Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Domino Effect: Is India the Start of Weaker Governments Banning Bitcoin?

This week, it was revealed that India would seek to impose some of the most stringent rules globally on cryptocurrencies, banning citizens from owning, trading, transferring, or mining assets like Bitcoin and altcoins. The move comes as cryptocurrency technology captures the interest of the financial world, Bitcoin grows considerably, and India plans to introduce its own digital currency framework.　　But could this be the start of a domino-like effect where other weaker governments and economies attempt to – due to strength in numbers – follow suit and starting banning cryptocurrencies also？ Here‘s why that won’t likely happen, and even if it does, itll have very little impact on the growth of the asset class.　　India Proposes Ban on Bitcoin, Illegal to Own, Trade, Mine Crypto　　According to officials with “direct knowledge of the plan,” India will soon introduce a bill that proposes a sweeping ban on the digital asset class, including Bitcoin and altcoins like Ethereum and others. The ban includes possessing any assets, as well as conducting any activities related to cryptocurrencies, including mining, trading, investing, and more.　　The same officials familiar with the matter claim that they are confident that the bill will gain enough support under Prime Minister Narendra Modis majority

2021-03-17Deep Dive

DC Comics Warns Freelancers Not to Participate in NFT Auctions Featuring the Company's IP

DC Comics, the American comic book publisher may be getting into the non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystem in the future. The company is the oldest comic book publisher in the U.S. owning characters such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. In a letter dated on March 11, 2021, DC Comics senior VP of legal affairs wrote a letter to freelancers that said “DC is exploring opportunities” to enter the NFT market economy.　　‘DC Is Exploring Opportunities for the Distribution and Sale of Original DC Digital Art With NFTs’　　A letter from DC Comics has been revealed from a report stemming from Gizmodo i09‘s Rob Bricken that shows the American comic book publisher is exploring blockchain technology and more specifically non-fungible token (NFT) assets. The popular company also doesn’t want freelance artists auctioning NFT‘s featuring DC Comics’ intellectual property (IP).　　NFT technology has gotten so popular that the trend or search term “NFT” has touched the highest point it can on Google Trends statistical data. The letter authored by DC Comics senior VP of legal affairs Jay Kogan is a direct communication to freelance artists and it seemingly warns them not to create DC Comics-owned characters via NFTs.　　“Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are becoming the newest fan

2021-03-16Deep Dive

First-Ever Regulatory-Compliant Crypto Index XDC Launched by XinFin and Vinter

XinFin is a hybrid multi-purpose blockchain network suitable for a plethora of use cases. Now it partners with Stockholm-based crypto index provider Vinter to launch a new product, XDC crypto index.　　Introducing XDC index, the “go-to” regulated solution　　With Vinters cooperation, XDC platform introduces the XDC crypto index. It is developed in strict compliance with the requirements of the most influential digital payments regulators—namely the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and EU Benchmarks Regulation (EBR).　　Image via XinFin　　Vinter and XinFins XDC/USD Index will utilize cutting-edge tools to track the exact USD-denominated price of XDC, a core native asset of the XinFin blockchain and the “fuel” for its operations.　　According to Jacob Lindberg, founder and CEO of Vinter, this is a crucial milestone in the progress of the XDC-based digital ecosystem:　　Building a regulated XDC index is an important first step for XinFin to institutionalize its offering and to build financial products based on XDC.　　XDC index is calculated using a modern methodology that considers liquidity, exchange stability and, of course, all effective regulatory requirements of corresponding jurisdictions.　　One more instrument for sophisticated crypto enthusiasts　　Primarily, the index is designed for sophisticated market participants, such as hedge funds, custodians and other entities interested in the gateway to digital

2021-03-16Deep Dive

France's government is set to auction off $34 million in bitcoin this week

An auction house in France will host the sale of 611 BTC this week on behalf of a French government agency.　　At current prices, that amount is worth about $34.2 million, though the amount up for grabs will be sold across several hundred small tranches.　　Set for Wednesday, March 17, the auction will begin at 9 a.m. and feature 437 individual sale lots, ranging from 0.11 BTC to 2 BTC, according to the website for Kapandji Morhange.　　As noted earlier this month by French publication Cyberguere, the vast majority of the funds stem from the 2019 hack of exchange service GateHub. The funds stolen at the time were in the form of the digital asset XRP, later believed to have been exchanged for bitcoin.　　The auction is being held on behalf of AGRASC, or the French Agency for the Recovery and Management of Seized & Confiscated Assets. Per the auction notice, any participants should have registered prior to March 13.　　Bidding on roughly 0.75 BTC in an auction held by the U.S. government starts Monday afternoon, as previously reported.

2021-03-16Deep Dive

Binance Smart Chain’s Activity and Volume Outperformed Ethereum’s in February – Here’s Why

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) increased its unique active wallets by 266% and generated $745B in transaction volume in February, according to a new review by Dapps information and insights platform, DappRadar.　　The performance led to BSC surpassing the king of DeFi, Ethereum in both transactional volume and number of new unique active wallets.　　“In February 21 #BinanceSmartChain became the most significant blockchain, increasing unique active wallets by 266% and generating $745B in transaction volume.”　　The review states that BSCs growth has been driven by some key factors including transaction costs, and new investment support initiatives like the accelerator fund.　　“New investment initiatives might help to further cement the position of Binance Smart chain (BSC) in the future.”　　Transaction Costs Attracted More Users　　Active unique addresses increased from 30,000 in January 2021 to 108,000 in February. At the same period, Ethereum-based Dapps experienced a downward trend as retail investors reduced DeFi activity due to typical hefty gas fees.　　“Ethereum suffered a downward trend and had around 67,000 unique active wallets.”　　Transacting on BSC is almost ten times cheaper than transacting on Ethereum. BSC capitalized on that fact by launching multiple Dapps offering similar or better features and returns than Ethereum to encourage migration from investors.　　Out of the more than

2021-03-16Deep Dive

Synthetic Tokens Like Dafi Protocol Could Be The Solution for Liquidity

In dealing with decentralized finance and with any financial service in general, assets are the forefront aspect of the service. For legacy services like savings accounts and bonds, assets like cash must be available. Meanwhile in the DeFi world, tokens must be a fundamental part of an exchange. The biggest puzzle piece to exchanging one token for another however is liquidity. In all types of finance, liquidity refers to the ease of conversion of a particular asset given a certain timeframe and/or an available supply. Dafi Protocol is a very unique solution that may help resolve issues of liquidity and network inflation in DeFi.　　A type of asset can be analyzed for liquidity depending on its ease of access, avenues of exchange, and the supply and demand of that asset. For example, cash in most national currencies are considered liquid in the country they reside in. On the other hand, real estate is much less liquid due to the slower rate at which they can be exchanged for another asset. Bartering for an item can also be considered illiquid if that item is uncommon or not in particular demand, meaning that the item can have a price up to negotiating.　　 DeFi

2021-03-16Deep Dive

Top 5 Most Scalable Cryptocurrencies

Let‘s face it; the biggest challenge with almost all cryptocurrencies is scalability. For starters, scalability is a cryptocurrency’s capability of coping with an influx of enormous transactions at a time. For instance, if there are more than seven transactions per second on the Bitcoin network, will queue on the network for the transaction to be complicated.　　The queue can sometimes be quite long, causing transactions to take several hours to be resolved. Despite Bitcoin and Ethereum being the leading cryptocurrencies in terms of market value and popularity, they are quite slow-Bitcoin can only manage 3-7 transactions per second while Ethereum handles 15-20 transactions per second.　　This is really slow compared to traditional payment platforms such as PayPal and Visa, which can handle up to 10 000 transactions per second. Nonetheless, not all cryptocurrencies suffer from scalability issues, with some supporting up to 20 000 tps. Here, we look at the top five most scalable cryptocurrencies you can consider if youre seeking fast crypto transactions.　　State of Scalability in the Crypto Space- The Blockchain Scalability Trilemma　　From the onset, scalability has been a major challenge in the crypto space. Bitcoin openly admitted that it was not scalable through the opening line in its whitepaper, which

2021-03-16Deep Dive

Nearly $40B in US Stimulus Checks May Be Spent on Bitcoin and Stocks: Mizuho Survey

Nearly $40 billion of the latest round of direct stimulus checks could be spent on bitcoin (BTC, -9.63%) and stocks, according to a new survey.　　The research by Mizuho Securities estimates that, of the $380 billion total, close to 10% could be used to purchase the two asset types, Yahoo Finance reported Monday.　　Nearly two in five of Americans expecting to receive checks in the coming days anticipated using a portion of them to invest, the company found.　　Bitcoin is expected to account for 60% of the total invested, which could add add as much as 3% to the cryptocurrencys market value, according to Mizuho Securities Managing Director Dan Dolev.　　Dolev cited a number of crypto-adjacent companies that he believes will benefit investors most should they wish to invest in equities: Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Square.　　The survey polled roughly 235 Americans with less than $150,000 in household income, of which around 200 expected to receive payments from the latest round of stimulus.　　The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package recently signed into law by President Joe Biden would see eligible Americans receive checks for $1,400.

2021-03-16Deep Dive

Bitcoin Not a Long-Term Allocation, Says Man Group CEO

Luke Ellis said he “dabbled” in bitcoin but sees himself as a trader rather than a hodler.　　Luke Ellis, CEO of U.K. hedge fund Man Group, sees bitcoin (BTC, -9.49%) as a trading instrument rather than a long-term asset allocation.　　Appearing on CNBCs “Squawk Box” on Friday, Ellis revealed that he had “dabbled” in bitcoin but sees himself as a trader rather than a HODler.　　“I see it as a trading instrument, so we trade around it and try to provide some liquidity into the market,” he told CNBCs Andrew Ross Sorkin.　　Ellis also said he did not think it was necessary for companies to hold bitcoin on their balance sheets, describing this as “confusing” considering the business use case relative to the inherent speculation.　　“I dont think companies are supposed to be speculate with their cash balances,” he added.　　Large companies such as Tesla and MicroStrategy have disclosed large treasury investments in bitcoin in recent months.　　Man Group is a London-based hedge fund, managing around $123.6 billion for its mostly institutional clients.

2021-03-16Deep Dive

Will Symbol Help NEM Regain Its Former Glory?

Key Takeaways　　NEM is preparing to launch its Symbol blockchain.　　The new platform is aimed at enterprise applications and will include various new features.　　It remains to be seen whether the launch will help NEM become a high-ranking project once again.　　NEM, one of the earliest and most notable crypto projects, has reinvented itself by launching its new Symbol blockchain.　　Symbol Reinvents the NEM Blockchain　　Mar. 15 marks the launch of Symbol‘s public mainnet. The new platform is primarily aimed at enterprise users, with emphasis on the blockchain’s use in fintech and supply chain management.　　However, Symbol can also be used for various other ways: it can serve as a basis for DeFi apps, tokenized stocks, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), atomic swaps, and much more.　　In preparation for the launch, NEM has built up an extensive list of partnerships. It has earned support from leading crypto companies incluidng CoinGecko, Travala, Fireblocks, and GurdaWallet.　　New Token on the Way　　Symbol will not replace NEM: instead, it will run in parallel with NIS1, the original NEM blockchain. NIS1‘s original NEM token (XEM) will continue to circulate alongside Symbol’s new token (XYM).　　To prepare for XYMs launch, Symbol and NEM are working with dozens of exchanges. Certain exchanges such as Binance have already taken snapshots

2021-03-16Deep Dive

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