Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

German Regulator Refuses to Budge in Binance Stock Token Dispute

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), the German financial markets regulator, has turned down a plea from the crypto exchange giant Binance to remove warnings about stock or inventory tokens – coins meant to represent shares in American stock market-listed firms.　　BaFin last month posted warnings on its website about possible securities law violations connected with the tokens, claiming that such offerings must be accompanied by regulator-approved investment prospectus documentation.　　Binance must either succeed in changing BaFin‘s mind before next week’s deadline, delist the tokens – or face a fine. The exchange may have to fork out USD 6m or 3% of its latest annual revenue takings. It could also have to cover investors losses, BaFin warned.　　Per the Financial Times, sources familiar with the matter recounted that Binance had sought to convince BaFin that the regulator had “misunderstood” the nature of the offering and should thus remove the warnings. However, BaFi appears to be resolute on the matter, claiming that the lack of accompanying documentation constituted “a criminal offense.”　　Binance reportedly told BaFin that its stock tokens are “not securities,” as they are traded through a third-party broker, and thus may not be transferred to other customers or exchanges.　　However, the Financial Times quoted

2021-05-07Deep Dive

Deep tech: Why C-suite execs are pursuing blockchain

Blockchain is seen as a major area of interest among enterprises looking to invest in deep-tech solutions, a new report suggests.　　An industry-wide survey conducted by quantum computing firm Seeqc reveals that 67% of executive decision-makers fear falling behind competitors when it comes to emerging technologies. With this in mind, 57% of large enterprises are actively developing deep-tech solutions in order to solve specific business problems, and blockchain is among their top five areas of interest.　　“Deep tech” is an applied technology that aims to solve previously insurmountable problems using new scientific techniques.　　The report by Seeqc reveals machine learning and artificial intelligence to be the main areas of interest for firms pursuing deep-tech solutions, with 50% of respondents naming them their number one concern.　　The next most common deep-tech application prioritized by companies is 3D printing on a large scale (35%), followed by renewable energy solutions (34%) and quantum computing (34%).　　Some 32% of respondents highlighted blockchain and cryptocurrency as their main focus, ahead of drones and advanced robotics (29%), climate change mitigation (29%), satellites and space technology (25%), autonomous vehicles (23%), and neuromorphic computing (23%).　　When queried as to why they were pursuing deep-tech implementations, a majority of respondents said they had witnessed competitors

2021-05-07Deep Dive

Citi bank is considering launching crypto trading and custody services

Banking giant Citigroup is considering launching crypto trading, custody, and financing services.　　Itay Tuchman, Citis global head of foreign exchange, told the Financial Times in a report published Friday that the bank had seen a “very rapid” accumulation of interest in bitcoin from large clients since last August.　　“There are different options from our perspective and we are considering where we can best service clients. This is not going to be a prop-trading effort,” said Tuchman, referring to proprietary trading in which banks trade with their own money to make a profit.　　Citi, however, is in no rush to launch crypto services. Tuchman said the bank would jump in when it is confident it can build something that benefits clients and that regulators can support.　　“I dont have any FOMO [fear of missing out] because I believe that crypto is here to stay and that we are just at the very beginning of the market,” he said. “This isnt a space race. There is room for more than just one flag.”　　In March, Citi published a report saying that bitcoin could become “an international trade currency” as it evolves. “Perceptions about what makes bitcoin important continue to evolve and create new opportunities while increasing its

2021-05-07Deep Dive

Mastercard Survey Shows High Consumer Interest In Bitcoin

A recent survey by the electronic payment giant Mastercard indicates that 4 in 10 people (40%) intend to utilize digital currencies such as Bitcoin as a payment method within the next year. The figures involved in this finding spanned all ages and included residents from four regions – North America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.　　The survey, titled “Consumer Appetite for Digital Payments Takes Off”, was conducted through online interviews among more than 15,000 consumers from 18 different countries located in four regions worldwide.　　Initially forced by the pandemic lockdown, consumers shifted their payment methods to embrace innovations that enable contactless, fast, and flexible payment. Now, more than a year later, a survey from Mastercard reveals that consumer interest in new payment technologies is soaring, with an insatiable appetite for the emerging digital and crypto environment.　　According to the survey, 93% of people will try at least one of the emerging payment methods – cryptocurrency, QR code, biometrics – within the next year. Almost two-thirds of respondents (63%) admit they have used a new payment method they would not have utilized if not confronted by the pandemic.　　“The pandemic made us think differently, partly out of necessity,” said

2021-05-07Deep Dive

Consensus 2021: Rebuilding the Internet With Blockchain Broadcasting

Blockchain technology is a powerful tool for broadcasting and recording information, Red Dates Yifan He says.　　The names we have for blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) are entirely inappropriate. They describe ways to store data, which does not capture its function as a new way to transmit it. What makes blockchain so transformative is its data transmission protocol. It distributes data in a manner of “broadcasting,” as opposed to linear transmissions the vast majority of IT processes use.　　At this time, cryptocurrencies happen to be the simplest and by far the most common use case for blockchain tech, but I have my eyes set on a future where blockchain innovates the internet as we know it.　　Yifan He is founder and CEO of Red Date Tech, the architect firm behind Chinas Blockchain Service Network (BSN). He will be speaking at CoinDesks virtual event Consensus 2021, May 24-27.　　In the early days of the internet, transferring data between individual computers was a manual process, often involving tapes, floppy disks or CDs. The basic premise was to transfer data within seconds, and linking all computers, everywhere, is what makes the “World Wide Web.”　　Weve all seen the changes this data transmission technology has brought to the

2021-05-07Deep Dive

Dogecoin Demand Crashes India’s Largest Crypto Exchange

Indias largest crypto exchange by trading volume, WazirX, has been struggling to meet the skyrocketing demand for Dogecoin.　　Global DOGE trading volumes tripled between May 3 and 5 to over $42 billion. According to WazirX Founder and CEO Nischal Shetty, this caused the exchanges systems to crash because the surging volumes were wrongly perceived as a cyberattack;　　“On May 4, one of our systems—on detecting high traffic—wrongly marked it as bad traffic and started blocking the requests,” he said. “It was good traffic, and this error caused our users to have intermittent access to the app.”　　WazirXs issues　　Shetty remarked that the Dogecoin surge even “caused an almost decade-old company like Robinhood to go down.” He added that his company is only three years old, but that no other crypto exchange in India has seen that amount of traffic.　　Since January, the company has grown over 300%. “We‘re seeing a new all-time-high everyday in terms of trading volumes, active users, and traffic on WazirX,” Shetty exclaimed. However, as the company grows, WazirX has found it challenging to keep up with the growing demand. Dogecoin aside, this isn’t the first time the exchange has had issues.　　Many complaints have surfaced on crypto user chat groups on Telegram

2021-05-07Deep Dive

Coinbase Transparency Report Shows U.s. Leads Way in Bitcoin User Data Monitoring

Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has released its latest “transparency report,” providing data on customer information requests it received from government and law enforcement agencies between July 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.　　Among the insights into who requested user information from Coinbase, its clear that the U.S. remains the most interested in tracking the activity of bitcoin traders. While Coinbase facilitates the trading of many cryptocurrencies, bitcoin makes up more than 12% and $1 billion of its volume.　　“There were a total of ~4,227 requests in 2020, 54% of those requests made during the time period covered by this report,” according to a Coinbase blog post sharing the insights. “The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) comprise the majority of U.S. law enforcement information requests at ~50.9%. ~51% of total requests during this period came from U.S. agencies.”　　U.S. law enforcement agencies made some 1,197 requests for user information, while the U.K. made the next most law enforcement requests of any country at 597, according to the post. The U.S., U.K. and Germany made about 90% of all requests in this time period.　　In addition to the FBI and HSI, Coinbase received information requests from the IRS, U.S. Department of

2021-05-07Deep Dive

Cardano Sentiment: Post African Renaissance

Competition in cryptocurrencies and digital assets makes investors search for new markets.　　Africa becomes the next destination for blockchain technology investors.　　Cardano leads the renaissance with huge investments in Ethiopia.　　These investments will lead to an all-around increase in market capitalization.　　Decentralized finance (DeFi) is going global with more blockchains tech solutions expanding to reach new markets. The possibilities on the blockchain are endless and have the potential to solve problems that have been present in several regions of the world for a long time.　　Africa is set to benefit from these blockchain companies as they are now venturing into the continent to undertake some charitable projects. Cardano leads the pack as its developers IOHK have already laid a clear path and vision on the plans it has for the continent.　　Cardanos Push into Africa　　Many technology company giants like Microsoft and Twitter are pouring into Africa because of the gains of such investment. Africa is described as the next investment destination for several reasons.　　Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology isn‘t lagging as IOHK and other Blockchain giants have released their blueprints for African inclusive investment. Input Output, the company behind Cardano is working towards a decentralized Africa in what it tags as ’Ethiopia: The biggest blockchain deal.　　The company

2021-05-07Deep Dive

Survey: 1 in 4 Americans consider Dogecoin the ‘new Bitcoin’

A recent survey by gaming entertainment site Gamblers Pick found that 25% of American individuals consider meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE) to be the ‘next Bitcoin.’　　You can probably blame the general lack of crypto education and the rise of TikTok as an investment tool for such judgment, but that hasnt stopped 1 in 4 people participating in the survey (a total of 1,000 individuals were surveyed) from saying that Dogecoin was their investment pick for this year.　　The study itself was deemed to have a 3% margin of error on a 95% confidence interval. 5.9% of respondents were Gen Zers, 60.8% millennials, 22.6% Gen Xers, and 10.7% baby boomers.　　Doge today, Doge tomorrow　　For the uninitiated, Dogecoin was created as a joke in 2013 by Jackson Palmer, who wanted to make a payment system that was instant, fun, and free from traditional banking fees.　　The network was a block time of 1 minute, meaning over 10,000 DOGE ($6,000 as of today) are produced and rewarded to miners each minute. Palmer himself stepped back from the project (and the crypto space) in 2015, and sporadic development continues to occur on the cryptocurrency.　　But the lack of development hasnt stopped people from piling in on the approachable crypto.

2021-05-07Deep Dive

Square Reports Record-Breaking Revenue, Driven by Bitcoin Purchases

The electronic payments fintech Square Inc. proved with numbers that Bitcoin is good for business, and its financial results are the best evidence.　　Square Inc.s quarterly sales more than tripled, thanks mainly to the recent interest in cryptocurrencies by the general public.　　Bitcoin Means Business　　In a letter to its shareholders published this week, Square Inc. revealed that in the first quarter of 2021, it achieved a gross profit of $964 million, representing a 79% increase year over year. The company also reported that sales processing revenues totaled $468 million, up 32% year over year and that Cash App generated a gross profit of $495 million, which was 171% more year over year.　　Square Financial Results. Image: Square　　The company revealed that much of its revenue is due to the growing attractiveness – and price – of Bitcoin:　　In the first quarter of 2021, total net revenue was $5.06 billion, up 266% year over year, and, excluding bitcoin revenue, total net revenue was $1.55 billion, up 44% year over year.　　The financial results show that Squares bet was successful, and the risk taken was worth it, considering that it managed to generate in one year what would be expected for 3 continuous years of activity.　　Squares Bitcoin gross

2021-05-07Deep Dive

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