Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

3 South Korean Banks Say They Won’t Deal with ‘Risky’ Crypto Exchanges

Three of South Korea‘s five biggest banks, Woori, Kookmin (KB), and KEB Hana, have said they do not want to work with crypto exchanges, claiming the sector is “too risky” – a decision that may well jeopardize the future of even the country’s major exchanges.　　Cryptonews.com approached a number of South Korean exchanges for comment, but trading platforms in the country appeared reluctant to speak on the matter. However, one exchange official, who asked for their platform not to be named, said,　　“We‘re still in talks with certain banks – this isn’t industry-wide. Or at least not yet.”　　As reported last week, banks have been effectively given the role of judge, jury, and executioner over the South Korean exchange sector – with the government telling them to conduct their own risk assessment checks on exchanges. This has led banking chiefs to create their own almost-90-item-strong checklist.　　Exchanges without banking contracts will be forced to close or face prosecution under rules that promulgated last month, with a grace period ending on September 24.　　But per the news agency Yonhap, Woori, Hana, and KB (none of which currently work with crypto exchange partners) have decided that working with exchanges will be far more trouble than it is

2021-05-25Deep Dive

European Central Bank Publishes Risk Report on Bitcoin, Compares the Crypto to the Tulip Mania

Earlier last week, the European Central Bank published a new report on the financial stability of the European Union. The report, titled the Financial Stability Review (FSR), detailed potential risks of Bitcoin and other crypto-related assets.　　In the context of the broader economy, the ECB stated that “signs of exuberance” in crypto assets were potentially concerning, but that financial stability risks were limited.　　“Signs of exuberance have also been observed in the renewed interest in crypto-assets, although financial stability appears limited.”　　While the European Central Bank suggests that cryptos pose little to no risk, other governments have seen their rising use and transactional value as a threat to their sovereignty.　　When Bitcoin and other cryptos surged to all-time highs earlier this year, the Indian government threatened a total ban. As the Lira crashed and the Turkish people flocked to crypto-assets for safe haven, the nation took steps to ban its use. South Korea, on the other hand, imposed such strict regulations that Okex and Binance shut down their operations in the country. The list goes on.　　The ECB Addresses Bitcoins Potential Bubble, Corruption, and Environmental Risks　　The central bank addressed that one of the main issues of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies was their volatile, speculative nature —

2021-05-25Deep Dive

No Bitcoin Plans For Europe’s Largest Bank – HSBC CEO Implies It ‘Messes Up Balance Sheet Of Clients

The biggest bank in Europe just dealt another sordid blow to Bitcoin, as it joined the league of Crypto pessimistic financial institutions, declaring a general unwillingness to add the apex crypto coin to its asset class.　　Speaking to news agency Reuters, the banks CEO, Noel Quinn, passed a vote of no confidence on the embattled coin stating volatility and a general absence of transparency which makes balance sheet computing tedious, as the principal risk factors HSBC considers financially unhealthy to adopt.　　Noel also added that he sees the liquidity conversion hurdles as another impediment to the fledgling coin which broke below the $35,000 resistance barely one month after smashing an impressive $64,000 all-time high.　　Bitcoin continues to saddle on troubled waters and has shed off over 50% of its price value, since the beginning of the great depression last week – part of the reasons being Elon Musk yanking plugs off a BTC-for-Tesla payment deal and China suppressing BTC miners and traders in the country for the third time.　　“Given the volatility we are not into Bitcoin as an asset class, if our clients want to be there then of course they are, but we are not promoting it as an asset class within

2021-05-25Deep Dive

Concerns About Internet Computer (ICP)? Here’s What We Know

It happened a few weeks ago, even though it seems further back. A new cryptocurrency few had heard about forced its way into Coinmarketcaps Top10 in record time. In the middle of an overcrowded bull market, Internet Computer (ICP) was the talk of the town for a few days. The coin debuted with listings in most of the major cryptocurrency exchanges, which in retrospect is a little suspect.　　The thing that stands out about the Internet Computer is that the project sounds solid. Ethereum killers come and go, but the Dfinity Foundation‘s contender is more ambitious than all of them combined. This isn’t your typical smart contracts platform. The Internet Computer aim is no other than to replace the whole Internet as we know it. A new Internet, just like in that “Silicon Valley” show.　　 The Foundation knows how to sell the Internet Computer　　In Bitcoinists first report on the subject, we described it as:　　Dfinitys platform could be defined as a project to expand internet access, eliminate the “monopoly” enforced by big tech, and offer developers, users, enterprises, and governments a mechanism to deploy “software and services directly to the public internet”. Messari adds:　　“It aims to not only reduce platform risk but

2021-05-25Deep Dive

Is Ethereum More Environmentally Friendly Than Bitcoin?

Carbon-footprint breakthroughs could make ETH more environment friendly than BTC.　　ETH and BTC both work using a proof-of-work system.　　Proof-of-work uses the costs of purchasing and maintaining computer hardware.　　The progress on proof-of-stake is shown by a test net.　　Developers and users of the most-used blockchain have been wrangling with its carbon footprint issue. However, many recent breakthroughs will finally allow them to slowly cut energy use in a year. Notably, this breakthrough could make Ethereum (ETH) more environment-friendly than Bitcoin (BTC).　　ETH and BTC both work using a proof-of-work system that needs a global network of computers running around the clock. Moreover, software developers work for years to transition the ETH blockchain to a proof-of-stake system. This system uses a different approach to secure the network that eliminates the carbon emissions problem.　　However, the change was delayed by more technical setbacks that could not come soon enough for the crypto world. This weathered its biggest bouts of volatility ever this month. More so, the news came after Elon Musk revealed that Tesla Inc. would stop accepting BTC as payment for cars. This is because of the rising energy use.　　ETH Switches to Proof-of-Stake　　According to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, BTC networks currently use more power

2021-05-25Deep Dive

IRS Looking Into Ways to Monitor Activity Within Crypto Wallets

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Digital Forensic team is looking into cracking tools for crypto wallets to “tame the cybersecurity research into measured, repeatable, consistent digital forensics processes.”　　As the population of the United States becomes more and more enamored with trading and purchasing goods with cryptocurrencies, the IRS is looking into ways to monitor activity within wallets. In order to keep themselves ahead of the game, the IRS has issued an official request for information (RFI) into cracking crypto wallets.　　Most traders use crypto wallets to store their digital assets but also to add a layer of security. Crypto wallets use private keys to access funds separate from the broker making the actual transactions.　　As one might expect, some are using blockchain to hide illegal or illicit activities. When the IRS Criminal Division has to look into the financial records of certain people, however, they are hitting a wall when trying to see information from seized crypto wallets. In an official request for information posted to SAM.gov, the Treasury Department and IRS state that:　　“Though a few known cyber penetration testers have published vulnerabilities on specific devices, the process of decrypting the hardware devices to gain access to the wallets has been challenging.

2021-05-25Deep Dive

Crypto’s Next Move Is Completely Dependent on the Stock Market, Says Barry Silbert

As cryptocurrencies continue to experience massive volatility, Barry Silbert, founder, and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), the parent company of Grayscale and other crypto firms, believes that the next move of the asset class will be determined by what happens in the stock market in the coming weeks.　　“Where the crypto market goes from here is completely dependent on the stock market over the next couple weeks,” Silbert tweeted today.　　Silberts latest statement follows an earlier post on Twitter where he described the current crypto market meltdown as being healthy.　　Reacting to the recent market crash, Silbert stated that many crypto traders had become long-term investors, which he considers to be healthy.　　Crypto s stringent measures toward cryptocurrencies have been instrumental in the current market dip, Elon Musk, the CEO and founder of popular electric car manufacturer Tesla, has continued to swing the prices of cryptos via his series of tweets in the past week.　　Part of Musk‘s shot at the asset includes his sudden concern about the carbon footprint of Bitcoin’s mining operation, prompting him to announce that Tesla will reverse its February decision to accept Bitcoin payments for its cars.　　Partial Recovery　　Stocks and cryptocurrencies are gradually recovering from last weeks massive downtrend. Dow

2021-05-25Deep Dive

How PARSIQ Is Changing The Appeal Of Blockchain Technology?

The future of blockchain technology will heavily hinge on how this technology evolves. Creating more complex products and services will require constant interaction with off-chain applications and devices. PARSIQ envisions a world in which blockchains can operate without the majority of technical requirements.　　What PARSIQ Aims To Achieve　　The evolution of blockchain technology has proven attractive, although there is always room for further improvements. PARSIQ, founded in 2018, is a project created by blockchain engineers with ample expertise in the field. Having the ability to connect blockchain activity to applications that are not on a blockchain is the next frontier to explore. However, that is easier said than done as there is no active “bridge” between the blockchain and the real world.　　By using the PARSIQ platform, anyone can build and deploy blockchain to off-chain connections. An appealing opportunity, particularly for those who may not possess the necessary coding skills. Lowering the barriers to entry is an essential first step toward attracting more people excited to experiment with this technology.　　Unlike traditional ecosystems, PARSIQ aims to remove the need for hosting nodes or infrastructure. Additionally, the team wants to remove the need for spending funds and development resources. Instead, the system is convenient to

2021-05-25Deep Dive

RSK is Bitcoin’s Fastest Growing Layer, Not Liquid nor Lightning

Since the resolution of the Bitcoin (BTC) block size limit debate in 2017, there has been a general consensus that Bitcoin is likely to scale via a multi-layer protocol stack rather than stuffing every transaction onto the base blockchain.　　These secondary network layers, such as the Liquid sidechain and the Lightning Network, are often referred to as layer-two networks due to the different tradeoffs made with these systems in the areas of security, efficiency, and decentralization, in addition to the fact that they effectively use the base Bitcoin blockchain as a settlement network.　　There has been plenty of hype around the Lightning Network as a solution for lower-value, bitcoin-denominated payments that retain many of the permissionless and low-trust properties of the Bitcoin blockchain over the past few years, and the Liquid sidechain has also achieved notable levels of adoption when it comes to the amount of bitcoin that has been pegged into the network.　　However, it turns out that a third layer-two Bitcoin protocol, known as RSK, is now growing faster than both Liquid and the Lightning Network.　　What is RSK？　　RSK is a Bitcoin sidechain that is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This means that any smart contract built for Ethereum (ETH)

2021-05-25Deep Dive

What does this new milestone mean for what’s next for Cardano?

With a market capitalization of $43.91 billion, Cardano, at press time, was ranked the fourth-largest cryptocurrency on CoinMarketCap. What‘s more, ADA’s investors were recording nearly 600% returns year-to-date. However, one can argue that such an uptick in value has been a result of its efforts to make the ecosystem more independent and sustainable.　　Cardano approaches Alonzo hard fork　　In mid-2020, Cardanos Shelley upgrade went live and it helped in achieving decentralization of the network consensus. This meant that a majority of the nodes on the network would be run by the community and not by any centralized entity. In fact, the next step up on the Cardano roadmap, Goguen, will be bringing new functionalities to the blockchain. This will be carried out through a series of hard forks. Recently, in March 2021, the team added support for native assets with the Mary hard fork.　　With the ecosystem updating consistently, the Cardano ecosystem has been seeing a new wave of users entering the space. The volatility of the crypto-space has definitely given momentum to the adoption of the altcoin, but the next hard fork, Alonzo, may spur even more interest. The update will allow developers to build smart contracts on the Cardano blockchain –

2021-05-25Deep Dive

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