Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Coinbase Announces Its Intention to Raise $1.25 Billion. Will It Mirror MicroStrategy?

Coinbase‘s IPO was great news for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Still, since that time, the company’s share price has done nothing but slide. In the midst of that collapse, the leading U.S. cryptocurrency exchange is looking for an even more significant cash infusion.　　As per a P.R. published a few hours ago, the U.S. company revealed its intention to offer $1.25 Billion of Convertible Senior Notes Due 2026.　　Coinbase Wants To Speed Up Its Growth　　The offering would be private and accessible only to institutional investors pursuant to Rule 144A promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, i.e., those managing at least $100 million in securities issued by other companies.　　Coinbases decision comes just days after it reported over $1.8 billion in total revenue for the first quarter of 2021. Convertible bonds are debt securities in which an investor acquires the power to demand payment in cash with interest or convert the value of their notes for the equivalent in shares of the company that issued the debt.　　Coinbase did not disclose any specific purpose for raising so much money, but the markets did not take too kindly to the announcement. The stock fell 3% throughout the day, touching a low of $238 before bouncing back a

2021-05-18Deep Dive

1.1M noobs panic sell, but Bitcoin hodlers DGAF

While new entrants to Bitcoin markets have been panic selling at a loss, the recent market slide has not vexed the old hands.　　Heavy selling in response to hints from Elon Musk that Tesla may soon sell its BTC stash saw Bitcoin prices tumble to their lowest levels in 20 weeks as the markets found support near $42,000 on Monday, May 17.　　According to on-chain analytics provider, Glassnode, the crash predominantly saw newer traders exiting from their positions at a loss while long-term hodlers stood their ground.　　Glassnoded noted Bitcoins adjusted Spent Output Profit Ratio (aSOPR), a metric that shows whether BTC was in profit or at a loss when it was last transacted on-chain, fell below 1.0 amid the dip. An aSOPR of less than 1.0 indicates aggregate losses have been realized on-chain and are most pronounced in short-term holders (coins younger than 155-days) — traders that purchased during the 2021 bull market.　　The total number of addresses holding a non-zero BTC balance has also retreated by 2.8% from its recent all-time high of 38.7 million as more than one million traders liquidated their positions. Glassnode stated:　　“A total of 1.1M addresses have spent all coins they held during this correction, again providing evidence

2021-05-18Deep Dive

What is Bitski & Why Does Jay-Z Want To Invest In It?

What Is Bitski？　　Imagine that an iOS game wants to reward players with digital items or tokens. On Ethereum, users would have to set up an entirely new wallet, struggle with credentials, or use another solution like a clumsy web browser plugin. They would also have to own Ethereum already to pay the Ethereum “gas” price to cover the transaction on the blockchain. Then the developer would have to personally approve sending the item.　　To overcome these problems, Bitski has created a completely automated and integrated NFT platform where users can approve receiving tokens from a developer. From then on, developers can pay the gas on users behalf while triggering transactions programmatically. In simple terms, this means that using blockchain apps and playing blockchain games becomes a lot more streamlined and fun. Bitski will also assist with the mass adoption of NFTs, as users will be able to mint and trade NFTs without needing any technical knowledge.　　What Is Unique About Bitski And How Does It Work？　　In a world where dealing with NFTs is extremely complicated and requires weeks of research, Bitskis goal is to provide a simple platform for game developers, brands, and average consumers to create, buy, and sell NFTs.　　Bitski makes

2021-05-18Deep Dive

23% of Gen Z is investing in memes like Dogecoin (only 9% in NFTs)

Nearly a quarter of young, new crypto investors are actively investing in meme-driven cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin, a survey by betting app Gamblers Pick found recently.　　Meme narratives have spruced up the crypto space massively in the past few months driven by the likes of Dogecoin (and celebs like Elon Musk continuously shilling such coins). The ‘meme’ sector, as CryptoSlate data shows, commands over 3.43% of the entire crypto market cap and is worth over $70 billion at press time.　　Choose memes, choose Dogecoin　　The study asked 872 people about their investment strategies to explore how different generations were investing across financial markets.　　Twenty-four percent of those respondents were ‘Gen Zers’ (born between late 1990-early 2010s), 27% were millennials (born between 1980-1995), 25% were Gen Xers (mid-1960s to early 80s), and 24% were baby boomers or older (post the world wars and 1960s).　　Overall, a quarter of respondents admitted to investing frequently and said that it was a relatively popular activity among them, as only 12% said they rarely did it. On a generational level, Gen Zers couldnt get enough of the practice, with over 28% said they were constantly investing.　　IMAGE: GAMBLERS PICK SURVEY.　　A staggering 55% of Gen Zers, as per the survey, said they were

2021-05-18Deep Dive

Ethereum Network Revenue Set to Smash Monthly Record of $722 Million

Total Ethereum transaction fees have never been higher, thanks to a combination of network use (and the ensuing congestion) and historically high ETH prices.　　Transaction fees for May 2021 are on track to break the current monthly record of $722 million at some point today, according to statistics from Coin Metrics, with two full weeks left to go in the month. If the trend continues, the blockchain network will pass its Q1 network revenue totals of $1.7 billion in ETH before the end of May.　　The previous high was set just three months ago, in February 2021.　　Ethereum total transaction fees per day in USD. Source: Coin Metrics　　Every time someone uses the Ethereum network to send funds or utilize a smart contract (automated code they interact with to, for example, place a bid on an NFT at auction or swap assets on a decentralized exchange), they must pay a fee, which ultimately goes to miners along with a block subsidy of freshly minted ETH.　　Transaction fees are constantly changing depending on network congestion; the more transactions being made, the higher they can go if users are willing to pay a premium. This months record fees, denominated in dollars, are thus an indication of total

2021-05-18Deep Dive

An ETF Approval Is The Next Major ‘Rocket Fuel’ For Bitcoin: Raoul Pal

There are a number of milestones that bitcoin lovers anticipate happening in the next decade. These include bitcoin being accepted by more merchants for payment for goods and services, bitcoin being added to the balance sheets of prominent companies, and of course, the bitcoin exchange-traded fund.　　The Bitcoin ETF has been, thus far, one of the most elusive milestones for the crypto industry. Giant firms like Robinhood and Gemini have applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States for approval for an ETF but all have been denied.　　With the current rush of institutional support that bitcoin has seen in the last few months from companies like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, there is talk of more pressure being put on the SEC to approve a bitcoin ETF at some point.　　Incoming Rocket Fuel？　　Now, according to co-founder and CEO of Real Vision, Raoul Pal, the ETF is the next rocket fuel for the market. An ETF, he said in a recent Twitter exchange, will lead to a brand new level of support for bitcoin as well as an increase in price. This was in response to a tweet that claims that bitcoin is consolidating in price ahead of an ETF approval.　　“This

2021-05-18Deep Dive

How Today’s Bitcoin Slump Compares to 2017 Bull Run Drawdown

Bitcoin‘s latest price slump has got investors sweating. Do they have reason to worry？ Not if you’re a long-time HODLer looking at the bigger picture, argues blockchain analysis company Glassnode in a report today.　　The weekend dip—with Bitcoin trading down 26.1% over the course of the week—is the deepest correction the current Bitcoin bull run has experienced, says Glassnode.　　Corrections, though, are common in the world of investments, and Bitcoin is no different. Whenever a market runs too hot, you can expect it to cool down until an equilibrium between buyers and sellers is met again.　　But with Bitcoin now trading at 28% below the $63.6k all-time high set on April 13, could we be entering another bear market？ Not necessarily, according to Glassnode data, which notes that Bitcoin has experienced comparable pullbacks in the not-so-distant past.　　“This is the deepest correction of the current bull market, however is consistent with five major pullbacks during the 2017 bull,” researchers for the analytics firm argued in its The Week On-chain newsletter.　　The current correction, according to the firm, is chiefly down to new investors panic-selling their coins due to billionaire investor Elon Musks controversial weekend comments.　　Musk, who in February bought $1.5 billion-worth of Bitcoin on behalf

2021-05-18Deep Dive

Why Ethereum DeFi Seems Impervious Amid Massive Sell-Off

With the king bleeding out over the weekend, the crypto market seems to be losing momentum. A few sectors and projects remain in the green zone. Ethereum and its DeFi protocols have made a display of strength and conviction from their investors seem to remain bullish.　　Messari Research Mira Christanto compared ETH-DeFi with Binance-DeFi and concluded that the former had a 3.16% loss over the weekend with a staggering $104 billion in total value locked (TVL). In the meantime, BNB-DeFi saw a 35.12% loss across its sector with a total value lock of $20 billion.　　In comparison, the ETH-DeFi total value locked dropped from $120 billion to its current level. Binance DeFi stood at $36 billion before the crash, as shown in the chart below.　　Source: Messari　　May has been a month of progress for many ETH-based projects. Uniswap launched its third iteration on May 5th. Its inventor Hayden Adams reported a $378 million in trading volume for its USDC/ETH pool with $83 million in TVL and a $312 million in trading volume with a $229 million in TVL for its wBTC/ETH pool.　　The trading volume has surpassed Uniswap v2 in over 10 days. Christanto expects the protocol to see more action, once users get

2021-05-18Deep Dive

Cardano Is The Practical Version Of Ethereum, But Better, Charles Hoskinson Tells Mark Cuban

Cardano is a blockchain ecosystem with a mission to provide a sustainable, practical, and cost-effective financial operating system for billions of people, including the 2 billion most underrepresented people in the world, in places like Africa.　　In a live Twitter broadcast, Hoskinson explained Cardano to Cuban, who expressed interest in understanding Cardano‘s role and its differences from Elon Musk’s promoted cryptocurrency Dogecoin.　　“I noticed on Twitter he was asking some questions about Cardano, and we always love it when people are curious about the ecosystem.”　　Charles explains briefly that Cardano started as a research project that would create a practical and sustainable financial operating system for billions of people around the world. Therefore, the goal is to combine or bring together various technologies to support the creation of such an ecosystem that is also cost-friendly.　　Cardano is a Successful version of Ethereum　　In 2020, Cardano launched the monumental Shelley Network, its first and successful attempt to introduce a proof of stake governance system that has propelled ADA‘s price gain and ecosystem’s expansion.　　“Last year we achieved the first proof of stake system and thats what Ethereum is attempting to do at the moment with Ethereum 2.0 and has failed.”　　Cardano is now doing what Ethereum tried but

2021-05-18Deep Dive

What Does the Digital Pound Mean for Britain?

The Bank of England recently announced the formation of a special task force meant to look into the notion of introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). While the decision to implement a digital pound has not yet been made, the option is clearly being considered. So, what changes would be needed to make it happen？ And how would this decision affect the country in the long term？　　CBDC in the banking system – how would it work？　　Generally speaking, there are two possible models to make digital currencies work. The first is when the central bank issues a digital currency to the countrys residents directly. The other is when a digital currency is created, and the central bank then distributes it among connected commercial banks. And those banks, in turn, spread it among their retail and corporate clientele in the form of traditional cash.　　In terms of efficiency, the first model is better, because governments will be able to perform direct monetary interventions (e.g., airdrops, credits, etc.). For example, with Covid-19, there was a need to release a large amount of liquidity to the public or to businesses, and this would have been done much more efficiently with CBDC rather than with

2021-05-18Deep Dive

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