Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Nvidia extends limits on crypto mining to newest gaming graphics cards

The global head of GeForce marketing at Nvidia said that the reduced hash rate “only applies to newly manufactured cards,” not to GPUs already purchased.　　Graphics card giant Nvidia said that the hash rate limiter on its RTX 3060 graphics cards would also be introduced in other RTX 30 series GPUs in an attempt to disincentivize crypto miners.　　In an announcement from Nvidia on Tuesday, the company said it would be applying a reduced Ethereum hash rate to its newly manufactured GeForce RTX 3080, RTX 3070 and RTX 3060 Ti graphics cards. The models will be identified by a “Lite Hash Rate,” or LHR, label, aimed at getting its graphics processing units, or GPUs, to its target customers rather than cryptocurrency miners.　　“This reduced hash rate only applies to newly manufactured cards with the LHR identifier and not to cards already purchased,” said Nvidias global head of GeForce marketing Matt Wuebbling. “We believe this additional step will get more GeForce cards at better prices into the hands of gamers everywhere.”　　Nvidia limited the hash rate on some of its earlier GPU models, announcing in February that the changes reduced mining performance by 50%. However, in March, a driver update from the graphics card manufacturer

2021-05-19Deep Dive

Andrew Yang's Humanity Forward Starts Accepting Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Other Coins

Humanity Forward, a non-profit created by former U.S. presidential candidate Andrew Yang, has started accepting contributions in Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Chainlink, and a slew of other digital currencies after partnering with crypto donations company The Giving Block.　　Yang— whos currently favorite to win the New York mayoral race—started the organization to build a “human-centered America” back in March 2020. The crypto-friendly politician himself donated $3 million to kickstart it.　　The non-profit is focused on helping out struggling people who have been hit hard by the pandemic. It started off with a plan to give away half of million dollars as part of a universal basic income (UBI) pilot program.　　It has been endorsed by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and other celebrities.

2021-05-19Deep Dive

BOA Report says Kimchi Premium Result of Capital Flow Control

Kimchi premium, the Bitcoin price difference between the international market and the South Korean market rose to $4,000 yesterday after a red crypto day. A recent Bank of America report suggests that the Bitcoin price premium in the Korean market is a result of capital flow control put by the government. At present, the purchases of foreign currency are capped at 50,000 annually per person, which might be another reason for investors to look for alternatives like Bitcoin. The report noted,　　“The onshore price for cryptocurrencies in Korea is persistently above international prices suggesting this to be a result of effective capital control that prevents effective arbitrage of onshore and offshore prices,”　　Kimchi premium is often seen as a bullish trend for the market as it indicates a growing demand among the investors. The price premium was on the decline recently primarily because of the long consolidation phase of the top cryptocurrency since last ATH, also the authorities are tightening regulations around the crypto market in South Korea.　　South Korea is seen as one of the most progressive nations when it comes to crypto regulations as the country has a fully regulated market and the authorities have also proposed a 20% tax on

2021-05-19Deep Dive

Why Tesla dumping bitcoin was inevitable

In February of this year, Tesla announced that it had purchased a large amount of Bitcoins (on the order of $1.5bn) and would now allow new Teslas to be bought with the Cryptocurrency¹. This came at a time when confidence in Crypto has been continually increasing but it seemed like this was the boost it needed to really take off. Along with Bitcoin itself, this move appeared to grant legitimacy to many Cryptocurrencies that had started to gain ground in potential mainstream circles, but a big move by Tesla has yet to have been made by any other company to support this. However 4 months after the initial announcement, Tesla revealed a reversal of the original decision due to the environmental impact of bitcoin mining, storing, and transacting in that they would no longer be accepting the currency as payment. While Tesla still retains considerable holdings of the currency, at least it is believed they still do, this about face has caused considerable declines in the value of bitcoin and of other Cryptocurrencies as well, with bitcoin falling 7% on the news of the decision².　　Why Tesla has stopped allowing purchases via bitcoin　　The main reason why Tesla has stopped allowing the

2021-05-19Deep Dive

FOX Partners with Rick and Morty Co-Creator to Launch NFT Marketplace

Fox Broadcasting Company partnered up with Dan Harmon – co-creator of Rick and Morty – to develop animated series based on blockchain technology. The comedy series, dubbed ‘Krapopolis,’ will introduce the sale of non-fungible tokens illustrating the characters and artwork featured in the show.　　Fox Enters The Crypto Community　　The American commercial broadcast TV network Fox announced its partnership with ‘Rick and Morty’ co-creator Dan Harmon. The collaboration will aim to develop “the very first animated series organized entirely on the blockchain.”　　The popular comedy series, called ‘Krapopolis,’ will launch NFTs depicting Rick, Morty, and the other main characters of the animation. The show also plans to reward its most devoted fans with tokens that grant “exclusive social experiences.” However, details are scarce about when exactly the project is set to start.　　Furthermore, Fox revealed it will launch the new NFT company “Blockchain Creative labs”, which is expected to connect with “Krapopolis” and other shows in the near future.　　Charlie Collier – Fox Entertainment CEO – outlined the companys inovation and revealed his intention to add advertising partners to it:　　“Not to go too far today, but as an adviser-centric, artist-first, and animation-obsessed company, Fox will lead advertisers into the world of blockchain-powered tokens, including the

2021-05-19Deep Dive

Ark Investment tips $20M into Grayscale Ethereum Trust

Cathie Woods Ark Investment has reported holdings of 639,069 shares in Grayscales Ethereum Trust for Q1 — currently worth around $20.9 million at todays prices.　　The news of Arks major investment into Ethereum was seen as a bullish sign by Ethereum and DeFi proponents. Mythos Capital founder and Bankless author Ryan Adams emphasized how significant he saw the development:　　“Remember when you told you the institutions would never buy ETH？ They keep underestimating this asset. ETH IS MONEY.”　　Ether bulls have been growing noticeably more confident recently, with the co-founder of venture capital firm Framework Ventures, Vance Spencer tweeting earlier today:　　“There were many times when crypto would not have been strong enough to survive without BTC as the dominant narrative. I no longer believe this is the case. Regime change is coming.”　　Cointelegraph reported on May 5 that institutional managers bought $30.2 million worth of Ethereum at the end of April, bringing their total holdings to an all-time high of $13.9 billion.　　Despite the excitement around the ETH buy, Ark‘s Q1 filing with SEC earlier this month shows the firms portfolio still heavily leans in Bitcoin’s favor. Ark reported holdings of 8.6 million shares in Grayscales Bitcoin Trust, worth more than $298 million as of

2021-05-19Deep Dive

Why The SEC Opposes XRP Holders’ Involvement In Action Against Ripple

XRP holders have been trying to gain a voice in the action against Ripple Labs and some of its executives filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, the regulator has opposed by any means at its disposal.　　In a reply memorandum filed on May 17th, the Commission reiterated its position against the motion to intervene presented by the collective called “Movants”, 6 XRP holders in the representation of their community.　　The SEC claims that these investors are “improperly” trying to take a role in the action via an “amici curiae”, a form of legal instrument that would grant the holders a status of assistance in the case. Thus, they could provide expertise and their unique point of view as investors.　　The regulators claim that the XRP holders cant “offer any unique perspective”, information or additional details that could provide value in court. Also, the Commission added that the Movants have a bias point of view and “advocate for the same outcome as Defendants”, Ripple Labs and executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. The documents claims:　　Seeking to inject themselves as “third-party defendants” in this action, Movants would act as “friends” of Defendants, not true “friends of the court,” if permitted to participate

2021-05-19Deep Dive

Is Cardano Really The Best Candidate to Replace Bitcoin at Tesla?

Last week, cryptocurrency users watched the market decline severely after Elon Musk announced that Tesla has shut down Bitcoin payments in the meantime, until “mining transitions to more sustainable energy.”　　With Bitcoin losing billions over Musk‘s announcement in minutes, it is clear that there is a major gap in the market that needs to be filled. As Musk begins his search for a new cryptocurrency, one that uses less than 1% of Bitcoin’s energy, many project developers are presenting their assets as a fitting candidate.　　However, during the recent bloodbath, while many altcoins were recording major losses, Cardano (ADA) was moving in the opposite direction as prices hit a new all-time high of over $2 while the other leading cryptocurrencies saw significant losses.　　Not long after hitting that price mark, Cardano bulls went crazier as trading volume pumped the asset to $2.13, with over 14% in daily gains and nearly 33% in weekly gains.　　ADAUSD Chart By TradingView　　Keep in mind that many other assets in the top ten categories in terms of market value have only begun correcting losses at a much slower pace. So why is Cardano taking over so quickly？　　All fingers point to the “green energy” rally started by the Cardano Foundation

2021-05-19Deep Dive

US FDIC seeks insight on banks’ role in cryptocurrency markets

The United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is looking for information and public comments on banks cryptocurrency-related activities.　　The FDIC is the major provider of deposit insurance to U.S. commercial and savings banks, originally created to address bank runs during the Great Depression.　　On Monday, the FDIC officially announced a request for public input to get more information on the industry and consumers interests in the market as well as the role of banks in the digital asset ecosystem.　　“Banks are increasingly exploring several roles in the emerging digital asset ecosystem, such as being custodians, reserve holders, issuers, and exchange or redemption agents; performing node functions; and holding digital asset issuers money deposits,” the FDIC stated.　　The corporation is particularly looking to improve its understanding of digital asset use cases in financial markets and intermediation, as well as settlement and payment systems. The FDIC is also seeking input on the risk and compliance management of insured depository institutions and their affiliates in conducting digital asset-related activities.　　FDIC chairman Jelena McWilliams noted that the public input will help the agency to better understand the market in terms of regulations.　　“At the FDIC, we are laying the foundation for the next chapter of banking by ensuring we have

2021-05-18Deep Dive

Could Flared Natural Gas Be A Solution To Bitcoin Mining?

As concerns about the energy consumption of Bitcoin continue to rise, a number of alternative solutions have been presented. Flared natural gas has been posited as a possible solution to the high emissions produced by Bitcoin mining farms.　　This week saw Bitcoin dropping to a low of $42,200, fueled by a comment by Elon Musk on Twitter that revealed Tesla would no longer be accepting Bitcoin in payment. While he later clarified that Tesla had no plans to sell their Bitcoin, Musks comments followed a decision by the billionaire to no longer support energy produced from coal.　　Flared natural gas, also known as a flare stack, is the controlled burning of natural gas that could represent a potential alternative to energy produced from coal. Oil producers flare natural gas when they are unable to build a pipeline or find themselves unable to process the natural gas. In other words, a flare stack is ‘wasted energy’.　　The international Energy Agency has estimated that in 2019 flared natural gas released the same amount of carbon dioxide as Italy. Rather than using high carbon producing energy sources, a number of crypto pundits have suggested using flared natural gas to power Bitcoin mining; offering oil producers a

2021-05-18Deep Dive

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