Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Bitcoin Bull Mike Novogratz Warns of 'Existential Crisis' if the US Fails to Create Digital Dollar

Mike Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Digital and bitcoin bull has warned that the United States‘ failure to have its own digital currency could be an “existential crisis.” However, the CEO says the country’s fate is still in its hands. Novogratz made these comments a few days after former U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo suggested that the United States is not going to have a digital dollar anytime soon.　　Distortions in Financial System　　Still, Novogratz tells an interviewer that the United States success on this front will be dependent on the way the country manages its fiscal and monetary policies. He said:　　“If our fiscal and monetary policy starts looking like it is from a Banana Republic…you are going to run into some Minsky moment where confidence breaks down.”　　According to the report, a Minsky moment, which was espoused by the late Hyman Minsky, suggests “that a period of distortions in the financial system eventually ends very badly.” The U.S. has injected trillions of dollars into its economy and reports suggest more spending is being planned. However, some investors now fear this massive spending will cause the countrys inflation rate to rise.　　Bitcoin Not a Chinese Financial Weapon　　In the meantime, Novogratz also took time

2021-04-12Deep Dive

Real Estate Giant Teams up with Gemini to Buy Bitcoin and Allow BTC Rent Payments

Caruso, one of the largest estate companies in the US, has entered the BTC space with an undisclosed investment. The organization also revealed it will begin accepting bitcoin as payment for rent following a partnership with Gemini – the cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins.　　Pay Rent with Bitcoin　　Without specifying the precise amount, Caruso announced earlier that it had made a “significant initial investment” in the primary cryptocurrency as part of its treasury management strategy. The move has made the company “the first to adopt the technology in the real estate industry.”　　The firm completed the purchase through a partnership with Gemini, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange and custodian. The innovation reinforced the companys confidence in the digitizing space.　　Additionally, the firm enabled its tenants to pay rent with bitcoin, should they choose to do so.　　Rick Caruso, founder, and CEO of the company weighed in on the topic:　　“We believe that cryptocurrency is here to stay. We believe that bitcoin is the right investment for us. Weve allocated a percentage of what would normally go into the capital market into bitcoin.”　　The billionaire went further and stated crypto is a long-term resolution and “its not about the next year or five years”.　　“We are thrilled to

2021-04-12Deep Dive

Nigerian Fintechs Cut Off From Government Verification Service

The Nigerian government has made things tricky for fintech companies and even trickier for crypto companies.　　Nigerian fintech companies were on Friday suddenly cut off from a government service they need to perform mandatory identity checks on their customers.　　While they wait for the government to install a revamped identity system, fintech companies can‘t legally onboard new customers or must switch to services that don’t require identity checks, such as peer-to-peer services, analysts told Decrypt.　　“The timing of this move couldn‘t be worse, especially given all the recent regulatory obstacles that fintech has faced this year, like the ban on banks dealing with crypto,” Oluwaseun Opeyemi, a lawyer in Nigeria’s capital Lagos, told Decrypt.　　The sudden blackout adds yet another hurdle for crypto companies. “Not very encouraging signs for foreign investment in Nigeria,” said Opeyemi.　　Switching off the lights　　Like so many other countries, Nigerian law requires fintech companies to verify their customers‘ identity. To do so, businesses in Nigeria rely on the government’s seven-year-old verification database, the Bank Verification Number (BVN).　　But a regulatory directive on Friday suspended fintech companies access to the BVN without warning.　　The government hasn‘t explained why, but it’s likely because the government is replacing its patchwork network of identity systems, of which

2021-04-12Deep Dive

GameStop Seeks Analyst Trained in NFTs, Crypto and Blockchain

Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets favorite stock, the video game store GameStop, placed an ad Friday for a security analyst skilled in blockchain, NFTs, and crypto—indicating that the company may soon venture into the wild world of decentralized finance.　　The vacancy requests that the analyst has ‘skills and experience’ in the tech. To bag the role, applicants must have a bachelors degree or more than five years of relevant work experience, and be available at all hours.　　Other desirable qualities for the analyst, who‘d work in the company’s headquarters of Grapevine, Texas, include machine learning, artificial intelligence, e-commerce, esports, and malware analysis.　　Nako Mbelle, founder and CEO of FinTech Recruiters, a Canadian recruitment firm that specializes in crypto hires, told Decrypt that theres a huge demand for product managers and software engineers who are trained in decentralized finance.　　Mbelle said that GameStops security analyst position could mean that the company is looking to mint NFTs or that it is adding a token to its platform.　　“This position looks like they‘re building something serious because they are considering the security angle,” said Mbelle. No need to protect something that doesn’t exist, after all.　　NFTs, crypto collectables made popular through the art world, have a promising future in online games.

2021-04-12Deep Dive

How to Use AI to Generate Free Bitcoins

When you get on the Bitcoin train you know you are in for a wild ride, with the price dipping and soaring so fast its hard to keep up. One thing is certain however, the overall value of Bitcoin is rising year-on-year at an incredible rate. Since the start of the pandemic the price has skyrocketed from just 7,200 USD in January last year, to its current price of near to 60,000 USD, although with some heart-stopping drops and recoveries in price along the way. BTC is clearly a great investment, but there is undoubtedly a high level of risk and uncertainty, so it is critical to mitigate your exposure and the best way to do this is with an automated platform.　　Reducing Risk with an Automated Platform　　Using an AI-based algorithmic trading platform is a great way to cut down on risk as it processes all the market data for you, at top speed, implementing a strategy as soon as the pre-set triggers are met. This means that you dont need years of market experience under your belt, or hours of free time to spend researching and analyzing asset histories, tracking market trends and sitting in front of a screen, to

2021-04-12Deep Dive

Ethereum on-chain metrics may spell trouble with funding rates at unsustainable levels

Etheruem appears to have resumed its uptrend after suffering a minor setback on Apr. 7 that caused over $230 million in liquidations. Despite the massive losses generated across the board, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was able to rebound and make a new all-time high of $2,212 recently.　　Dino Ibisbegovic, head of content and SEO at Santiment, noticed that the new milestone was not accompanied by a spike in Ethereum-related mentions on social media. While Ether moved into price discovery mode, the lackluster social engagement activity may “bode well” for another upswing. Ibisbegovic said:　　“The fact that we‘re not seeing a major uptick in ETH-related chatter seems to suggest a growing complacency about Ethereum’s ATH rally, which may help provide room for further price appreciation in the midterm.”　　ETHEREUM SOCIAL VOLUME BY SANTIMENT　　Moreover, known cryptocurrency exchange wallets show no signs of profit-taking throughout the recent bullish impulse. The number of ETH tokens flowing in and out of trading platforms has remained stable over the past week.　　Such market behavior suggests that market participants are confident about Ethereums upside potential.　　EXCHANGE INFLOW AND OUTFLOW BY SANTIMENT　　Ethereum funding rate spells trouble　　While social volume and exchange activity point to further gains, Ethereums funding rates spell trouble.　　Ether‘s BitMEX

2021-04-12Deep Dive

How NFTs, DeFi and Web 3.0 are intertwined

While blockchain itself provides the technology constructs to facilitate exchange, ownership and trust in the network, it is in the digitization of value elements where asset tokenization is essential. Tokenization is the process of converting the assets and rights to a property into a digital representation, or token, on a blockchain network.　　Distinguishing between cryptocurrency and tokenized assets is important in understanding exchange vehicles, valuation models and fungibility across the various value networks that are emerging and posing interoperability challenges. These are not just technical challenges, but also business challenges around equitable swaps.　　Asset tokenization can lead to the creation of a business model that fuels fractional ownership, the ability to own an instance of a large asset. While discussing asset tokenization in a previous article, I also mentioned the value of an instance economy in democratizing finance, commerce and global access, as well as in creating a broader global marketplace at a scale never before seen.　　With digital assets and their fungibility in a blockchain ecosystem, there are various drivers of valuation. These include: 1) tokens based on crypto economic models that are driven by supply and demand, and the utility of the network; 2) nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, which have an

2021-04-12Deep Dive

How Injective and Band Protocol will take DeFi to the next level

Injective Protocol has announced that it will expand its partnership with Band Protocol. As such, it will operate a validator node for BandChain.　　In exchange, Band Protocol will begin participating in Equinox Staking, according to an official post. This is part of Injective Protocols testnet preparations for its upcoming mainnet deployment.　　Injective is a second layer decentralized exchange created to offer derivatives and “borderless DeFi”. Users can trade any derivatives on its platform without the traditional market restrictions. The protocol is backed by Pantera Capital and Binance.　　On the other hand, Band Protocol is an oracle service provider that operates cross-chain data connecting it to smart contracts. Its oracles are used to feed many decentralized applications such as DEX, prediction markets, on-chain games, and others. Backed by Sequoia Capital, it offers a platform without a single point of failure.　　The partnership between the referenced protocols has a precedent with the launch of a platform for trading decentralized financial derivatives.　　Developed in conjunction with Terra and Mirror Protocol, users can benefit from a decentralized platform to trade derivatives based on shares of Tesla, GameStop, Amazon, and other companies.　　Band Protocols Oracle integration with Injective Protocol　　The latest cooperation is a reinforcement to strengthen the relationship between the protocols.

2021-04-12Deep Dive

US’s Bitcoin ETF Problem: What Is Holding up Regulators

Companies in the U.S. have been trying to get an exchange-traded fund (ETF) approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange (SEC) Commission for years. However, theyve had little success.　　An ETF is a security that tracks an asset. However, people can buy or sell it on the stock exchange like any other stock.　　They can track anything. In the case of cryptocurrencies, ETFs are usually tracking a coin like bitcoin (BTC) or ethereum (ETH) or a combination of coins.　　The reason ETFs are important is that they are thought to be a way mainstream investors can enter the cryptocurrency market. ETFs hand over some responsibility of managing crypto investments to experts.　　This may be more approachable to new investors who are not extremely well-versed in the world of cryptocurrencies but see their value.　　Multiple countries give bitcoin ETFs the green light　　Crypto ETFs are a fairly new offering. Canada became the first country to approve one in February 2021.　　The bitcoin ETF by Purpose Investments trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In the first week of its launch, it gained $624 million in nine days.　　North America isn‘t the only continent to approve crypto ETFs. Brazil was next, approving its first ETF, the QR Capital’s bitcoin ETF. It

2021-04-12Deep Dive

Romanian university plans to accept crypto payments for admission fees

The academic institution with a student body of roughly 11,000 said the addition of crypto payments was part of a plan to support local businesses like Elrond.　　A public university in the Romanian city of Sibiu in Transylvania has said it will allow students to pay for their admission fees in crypto.　　According to an announcement from Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, or LBUS, on Wednesday, the institution plans to implement crypto payment methods for its more than 11,000 students starting in July. Students will reportedly be able to pay for admission fees — tuition is roughly $1,000 per year for undergraduates — using Elrond (EGLD), which the university will then convert to Romanian leu.　　“Our university has been and will continue to be a supporter of the community and local business, and the decision to develop this partnership with Elrond is part of this strategy,” said university Rector Sorin Radu.　　Starting as an initial exchange offering from the Binance Launchpad in 2019, Elrond has offices in the Transylvanian town of more than 400,000 people and its team contains many graduates of the local university. The project said it plans to carry out other collaborations with LBUS in the future, including research.　　According to legislation

2021-04-12Deep Dive

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