Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Venmo, PayPal, Cash App: Who Is Next To Support Bitcoin, Crypto

Toward the ending of 2020, financial experts predicted that the adoption of cryptocurrencies by the mainstream would evolve, evidenced by the surge in price and acceptance of Bitcoin as an inflation hedge.　　Since the start of the year, fintech companies such as PayPal, Square, Mastercard, Visa, and others have shown exposure to cryptocurrencies. The latest to join those ranks is Venmo.　　A Sudden Mad Dash To Support Crypto　　Strategic Crypto-related investments and initiatives by these firms have created a growing widespread acceptance among users who would have found it difficult to invest in cryptocurrencies.　　After adding crypto features on their respective apps, Square and PayPal have allowed crypto trading on their mobile apps. Cash App started trading Bitcoin in 2017. It is on track to realize over $100 million of annualized gross profit from only Bitcoin trading. Although this is less than 5% of Cash App gross profit annually, its an important step in the mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies.　　In October 2020, PayPal added similar features to its payment platform allowing its users to trade, buy, and hold. The company launched crypto functionality for its 29 million merchants starting from the US in the late first quarter of the year.　　Also, Venmo, a company under PayPal

2021-04-21Deep Dive

Biden Administration Drafting Bitcoin Regulation, Why It Could Be Approved Soon

Fox News correspondent Charles Gasparino claimed via his Twitter handle that Joe Bidens administration is currently working on a “regulatory approach” to Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and the crypto industry in general.　　Citing Wall Street executives close to the Biden administration, Gasparino clarified that the new regulations are in an early stage. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo will apparently have a major role in the crypto regulatory framework to be headed by Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen.　　As reported by Bitcoinist, on many occasions Yellen has issued negative comments on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies due to their alleged primary use for “illegal activities”. Data from analytics firm Chainalysis offers a different perspective and concludes that less than 1% of BTC transactions can be attributed to “criminal use”.　　Gensler Effect On Bitcoin New Regulation　　The Fox News correspondent highlighted the role of recently appointed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, Gary Gensler. Swear in office last Saturday, Gensler is apparently awaiting instructions from the office of the Treasury on the general policy to be implemented with a new regulatory framework.　　The Biden administration could be under a lot of pressure to approve a new regulation for the crypto market. The SEC alone has over 9 Bitcoin ETF petitions

2021-04-21Deep Dive

Cardano vs. Polkadot vs. Ethereum, Which Project Will Emerge The Winner?

2021 will prove a pivotal year for Cardano, Polkadot, and Ethereum. While each has its merits, competition between the trio starts to heat up as we head into mid-year.　　Alonzo is on track for an August release, bringing smart contracts to Cardano. Polkadot is racing to finish parachain rollouts to enable on-chain governance. At the same time, Ethereum is working on Proof-of-Stake, with its proposed sharding scaling solution scheduled to arrive sometime next year. But which project has the mass-market appeal to come out in top？　　Is it a Zero-Sum Game？　　Cryptocurrency is a fickle affair. A look back at the top ten from December 2013 shows a list of predominantly unfamiliar tokens. In eight years, seven out of the ten have dropped into obscurity, substantiating the statement that most cryptocurrencies, even top ten heavy hitters, will fade away over time.　　Source: coinmarketcap.com　　When it comes to which smart contract platform will get to stick around, IOG CEO Charles Hoskinson remains philosophical, saying, who knows？ He added that this is a question for the market to decide. And in any case, it isnt necessarily a zero-sum game.　　Having said that, he prefers to broach the topic from a different angle. Instead of looking at which platform

2021-04-21Deep Dive

When Will The SEC Vs. Ripple Lawsuit End?

Cryptocurrencies were created to facilitate faster payments between users and establish a network that is not dependent on a centralized entity. Although decentralization is the foundational pillar of cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology has become utilized in financial markets to enable quicker and easier payments.　　Despite its centralized nature, Ripple has previously divided the crypto community. However, with the ongoing US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit, XRP holders and blockchain devotees have created a front against harsh regulatory measures.　　XRP, the native token of Ripple Labs, facilitates faster and more economical transfers between institutions. At the end of 2020, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs, accusing the company and its co-founders of failing to register their native XRP token as a security.　　Bullish Momentum On XRP　　The case between Ripple Labs and the SEC continues to make headlines four months after the regulator initiated the lawsuit at the end of 2020. Despite the ongoing legal action and MoneyGram, Ripples leading partner, halting their collaboration due to the lawsuit, the price of XRP generated incredible gains in the past month.　　Ripple moved by nearly 300% in April, reaching a new all-time high. The cryptocurrency has catapulted into the top five coins by market cap once

2021-04-21Deep Dive

Consumers Will Shape the Future of Stablecoins, Here’s How

IN BRIEF　　Stablecoins have expanded significantly arriving in 2014.　　In the future, there could be even more from personal coins to legal tender.　　Consumer choice will drive this stablecoin development.　　Stablecoins exploded onto the scene in 2014. As stablecoins develop, there is one factor beind their growth we have not yet explored: consumer choice.　　The rise of these coins began with BitUSD (BITUSD) and Tether (USDT). Then it continued to grow with USDC, Dai (DAI), and others.　　We have discussed the best backing for stablecoins (commodity, fiat, crypto, algorithmic, basket), types of stablecoins (retail and wholesale), and the legal status of stablecoins (current money or payment mechanism).　　The idea of consumer choice underlies stablecoin development to date, but it has not received the attention it deserves. Especially since it will drive the expansion of the stablecoin universe.　　Consumer choice is not new　　Consumer preference in the development of money is not a new idea.　　In the early 1800s, a United States consumer could choose which private banknote they wanted to use based on their preferences.　　They could use money issued by a big, distant bank because of its security and widespread acceptance of its notes. However, they could also use the notes issued by their local bank because they wanted to

2021-04-21Deep Dive

Ripple May Put Competitive Pressure on Traditional Banking System, India Fears

Ernst & Young has created a report for Competition Commission of India (CCI) about the blockchain technology, describing its weak and strong points and its potential for adoption in various spheres.　　It mentions Ripple as a potential competitor to the traditional banking system globally.　　Ripple solutions to compete with the conventional banking system: Ernst & Young　　The report points out that blockchain (DLT) is a technology that promises potential benefits in many spheres, such as healthcare, insurance, government, BFSI, HR management, etc.　　However, the report states that once blockchain is integrated DLT-based solutions will start competing with those that provide similar services but not DLT-based. This competition has already started in the sphere of cross-border payments.　　Such payments made on blockchain platforms are faster, cheaper and do not require prefunding. As a particular example, the report mentions the San-Francisco-based Ripple blockchain behemoth that uses XRP for providing remittances and cross-border payments.　　“An example could be the market for providing cross-border payments where traditional banks may have to compete with solutions such as Ripple, which is a blockchain concept-based tool that enables users to make cross-border payments in various currencies.”　　The authors of the report particularly emphasize:　　“Ripple may put competitive pressure on the traditional banking system given that

2021-04-20Deep Dive

WSJ: Confusion by SEC Creates ‘Danger’ for Investors

The Wall Street Journal editorial board criticized the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for causing “confusion” in its lawsuit with Ripple Labs. They said the regulators approach was “creating danger for currency developers and retail investors.”　　The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) highlighted that cryptocurrencies were “a new force in financial markets.” They singled out the listing of Coinbase on the Nasdaq as a primary indicator of this trend. However, the WSJ criticized the SEC in their approach to regulating cryptocurrencies, citing their ongoing lawsuit with Ripple Labs.　　SEC & XRP　　In December 2020, the SEC officially charged Ripple Labs and two of its executives with selling unregistered securities. The regulator claimed that Christian Larsen and Brad Garlinghouse profited off the sale of Ripple native token XRP. Regulators claimed that XRP qualified as a security because its developers promoted it and profited from it.　　However, the tide may be turning in favor of Ripple Labs. In a recent ruling, Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn said that XRP had value as a utility and a currency. From her perspective, this distinguishes XRP from being a security. Additionally, Ripple Labs request to reject SEC subpoenas requesting personal documents of the Ripple executives was successful.　　In turn, Judge Netburn

2021-04-20Deep Dive

Crypto payments banned in Turkey — Is this just the beginning?

Buying something with Bitcoin (BTC) in Turkey will soon be illegal, and the topic of crypto payments has become a political debate since the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkeys April 16 announcement that it will forbid the use of cryptocurrency as a payment method. The regulation, which will go into effect on April 30, also bans the use of digital wallet providers as fiat on-ramps for crypto exchanges.　　Cointelegraph Turkey reached out to local blockchain and crypto industry participants for commentary. Ahmet Usta, chief editor of Blockchain Turkey Platform and co-author of Blockchain 101, described Turkeys first crypto regulation as a “how-not-to-do” rather than a “how-to.” He told Cointelegraph Turkey that the central bank will prohibit two uses:　　“The first one is to use crypto to pay for anything. The second one is specifically for payments providers and e-money companies. It prohibits providing crypto-asset trading, storage, transfer and export services and fund transfers made on these platforms.”　　The negative tone of the announcement damages Turkeys international reputation and reliability, Usta added, explaining: “The positive takeaway of the announcement is the definition of crypto assets within a legal framework for the first time.” Crypto assets are now treated as “intangible assets that

2021-04-20Deep Dive

70% of Central Banks Are Nowhere Near Launching CBDCs: PwC Report

Despite the massive interest from central banks for CBDCs, nearly 70% of the projects are running only pilot programs and are far away from an actual launch.　　The Bahamas and Cambodia are the leading countries in a ranking listed by PwC while the biggest economy in Asia – China lines up third.　　CBDCs Are Not Here Yet　　Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have been a hot topic in the past few years. A paper released by the Bank of International Settlements last year informed that at least 80% of such organizations were working on launching a digital version of their respective fiat currency.　　However, it turns out that the majority are still far away from releasing an end-product. A recent PwC report cited by Bloomberg showed that 70% are in pilot stages only.　　On the other hand, roughly 23% of retail projects have reached the implementation stage.　　According to the research, more than 88% of CBDC projects at the pilot or production phase use blockchain as the underlying technology. This is because it allows for secure transfer of ownership, transparent audit trails, and increasing interoperability with different digital assets.　　PwC further asserted that interbank or wholesale applications are more common for advanced economies while retail projects are

2021-04-20Deep Dive

Goldman Sachs Adds Bitcoin to its Year-to-Date Returns Report

Goldman Sachs, one of the biggest US banks and former bitcoin critique, has added the primary cryptocurrency to its year-to-date asset returns report. Interestingly, BTC occupies the first spot with over 100% early returns as the next assets are far behind.　　Goldman Sachs Adds BTC to Returns Report　　Founded in 1869 in New York, Goldman Sachs is a large multinational investment bank, which had a negative stance on the cryptocurrency industry for the majority of the last few years.　　However, the bank has apparently started to change its mind, on bitcoin in particular, and the latest evidence came from its Global Investment Research department.　　As seen in the above graph, the giant investment bank has included the cryptocurrency in its year-to-date absolute and risk-adjusted returns. Bitcoin leads in both.　　The first part shows BTC‘s total yearly returns, which, despite yesterday’s market crash, are still above 100%. Crude Oil is next with 31%, while the S&P and Nasdaq 100 are with 12% and 9%, respectively.　　When it comes down to the risk-adjusted return, meaning the raw profit taking into account the degree of risk the asset contains, BTC leads again with 2.5, followed by Russel 1000 Value.　　 Why Is This News Big？　　As briefly mentioned above, Goldman was

2021-04-20Deep Dive

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