Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Battling the data monopoly and fighting censorship with ArGo’s Permaweb

As the world spends more time than ever before online, many of us are becoming increasingly aware of just how little control we actually have over our data and the content we release on the internet. A heavily monopolized oligarchy of industry giants now control the majority of the worlds data and Amazon AWS, Google and Facebook process near innumerable amounts of user data each day; this presents worrisome issues when it comes to privacy and safety, with various incidents highlighting the dangers of centralized data storage on such a massive scale.　　As blockchain technology disrupts almost every corner of industry, the opportunity to create a fairer and truly free internet is now becoming a reality. With the introduction of the Permaweb, a decentralized, uncensored and permanent platform built on the popular storage protocol Arweave, ArGo looks to combat the data monopoly with the power of blockchain technology.　　Fighting back against censorship in the age of Web 3.0　　Not only is security a worry for internet users today, but censorship is also becoming increasingly prevalent on popular platforms that we use regularly. The advent of Web 2.0 saw us begin to communicate through centralized services such as Facebook and, as social media in

2021-04-29Deep Dive

5 Ways Visa Wants to Work with Crypto and CBDCs

The Visa CEO Al Kelly has outlined five different opportunities his company sees for payments firms in the “crypto and bitcoin (BTC)” space – as well as the world of stablecoins and central bank-issued tokens.　　In a Q2 2021 results earnings call, Kelly once again reaffirmed his and Visas position that tokens such as BTC are “digital gold,” while “digital currencies,” namely central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins that are “directly backed by existing fiat currencies,” are “definitely emerging as a payment option.”　　He claimed that “theyre running on public blockchain [networks],” which he added were “really, in essence, an additional network much like a real-time payments [system] or an Automated Clearing House might be.”　　Here are the “five opportunities” Visa claims it has identified.　　 Allowing users to buy crypto　　Visa wants to make it easier for end-users to buy BTC and altcoins with its cards. Kelly said Visa was also “working hard with wallets and exchanges” to “make sure were facilitating acceptance of peoples ability to use their Visa cards to buy” crypto. This could involve incentivizing the use of Visa cards for crypto purchases on certain platforms.　　 Creating new fiat off-ramps　　Visa wants to help people to spend their crypto – using

2021-04-29Deep Dive

AMD Claims ‘Negligible’ Crypto Impact on Revenue Increase

Computer processor producer AMD claims cryptocurrencies impact on its bottom line has been “negligible.”　　The company reported that it had earned a revenue of $3.45 billion in the first quarter of 2021. This is a 93% increase of its first quarter revenue last year. The astronomical rise should come as no surprise in light of the increasing demand for hardware.　　Inevitably, someone asked how much of that revenue came from cryptocurrency mining operations. Despite the confidence in her companys results up to this point, CEO Lisa Su seemed to struggle answering the question. Su hesitated with her response, saying, “we do not — we have negligible crypto in here.”　　 Bad timing for gamers　　As it turns out, AMD is apparently unaware how much cryptocurrency mining has affected its earnings. The company does not seem to discriminate whom it sells its GPUs to, whether actually to gamers or cryptocurrency miners. This lack of a distinction likely gives them little idea of the proportionality of their sales.　　The surge in cryptocurrencies, and the accompanying profits from mining, have come at an inopportune time for the gaming industry. Computer processor producers had already been struggling with supply shortages to meet the increasing demand for GPUs. The supply-chain

2021-04-29Deep Dive

Young Koreans hooked on Bitcoin trading sparks “crypto addiction” fears

An article today from the leading South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo detailed the phenomenon of obsessive Bitcoin tracking and mentioned the impact of price fixation on the lives of young Koreans, even to the point of interfering with their work commitments.　　Psychological experts warn that compulsive price tracking may be part of a wider problem with cryptocurrency addiction, which shares similarities with gambling addiction. Is now the time for crypto holders to check themselves？　　Bitcoin mania is impacting the jobs market　　Since the start of Q4 2020 to its all-time high, the price of Bitcoin has increased by over 500%. When it comes to top-performing alts such as Dogecoin, Polygon, and VeChain, the percentage gains are magnitudes greater.　　The lure of easy and fast money is a distraction for most. So much so, that even employers in South Korea are beginning to notice the effects. Not only do they complain about distractions over price obsession during work hours, but some even report that workers are quitting jobs to become full-time traders.　　Han Jung-soo is one such former worker. He quit his credit card company job last month off the back of making ₩3 billion ($2.7 million) from cryptocurrency investing. He said crypto provides a better

2021-04-29Deep Dive

Retail CBDC Projects More Advanced in Emerging Economies

Retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are more advanced in emerging economies, according to the Global CBDC Index 2021 from global consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).　　With its inaugural report, PwC sought to assess the level of maturity central banks have achieved in deploying digital currencies. It provides a synthetic index, based on central banks progress, perspectives on CBDC development, as well as public interest.　　The report distinguishes between two types of CBDCs. First, there are retail CBDCs, which citizens and businesses can hold and use as a form of digital cash. Then, there are wholesale CBDCs which would generally be restricted to financial institutions. These institutions would primarily use them for interbank payments and financial settlement processes.　　Appraising the two approaches, the report highlighted that retail CBDCs already have two live projects in the Bahamas and Cambodia. The report says the digital yuan project in Mainland China is merely at an advanced level of trialing.　　On the other hand, no wholesale CBDC projects have reached maturity so far. However, nearly 70% of declared wholesale projects have started running pilots. Meanwhile, only 23% of retail projects have reached this implementation stage.　　 Retail CBDC projects are at a more advanced stage　　Despite the smaller proportion, retail CBDC

2021-04-29Deep Dive

JPMorgan Joins Hands With Singapore’s DBS and Temasek for Blockchain-based Payments Platform

Wall Street banking giant JPMorgan is looking to overhaul the blockchain-based foreign exchange and trade settlement for cross-border payments. In collaboration with Singapores Temasek Holdings and DBS Group, JPMorgan has announced the launch of a new company Partior while leveraging blockchain technology and digitizing the M1 commercial bank money.　　In a statement on Wednesday, April 28, JPMorgan said that the new company aims at reducing friction and latency “for cross-border payments, trade and currency settlements,” reported Bloomberg. Partior will develop wholesale payment rails using digitized commercial bank money. Besides, it will also enable “atomic” or instantaneous payment settlements for different kinds of financial transactions.　　This will drastically improve the transaction bandwidth and will help overcome the challenges with the existing standard sequential method of processing global payments. Partiors multi-currency clearing and settlement solution will facilitate 24/7 instant settlement. Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said:　　“The launch of Partior is a global watershed moment for digital currencies, marking a move from pilots and experimentations toward commercialization and live adoption”.　　Starting the Pilot Tests From Singapore　　The Partior blockchain platform from JPMorgan will initially focus on testing payments among Singapore-based banks. The bank will initially facilitate only two currencies – USD

2021-04-29Deep Dive

‘Ether Should Outperform Bitcoin Over the Long Run,’ Says JPMorgan

Ether (ETH) has ascended to the apex of cryptocurrency in the last couple of weeks, taking the top spot from bitcoin (BTC).　　As of this writing, ether has grown 40.23% so far since April 1 to a new all-time high of $2,700. In the same period, bitcoin has experienced a drop off of 7.39% from $58,772 on April 1 to $54,428, this morning.　　Difference between ether and bitcoin　　JPMorgan points out the difference between ether and bitcoin as it pertains to this study. Bitcoin is much more a commodity than a currency at this juncture, competing with gold as a store of value. On the flipside, ethereum is “the backbone of the cryptocurrency economy and serves as an exchange medium.” JPMorgan commented:　　“To the extent owning a share of this [ethers] potential activity is more valuable, the theory goes, ether should outperform bitcoin over the long run.”　　They go on to say, “As a consequence, a higher proportion of ether tokens behave as if highly liquid than bitcoin, 11% versus 4% by some estimates over the past month.” In a market with significantly higher spot turnover, it is plausible that the underlying base of long exposure is less reliant on leverage in the form of

2021-04-29Deep Dive

Why VISA Thinks Bitcoin Has Potential In Cross-Border Transactions

Payments giant Visa has been expanding its involvement with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Per their Q2, 2021, Earnings Call, the company has a long roadmap and many plans to integrate these assets into its payment network.　　Al Kelly, Chairman, and CEO at Visa talked about the “opportunities” the company is and would like to explore with BTC and digital assets. Kelly said he views this cryptocurrency as a “digital gold” due to the fact that people “hold” on to it.　　In the crypto industry, Visa will focus on 5 areas. The first is to allow consumers to purchase Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The executive said Visa is working with exchange platforms and wallets to enable this feature. Kelly added:　　I would say that this is a space that we are leaning into in a very, very big way and I think are extremely well-positioned.　　Later, the payments giant is working on allowing customers to use a crypto cash-outs service. Thus, Visas network can convert funds in BTC or other cryptocurrencies into fiat. The converted funds will be available to make purchases at the 70 million Visa merchants. Kelly believes this will give “immediate utility to the digital currency”. He added:　　We‘ve got over 35 digital-currency platforms

2021-04-29Deep Dive

‘Bitcoin is not a hedge against anything,’ concludes ‘Black Swan’ author Nassim Taleb

Bitcoin (BTC) is not “a hedge against anything,” concluded “Black Swan” author and risk analyst Nassim Nicholas Taleb after inviting his 727,000 Twitter followers to debate on whether there is any correlation between BTC and inflation.　　“CONCLUSION: not a single reasonable argument that #BTC is a hedge against inflation, or, as a matter of fact, a hedge ag. Anything,” Taleb tweeted yesterday, adding that “I hate the Fed, THEREFORE Bitcoin” is the “most common fallacy.”　　As CryptoSlate reported, Taleb recently criticized Bitcoin in an interview with CNBC, arguing that “theres absolutely no reason it should be linked to anything economic” and that BTC “has characteristics of an open Ponzi scheme.”　　“[Bitcoin] has characteristics of an open Ponzi, everybody knows it‘s a Ponzi,” Taleb said. “Basically, there’s no connection between inflation and Bitcoin. None. I mean, you can have hyperinflation and Bitcoin going to zero. Theres no link between them.”　　Public opinion　　To further drive this point home, Taleb later appealed to his Twitter followers, asking them to explain how Bitcoin can be a hedge against inflation.　　“I am still trying to get an answer on how #BTC can be a hedge against inflation since it went up 1000% over a period when inflation was 1-3%？ Also,

2021-04-29Deep Dive

3 Reasons Facebook Should Buy and Hold Bitcoin

Yesterday, one of the top subjects of conversation on Bitcoin Twitter was initiated when investor Alistair Milne claimed there is a rumor that Facebook will announce they hold bitcoin (BTC) on their books on Wednesday. There is a long history of false rumors and reports when it comes to huge announcements that could affect the bitcoin price, which may be why the cryptoasset didnt move much after Milne shared the rumor on social media.　　While there isnt much point to speculating about whether the rumor is true or not, there is certainly value in pointing out the various reasons as to why it would make sense for Facebook to make this move.　　Specifically, there are three key reasons Facebook should be considering an allocation to bitcoin: it may help them with their reputation issues around user data and privacy, integrating bitcoin into Facebook makes more sense than their Diem project, and theyre bound to earn a return by purchasing bitcoin and then giving the asset their own stamp of approval by publicly disclosing the purchase.　　1. Facebook has a reputation issue　　According to Statista, Facebook is the most widely-used social media application in the world, but there is a certain segment of the population

2021-04-29Deep Dive

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