Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

BNY Mellon fund laments it should have bought Bitcoin, not gold

SEC filings show that Americas oldest bank has attributed the underperformance of its small-cap ETF to failing to buy MicroStrategy shares after the firm invested heavily in BTC.　　U.S.-based financial institution BNY Mellon, the worlds largest custodian bank and asset servicing company, states that the recent performance of one of its exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, was significantly impacted by its lack of exposure to companies investing in Bitcoin.　　The BNY Mellon Opportunistic Small Cap Fund (DSCVX) gained 35% from September 1, 2020, through February 28, 2021, underperforming its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Index — which produced roughly 41.7% over the same period.　　Filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission indicate the firm laments not purchasing shares in leading business intelligence firm MicroStrategy (MSTR) — which invested billions into Bitcoin last year, holdings that have since grown to more than $4.8 billion. The filings state:　　“Fund performance was hurt as well by a decision not to own MicroStrategy, whose stock surged when it announced it had invested in Bitcoin.”　　The document also notes that the funds position in gold mining company, Alamos Gold, “hampered performance as shares were hurt by weak gold prices.”　　According to ETF.com, 88 ETFs are currently exposed to MicroStrategy, including the sixth-strongest

2021-04-30Deep Dive

What China’s Blockchain Services Network Means for the World

China‘s government has made the development and use of blockchain technology a national priority. To understand the impact this will have on global trade, one only needs to look at the country’s embrace of open-market economic reforms to forecast what is about to happen.　　Once Chinas leadership decides something is a priority, it is only a matter of time until the impact reverberates across the globe. China opening its economy changed the balance of world trade and finance, and prioritizing blockchain technology will be another core factor catapulting Beijing ahead as a leading global superpower.　　What this means for Western nations is a shift in power to the Far East that is accelerated by the coordinated implementation of technology as the rails of that transfer.　　Digital revolution 3.0　　Just as the Internet allowed for information to progress from antiquated paper and physical delivery systems to digital form with immediate delivery, blockchain technology allows for assets to make the same leap from paper to digital.　　Assets, including money, are now represented digitally, with global instant settlement 24/7 on an immutable ledger. Wall Street is beginning to understand this Cambrian explosion of possibilities, as the total value of digital assets exceeds more than $2 trillion. A similar

2021-04-30Deep Dive

Strong on-chain metrics suggest further upside for Binance Coin (BNB)

Binance Coin (BNB) has strengthened its market capitalization to position itself as one of the worlds largest cryptocurrencies. Following a 100% rally since the beginning of the month, BNB now ranks number three, behind Bitcoin and Ethereum.　　The increasing demand for Binance Coin has been fueled by the success of Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Transaction volumes have surpassed those on the Ethereum blockchain, making speculators claim this protocol will become the worlds main settlement layer.　　According to block explorer and analytics platform BSCScan, the daily transactions on BSC surpassed the 9 million mark on April 21, representing a 25,700x year-to-date increase.　　BINANCE SMART CHAIN DAILY TRANSACTION BY BSCSCAN　　Meanwhile, large investors have been accumulating Binance Coin at an exponential rate. On-chain data shows a significant increase in addresses with millions of dollars in Binance Coin, colloquially known as “whales.”　　As the below image shows, roughly 28 new addresses holding 10,000 to 1,000,000 BNB have joined the network over the past three weeks, representing a 17% increase in that period. At current prices, these whales hold between $60 million and $600 million in BNB.　　BINANCE COIN SUPPLY DISTRIBUTION BY SANTIMENT　　Binance Coin shows potential　　The Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV), which measures the average profit or loss of

2021-04-30Deep Dive

Crypto Ecosystem Matures, But There Are Fewer New Entrants

The growth of business models outside crypto exchanges demonstrates the maturation of the crypto markets infrastructure, while a noticeable decline in pre-seed deals shows a lack of new entrepreneurial entrants to the cryptospace, according to Mike Novogratz-led crypto-focused financial services and investment management firm Galaxy Digital.　　Alex Thorn, the companys Head of Firmwide Research, said that until recently, the biggest share of the capital invested in the crypto ecosystem would end up in early-stage startups. However, in the first quarter of 2021, most venture funds were for the first time injected in later-stage startups.　　“We see a maturation of the startup ecosystem when we look at median deal size and valuation. Both metrics spiked noticeably in 1Q21 to [all time highs],” Thorn said, adding that the median pre-money valuations in the first quarter of this year were up 340% year-on-year compared with the first three months of 2020.　　The reported crypto industry valuations have exceeded those in the broader venture capital market, bringing forward an intensified competition among investors for most promising startups.　　“Investors find themselves jockeying for position as increased demand, relatively low deal count, and a maturing crypto startup ecosystem all contribute to a founder-friendly environment,” he said. “Crypto startups are maturing.

2021-04-30Deep Dive

Ethereum Will Be Next Big Focus of Large Institutions and Corporations: Weiss Crypto

The second biggest cryptocurrency has been doing exceptionally well this year, rising well higher than Bitcoin in percentage.　　Cryptocurrency department of the global analytics agency Weiss Ratings expects that large institutional investors and corporations will soon switch onto Ethereum from Bitcoin and begin to adopt it.　　Weiss Crypto believes in ETHs bright future　　On February 8, CME Group launched Ethereum futures for financial institutions, which was another trigger for ETH price growth after the rollout of ETH 2.0 zero phase in December.　　Weiss Crypto has made a reminder that after the launch of ETH futures on CME, open interest and daily volume have been seeing a stable surge.　　The agency expects that financial institutions and corporations will increase their interest in ETH in the near future and that they have likely started that new phase of Ethereum adoption.　　Image via Twitter　　Besides, Weiss Crypto has cited JP Morgan analysts who expect Ethereum to keep outperforming Bitcoin, agreeing with the banking giant on this, using it as an another argument to support their bet on institutions going deeper into ETH.　　JPMorgan has stated that #Ethereum is outperforming #Bitcoin and it expects that trend to continue. We definitely agree with JPM on this one- it further goes to show our

2021-04-30Deep Dive

Coinbase offers customers a way to purchase crypto using PayPal

Users of the exchange will be able to purchase up to $25,000 in crypto daily using PayPal.　　Coinbase users with PayPal accounts will now have another way to purchase crypto through the exchange.　　In an announcement from Coinbase today, the crypto exchange said it would be allowing its customers based in the U.S. to buy crypto using debit cards and bank accounts linked to their PayPal accounts. Coinbase said the move would let many users bypass automated clearing house and wire transfers — methods the exchange still offers — to fund crypto purchases.　　The integration will reportedly allow Coinbase users with PayPal accounts to “buy crypto instantly” without adding bank account information or credit card numbers directly to the exchange. Users will be able to purchase up to $25,000 in crypto daily using payment methods from PayPal.　　According to Coinbase, the new funding feature is currently only available to U.S. users. However, the exchange said it would be expanding to more countries “in the coming months.” As of the first quarter of 2021, Coinbase reported it had 6.1 million monthly active users, while PayPal recorded 377 million total users in 2020.　　Both Coinbase and PayPal have made significant inroads into the crypto space in the

2021-04-30Deep Dive

Why The Integration Of ADA By Simplex Is Of Paramount Importance To The Cardano Community

IOHK (Input Output Hong Kong) has teamed up with Israel-headquartered payment processing gateway Simplex to integrate Cardano (ADA). ADA joins the list of other digital currencies supported by Simplex in a bid to meet the rising interest and popularity of ADA.　　Cardano Becomes Latest Crypto To Use Simplexs Fiat On/Off Ramps　　Simplex, which is a Visa principal member, has incorporated Cardano. This means that convenient on-ramps and off-ramps are available for cardano users around the world. According to the announcement on Wednesday, ADA will be available for purchase across all Simplex partners, including cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets, custodial platforms, and brokers.　　Suffice to say, fiat-to-crypto on-ramps are very important for the success of any cryptocurrency. At this particular time when digital currencies are gaining traction across the globe, its vital for users, especially newbies, to be able to purchase their favorite cryptocurrency seamlessly and reliably.　　Thanks to this new tie-up, millions of crypto users can purchase ADA tokens with debit or credit cards, SWIFT transfers, SEPA, or Apple Pay. The financial institution cites Cardanos growing prominence and developer activity as some key motives behind the addition:　　“The renewed interest in Cardano is the product of a loyal social media following, a thriving community, and landmark achievements.

2021-04-30Deep Dive

Whales On a Buying Spree: Large Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple Addresses Keep Accumulating in April

Despite the highly volatile month of April so far, cryptocurrency whales have kept accumulating sizeable portions. On-chain data reveals that large BTC addresses have expanded their holdings by nearly 100,000 coins in several weeks. Similar developments are seen for Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) as well.　　BTC Whales Keep on Buying　　Although April has been historically a highly favorable month for bitcoin, this year, the situation is somewhat different. Consequently, it appears that some of the severe price dumps will prevent BTC from closing its seventh consecutive month in green.　　However, these volatile movements havent deterred bitcoin whales – meaning wallets containing at least 10,000 coins – from accumulating more portions of the underlying asset. Just the opposite reveals data from the analytics company – Santiment.　　The firm categorized these addresses as “uber large” and indicated that they “continue to get richer and accumulate as price range.” Ultimately, Santiment asserted that BTC whales had purchased roughly 90,000 bitcoins since April 5th.　　From a USD perspective, this considerable amount is close to $5 billion. As the graph below demonstrates, 60,000 coins went to those addresses after the all-time high marked on April 13th at $65,000. In other words, whales were significantly more active when the asset

2021-04-29Deep Dive

Polygon’s New $100M Fund Aims to Attract Next Million Defi Participants

As part of its ongoing efforts to make the decentralized finance ecosystem more accessible through infrastructure development, this layer2 scaling solution has introduced a $100 million fund designed to lower the barriers to entry for yield farming and lending.　　#Defiforall to Support Development Over Next 2-3 Years　　Decentralized finance (defi) has emerged as one of the most explosive blockchain developments over the past year as new products and services offer a new means for token holders to monetize their crypto holdings.　　The push has been so extreme that the total value locked (TVL) in defi protocols has crossed back above $60 billion, trending just shy of the record amount reached mere weeks ago. Yet, defi remains one of the most complex areas of the blockchain universe for newcomers as the steep learning curve and high capital requirements push more minor participants to the fringes.　　Enter Polygon, an Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development solution. Formerly known as Matic, Polygon intends to transform Ethereum into a multi-chain ecosystem, or internet of blockchains, through its novel ability to construct and connect Layer 2 chains and sidechains. Polygon already plays an instrumental role in defi thanks to its role as a sidechain launchpad for Aave and Curve.　　Now, Polygon

2021-04-29Deep Dive

Ripple Will Go Public After SEC Lawsuit: SBI CEO

During an earnings presentation call, Yoshitaka Kitao, the CEO of Japanese financial giant SBI Group, said that Ripple would go public, adding that co-founder Chris Larsen wants the company to move in such a direction:　　After the current lawsuit, Ripple will go public...Chris wants to do that.　　Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse claimed that his company would be “on the leading” side of the IPO boom back in Davos in January 2020:　　In the next 12 months, you‘ll see IPOs in the crypto/blockchain space. We’re not going to be the first and we‘re not going to be the last, but I expect us to be on the leading side… it’s a natural evolution for our company.　　These plans, however, have likely been shelved. While the shares of crypto exchange Coinbase are already trading on Nasdaq, Ripple is currently embroiled in a nasty legal fight with the SEC.　　SBI Group, Ripples largest outside shareholder, has long been a strong supporter of XRP, which is treated as a crypto asset in Japan. As reported by U.Today, its shareholders can receive the token as a benefit for the second consecutive year.　　Back in December, Kitao also opined that Ripple‘s legal predicament in the U.S. wouldn’t have any major impact on

2021-04-29Deep Dive

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