Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Google search interest in Dogecoin outstrips Bitcoin for first time

Global public interest in Dogecoin (DOGE), as measured by internet search statistics, has exceeded that of Bitcoin (BTC) for the first time. According to data from Google Trends, values assigned to each cryptocurrency for May 2–8 stand at 56/100 points for DOGE versus 48/100 for BTC.　　As the chart below shows, search interest in DOGE over the past 12 months has often closely correlated with peaks and troughs in public interest in Bitcoin, although the interest in the two coins has previously diverged. This week, however, shows not only a strong non-correlation but a higher level of interest in DOGE in absolute terms.　　Google Trends search data comparison between DOGE (red) and BTC (blue) over the past 12 months　　As previously reported, DOGE has had nothing if not a dramatic 2021. In mid-April, the coin gained 80% in value in just one day to cap 5,000% in year-to-date returns. As a quintessential meme cryptocurrency, much of the assets dizzying price hikes have been fueled by social media sentiment and, arguably, its frequent, if jocular, endorsement by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.　　Yet as noted already in April, high levels of public interest in the asset arent necessarily indicative of its good fortune on the markets.

2021-05-10Deep Dive

Here’s what has contributed to institutions taking Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptos

Over the past year, Grayscale has become synonymous of sorts with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, at least from a mainstream, institutional investor perspective. In fact, the numbers tell the same story as well, with the assets under management growing from just under $2 billion at the beginning of 2020 to over $50 billion, at press time.　　That is a steep rate of growth, especially for the institutional side of the market. However, which entities exactly have been parties to the aforementioned surge？ Well, according to Phil Bonello, Director of Research at Grayscale Investments, most of the institutional interest coming its way is being “dominated by hedge funds and family offices.” While the exec did comment on growing enthusiasm among pensions and endowments, Bonello was quick to underline their nature as “slow-moving institutions.”　　A similar point was made by crypto-investment firm Copper‘s Asen Kostadinov recently, with the official going on to speculate that Coinbase’s IPO is only going to spur more institutional interest from these very actors.　　What have been the reasons behind the said growth, however？ Bonello, during a recent appearance on Thinking Crypto, commented that what has happened over the past few months is that the narrative of monetary inflation has gathered steam.

2021-05-10Deep Dive

Crypto Long & Short: Why Bitcoin’s Taproot Upgrade Matters

The most important impact for the investing market overall: Its a reminder that Bitcoin is a technology. Plus: Whats next for dogecoin？　　You might have noticed some green squares floating around Twitter. Like the laser eyes, they are part of the insider signaling that creates a sense of cause and belonging. Unlike the laser eyes, they are not directly about the price – they signal support for the proposed Taproot upgrade for the Bitcoin network.　　Why is this important？ Its not just the benefits the upgrade brings, which are significant. Taproot is important because it reminds us of what Bitcoin is.　　The good stuff　　Before we dive into why this matters, lets look at some of the main benefits of the proposed upgrade:　　1.Increased privacy. This does not refer to Bitcoin addresses or enhanced anonymity; it refers to types of transactions. Taproot will make complex transactions, such as those requiring multiple signatures or those with delayed release, indistinguishable from simple transactions in terms of on-chain footprint.　　2.Lower fees. The data size of complex Bitcoin transactions will be reduced, which will lead to lower transaction costs.　　3.More flexibility. A new type of signature will enhance smart contract functionality in Bitcoin, making it easier and cheaper for users to

2021-05-10Deep Dive

Literally to the moon — SpaceX payload funded by DOGE plans to reach lunar orbit in 2022

“This mission will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce,” said SpaceXs Tom Ochinero.　　Canada-based manufacturing and logistics firm Geometric Energy Corporation will be launching a Dogecoin-funded payload on one of SpaceXs first rockets to the moon.　　In a Sunday announcement from Geometric Energy Corporation, the company said its commercial satellite could be traveling to the moon as early as the first quarter of 2022 aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Weighing 40 kilograms — roughly 88 pounds — the payload is designed to “obtain lunar-spatial intelligence from sensors and cameras on-board with integrated communications and computational systems.”　　“Having officially transacted with DOGE for a deal of this magnitude, Geometric Energy Corporation and SpaceX have solidified DOGE as a unit of account for lunar business in the space sector,” said Geometric Energy CEO Samuel Reid.　　Tom Ochinero, VP of Commercial Sales for SpaceX, added:　　“This mission will demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and set the foundation for interplanetary commerce.”　　Neither SpaceX nor Geometric Energy specified how Dogecoin (DOGE) was used to fund the endeavor. The cost may refer in part to the development of the payload or include the funding to send it to

2021-05-10Deep Dive

Our Future with High Public Debt

Many countries are experiencing a combination of high public debt and low-interest rates. This was already the case in advanced economies even prior to the pandemic but has become even starker in its aftermath. A growing number of emerging market and developing economies are likewise enjoying a period of negative real rates—the interest rate minus inflation—on government debt. The IMF has called on countries to spend as much as they can to protect the vulnerable and limit long-lasting damage to economies, stressing the need for spending to be well-targeted. This is especially critical in emerging market and developing economies, which face tighter constraints and associated fiscal risks, where greater prioritization of spending is of the essence.　　But what should eventually be done about the high levels of public debt in the aftermath of this crisis？ In an earlier paper we showed that, provided fiscal space remains ample, countries should not run larger budget surpluses to bring down the debt, but should instead allow growth to bring down debt-to-GDP ratios organically. More recently, the IMF has stressed the need to rethink fiscal anchors—rules and frameworks—to take account of historically low interest rates. Some have suggested that borrowing costs—even if they move up—will

2021-05-10Deep Dive

South Korea to Crack Down on Phishing Websites Attacking Crypto Users

South Korean authorities are intensifying their monitoring of phishing activity related to cryptocurrencies. The government has identified a record number of websites trying to obtain login details from crypto exchange users. Over 30 sites have been taken down in just three months this year.　　Seoul Strengthens Monitoring of Crypto Phishing Scams　　Rising market prices have led to an increased number of phishing attempts targeting investors and users of cryptocurrency in South Korea. The government in Seoul announced its strengthening its monitoring system to quickly detect such threats. It will also work closely with the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) to prevent fraud.　　The Korean Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology said its receiving an increasing number of reports of phishing attempts. Attacks are often conducted via text messages convincing crypto traders to enter their exchange usernames and passwords on fake websites. The perpetrators can then access their accounts and steal their holdings.　　The department has found and blocked 32 phishing websites only in the past three months, Yonhap News Agency reported. That compares to a total of 41 sites identified during the whole 2020. Fake web pages often have domain names that look similar to those of real platforms. One of them

2021-05-10Deep Dive

Joe Biden's Trillion-Dollar Stimulus Bill Pushes Miami Mayor to Buy Bitcoin

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has revealed that he bought bitcoin and ether right after the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill passed the Senate, heading to President Joe Biden‘s desk to be signed. He said bitcoin “is definitely going to go up … because I don’t think people are going to want to stay in dollar-denominated currencies.” Mayor Suarez is also working to make Miami a “crypto city.”　　Miamis Mayor Personally Bought Bitcoin　　Miami Mayor Francis Suarez revealed at the 2021 Ethereal Summit last week that he purchased bitcoin right after the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief stimulus package passed the Senate in March.　　In an interview with Decrypt Editor-in-Chief Dan Roberts and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Mayor Suarez was asked whether he had already purchased bitcoin since he indicated in February that he would soon be ready to buy some cryptocurrencies. The mayor confirmed:　　“I did buy, thankfully. I bought bitcoin and ethereum. I didn‘t buy DOGE, but I did buy bitcoin and ethereum, and I bought it literally the day — I’ll never forget the moment — it was the day that the $1.9 trillion spending bill passed the Senate and it was going to the presidents desk.”　　“I said I‘m buying. That’s it. If the

2021-05-10Deep Dive

Dogecoin Needs 3 Conditions Fulfilled to Move Beyond USD 1

The rallying dogecoin (DOGE) could grow to be a “true” payment token, and to be widely accepted by retailers - but for its price to grow, three relevant conditions need to be met, according to El Lee, the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Singapore-headquartered Onchain Custodian (ONC), a provider of institutional-grade digital asset custody services.　　This week, the price of DOGE doubled, almost reaching USD 0.7. From this level, it would need to jump by more than 40% to hit USD 1 - not an impossible task as it jumped 50% in one day earlier this week. Also this week, its market capitalization surpassed USD 80bn, making DOGE the fourth-largest cryptoasset by this measure. To compare, the third-largest cryptoasset, binance coin (BNB), almost reached USD 100bn this week, while BTC is still above USD 1trn.　　However, for the price to increase even further, the strong community and the legitimacy provided by celebrity endorsements are not enough. It has to “improve in all fields,” Lee told Cryptonews.com, listing three points that would “really drive up the price”:　　increasing the overall market capitalization of crypto asset as a space;　　general adoption and use cases: celebrities, brands, and major companies wanting to be associated

2021-05-10Deep Dive

Stablecoins present new dilemmas for regulators as mass adoption looms

Stablecoins present peculiar challenges to regulators. Although there is no single, agreed-upon definition of a stablecoin, the common denominator of the commonly used definitions is that stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value in relation to a specified currency, asset or pool of such currencies/assets. They are contrasted with regular cryptocurrencies, which have no such stability mechanism and whose values tend to fluctuate, sometimes even substantially.　　Stablecoins do not denote a uniform category but represent a variety of crypto instruments that can vary significantly in legal, technical, functional and economic terms. Despite its name, it is important to stress that this asset does not guarantee stability, which depends on the specific design features and governance mechanisms.　　Regulatory attention to stablecoins　　Stablecoins have been on the rise since 2014, when the first stablecoin, Tether (USDT), was launched, and even though they have become an important digital asset in the blockchain ecosystem within a few years, they have not attracted much regulatory attention. This abruptly changed with the announcement of the Libra project in June 2019 by the Libra Association, of which Facebook is one of the founding companies.　　Almost immediately, many financial authorities around the world — including the Financial Stability Board, European Central

2021-05-10Deep Dive

Why Ethereum ‘is uncapped in terms of how high it can go’

The evergreen Bitcoin vs Ethereum debate can never be concluded with a definite winner. While Bitcoin is ‘stuck’ with its store-of-value narrative, Ethereums value is derived from its applications.　　Drawing parallels with gold and silver, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, in a recent interview, stated that Bitcoin and Ethereum were independent. However, he went on record and said,“I think Ethereum has greater long term value [than Bitcoin]. Period. End of story because Ethereum has more utility than Bitcoin does.”　　Over the past few days, Bitcoin has remained sluggish, while Ethereum has registered new ATHs. Despite the bull run, driven by the likes of DOGE and ETH, BTC hasnt been able to up its pace. Underlining the same, he said,“One of the reasons Dogecoin has gone to do so well is because its easier to transact with, while the beauty of Ethereum lies in DeFi and NFTs.”　　He further added,“Right now Ethereum is the reigning champ, so I only think there‘s going to be more. It wouldn’t shock me if we‘re getting significant deflation, which is one of the reasons that it is syrocketing so much, and that’s why I think ETH is uncapped in terms of how high it can go.”　　Cuban went on to

2021-05-10Deep Dive

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