Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Korean students say crypto trading gives them stress, causes insomnia

Blinded by the promise of fast cars, luxury hotels, and stacks of dollar bills, young Koreans turned to crypto trading as a means of building wealth but ended up with the exact opposite, reports local daily The Korea Times.　　Some young adults in the country have, in the past few years, turned to trading as they seek better opportunities in financial markets.　　Crypto trading stress　　A well-paying job remains a coveted dream for many, as beneath the shiny lights of Seoul‘s Hongdae district lies a bitter reality—a weak job market, little overall economic growth, and the influence of family-owned conglomerates called ’Chaebols.　　A DISPLAY SHOWING CRYPTO PRICES IN SEOUL, KOREA. (SOURCE: WSJ)　　But trading, as it turns out, comes with its own set of troubles, a local survey found. Stress, insomnia, and other related psychological issues are just some of the things that college-going crypto hopefuls are encountering as the infamously volatile crypto market shows its fangs.　　The survey—it interviewed 1,750 college students last week and found 23% actively invested in crypto—found out a staggering 68.3 percent of respondents ticked the ‘psychological side effects’ section, with over 33% stating they encountered ‘dramatic emotional ups and downs’ as the prices gyrated.　　A section of the respondents said they

2021-05-26Deep Dive

Can blockchain ever be part of the solution for tackling climate change?

Because of Bitcoin, blockchains impact on the climate has come into sharp focus. But can this technology actually be part of the solution for saving the environment？　　Elon Musk captured the world‘s attention when he declared that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin as a payment method, citing the blockchain’s environmental impact.　　Although this thrust the debate about cryptocurrencies and the climate into the spotlight, this has been an issue that has been rumbling on for many years.　　Bitcoin‘s proof-of-work consensus mechanism is exceedingly energy intensive, and it seems to be a problem that’s only getting worse — with vast data centers established as miners vie to get their hands on a supply of new coins that has dwindled further since the 2020 halving.　　The latest figures from Digiconomist suggest that Bitcoins annual carbon footprint is now comparable to the whole of Portugal. A single BTC transaction uses as much CO2 as completing 1.26 million Visa transactions… or watching 95,000 hours of YouTube. Worse still, this single transaction also uses as much electricity as the typical U.S. household gets through in 40 days. Just a few short weeks ago, this figure stood at about 28 days.　　Its a problem that‘s getting worse, not better. You

2021-05-26Deep Dive

Decentralization Under Threat As Biden Administration Considers Implementing Bitcoin ‘Guardrails’

The Biden administration is reportedly exploring the possibility of installing guardrails on cryptocurrency following a number of meetings in which the crypto space was the subject. Bitcoin and other digital currencies are under intense scrutiny at the moment, with the markets recent behavior garnering quite a lot of attention.　　The IRS has already moved to install new regulations requiring all cryptocurrency transactions exceeding $10,000 to be reported. And, according to a report from the Washington Post, officials from the Biden administration have been “studying potential gamps in oversight” as it pertains to cryptocurrencies and whether they can be used to finance terrorism and other illegal activities.　　Protection For Honest Buyers　　The report also claims that the White House and Treasury Department are throwing their weight behind a model that will pay particular attention to crypto possibly becoming an avenue for tax evasion. Potential measures to protect the average investor looking to purchase digital currency are also being discussed.　　Bitcoin, in particular, has come under pressure on several fronts in recent times. Elon Musk does not seem as big of a proponent as he was when it was revealed that Tesla had purchased $1.5 billion worth of the world‘s biggest cryptocurrency. The automobile manufacturers have

2021-05-26Deep Dive

Naver, Kakao, LG ‘Will Bid to Participate’ in South Korean CBDC Pilot

The Bank of Korea (BOK), South Korea‘s central bank, is set to pilot its prototype digital KRW beginning in August as the country increases the pace of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) adoption plans. And it looks as though three of the nation’s biggest tech giants are keen to take part.　　Both Naver, the nations biggest search engine and the founder of the Line chat app (the dominant platform in Japan) and the domestic chat app giant Kakao, are set to bid to take part, per a report from Money Today. The conglomerate LG also hopes to submit a bid.　　The media outlet claimed that a consortium comprising Navers financial arm, Naver Financial, and the blockchain firm Unchain were set to express their interest in joining the project, with a bidding process set to begin the weeks ahead.　　Kakaos e-pay arm Kakao Pay and its Ground X blockchain subsidiary will also likely submit a joint bid, as will a consortium comprising Shinhan Bank and the LG-run IT services provider LG CNS. Other likely bidders include the Shinhan rival KEB Hana Bank and the Center for Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Research at the POSCO-operated POSTECH tech university in Pohang.　　The central bank once again maintained

2021-05-26Deep Dive

Where Is the “Death” Threshold for Bitcoin? Is It Possible For It to Drop Under 30k?

As a digital asset class, Bitcoin has been both acclaimed and scrutinized for its characteristics. The high volatility is Bitcoin‘s primary feature by which many social interplays occur. As JP Morgan reported in a letter to investors, the increase in liquidity can be determinant for Bitcoin’s low volatility.　　While statements in the crypto space about Bitcoin‘s store of value and support from institutional investors create equilibrium between supply and demand, Bitcoin is still dependent on social opinion. Similar to the stock market tendencies, news affects the price of cryptocurrencies. Although Bitcoin has hooked onto a status of the “digital gold” trademarked volatility, it’s the biggest downfall after the price of Bitcoin plummeted nearly 50% from its previous all-time high.　　Is there support at 30k？　　Breakout news concerning Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have remodeled the market retail and institutional sentiment towards crypto. According to Eugene Ng, head of business development at Gemini in Asia, stated “systematic algos have turned short” and expects to retest the lower support levels over the weekend. Additionally, Bitcoins dip fueled by rejecting news hurried investors to take profits off the table, as they fear a massive sell-off.　　Overlapping negative news regarding Bitcoin, starting with Elon Musk stating that Tesla will no

2021-05-26Deep Dive

PwC Survey: Bitcoin Price Will Hit $100,000 by End of Year

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the “big four” accounting firms, has released its “3rd Annual Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report 2021” in conjunction with the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) and Elwood Asset Management.　　The report underscored the success that hedge funds holding cryptocurrency saw this year and emphasized that bitcoin is far and away the leading asset in the class.　　OVERALL SUCCESS IN CRYPTOCURRENCY HEDGE FUNDS　　The report found that the total assets under management (AUM) of cryptocurrency hedge funds increased to $3.8 billion, up from $2 billion in the previous year. Additionally, the median hedge fund returned 128% on its investment.　　The best performance strategy for crypto hedge funds was Discretionary Long Only (which saw a rise of 294%), a strategy that emphasizes taking a longer time-frame for investments and holding more in liquid cryptocurrencies.　　Beyond the substantial growth of cryptocurrency hedge funds over the past year, the report also illustrated how bitcoin has maintained the dominant position, both within these cryptocurrency hedge funds and in more traditional funds.　　BITCOIN LEADS THE WAY　　92% of cryptocurrency hedge funds maintain exposure to bitcoin, according to the report. This is compared to ether, which is held in just 67% of the funds reported on. Bitcoin is not only

2021-05-26Deep Dive

The Grayscale Bitcoin Premium Normalizes After Plummeting to Negative 21%

After plummeting to a multi-year low of -21%, the Grayscale Premium has normalized quite a bit to around -4%. The metric could return back to a positive territory later this summer as the majority of GBTC investors will see their holdings released.　　Grayscale Premium Returns to Normal Ground　　Founded in 2013, Grayscale is the largest crypto asset manager enabling accredited investors to receive exposure to BTC and other crypto assets without worrying about storing and managing their holdings. However, this convenience comes with a price – an annual fee of 2%.　　Following the massive growth of the companys AUM in late 2020 and early 2021, when it expanded by more than 10x in months, the inflows dried out at the end of Q1 this year. The decline in fresh funds came amid competitive funds launching in Canada and Europe, and several filings for Bitcoin ETFs in the States.　　GBTC Inflows. Source: Glassnode　　The deviation between supply and demand could lead to the creation of a premium. It represents the difference between the price of the underlying asset (in this case, bitcoin) and the value of the trusts shares.　　Typically, the premium increases when the demand for GBTC is high and vice-versa. For instance, it was significantly

2021-05-26Deep Dive

North American miners form ‘Bitcoin Mining Council’ with Elon Musk

While the Bitcoin miners in China reel from the after-effects of the countrys latest crypto attack, miners on the other side of the planet are reportedly forming a new council to promote sustainable mining.　　Involved in the cause are North American mining companies, Bitcoin firms, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk himself.　　“Spoke with North American Bitcoin miners. They committed to publish current s energy problem　　Mining, for the uninitiated, uses up a massive computing system that solves millions of complex calculations each second to validate transactions on the Bitcoin network (a process known as proof of work).　　This, however, requires massive amounts of energy for the maintenance, cooling, running of the machines. But some say as the source of this is via coal and fossil fuel-powered energy producers, it leaves behind a big carbon footprint for seemingly little benefit to the world.　　The above has become somewhat of a PR issue for companies. Most institutional investors seem to know the benefits of holding Bitcoin (or other large-cap cryptocurrencies), but the ensuing climate damage poses a problem.　　Tesla, the electric carmaker helmed by Musk, is a prime example of the above. The firm started accepting Bitcoin as a payment method for its vehicles earlier this year, but

2021-05-25Deep Dive

Elon Musk Explains Why He's Not Interested in Cardano, Ethereum, IOTA, and Other Coins

Ever since Tesla dropped Bitcoin payments due to environmental corners, sustainable and scalable cryptocurrency projects have been trying to pique Elon Musks interest, but to no avail.　　In his recent tweet, the centibillionaire claims that hes not interested in cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Cardano, IOTA, and Polkadot because they dont have memes and dogs:　　Doge has dogs s frequent tweets.　　It seems that other crypto projects will have to step up their meme game instead of promoting their green cred.

2021-05-25Deep Dive

Bank of Korea Seeking Technology to Develop Digital Currency

South Koreas monetary policy regulator is taking steps to create its own digital coin. Bank of Korea is now looking for a technology provider to develop a test environment for the project. The news comes after major commercial banks expressed skepticism over their cooperation with domestic cryptocurrency exchanges.　　Central Bank of Korea to Launch Pilot Platform for CBDC　　The tech supplier will be chosen through an open bidding process, Bank of Korea (BOK) announced Monday. Its task will be to set up a pilot platform for the launch of the South Korean central bank digital currency (CBDC). A Reuters report notes that the bank‘s plan to research the matter and conduct trials is the first step in that direction taken by Asia’s fourth-largest economy.　　With the expansion of the cryptocurrency space providing an alternative to traditional finances, dozens of central banks around the world have set CBDC projects in motion. China has been developing its digital yuan, the Federal Reserve is working on digital dollar prototypes, Eurozones ECB is mulling whether to create a digital euro, and the Bank of Russia will present a digital ruble prototype this year. Speaking during a press briefing, a BOK official commented:　　The share of cash transactions is

2021-05-25Deep Dive

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