Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

How the “West” Is Driving Bitcoin’s Bull Market, But Asia Is Resisting

Bitcoin‘s price is moving sideways in a critical support zone. At the time of writing, BTC’s price is trading at $55.780 with 0.3% in the daily chart and 7.3% losses in the weekly chart.　　According to Arcane Research‘s most recent report, BTC’s 2020 and 2021 bull run has been heavily affected by the dynamics from investors in Europe, America, and Asia. The research firmed analyzed the cumulative Bitcoin returns and compare them to the trading hours in these territories.　　Arcane Research quotes an NYDIG Research report which divides the trading sessions on North America, Europe, and Asia schedules. In doing so, the report determines Bitcoins geographic drivers. Arcane Research claims:　　In 2020, bitcoin saw most of its returns during the North American and European trading hours with North American trading hours seeing the large cumulative gains of 132% (since Jan 1st, 2020).　　Europe has gained more importance as a major BTC price driver in 2021. According to the report, European trading hours from beginning 2020 to April 2021, have seen 254% cumulative returns. In contrast, American trading hours have seen 162% cumulative returns. Arcane Research added:　　This could be a result of a European overlap in trading hours with both Asian evenings and American pre-market

2021-04-21Deep Dive

How Crowny Is Tackling The Ad Industry’s Biggest Problems

Intrusive. Aggressive. Irrelevant. In a multi-billion dollar industry these are the kind of words the majority of people use when describing their experience with digital ads. Studies by Forbes show that up to 47% of consumers block ads for a number of reasons including the lack of relevancy, and for brands and entities this poses an equally major issue of wasted ad dollars.　　That‘s why Crowny, a platform that allows brands to create effective ad campaigns that reach their target audience with ease and simplicity, is tackling these problems head on. Crowny allows users to receive rewards for engaging with brands they already love and this provides a direct benefit to those brands in that they target users that want to see their content. From the two sides, it’s a clear win-win situation.　　With a steadily growing digital ad space, consumers increasingly feel that digital ads invade their privacy, are often overly aggressive, and are unengaging at best. Consumers want more control over what they see online, while brands want to efficiently use their ad spend, and Crowny provides a welcome solution to both sides of the equation.　　What Crowny Does Differently　　There are two parties within the advertising marketplace: businesses and consumers. Crowny‘s

2021-04-21Deep Dive

Binance.US Finds New CEO in Former Coinbase Executive

Binance.US officially announced the hiring of a former Coinbase executive to become their new CEO. Brian Brooks has also served as the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).　　Binance making big moves atop its C-suite　　North American-based crypto giant Binance made it official on Tuesday. Starting May 1, they will have a new CEO in Brian Brooks. The digital asset marketplace, which launched in 2019, Binance.US, offers a platform to buy and sell crypto.　　Catherine Coley currently runs the team. At this point, her role with the company moving forward is unclear.　　Before Binance, Brooks worked as the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). He also was an executive at Coinbase, where he led compliance, legal, and government relations for their digital asset system. He brings a lot to the table with years of crypto experience already under his belt.　　Throughout his eight-month employment at the OCC, Brooks helped pave the way for stablecoin issuers to host accounts within the banking system. He was even given the nickname “CryptoComptroller” for his support of the rise of digital currency. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Brooks stated:　　“I am eager to work closely

2021-04-21Deep Dive

What’s Preventing Crypto Payments from Entering the Mainstream?

In the past few years, interest in crypto has increased dramatically as businesses and individuals begin to recognize the benefits that blockchain technology can offer. Meanwhile, with bitcoin (BTC) recently reaching a new all-time high, many new consumers are keen to embrace crypto in their daily lives.　　Nevertheless, critics argue that the technology around crypto payments is neither user-friendly nor accessible, meaning its a long way off from being adopted into the mainstream. This technology doesnt need to be complicated for consumers or business owners, and the biggest issue currently facing crypto payments is simply a lack of available information.　　Misconception 1: Merchants must adapt their systems　　One of the most common misconceptions related to crypto is that in order for it to enter the mainstream, businesses and merchants need to adapt their systems to handle crypto payments. In reality, this isnt the case.　　Many companies, including Wirex, are now offering crypto-enabled cards, which means customers can use crypto to buy just about anything provided Mastercard or Visa is accepted. The technology often works the same way as if you were making a payment abroad in foreign, traditional currency, with the exchange of crypto to traditional currency happening at the point of sale. Crypto

2021-04-21Deep Dive

‘Intense Crackdown’ until End of June as Seoul Fights Crypto Fraudsters

A new joint South Korean police-government-regulator crackdown on crypto-related fraud and multi-level marketing (MLM) fraudsters will be complete “by the end of June,” authorities stated, as Seoul moves to stamp out bogus and illicit crypto operators.　　Per Seoul Kyungjae and the Segye Ilbo, a number of vice ministers met the heads of financial regulators and police officials on April 19 – their second meeting in the space of a week – for crunch talks. The parties vowed to enact a crackdown that they said would yield comprehensive results in the next 10 weeks.　　Widespread reports of crypto exchanges closing and failing to return customer funds in a timely manner in the wake of new regulations have been compounded by public outcry over “crypto investor” meetups.　　Although some of these meetups have been linked to bona fide ventures like mining pools, the majority appear linked to MLM scams, centering around bogus exchanges or tokens – like the OneCoin scam – that do not even operate on blockchain networks. In most cases, these involve recruiting members to move higher up a pyramid, with lucrative rewards offered to individuals recruiting large numbers of new members.　　A large number of such fraudsters have been arrested and successfully prosecuted

2021-04-21Deep Dive

First Bank Caps Remittances in Bid to Block Kimchi Premium Opportunists

One of South Koreas biggest commercial banks, Woori, has fallen into line with government efforts to restrict the flow of money overseas in crypto purchases by imposing limits on remittances made to individuals and companies based in China.　　Woori was the first to blink after the government and financial regulators held crisis talks with bankers late last week. Seoul claims that South Korean domestic crypto exchange customers are buying crypto primarily from China-based sellers and then trading these tokens on platforms such as Upbit and Bithumb in order to take advantage of the so-called kimchi premium.　　The latter is a phenomenon whereby increased demand has driven prices up on domestic exchanges in excess of global averages. In recent weeks, the discrepancy has risen to the 12%-18% mark and per Scolkg data, the price difference for bitcoin (BTC) on the Upbit and Binance platforms is currently around USD 6,900 – meaning it is some 12% more expensive to buy BTC in South Korea than it is in most other nations.　　Per Yonhap and Chosun, Woori currently operates a quick remittance platform with UnionBank, one of Chinas biggest commercial banks. Previously, this platform allowed Woori customers to remit USD 5,000 worth of fiat per day

2021-04-21Deep Dive

Fashion Brands Using Blockchain to Combat Counterfeiting

Fashion brands LVMH, Richemonts Cartier, and Prada SpA are partnering to offer a blockchain solution to their customers seeking additional authenticity for their products.　　The consortium plans to make the Aura Blockchain available to other luxury brands. The solution will provide their customers greater assurance that their products are authentic by providing an encrypted certificate of guarantee. It will also make the products more traceable, facilitating the resale of luxury goods on the secondary market.　　Utilizing blockchain to combat counterfeiting　　Fashion brands are utilizing blockchain technology primarily to combat counterfeit markets, to which they lose billions each year. Research firm Frontier Economics expects the global trade in counterfeits to balloon to $991 billion by 2022. This is almost double the amount in 2013. The estimate includes not only luxury goods but also consumer products and several other categories like pharmaceuticals.　　Consortium member Cartier has already tested one feature of the Aura Blockchain with online product returns. So far, shoppers have been able to take a photo of a good they wish to return before returning it. This way, customers can reliably prove the product hasnt been damaged or altered since they first received it.　　According to Cartier CEO Cyrille Vigneron, the Aura Blockchain is likely

2021-04-21Deep Dive

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

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