that incentivized renewable energy.　　In a bid to prove that Musk‘s energy concern for Bitcoin’s energy use is unnecessary, the CEO of Binance, who had previously only made lighthearted comments about Musk‘s stances, implying that he may have just been misinformed, is starting to side with the large chunk of Bitcoin proponents who believe that the billionaire might just be blind spotting the asset’s potential.　　In a tweet that is making round on the Crypto-Twitter community, CZ is quoted saying:“When you use electricity to run cars, it‘s environmentally friendly. When you use electricity to run the most efficient financial networks in the world, it’s an environmental concern.”　　As CZ points the bias in Musk‘s view by mirroring down the normalization of Tesla’s energy use

2021-06-02Deep Dive

Dogecoin and Cardano Added as Payment Methods on LocalBitcoins

One of the largest peer-to-peer cryptocurrency marketplaces, LocalBitcoins, has expanded its portfolio of available payment methods with the inclusion of Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (ADA), Polkadot (DOT), Chainlink (LINK), and more.　　LocalBitcoins Adds More Crypto Payment Methods　　Founded in 2012, LocalBitcoins acts like a cryptocurrency peer-to-peer marketplace. The platform, based in Helsinki, Finland, facilitates over-the-counter trading of local currency for bitcoins and, from recently – other digital assets.　　The company announced the addition of several new virtual assets. Namely, those include the two most widely utilized stablecoins – Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) and some of the most popular tokens lately – Polkadot (DOT), Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Chainlink (LINK), and Dogecoin (DOGE).　　The firms statement outlined the significant demand for these coins coming from users.　　“You asked, we delivered! Some highly anticipated altcoins have now been added as payment methods!”　　Additionally, LocalBitcoins has added new payment processors, including PaySera, PAYSEND, Vodafone Cash, Airtel Money, and more.　　$136K Stolen From a Scam on LocalBitcoins　　Being a P2P crypto marketplace, LocalBitcoins has become largely popular in countries with struggling economies that lack adequate payment methods. One of them is Venezuela, as the BTC trading volume on the platform has been among the highest for consecutive years.　　However, the growing

2021-06-02Deep Dive

Introduction of Block Chain Ecosystem: Standard Process of Digital Currency Transactions

The prices of bitcoins (BTC) have skyrocketed from USD 10,000 to more than USD 60,000 while those of Ethereum (ETH) have surged from around USD 1,000 to over USD 4,000 from late 2020. Owing to such rapid growth, cryptocurrencies have become a real hit when it comes to investment in recent years. At the same time, numerous frauds that take “digital currency transactions” as a disguise are springing up.　　WikiBit introduces to you the trading process of digital money, aiming to help you increase the ability to distinguish good from bad. Equipped with WikiBits introduction, you can make proper decisions based on your knowledge when facing a lot of hype around some projects or conducting money transfers.　　The process of transactions is presented as follows:　　Users with the requirement of trading should open their accounts at decentralized exchanges (DEXs) at first.　　Users can conduct money transfer of digital assets through the addresses of their online wallets or paper wallets in the wake of obtaining their trading accounts and completing some basic account-related settings.　　The whole process is not finished until transactions are recorded in a public distributed ledger that is dubbed as a blockchain.　　This transaction flow mentioned above is characterized by decentralization and transparency, leading

2021-06-02Deep Dive

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