Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Privacy Will ‘Become a More Popular Investing Theme’: Barry Silbert

In an appearance this morning on CoinDesk TVs First Mover, Silbert said he believes privacy tech will be a draw for investors.　　In his first public interview in eight months, Barry Silbert, co-founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (CoinDesks parent company), placed an emphasis on privacy and privacy coins when discussing what protocols and areas he was following closely.　　In an appearance this morning on CoinDesk TV‘s First Mover, Silbert said he believes privacy will be a draw for investors and mentioned two privacy coins he’s particularly excited about and focused on: Zcash and Horizen.　　“Thematically, I think privacy is – and is going to become – a more popular investing theme,” Silbert said.　　Zcash, currently the 51st largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was developed by Electric Coin Company (ECC). It recently announced a timeline for launching a variety of upgrades to the protocol that include privacy enhancements.　　The Horizen protocol, whose token Zen is the 101st largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is a sidechain platform that “focuses on scalable data privacy and enables businesses and developers to custom build their own public or private blockchains using its unique sidechain technology, Zendoo,” according to its website.　　“Privacy is at the core of what we‘re all

2021-04-15Deep Dive

Cardano’s Next Upgrade to Introduce Smart Contract Support

Cardanos next upgrade Alonzo will introduce smart contract support to the blockchain. Alonzo will use the Plutus platform to establish the infrastructure and tools for smart contract development.　　Last week, Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson laid out the roadmap for his blockchains development until 2025. He mentioned that with the final Voltaire update, the Cardano ecosystem would operate as a self-sufficient system.　　Before that happens, several steps need to take place first. The next update expected is the Alonzo upgrade. This will introduce smart contract support to the blockchain.　　The Plutus platform　　In an IOHK blog post, the development of Alonzo was described utilizing the Plutus platform. The platform will provide a native smart contract language for the Cardano blockchain.　　According to the post, Plutus requires understanding three concepts. The first is the Extended UTXO. Next is the Plutus Core, the on-chain part of Plutus. Finally, there is the Plutus Application Framework (PAF). PAF is the off-chain part of Plutus that enables interaction with smart contracts.　　Like Bitcoin (BTC), Cardano uses the unspent (U) transaction (TX) output (O) accounting model (UTXO). According to the post:　　“EUTXO extends the UTXO model by allowing output addresses to contain complex logic to decide which transactions can unlock them, and by

2021-04-15Deep Dive

The Real Reason Behind Bitcoin Explosive Rally is Not Coinbase But Inflation

Bitcoin surged past $64,500 this week, shattering yet another record-high milestone after a month of downside consolidation, over sentiments that a fresh Wall Street listing of one of the leading crypto firms, Coinbase, would attract more wealthy investors to the booming sector.　　But the flagship cryptocurrency borrowed its bullish cues from elsewhere, as well. On Tuesday, the US Bureau of Labor released Marchs Consumer Price Inflation data, showing that the index rose by its most in nearly nine years, led by pent-up demand and rising fuel prices as the US economy continued to recover from pandemic-driven lockdowns.　　 Beating Expectations　　The labor department noted that inflation rose 0.6 percent in March than February, making its quickest pace since February August 2012. According to Reuters‘ poll, the outcome beat economists’ expectations of a 0.5 percent raise. Meanwhile, the headline inflation surged 2.6 percent against the expectations of a 2.5 percent raise.　　Kathy Bostjancic, the chief US financial economist at Oxford Economics, said that inflation could rise to 3.5 percent this year.　　US Consumer Price Index 12-Month Percentage Change. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics　　Bitcoin behaves bullishly against inflation fears. The cryptocurrency‘s massive upside move after its mid-March crash came on the prospect that the US dollar

2021-04-15Deep Dive

Garry Tan’s 2013 investment of $300K in Coinbase is now worth $2.4B

Garry Tan, a prominent angel investor and the founder of Initialized Capital, was one of the first investors to provide seed funding to Coinbase eight years ago.　　Less than a decade later, and after todays highly anticipated Nasdaq listing for Coinbases COIN stock, Tans 2013 investment of $300,000 into Coinbase is now worth $2.4 billion.　　Coinbase debuted on the Nasdaq on April 14 at $381 per share, making it one of the most hyped listings in the U.S. stock market of the year.　　How did $300,000 become $2.4 billion？　　In 2013, when Tan invested in Coinbase, it was unclear whether Bitcoin would be recognized as a global asset and an established store of value.　　At the time, there were not many reputable exchanges, and the few that existed were often hacked. Tans investment took place before the monumental Mt. Gox hack that saw billions of dollars worth of BTC stolen.　　Even after launch, Coinbase was not always in an uptrend. According to Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, from 2014 to 2017 the company faced numerous hardships.　　Ehrsam said:　　“Over time, crypto grew, and so did the company. A simple #Bitcoin wallet evolved into individual and institutional products to support a blossoming cryptoeconomy. 2 nerds who met on the internet

2021-04-15Deep Dive

Why Gate.io is a go-to platform for new crypto start-ups

Its long past the age where exciting new ventures are reserved for specialized firms such as venture capital and private equity funds. New platforms are trying to democratize early-stage equity investing, but many early-stage financings lack essential liquidity and transparency. Many firms and retail investors turn to cryptocurrency exchanges and Initial Exchange Offerings, but these alternatives often fall short in terms of security and accountability. Gate.io Startup emerges to keep the best of both worlds by offering safe, trusted, and liquid early-stage investment IEO offerings with an exceptional record of high-performing startups.　　 A portfolio of growth and consistency　　In just a few years, Gate.io Startup projects have proven themselves with their performance since making their debut on Gate.io. TotemFi has recorded a 45900% ROI with Cook (COOK) coming second with a 3947.5% ROI. Some other examples include Yield, Oxycoin, and Hapi who have soared 3688%, 3391.2%, and 2367% respectively. These results represent a fraction of the many impressive turnouts of the projects that have been supported by the exchange. Gate.io doesnt just have a few successful projects to brag about but strives to create a level of consistency across all projects. Their effort was not wasted as the average earnings rate

2021-04-15Deep Dive

Regulators Can’t Ignore Bitcoin Anymore, Says Congressman Kevin McCarthy

As the cryptocurrency industry continues to grow, so too does the mainstream attention towards it. Bitcoin in particular has been praised by many whilst simultaneously drawing the ire of others.　　It should come as no surprise that governmental and regulatory bodies all over the world would want to get involved in controlling cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. To this end, the Republican leader of the United States House of Representatives had stated that Bitcoin can no longer be ignored and that regulators must take action.　　The Crypto Industry Has Evolved 　　During an interview with CNBC, Congressman Kevin McCarthy stated that the cryptocurrency community can only expand going forward. This is certainly true as apart from Bitcoin, other altcoins such as Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Coin (BNB) have been growing at breakneck paces.　　Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have been conservative in their commitment to cryptocurrency. When asked about their stance, McCarthy said that authorities had recently sought to disregard cryptocurrency in order to make it disappear, mirroring the ‘if I can’t see it, then it does not exist mindset. The ecology has nevertheless since evolved to the point that they may need to take a closer look now and

2021-04-15Deep Dive

IG Group to Allow Leverage Trading with Coinbase Shares

IG Group, a financial broker listed in London, announced that it will offer leveraged trading with the shares of the crypto exchange Coinbase Global, which will make it public on April 14.　　The direct listing of Coinbase on Nasdaq tomorrow is seen as a major boost for the cryptocurrency industry. Anticipated demand for the stock remains high among retail investors, and many analysts predict a massive rally of the stock upon listing.　　Valuation of $100 Billion？　　Though there are many speculations on the listing valuation of the company, IG believes that it will be in the region of $75 billion. Earlier, the company was valued at roughly $90 billion in a private auction conducted by Nasdaq.　　“Yes, Well be offering this to all leverage clients from day 1 (April 14th),” IG announced.　　The broker is expecting Coinbase trading to begin at any point from 14:30 (UKT) onwards, but there might be a delay of a few hours for price discovery in the public market.　　“Clients can only go long until there is borrow available in the market, or we have sufficient internal inventory to lend out,” IG elaborated.　　The broker will not offer any guaranteed stops for Coinbase, at least initially, and margins will be available in

2021-04-15Deep Dive

S Korean MPs Seek to Ban Crypto Felons from Returning to the Industry

Convicted South Korean crypto criminals should be barred from re-entering the domestic crypto market, lawmakers have stated – as politicians continue what they have vowed will be a “crackdown” on irregularities in the industry.　　Per the media outlet Weekly Today, the influential MP Lee Jung-mun, of the ruling Democratic Party, has already submitted a proposal with the backing of a number of colleagues that would see a new law that promulgated last month amended to include the proposed change.　　Lee is a member of the National Assemblys Political Affairs Committee as well as the parliamentary Budget and Settlement Special Committee. And although his party has yet to indicate whether it will back the proposal, the winds of change are blowing in Seoul, where the government has already committed to “cracking down” on foul play in what it has called an “overheated” crypto sector.　　Trading volumes have skyrocketed in South Korea since the start of 2021.　　The last crypto crackdown was executed in 2018 and has left most crypto operators with a legal footing that puts them on a par with gambling and nightclub operators. Initial coin offerings (ICOs) in all their forms remain illegal in the country and the already-restrictive measures introduced last month

2021-04-15Deep Dive

Orion Protocol Expands To Polkadot Via Moonbeam Ramp

Liquidity aggregator Orion Protocol has expanded to Polkadot. Orions codes successful migration to the Polkadot ecosystem was via Moonbeam, a cross-chain smart contract platform on Polkadot. The team announced the integration via Twitter:　　“Orion Protocol Expands to @Polkadot by Integrating @MoonbeamNetwork into #OrionTerminal. Orions code has been ported to Polkadot via Moonbeam, enabling immediate access to Polkadots ecosystem. UI/UX for integration into Orion Terminal is underway.”　　Orion is working with the most prominent blockchains, as seen by their recent integrations with Cardano, Fantom, BSC, Huobis ECO Chain, Avalanche, Ethereum, and Elrond.　　Orion Aims To Solve Fragmentation　　The team states that fragmentation is one of the biggest issues in the digital assets space, going beyond the fragmentation of liquidity across exchanges. This is due to the lack of interoperability between blockchains themselves.　　Orion believes that while cross-chain systems are gaining popularity and traction, the blockchain industry cannot yet evolve to a full interoperability state without a solution that is inclusive of the entire market. As stated on their blog, Orion plans to solve the defragmentation issue:　　“Orion Protocol will provide a non-custodial gateway to the entire digital asset market - aggregating liquidity across decentralized and centralized crypto exchanges and swap platforms in one, decentralized platform. In doing

2021-04-15Deep Dive

How Stellar’s Growth In Q1 2021 Could Foster Further Adoption

Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has issued its Q1 report. In an official post, the SDF reiterated the importance of its main strategic pillar around Stellars blockchain: usability, trust, adoption, and sustainable use cases.　　In the past months, Stellars ecosystem has started growing on top of this vision according to the SDF. Data provided by the report indicates that the platform has seen a YoY increase in its total accounts standing at 11%.　　The total number of operations processed on the network has increased by 100%. Similarly, payments have incremented and 160% with an 84% rise in “relevant assets” with a 29x number of on-network transaction volume made with them, according to the report.　　Therefore, Stellar Networks registered a grown in the number of “real financial instruments” using its platform as a solution. These assets are tethered to fiat currency or stocks in the traditional market.　　Stellar enables bull-run in the crypto market　　In addition, the Stellar Development Foundation managed to invest a total of $6,5 million in companies like Wyre, Cowrie Integrated System, and DSTOQ via the Enterprise Fund. Every new cooperation put Stellar closer to consolidate its pillar and its a new step towards mainstream adoption.　　SDF‘s Marketing team developed a new case study featuring

2021-04-15Deep Dive

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