Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Survey: 2 in 5 Americans to invest stimulus checks into Bitcoin

A new survey found investors were more likely to bet on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies ahead of stocks with the proceeds from the upcoming round of stimulus checks.　　The checks are coming for Bitcoin　　Japanese megabank Mizuho found in a recent survey that stimulus check recipients in the US were more likely to invest in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies ahead of traditional stock offerings, as per a report on markets outlet MarketWatch.　　Mizuho said over 20% of check recipients were expecting to allocate as much as 20% of their stimulus checks to Bitcoin and/or stocks. 13% of those were likely to allocate 20% to 80% into the markets, while 2% wanted to invest over 80% of their checks into the markets.　　The rather small survey, a poll of just 235 individuals, found 2 in 5 surveyed individuals (40%) were looking to invest their entire $1,400 stimulus check into cryptocurrencies. Mizuho extrapolated this data to find out how much of the $380 billion in direct checks would make it to the crypto market—concluding that over $40 billion was, hence, on the way into the nascent sector.　　“Bitcoin is the preferred investment choice among check recipients. It comprises nearly 60% of the incremental spend, which may imply

2021-03-17Deep Dive

Will Ethereum miners stop “shows of force” for more block rewards?

Last week, Michael D. Carter of YouTube channel Bits Be Trippin authored Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 3368. This introduces the idea of increasing block rewards from two to three Ether, with a gradual decay to one Ether over two years.　　“Changes the block reward paid to proof-of-work (POW) miners to 3 ETH from existing 2 ETH and starts a decay schedule for next two years to 1 ETH Block Reward.”　　Carter is a prominent figurehead in the backlash against EIP 1559, which intends to reform the miners‘ fee structure by burning the majority of fees. The outcome will likely lead to a drop in miners’ revenue.　　However, regardless of the opposition, EIP 1559 is scheduled to roll out in the London hard fork in July.　　Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1599　　In protest against EIP 1559, several miners have voiced support for coordinated action on April 1. They intend to concentration their hashing power with the Ethermine mining pool for 51 hours. This symbolizes their intent to harness more than 51% of the networks hash rate.　　Other stakeholders have reacted strongly against the move. But the miners supporting this action say this “show of force” is purely for educational purposes. They want to demonstrate what can happen under

2021-03-17Deep Dive

Twitter Hacker Gets 3 Years in Prison for Massive Bitcoin Scam

The teen hacker who took over popular Twitter accounts last year as part of a scam to score Bitcoin, will sign a plea bargain in a Florida court today after his lawyers submitted paperwork yesterday.　　Graham Ivan Clark will serve three years in prison and three years of probation after pleading guilty to financial fraud charges.　　Clark hacked into verified Twitter accounts belonging to celeb users such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and even socialite Kim Kardashian. He was then able to tweet out messages asking for people to send Bitcoin.　　“We are giving back to our community. We support Bitcoin and we believe you should too!” he wrote posing as Apple in a July 15 tweet. “All Bitcoin sent to our address below will be sent back to you doubled! Only going on for the next 30 minutes.”　　Similar tweets were sent from the accounts of Joe Biden, Barak Obama, Uber, and a litany of others.　　Despite all the trouble—and the big names involved—Clark and two alleged co-perpetrators Nima Fazeli (US) and Mason Sheppard (UK) only managed to snag $117,000 worth of Bitcoin from the scam.　　Fazeli and Sheppard face federal charges.

2021-03-17Deep Dive

Bitcoin mine heat-recycling firm MintGreen closes seed round led by CoinShares

Sustainable crypto mining firm MintGreen has completed its seed investment round, with top digital asset manager CoinShares leading the round.　　A portion of the funds will likely be used to support two pilot projects intended to showcase how MintGreens proprietary technology can improve the energy efficiency of Bitcoin mining.　　MintGreen has two pilot projects slated to commence next quarter. The first involves selling heat waste generated from Bitcoin mining to the Vancouver Island Sea Salt facility, where the heat being used to boil water and distil salt flakes.　　Heat waste will also be repurposed by Canadian whiskey company, Shelter Point Distillery, in their production process.　　A March 17 announcement from CoinShares notes the firms will work together to recycle heat waste from crypto mining into hot water and heating services — which will be sold to industrial clients.　　The companies hope their efforts can change mainstream perceptions of Bitcoin mining as being wasteful and inefficient, with the blog post stating:　　“We are excited to work with MintGreen, where we will join the board, and the like-minded investors we brought into this deal alongside us to help transform the Bitcoin mining landscape and its image in the mainstream media.”　　MintGreen is a Canadian-based firm that builds and operates

2021-03-17Deep Dive

MetaKovan, Buyer of Record-Setting Beeple NFT, Explains Why He Spent $69.3M

The pseudonymous founder of NFT fund Metapurse said he plans to “build monuments in the virtual world.”　　The buyer of a record-breaking $69.3 million non-fungible token (NFT)-based artwork last week says he bought it to ensure the work stays in the crypto space.　　Talking on CoinDesk TVs “First Mover” on Tuesday, MetaKovan – the pseudonymous founder of NFT fund Metapurse – said he plans to “build monuments in the virtual world” for the work by digital artist Beeple.　　“It‘s like a bridge between the traditional world and the virtual world and I think it’s more appropriate that a guy from crypto bought this,” he said.　　Appearing anonymously on CoinDesk TV behind an avatar, MetaKovan confirmed he is of Indian descent but intends to remain anonymous as he believes it lends itself to the virtual world.　　MetaKovan beat Tron founder Justin Sun to the winning bid for Beeple‘s “EVERYDAYS,” paying 42,329.453 ether in a Christie’s auction. “I had no idea who I was bidding against,” MetaKovan told CoinDesk.　　There has been some backlash to the sale, with accusations that MetaKovan is a crypto “whale,” or large holder, conducting a form of insider trading. “You should ignore those kind of comments. Its not something I spend my time

2021-03-17Deep Dive

Is Bitcoin the Answer to an Impending Post Covid Tax Storm?

Looking ahead at how the economies of the world will look once the heat has died down on the Covid-19 impact, some notable names have weighed in on what key governments could do. This has led to advice from the likes of Bitcoin believers Ray Dalio and MicroStrategys Michael Saylor.　　The United States and other countries could “impose prohibitions” on Bitcoin as part of “shocking” tax changes, investor Ray Dalio has warned. In his latest article on LinkedIn, Dalio — a recent convert to Bitcoin as an investment opportunity — laid out a bleak future for the US. investors.　　A new Tax era　　Dalio has said that because of the coronavirus pandemic, bonds have become all but useless when it comes to preserving wealth. This is not good news for governments as they attempt to claw back some of the huge amounts of debt created as its response. The US government could plan to raise taxes — and the impact could be much worse than many realize.　　“If history and logic are to be a guide, policy makers who are short of money will raise taxes and wont like these capital movements out of debt assets and into other storehold of wealth assets and

2021-03-17Deep Dive

Hedge Fund Manager Says Sell-off in US Treasury Bonds a Threat to 'High-Flying Assets' Like BTC

Hedge fund manager Bob Prince has warned that the recent sell-off in the U.S. government bond market could accelerate and this could “threaten high-flying assets” like cryptocurrencies and blank cheque companies. Prince, who is the co-CIO at Bridgewater Associates, links this looming downturn in the $21 trillion Treasury market to the improving economy as well, as growing inflation pressurizes.　　　　These two factors according to Prince could “push the Federal Reserve to consider reeling back its stimulus measures.” Still, as one report explains, the Federal Reserve policymakers are “brushing off the Treasury sell-off as a healthy reaction to the budding U.S. economic recovery.”　　However, Prince asserts that this “surge in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin is a manifestation of that environment created by the loose monetary policy of the US central bank and stimulus provided by the U.S. Congress.”　　Meanwhile, the report says U.S. inflation expectations have picked up this year, hitting the price of government bonds and pumping up their yields. This in turn has already “hit fast-growing technology companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and Tesla since their elevated valuations have been underpinned by low rates.”　　In the meantime, the same report also explains that foreign investors, one of the biggest buyers of Treasuries after the

2021-03-17Deep Dive

Long-Term Bitcoin HODLers Still Accumulating, Suggests Conviction

The active supply of bitcoin held for shorter periods of time keeps shrinking, according to Arcane Research.　　Long-term bitcoin (BTC) holders have been adding to their positions over the past 10 months as supply held for shorter time periods has shrunk, based on an analysis of blockchain data by the cryptocurrency market-research firm Arcane.　　Positive long-term holder behavior could support the broader uptrend in bitcoin, whose prices have nearly doubled this year.　　“The bitcoin supply last being active in three to five years has grown by 1.5 million BTC since the middle of May 2020. This suggests that long-term holders still accumulate bitcoin, not seeking to sell at these current prices,” according to Arcane Research.　　The three-to-five-year active supply metric started to decline at the end of previous bull market in 2017 as bitcoins price accelerated towards $19,000.　　The three-to-five-year active supply is approaching the highs of 2017.　　Since 2019, the growth of in the three-to-five year active supply indicates confidence among long-term holders.　　On the flip side, the decline in active supply of the six-month and two-year segments indicate that short-term holders have realized profits during the past years price rally, according to Arcane Research.　　Chart shows bitcoin active supply over time.　　Source: Arcane Research

2021-03-17Deep Dive

Inflation Takes Over From COVID as Biggest Market Risk: Bank of America

In a sign of just how dramatically the coronavirus vaccine has altered the market calculus on Wall Street, the fear of soaring inflation has displaced the pandemic as fund managers biggest worry, according to the latest monthly survey by Bank of America.　　And betting on a bitcoin (BTC, +3.28%) rally remains one of the hottest trades.　　According to the survey, higher-than-expected inflation is now seen as the biggest “tail risk” – an event thats seen as statistically unlikely but with potentially dramatic consequences. The coronavirus slipped from the No. 1 concern for the first time since February 2020.　　“This implies that global fund managers think vaccination will finally lead us to re-opening and that the extremely loose monetary policy in times of economic recovery is not without risk,” Jeroen Blokland, portfolio manager for the Robeco Multi-Asset funds, noted in a daily analysis.　　Concerns about rising inflation could boost hedging demand for the store of value assets such as bitcoin and gold, although recently investors have started to wonder whether the Federal Reserve might unwind stimulus as the economy reheats. That might set up the cryptocurrencys price for a fall because the 12-year-old digital asset is still seen as a risky investment, similar to stocks.　　However,

2021-03-17Deep Dive

AAVE Enables Uniswap and Balancer LP Tokens for Collateral

AAVE, one of the markets leading lending protocols, brings further offerings to its value proposition. In a recently released announcement, the protocol revealed that they have now enabled Uniswap and Balancer LP tokens to be collateralized on the platform.　　AAVE currently holds over $5 billion in total value locked, according to data from DeFi Pulse, and it ranks third in terms of this metric, trailing behind Maker and Compound.　　In a recent announcement, however, the protocol has taken steps to expand that, targeting one of the hottest segments of the DeFi market – automated market makers and, in particular, Balancer and Uniswap.　　According to the release, “the new AMM Liquidity Pool enables liquidity providers of Uniswap and Balancer to use their LP tokens as collateral in the Aave Protocol.”　　In other words, LPs no longer have to have their tokens sleep. Instead, they can borrow against them and put that capital to work.　　At launch, the platform will support 14 Uniswap V2 LP tokens and 2 Balancer LP tokens.　　Presently, those who deposit LP tokens are able to borrow the following cryptocurrencies: DAI, USDC, ETH, wBTC, and USDT.　　Additionally, users who deposit DAI, USDC, ETH, and wBTC, may also borrow AMM LP tokens, adding yet another capability.　　In

2021-03-17Deep Dive

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