Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

NFTs: Trend is Cooling Off, Will it End Like ICOs in 2018?

Following the peak in May, the global Google searches for “NFT” have been gradually decreasing. With the numerous assumptions that the NFT market is in a bubble state and the comparisons with the ICOs from 2017/2018, the question arises if non-fungible tokens could be bursting soon.　　NFT Searches Drop Sharply　　What was 2020 for decentralized finance is 2021 so far for non-fungible tokens. Although NFTs were not invented this year, their popularity saw a massive boost in the past several months.　　In this same timeframe, everything became an NFT. From digital artworks, albums, rare collectibles to even historic tweets and announcements. The industry saw the entrance of countless celebrities all talking about cryptocurrencies and this new hot topic non-fungible tokens.　　Naturally, this craze expanded to retail investors who, in wondering how they can get on the NFT bandwagon, went to Google. CryptoPotato reported in early March that the worldwide “NFT” queries on the worlds largest search engine skyrocketed to new all-time high levels. They stood there for a few consecutive weeks.　　However, more recent data shows a trend reversal. The number of searches has decreased almost by half since the peak in March.　　Google Searches for NFT 12-m Back. Source: Google Trends　　Separately, the average price of

2021-04-27Deep Dive

University of Zurich Adds Cardano to their Blockchain Curriculum for 2021

The University of Zurich has announced that they are adding Cardano to their “Deep Dive into Blockchain 2021” curriculum.　　It will be taught to students studying in the UZH Blockchain Center modules and is being posited as a ‘blockchain platform for changemakers, innovators, and visionaries’ to ‘bring about positive global change.’　　Blockchain Education　　The course aims to teach students about several facets of blockchain technology: not just limited to their technical scope, but also critical design theory, the economics & incentives behind blockchain-based systems, and how such systems interact with existing infrastructure in the real world.　　The University of Zurich has brought in several talented guest lecturers to teach the course, including members of the Tezos Foundation and IOST. The CEO of Cardano will also be a guest lecturer on this course.　　Further Implications　　This move signifies how the blockchain spaces emerging technologies are quickly being adopted by forward-thinking educational institutions, as they see the long-term potential of giving students the relevant knowledge and expertise early on.　　There are already several major universities across the world that offer students blockchain courses, such as MIT, Cornell University, and Harvard University.　　This is also a great sign for the Cardano ecosystem as a whole, as it shows that institutions are

2021-04-27Deep Dive

Mercurial on crypto: Will India’s latest stance lead to positive regulation?

Indian officials are switching their stance on crypto, but the countrys regulatory environment may have additional bottlenecks in store.　　For most of the last decade, India‘s stance on cryptocurrencies has been uncertain, to say the least. The current soft ban is hurting the country’s potential every day, but recent reports suggest the country is having second thoughts.　　In March this year, a notification published by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs stated that companies dealing in cryptocurrencies would have to disclose their holdings to the government in financial statements. Crypto-holding companies will also have to disclose total profits and losses, as well as any deposits or advances received from other traders and investors.　　Just two weeks earlier, there was a report that cryptocurrencies were expected to be criminalized under an upcoming legislative bill, including their trading, mining, issuance and possession. So, why the sudden change of heart？ And does anyone really know whats going on？　　Uncertain on being uncertain　　The MCA notification couldn‘t have come at a more ambiguous time for cryptocurrencies in India. In the Reuters report, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the government was taking a balanced approach to regulation and not shutting down all options. The waning and waxing of stances

2021-04-27Deep Dive

Americans say cryptocurrencies have a ‘negative’ impact on their relationships

In a recent survey, 60% of US investors reported a decline in the quality of their personal relationships after being involved in the crypto sector, a report on Bloomberg pointed out Sunday.　　The findings were among the first of their kind, a nod to the adage of money not necessarily equating to happiness.　　Crypto leads to breakups…perhaps　　The study, performed by online survey tool SurveyMonkey on behalf of .Tech Domains, surveyed 1,000 Americans to delve into the demographics, long-term outlooks, and social standings of crypto traders and investors.　　One of the most interesting parts of the survey was the section on relationships and cryptocurrencies. It found over 60% of all investors found their sheer belief and interest in the cryptocurrency market to have rubbed off the wrong way among friends and family—they stated their involvement in the space was a “negative” impact.　　.Tech domains opinionated why the results were what they were. “With countless stories of people selling homes and businesses to invest in crypto and the sheer polarizing nature of the topic, perhaps its not surprising that so many crypto investors have experienced strain on their personal relationships,” wrote Tasmina Sayed, author of the report.　　Some experts agree with Sayed, however: “The stress on relationships

2021-04-27Deep Dive

Why Aave Is Bringing Yield Farming to Its DeFi Platform

In the “DeFi Summer” of 2020, Compound brought the heat by pulling out an old concept, liquidity mining. Its willingness to reward lenders and borrowers in its COMP governance tokens helped make it the biggest lender in all of Ethereum.　　Now, in an effort to keep pace, decentralized finance (DeFi) competitor Aave is trying out its own liquidity mining program. Starting today, the platform will pay its users in Staked Aave (stkAAVE) when they lend or borrow Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin, or stablecoins DAI, GUSD, USDC, and USDT. And were not talking about a few extra pennies.　　Decentralized finance is the blanket title given to blockchain-based protocols that remove financial intermediaries, making lending and borrowing possible without loan officers or credit checks.　　Liquidity mining, also known as “yield farming,” involves pooling your cryptocurrency into a fund so it can be lent out to others—not much different from a savings account or certificate of deposit (the latter of which pays more in exchange for an inability to move it). In exchange for providing the exchange or protocol with liquidity, it rewards you with another type of token.　　Aave users already earn staking rewards for staking (ie, locking up) Aaves native token as well as interest on

2021-04-27Deep Dive

Ripple XRP vs. US SEC: How It Started, Where It’s Going, And Why It Matters

Heres how it all started:　　About four months ago, the securities regulatory arm of the US sued Ripple Labs on the count of three charges:　　⮚ ‘Raising capital to the tune of $1.3 billion via a secret sale of large undocumented digital currencies to customers. This had gone on for over eight years.’　　⮚ ‘Allegedly issuing an undisclosed amount of XRP as a means of payment for services of labor and other promotional activities without due documentation.’　　⮚ ‘An additional private covert sale by the company’s founders, Bradley Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen, to the tune of $0.6 billion.　　Going by these allegations, Ripple may have ventured to bypass the US-SEC stipulated laws as enshrined in the 1933 Securities Act, which binds and bans all form public capital-raising transactions done on US soil without proper documentation and notification to the exchange platform. The SEC may well aim to set this as a precedent and serve as a deterrent to others.　　Whats the fate of the “Others”？　　While the others in the above context encompass all stakeholders and investors within the crypto market and its global ecosystem whose operations may likely be affected by whatever is the outcome of the case; the real ‘others’ in this case holds an

2021-04-27Deep Dive

Korea weighs delaying crypto taxation laws to appeal to young voters

South Korean officials are in talks to delay a crypto taxation law scheduled for later this year, as per a report by local daily Hankyung today.　　The country boasts one of the highest crypto trading volumes, recently even surpassed those of its stock market, with youngsters—plagued with a slow economy and high unemployment—said to turn to the crypto market to seek and make fortunes.　　No crypto, yes crypto　　Korea has, so far, been largely friendly to the cryptocurrency sector in terms of allowing businesses to operate and citizens to invest in the market without any repercussions. However, earlier this year, some officials proposed a 20% tax on crypto gains, a move that was met with controversy among local investors. But they could now have some relief.　　This morning, Yang Hyang-ja, a member of the National Assembly of South Korea, and Democratic Party lawmakers argued the need for a new tax system relevant to cryptocurrencies and “postpone” any proposed taxation for at least one year.　　“Koreas ruling party member suggests at least one year delay on taxation of cryptocurrency as she believes institutional adoption and understanding of cryptocurrency will take some time,” tweeted Doo Wan Nam, the Seoul-based business head of MakerDAO in Asia, in the

2021-04-27Deep Dive

CI Global Asset Management Launches World’s First Ethereum-Based Mutual Fund

CI Global Asset Management firm has launched the worlds first Etheruem based mutual fund called CI Ethereum Fund. Kurt MacAlpine, Chief Executive Officer of CI Financial said“CI Global Asset Management is the only company in the world offering convenient, low-cost and secure exposure to the two largest cryptocurrencies through both ETFs and mutual funds”　　The launch of Ethereum based mutual funds comes just a week after CI Global launched the world‘s first Ethereum ETF that invests directly in the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. The said fund is not available in the US and would be limited to North America itself.　　The new Ethereum mutual fund would offer an industry-best management fee of 0.40% that would be waived off completely until June 15. The new mutual fund would also invest in CI Galaxy Ethereum ETF.　　North America Becomes Breeding Ground For Crypto Investment Tools　　2021 has seen a great surge in cryptocurrency adoption across the globe especially North America which has seen a series of crypto investment tools in the form of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs and now the world‘s first Ethereum mutual fund. At the start of this year, North America saw the launch of the world’s first Bitcoin ETF from Purpose Group that became

2021-04-27Deep Dive

Why PayPal’s CEO Predicts Bitcoin Will Change The Financial System In The Next Decade

In an interview for TIME magazine, PayPals CEO Dan Schulman talked about the payment processor expansion of its crypto service. The executive expects a transformation of e-commerce into a personalized experience and “contextual” purchases driven by social media platforms. Bitcoin could spear point such a change and take it to the entire financial system.　　Schulman believes 2020 was a crucial year that accelerated “the trend of digital payments by as little as three years and maybe as much as five years”. Due to the pandemic Covid-19, many decided to use PayPal and similar platforms to make their everyday purchases.　　Data shared by Schulman claims that PayPal made 15.4 billion payments with an estimated value of $936 billion last year. This trend could be increased in 2021 to meet the demand of PayPals 300 million estimated users.　　Over the next 10 years, PayPals CEO believes cash as a form of payment could see a decline in usage. Its detriment will also affect credit cards and the universally utilize forms of payment, like credit cards, checks, and wire transfers. Digital payment can “add more value”, according to Schulman. Predicting a benefit for Bitcoin and digital currencies, he said:　　“And so when all of those things start

2021-04-27Deep Dive

5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week as greed and leverage get ‘flushed out’

Bitcoin (BTC) is keeping bulls and bears guessing as it opens a new weekly candle in the green, heading away from $50,000.　　After an uneventful but uninspiring weekend, BTC/USD has begun Monday by reclaiming $53,000 for the first time since April 22. What could lie in store？　　Cointelegraph takes a look at five factors that could shape BTC price action in the coming days.　　BTC/USD 1-week candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: Tradingview　　Stocks steady but dollar dives　　Stocks are once again cool this week as the macro picture presents a familiar mixture of hope and misery driven by the coronavirus.　　While Asian markets had an uneventful day on the whole, India‘s virus problems and Turkey’s financial woes were cause for concern.　　Separately, with the United States set to send tourists to the European Union this summer, fresh economic incentives for traders are beginning to take shape.　　With no overall direction, however, the impetus for Bitcoin to track a macro narrative is barely existent — and the days price movements are already proving it.　　“What does the future hodl？” Tesla and SpaceX “Technoking” Elon Musk summarized on Saturday in a tweet that will be poignant for many a market participant. Tesla, one of the big-name BTC investors, is due to report

2021-04-26Deep Dive

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