Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

What will be the key to Coinbase’s ‘pricing power’ in the future?

Post the Coinbase listing, most of the community‘s eyeballs in the financial sector are now on Coinbase’s revenue streams. In fact, the company has witnessed a surge in retail users lately and most of its revenue, for now, is being generated through trade commissions.　　The same was touched upon in a recent podcast by Gil Luria, Director of Research at D.A. Davidson. According to Luria, however, these numbers are merely a function of volatility. He added,　　“Their results will be much more volatile than other companies, but as long as they grow with the crypto economy, they‘ll grow a lot over time, and that’s what is getting people excited.”　　Shedding light on how the surge in the number of active monthly and verified users isnt a great metric to be used to see where Coinbase stands, he said,　　“I‘m not sure if that’s a great metric because it doesnt capture that interplay between retail and institutional participants. Retail is paying a far higher take rate than institutional, and that matters to me a lot more than the number of active traders.”　　According to the exec, it would be best to check out the mix of trading volumes between retail and institutional players and how the

2021-04-25Deep Dive

NFTs and US taxes: What you should know

Seems like we now all have stories starting with, “What I did during the pandemic...” Most begin with cleaning out the closet and, hey, guess what？ That‘s where my story starts, but I bet you can’t guess where it ends!　　Let‘s start with what I found in that closet: family photos before the days of digital. I know — memories of boring trips with the kids and people who I either owe money to or who don’t talk to me anymore!　　And all of these are nicely arranged in photo albums. You know, photo albums. Big, bulky books with strange plastic adhesive and picture protection sheets that, in reality, ruin every picture, as the pictures can never be easily removed without using a blowtorch.　　So, even though I am a senior citizen, I came up with a techie solution. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I started taking smartphone pictures of the photos in the album, realizing that by converting these into digital bits, I would be preserving them for posterity… or at least giving myself an opportunity to put a compromising photo of someone on Facebook. (Now you know why some people dont talk to me anymore!)　　So proud I was of this great idea

2021-04-25Deep Dive

NFT trading cards: A new way to own collectibles or an asset bubble?

Unique items have long been attracting collectors who are willing to pay top dollar to get them. Paintings, baseball cards, stamps, vintage cards and rare coins have all been sold at huge premiums to collectors in the past. Now, these items are moving into the digital realm, thanks to the use of blockchain technology.　　These items are now represented on several different blockchain networks as “unique” digital assets known as nonfungible tokens. The use of blockchain technology means that authenticity and ownership are easily verifiable, especially in a world where scarcity plays a vital role in the valuation of an asset.　　A piece of art originally created by the renowned street artist Banksy, was turned into an NFT version of the physical painting that was destroyed on purpose — later sold for nearly $400,000. Anita Moore, CEO at Blind Boxes, an NFT platform for digital artwork, told Cointelegraph, “By decentralizing the concepts of provenance and authenticity, NFTs are revolutionizing the way we think about ownership and value.”　　 What are NFT trading cards？　　NFT trading cards are virtual representations of their physical underlying asset. By being represented on the blockchain, these cards are granted immutability and public verification of ownership. Even if the physical

2021-04-25Deep Dive

How DIGITALAX Is Shaping The Digital Fashion Industry

Ever played a game online and spent hours creating your avatar？ Well, weve all been there and done that. In a digital world, we express ourselves through the characters we create online. Now with virtual realities and other immersive digital experiences continue to surface, our online appearances will only become more vital. So, to meet the needs of this emerging space and create more immersive digital metaverses, an entire industry is taking shape. This is the digital fashion industry.　　What is Digital Fashion？　　Digital fashion refers to garments, outfits, accessories, and even wearables that are created for and exist only in virtual worlds. The best example of digital fashion would be the trendy outfits available in mobile games like PUBG. Created on advanced software these virtual garments are three-dimensional and look extremely realistic.　　Though this is still an emerging industry, there are several digital fashion designers dedicated to creating impeccable pieces of clothing for the virtual world. Now, combine blockchain technology with digital fashion, and just like that, we have a world of new opportunities waiting to be explored. These virtual garments can be created and traded on blockchain networks, converted to NFTs, and creators can benefit from the transparency and security of

2021-04-25Deep Dive

Terranova Picks: Genesis Shards, Redefining NFTs as DeFi Options

BeinCrypto presents our new series, Terranova Picks. BICs global head of trading and investments, Vinícius Terranova, brings readers non-biased research articles to help them understand the new projects launching on the market. These articles are not financial advice and are only for educational purposes.　　As the DeFi and NFT market advances, several products have emerged in the blockchain area. One that has gained a lot of traction is Initial DEX Offering (IDO).　　Undoubtedly one of the best ways to beat the centralization of traditional exchanges and provide a good path for DeFi and NFT.　　At the moment, when there is no need for exchange fee payments, and it is the community that examines the project and the tokens, it is possible to see how much room IDO has for growth.　　However, decentralization is not the only feature of an IDO. It also ensures fair fundraising, as anyone can participate in the offering.　　Its trading is fast as an IDO can be traded immediately. Also, liquidity is instantaneous, which is important for the benefit of the token.　　Despite all these benefits, there are still some issues that the IDO of a DeFi or NFT token needs to overcome.　　These difficulties are usually in its pre-launch process because most

2021-04-25Deep Dive

Former NYSE Prez: Crypto is 'The Best Kept Secret in the World'

The former president of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Thomas Farley loves crypto—but mostly Coinbase and decentralized finance (DeFi).　　Farley, now the CEO of fintech investment firm Far Point, told CNBCs Squawk Box on Thursday that crypto is “the best-kept secret in the world and maybe in the history of financial markets.”　　But considering that theres been much talk about crypto going mainstream, that doesnt seem like a well-kept secret at all.　　“Im all in,” cheered the former Wall Street exec. “I think the crypto space is amazing right now, notwithstanding the press its gotten.”　　In 2013, Farley directed the NYSE to invest $10 million in Coinbase. He didnt invest his own money, even though Coinbase co-founders Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam tried to talk him into it. “For some reason, I did not,” he sighed, then justifying his FOMO that it would have been “a conflict of interests” anyway.　　Now Farley‘s got his sights trained elsewhere. “There’s a corner of crypto called DeFi,” he went on to explain. It comprises “really smart kids putting up code on a blockchain of their choosing, and you have self-operating smart contracts.”　　Farley‘s interested in decentralized exchanges, on which investors trade crypto without intermediaries like Coinbase. “It’s fascinating,

2021-04-25Deep Dive

How Bitcoin, Ether, BNB, XRP Are Helping Hong Kong Businesses Weather The Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had an immense effect on every part of human life but especially businesses in the food, drink, and hospitality industry. Airlines saw record losses due to social distancing and lockdown measures and restaurants were forced to adapt their businesses in many ways to stay afloat.　　One restaurant, Okra Hong Kong which is located in the Sai Ying Pun region of Hong Kong, saw a decline in its seating during the start of the pandemic. According to Max Levy, the owner of the restaurant, only about half of its seats could be used as a result of lockdown measures. To cope, the business has made the interesting choice to now accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment.　　Lockdown and the Need for Crypto Payments　　Restaurants around the world took many measures in the covid-19 pandemic. Some switched to take-out and delivery only, some slashed prices and offered promos, and in the case of Okra Hong Kong, they changed their payment system. As per a recent report, one of the reasons this was done was because of expensive bank fees and the need to work around the situation.　　As of April 21, 2020, the restaurant now takes payments in Ether, XRP, Bitcoin, Binance

2021-04-25Deep Dive

Is it Hard to Use a Hardware Wallet?

Getting a hardware wallet makes Bitcoin easy　　Think back to the last time you bought Bitcoin. Did you finish the purchase, or did you leave your coins on the exchange wallet, with no idea who has the keys to it？ Every few months, someone wakes up to find the exchange they were using was compromised, resulting in billions of dollars going to criminals each year.　　Cryptocurrencies are not like other digital assets. They are completely trustless, so they can not be secured the same way a bank secures fiat money. Instead, they depend on users holding sole control over their coins and being the only ones who can use them. This is a lot to ask for many less-technical investors but some enthusiasts have spent many years making it easier for everyone to safely buy and store crypto for the long term.　　What can be done to protect cryptocurrency？　　The truth is that any cryptocurrency that isn‘t under the user’s direct control can disappear in an instant. Thats where hardware wallets come in. A Trezor gives physical control over coins, by keeping keys permanently offline so no-one can ever copy them, and always showing the true details of any transaction it signs.　　Cryptocurrency investors must

2021-04-25Deep Dive

Bitcoin’s Crash Below $50K Brings South Korea’s Kimchi Premium to Zero

The latest adverse price developments in the cryptocurrency markets have normalized the Korean bitcoin premium known as the Kimchi premium. With the enhanced volatility, though, experts warn traders to be highly vigilant as the market is still over-leveraged.　　Kimchi Premium Cools Down　　The Kimchi premium represents the difference in bitcoins price on global exchanges and such operating in South Korea. CryptoPotato reported in early April that the metric, named after a traditional Korean side dish, had surged to a new yearly high of over 20%.　　Despite cooling off briefly at the time, the disparity continued to increase and reached yet another record level of about 26%. Meaning, when BTC traded at roughly 58,000 on non-South Korean exchanges, it was well above $70,000 on local platforms.　　The analytics company CryptoQuant outlined the performance of the Kimchi premium, which has cooled down in recent weeks. At one point, the metric went even to negative territory but has normalized now and “became zero.”　　Bitcoin Kimchi Premium. Source: CryptoQuant　　Nevertheless, the companys CEO, Ki Young Ju, warned investors that “the market is still over-leveraged” and urged them to be patient.　　The normalization of the Kimchi premium could be attributed to the latest developments in the crypto market to some extent. Bitcoin

2021-04-23Deep Dive

Biden ‘Tax Plans’ Speculations Spook Crypto Speculators

Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoin markets are in red today, with with BTC dropping below the key USD 50,000 mark – in the wake of fresh tax-related speculations from the United States.　　The American President Joe Biden is reportedly set to unveil plans to enact sweeping new tax regulations, including changes to capital gains tax – which might affect thousands of crypto traders in the country also.　　The plans will reportedly see the state almost double the rate of taxes on capital gains to 39.6% for those earning over USD 1m.　　Some, though, are sensing an opportunity for bargain coin buying, while other pundits think the plan may never see the light of day due to pushback from the House.　　Regardless, capital gains tax concerns were already pressing for American crypto enthusiasts, who already had to deal with selling-related dilemmas: Investors often have to pay capital gains tax on tokens they sell for fiat after holding for over a year.　　However, BTCs remarkable performance could end up hitting investors in the pocket, as theyre now sitting on massive gains. In a year, BTC is up by 579%, ethereum (ETH) - 1,092%, while many altcoins recorded much higher gains.　　Reuters reported that the news had left BTC, ETH

2021-04-23Deep Dive

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