Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Crypto Mining Surge: Is Russia the Next Crypto Mining Hub

Crypto mining activities come with a challenge, it is a power-consuming task, and the problem miners are having with local authorities where crypto assets and facilities are located is energy consumption issues.　　Many nations are cracking down on mining activities in their domain to save their energy generation and consumption. The latest to join the bandwagon is Inner Mongolia in China, which accounts for over 8% of total global crypto mining activities but is ready to stop mining because of its environmental problems on the province coal and fossil power generating system.　　However, the surge in mining activities in some parts of Russia may attract major miners displaced in China to move their rigs to Russia to continue their mining business.　　Chinas Inner Mongolia Ban on Crypto Mining　　In early March, crypto mining suffered a setback as a mining province in China banned Bitcoin mining in the region.　　Chinas Inner Mongolia is a huge energy-consuming province that accounts for more than 8% of the total Bitcoin mining activities, according to data from a reliable source.　　Cheap tariffs were responsible for miners love for China, reliance on fossil and coal sources for generating electricity raises environmental concerns associated with emissions that characterize the use of coal and

2021-03-16Deep Dive

‘Analysis Ongoing’: Nifty Gateway Addresses NFT Security Concerns

The popular NFT marketplace suggests users use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication.　　Nifty Gateway, the popular non-fungible token marketplace, warned in a statement that a small group of its users experienced “account takeovers.” Victims have claimed they either had their NFTs stolen or NFTs purchased using their credit card information and then stolen.　　One Twitter user claims to have lost more than $150,000 worth of NFTs.　　Another Twitter user claims to have had his credit card information used to purchase more than $10,000 in NFTs. He also says his pre-purchased NFTs have been stolen.　　In its statement Nifty said, “Our analysis is ongoing but our initial assessment indicates that the impact was limited, none of the impacted accounts had 2FA enabled, and access was obtained via valid account credentials.”　　Two-factor authentication (2FA) is not currently mandatory on Nifty Gateway, but that may be changing. 2FA is an extra layer of security that forces someone to provide two pieces of evidence proving his or her identity when trying to access an online account. Usually it comes in the form of a password and a unique code for one-time use.　　“A few users were targeted and got their passwords compromised,” said Nifty Gateway co-founder Griffin Cock Foster

2021-03-16Deep Dive

The Top Blockchain Launches to Watch in March 2021

2021 is proving to be another massive year for the blockchain space. Total Value Locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols has hit $45 billion with NFTs raking in over $200 million in sales in the past 30 days. As March gets into gear, there are several major blockchain launches scheduled that you definitely wont want to miss and a few recent launches to keep on your radar.　　From protocols to NFT platforms, the following projects represent some of the most promising teams, product-market fits, and communities. Many have launched or will be launching public sale rounds on various launchpads to offer an opportunity for public participants to support the projects. This means a chance to participate if you were too late to the private sale.　　Here is the list (in no particular order) if the most promising blockchain launches this month.　　DAFI Token Launch　　Telegram: https://t.me/dafiprotocol　　Twitter: https://twitter.com/dafiprotocol　　DAFIs protocol has been in development since 2018, and now its initial token launch is set for March 2021. The primary purpose of the project is to bring sustainability and inflation control to DeFi. Many DeFi protocols have struggled to manage hyperinflation via excess supply as they have sought to reward early adopters.　　DAFI will link user adoption to a

2021-03-16Deep Dive

South Korea Authorities Arrest Tax Evaders Hiding Assets in Crypto

On March 15, South Koreas tax watchdogs announced they had caught over 2,400 culprits who had used crypto to hide their assets to avoid getting taxed. According to data collected by the National Tax Service, 2,416 tax evaders had accumulated $32M in cryptocurrencies, including BTC and ETH. The crackdown picked out individuals that had made profits over $10M while evading tax, and the NTS recovered all the hidden assets in cash and bonds.　　South Korea became a digital asset hotspot after passing laws to allow virtual currencies back in March. According to NTS, the number of cryptocurrency investors over the year has increased by almost a million. Earlier this year, the countrys financial authorities revealed their plans to impose a 20% tax on cryptocurrency profits collected annually as of 2022. The tax will apply to earnings above the $2,260 mark.　　South Koreas Crypto Market　　Virtual currencies have somewhat been something of a red zone for South Korea. A few years ago, South Korea‘s government tried hard to suppress crypto enthusiasts’ demand to include virtual currencies into the financial market. Before the countrys government passed the law that allowed crypto trading, tax agencies and local police were frequently raiding crypto exchanges to investigate allegations

2021-03-16Deep Dive

How Bitcoin Will Become A “Report Card” On The Government

Bitcoin price has pulled back slightly from highs, but the trend has been up for over a year now, and is likely to continue as the nascent technology becomes widely adopted by institutions and traditional market investors.　　In the future, the cryptocurrency, according to a top industry figure, will become a “report card” of sorts, scoring the government and its management of monetary policy. Heres what that means for Bitcoin and why the asset will eventually take on such a role.　　Bitcoin To Become Report Card On The Government　　The narratives driving Bitcoin these days are nearly endless. Theres the devaluing of precious metals through the digital gold narrative; the currency as the future of collateral; “the stimulus asset”; and much more.　　The next narrative and role that the cryptocurrency is will play, according to Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, is “report card for how citizens think the government is doing managing their finances.”　　These sentiments echo Bitcoin expert Preston Pysh, who recently called the cryptocurrency a “manipulation gauge.” Both comments are in reference to the asset growing rapidly in response to ongoing money supply expansion, driven by government-led stimulus packages.　　The United States, for example, has just approved and begun issuing stimulus checks to taxpayers

2021-03-16Deep Dive

Tesla Board Member’s Crypto ‘Conflict of Interest’ May Blight Bitcoin Buy

The Tesla-bitcoin (BTC) plot continues to thicken after it was revealed that one of the decision-making board members who may have approved the auto giants game-changing crypto move is an investor with board seats at two major crypto players.　　Per The Telegraph, Tesla independent board member Antonio Gracias was part of a four-member audit committee that may have approved Teslas BTC purchase.　　But Gracias seems to have skin in the crypto game, as he and his investment vehicle Valor Equity Partners have invested in BitGo, an American crypto custody heavyweight, and the crypto contract trading platform ErisX, per data from the startup info repository PitchBook. He currently holds board seats at both companies.　　Gracias also backed crypto venture Harbor, a company that BitGo snapped up in an M&A deal last year.　　The report alleged that Tesla would likely “face further questions” as a result of the news, with Tesla supremo Elon Musk already in line to face a grilling from the top American financial regulator, the Securities and Exchanges Commission, over his Twitter activity leading up to the announcement.　　Gracias was described as a “longtime Musk ally.” He first invested in Tesla in 2005, joining the automaker‘s board in 2007, although he is due to

2021-03-16Deep Dive

Alameda Research invests $2M into crypto market maker Efficient Frontier

The news was announced by Efficient Frontier on March 15, with the company stating the funding will be used to “expand its balance sheet” and build its position within the crypto asset sector. Efficient Frontier chief executive, Roei Levav, stated:　　Sam Bankman-Frieds Alameda Research has invested $2 million in Tel-Aviv-based algorithmic crypto market maker, Efficient Frontier.　　“This funding, coming from such a strong team, is humbling and will help us to further improve our value proposition to our partners.”　　“Efficient Frontier is one of the most advanced trading companies in our space,” said Alamedas co-founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried. “We have been working together since the early days and their team, technology, and outlook on the industry is what made us so excited to join their ride.”　　Efficient Frontier is also backed by venture capital firms Collider Ventures and Follow The Seed.　　Since launching in 2017, the market maker has provided liquidity to dozens of crypto exchanges, including both centralized and decentralized platforms. Levav noted Efficient Frontiers trade volume grew by “hundreds of percent” during 2020, stating: “Last year has been very important for both the industry and our growth.”　　The company claims to have supplied liquidity for more than 1,000 pairings in both spot and

2021-03-15Deep Dive

Anchor Begins Countdown to Launch of Bank-Beating DeFi Savings Account

Anchor, the much-anticipated cryptocurrency savings account from the team at Terraform Labs, appears to be finally nearing a go-live date, based on a countdown clock on its website.　　Under the plan announced last summer, Anchor would allow users to hold Terraforms UST stablecoin, pegged to the U.S. dollar, and earn returns that consistently outpace the annual percentage yield (APY) of savings accounts at U.S. banks.　　Anchor represents a significant new decentralized finance application independent of Ethereum (where most of the DeFi action takes place): a basic savings account that should be more than competitive with traditional banks.　　Based on its own implementation of the Tendermint consensus mechanism, UST has a market cap of just under $1 billion, making it the fifth-largest stablecoin, according to CoinGecko. The token has spread from its native blockchain to Ethereum and Solana.　　Anchor was originally slated for an October launch, but the team pushed that to late November. With the countdown showing on the site now, this could really be it.

2021-03-15Deep Dive

Van de Poppe: How To Take Advantage of the Altcoin Bull Cycle

Popular crypto trader and market strategist Michaël van de Poppe updated followers on how to get the most out of the ongoing crypto bull cycle.　　Speaking in a new YouTube video, Poppe outlined a method for altcoin investors to take advantage of the ongoing bull cycle. Poppe recommended following a dollar-cost averaging (DCA) method, whereby investors put small amounts of capital into chosen assets at regular intervals.　　He said:If you DCA into the markets then your horizon is multiple years from here… In that approach if something is running heavily you still want to start DCAing or buying a tiny portion every day… accumulating a position that you want to sustain for the coming years.　　Poppe recommended a swing trading method for investors interested in short-term gains. Under the program, investors look for good entry points on high-risk, high-reward crypto-assets that are limited to a daily time frame. The popular trader warned that shorter time frames increase the risk of investment, and therefore investors should adjust their allocation accordingly.　　Poppe said of short-term trades:　　“The approach is different than when you are swing trading as now you are looking at a smaller horizon. The stop loss and take profits areas also will be closer together.”　　The

2021-03-15Deep Dive

Blockchain funding bonanza

Bitcoin just keeps Bitcoin-ing.　　With President Biden signing the $1.9T COVID relief bill into law, expectations for rising inflation (and the $1.4k stimulus checks as a new source of demand) sent BTC over the $60k milestone.　　The cryptocurrency is now up ~12x in the last 12 months.　　Crypto companies are booming　　The biggest fish, Coinbase, is headed for a $100B+ public debut, while last week saw 2 big funding rounds in the space.　　First up: BlockFi, which raised $350m at a $3B valuation, per TechCrunch. Billed as a financial services startup for crypto, BlockFi offers products for:　　Retail investors: Users can buy and sell crypto on an app. But, crucially, BlockFi also offers interest on crypto savings (6%+) and lends money against crypto holdings so people looking for liquidity dont have to sell their assets (it has lent $10B+ so far).　　Institutional clients: BlockFi provides trade execution services to help organizations secure large blocks of crypto.　　Today, the startup has 265k+ retail and 200+ institutional clients, while monthly revenue has hit $50m (vs. $1.5m a year ago).　　Next up is FalconX…　　… another crypto trading platform that aims at institutions, and which raised $50m. As Bitcoin surged over the past year, the platform saw its revenue increase 46x.　　These funding moves

2021-03-15Deep Dive

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