Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

PayPal & Robinhood Follow Revolut, Plan Crypto Withdrawals

Two major fintechs, PayPal and Robinhood are both looking set to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Revolut, with plans to allow crypto withdrawals to third-party wallets – a step that could see the platforms intensify their competition with crypto exchanges.　　Christine Brown, Robinhood Cryptos recently appointed Chief Operating Officer, told Decrypt that the feature was forthcoming, but stopped short of “setting a deadline,” adding that it was “a difficult tool to implement.”　　Brown was also quoted as explaining that traders need to be “coddled into learning that crypto transactions are irreversible,” as well as educated about the risks of the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry and the price of gas fees.　　She said:　　“We want to make sure that we build an experience – not just the technical foundation of sending and receiving coins, but the user experience around it – that is intuitive, that makes sense, and that reduces risk for our users.”　　Brown went on to claim that the next steps could see the platform turn into “a kind of financial super app,” similar to Coinbase, with staking and lending functions also in the pipelines.　　Meanwhile, PayPals blockchain, crypto and digital currencies business unit lead Jose Fernandez da Ponte, said during Coindesks

2021-05-28Deep Dive

How DeFi lending can restructure older financial systems

Since the inception of the worlds first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, we have seen innovations of all kinds – from stablecoins to full-blown decentralized finance projects. While stablecoins brought stability to highly volatile cryptos, DeFi introduced new ways to generate income. One such popular method is lending.　　The onset of the pandemic has made people look for an investment option. DeFi lending presented the preposition of making money on crypto holdings without the traditional goalkeepers of loans. Instead of banks or other central entities, people could now choose a decentralized platform to borrow or lend loans. It resulted in the explosion of this new form of lending, with over $29 billion locked in different DeFi lending platforms.　　In this article, we explore some of these lending protocols and find out how they work:　　MakerDAO　　Developed by Rune Christensen in 2018, MakerDAO is an organization building technology for lending and a stablecoin on the Ethereum network. It allows users with cryptos to lend themselves capital in a stablecoin called DAI. The platform is the top lending protocol on DeFi pulse, with over $10.11 billion of assets locked.　　How It Works　　Anyone can lock up cryptos in a smart contract to create a certain amount of DAI. These DAIs can

2021-05-28Deep Dive

TEXAS LAW CREATES LEGAL CLARITY FOR BITCOIN

State lawmakers in Austin, Texas have achieved a milestone in Bitcoin regulation as the state Senate passed House Bill 4474 this morning. The “Virtual Currency Bill” is now on its way to Governor Greg Abbotts desk to be signed into law. Advocates of the bill expect swift action from the governor, who tweeted this March, “Count me in as a crypto law proposal supporter. It is increasingly being used for transactions and is beginning to go mainstream as an investment. Texas should lead on this.”　　The new law creates much-needed legal clarity for Texas companies involved with bitcoin and digital assets. H.B 4474 amends Texas‘s Uniform Commercial Code to include a definition of “virtual currency” and ensures that key business laws apply to cryptocurrencies. In an article for the National Law Review, Daryl Roberston and Patrick Boot write, “The Virtual Currency Bill...provides a clear and concise framework for establishing ’control‘ over virtual currency…and clarifies that control can be established regardless of whether the power to control is shared with another person, a critical element in order for banks and other non-bank financial institutions to effectively provide custody services for virtual currencies.” Robertson and Boot further note/state that “the surgical approach taken

2021-05-28Deep Dive

A Second Ethereum ETF Is Seeking SEC Approval

WisdomTree, an asset manager with a focus on investment products, has filed for an Ethereum ETF.　　ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, track the performance of an underlying asset or group of assets. They‘re a good option for traders who don’t want to deal with the risks of actually holding the underlying investment, and would rather just treat it like a regular stock.　　Companies like WisdomTree see crypto as a good use case, since blockchain tech is notoriously difficult to navigate: wallets can be confusing, transaction fees are expensive, and tax obligations are unclear. An Ethereum ETF would make things easier for investors who arent quite ready to hold ETH but want to get in on the market.　　WisdomTree is the second firm to file for an Ethereum ETF, after VanEck. According to its S-1 filing, shares would be listed on Cboes BZX exchange.　　Brazil and Canada recently got their first Bitcoin ETFs. Bitcoin fans in the US have been clamoring for a crypto ETF for years, but the SEC has yet to approve one. Bitcoin ETF applicants havent been able to convince the SEC that the crypto market is free of manipulation and safe enough for mainstream retail investors.　　It‘s not for lack of trying—plenty of

2021-05-28Deep Dive

Skrill Releases Consumer Survey, Shows Cryptocurrency Use On The Rise

Skrill, a digital payments platform, recently released a consumer survey that uncovered trends on the surge in crypto adoption and popularity.　　According to the study, 38% of respondents have disclosed that they are open to cryptocurrency investments, or have already done so, while 84% have been exposed to at least one cryptocurrency, with 64% of respondents knowing what Bitcoin is.　　“Cryptocurrency adoption has rapidly increased to heights nobody could have imagined even two years ago,” shared Rossen Yordanov, SVP for Skrill and Neteller at Paysafe, which handles both brands.　　The survey was carried out between March and April 2021 by Sapio Research, a B2B and consumer market research agency, with respondent demographics based in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Germany, Italy, Austria and Bulgaria across 8,111 participants.　　According to the study, 20% of the respondents previously held or have owned Bitcoin. Ownership was shown to be higher among respondents from the U.S. and Bulgaria, with 24% and 36% rates, respectively. The study also showed that aside from Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrencies included Bitcoin Cash (31% of consumers), Ethereum (22%) and Litecoin (19%). Ownership rates distributed among these cryptocurrencies was likewise in the same trend, with Bitcoin Cash (9%), Ethereum (8%), and Litecoin (7%) each

2021-05-28Deep Dive

Bitcoin Is Speculative Fad, Says The Government of Denmark’s Central Bank

The substantial growth of the cryptocurrency sector in the past year has caught the eye of central bankers. The latest to opine on the matter and, somewhat expectedly, to dismiss the industry‘s chances of actually disrupting the centuries-old financial space was the governor of Denmark’s central bank.　　Crypto Is Speculative Fad　　During a recent interview with Bloomberg, Lars Rohde, the governor of Danmarks Nationalbank, took a few stabs at the cryptocurrency sector. Despite their recent growth and the total market capitalizations 10x increase in a year, the central banker still remains skeptical by calling the industry “speculative fad.”　　As with most of his colleagues, Rohde outlined the infamous volatility and lack of a central authority as the primary reason for his dismissal. Consequently, he noted that he is “tempted to ignore” BTC and the rest of the market.　　“Its a very speculative asset at best. There is no stability and no guarantee from any side about the value of cryptocurrencies.”　　While deriding crypto‘s chances of disrupting the financial space, the central banker highlighted a challenge coming from fintech companies. If large tech firms, such as Facebook’s Diem attempt, decide to invade the “currency area,” it could be “very interesting and maybe also a real threat

2021-05-28Deep Dive

Binance Smart Chain Adds CipherTrace for Tracking Illicit Transactions

Decentralized finance (DeFi), or at least Binances version of it, is officially being given the blockchain analytics treatment, courtesy of California-based CipherTrace.　　Announced Thursday, CipherTraces transaction tracking and wallet attribution software will support Binance Smart Chain (BSC), a more or less decentralized base layer to run DeFi applications on.　　Why this is important is because CipherTrace, which has counted Binance as a client for some time, will likely appease crypto regulators with regard to the experimental DeFi space, an area the global anti-money laundering watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recently warned is on its radar.　　Its also a timely addition, given that Binance said this week at Consensus 2021 that rollbacks of the blockchain following exploits and hacks on BSC are not possible; so-called “rug pulls” on the community-governed chain are not something Binance is responsible for, the exchange said.　　Binance Smart Chain spokesperson Simran Alphonso said the system is based on “progressive decentralization,” which basically means its faster and cheaper than alternative blockchains.　　“Its decentralized and the community handles it, but we [Binance] are also involved to an extent,” said Alphonso, adding:　　“We cannot do any rollbacks because we do not have any sort of authority over the chain. We do have the

2021-05-28Deep Dive

How Convergence Finance Is Revolutionizing Private Investment Markets

There are numerous ways to enhance the appeal of blockchain technology and decentralized finance. Bridging the gap to the real world and its available liquidity remains a worthwhile option. Convergence tackles this aspect by attempting to revamp the concept of private investment markets.　　The Power of Real-World Investments　　Even though one may think that decentralized finance will replace the traditional economic system one day, that may not necessarily happen right away. In fact, it may prove more beneficial to bridge the gap between the two industries and create more encompassing, appealing, and robust financial products and services.　　Bringing the liquidity of real-world assets to decentralized finance is an approach well worth exploring. As there is plenty of liquidity in the real world - and not always as much in DeFi - it is often better to combine the best of both worlds and see what can be achieved. Decentralized finance currently caters to cryptocurrency users primarily, yet those who dont know these assets have a tough time exploring the options at their disposal.　　Introducing support for real-world assets can enhance the overall DeFi liquidity. More users will be able to enter this compelling industry to contribute liquidity to protocols and services. Tokenization will be

2021-05-28Deep Dive

Ethereum Bridges — Are They the Blockchain Scalability Solution?

Blockchain networks are fantastic digital ledgers that offer various forms of financial freedom. Bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and cardano (ADA), among other cryptocurrencies, each bring something unique to the industry. However, one of blockchains biggest downfalls is its lack of interoperability.　　The process of utilizing one asset on another blockchain is all but impossible, forcing users to deal with trading pairs and transaction fees.　　With the rise of decentralized finance and the many variants of projects offering new ideas, this lack of interoperability is a significant barrier. Fortunately, there is a way through in the form of blockchain bridges.　　What is a Blockchain Bridge？　　A blockchain bridge allows the use of one asset on another blockchain. Well, sort of.　　Say youre on the Ethereum network, but transaction fees are ridiculously high. Instead of biting the bullet and paying fees, a blockchain bridge would allow that transaction to occur on a cheaper network, like Tron. If Ethereum is congested, the bridge will enable a faster transaction as well.　　Such a concept is ideal for dApp developers. Bridges mean they can utilize the benefits of a popular network, like Ethereum, without suffering from its scalability and fee issues.　　Bridges also bring awareness to the other blockchain – the one

2021-05-28Deep Dive

Convenience Store Giant Sheetz to Start Accepting Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Ethereum and Other Coins

Convenience store behemoth Sheetz made an announcement Thursday about accepting digital currencies after partnering with crypto payments startup Flexa.　　It will enable support for Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies at select café stores in summer.　　By the end of the year, it will also be possible to pay for gas with crypto at Sheetz locations.　　Payments manager Linda Smith says the company is giving customers “what they want” in her statement:　　“Were very excited to be working with Flexa to roll out support for cryptocurrencies and other types of digital assets at our stores,”　　Founded back in 1952, Sheetz operates 634 stores and boasts an annual revenue of $6.2 billion.

2021-05-28Deep Dive

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