Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Grayscale, Firm Behind Leading Bitcoin Trust, Is Hiring ETF Specialists

Digital asset management firm Grayscale might be on the cusp of trying to launch a bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to new job postings.　　The nine postings strongly suggest the New York-based firm is planning an ETF business. The listings are undated but the firm tweeted a link to its jobs board Tuesday evening. Grayscale is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, CoinDesks parent company.　　A bitcoin ETF is a retail-accessible trading vehicle that can give both individuals and institutions exposure to the bitcoin market without having to hold bitcoin itself. The industry has long clamored for an ETF, with various firms filing applications to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as far back as 2013. Grayscale has previously not applied for an ETF.　　The job postings all refer to Grayscales “ETF business,” though the firm does not currently offer any exchange-traded products. It does offer a number of cryptocurrency trusts, bitcoin being chief among them, that trade at a premium to the spot price.　　Notably, it would appear that these potential ETFs would not be limited to bitcoin vehicles.　　New business line？　　One of the postings is for an ETF Creation & Redemption Specialist, who would be responsible for managing pricing sources and

2021-03-10Deep Dive

100k Bitcoin options set to expire: here’s what to expect from the market

Bitcoin‘s price is currently $54000 based on data from coinmarketcap.com; as Bitcoin rallies towards its previous ATH of $58330, the price recovered over 8% in less than 24 hours and this is a bullish sign for Bitcoin’s price. This recovery comes at a time when the top 20 altcoins ranked on market capitalization are gaining momentum and offering over 7% gains in 24 hours.　　The asset has recovered from the price drop following the Bitcoin options expiry worth $1.2 Billion at the end of February 2021.　　Source: CoinGecko　　Looking at the price chart, it is evident that the recovery from the February price drop is complete and the price has gained over 20 percent since then. The next major event that may negatively impact the price is around the corner, 100k Bitcoin options outstanding for the March expiry.　　Despite the fact that Bitcoin inflows to exchanges are up, the price is climbing up since spot exchanges NetFlow is being absorbed by the demand – a huge 33500 Bitcoin NetFlow was absorbed. Since the price dropped from the $58400 level, over 63000 Bitcoin flowed into exchanges. Since the ATH, outflows have surpassed inflows, and this may be a reason why the price is on an

2021-03-10Deep Dive

Why bitcoin could become a standard recommendation for an average investor’s portfolio

This past week as Bitcoin hovered around $46.5k and $52.5k range, Twitter sentiments have been at their most bearish level during this bull run. Bitcoins volatile price has given many people a reason or two to question about investing in the crypto asset. CEO of ARK Investment Management, Cathie Wood, thinks otherwise. According to her, over time, the price of the digital currency will stabilize, which would allow the crypto to become more widely accepted.　　Speaking to CNBC, Wood noted the “institutional movement in to the space,” and “the diversification of balance sheets from cash into Bitcoin.” This gave her reason to believe that the asset could become a standard recommendation for an average investors portfolio. She further compared the digital asset to bonds and said:　　We [Ark Invest] think as it [Bitcoin] becomes a better accepted new asset class … We do think it will behave, actually, I would say more like the fixed income markets, believe it or not.　　Weve been through a 40-year bull market in bonds. We would not be surprised to see this new asset class become a part of those percentages. Maybe 60 equity, 20, 20.　　Across markets, a recent Goldman Sachs survey found that 40% of their

2021-03-10Deep Dive

New JPMorgan Report on Bitcoin Outlines Opportunities in Crypto Markets

JPMorgan is reportedly outlining opportunities in the crypto markets for its private banking clients who hold a minimum of $10 million in their accounts.　　The report, which was obtained by CoinDesk, uses three different metrics to propose the true value of Bitcoin (BTC).　　The first metric involves a version of Metcalfe‘s law, which states that BTC’s value is proportional to the square of the number of its users. According to JPMorgan, the application of Metcalfes law reveals that Bitcoin would be worth $21,667.　　JPMorgan also calculates the value of Bitcoin by comparing its max supply of 21 million to the price of gold, coming up with a valuation of $540,814 BTC.　　By applying the global value of money to BTCs max supply, the global investment bank says Bitcoin would be priced at $1.9 million.　　JP Morgan reportedly downplays comparisons between Bitcoin and gold, saying that its “volatility characteristics and correlation profile refute the comparison to the traditional safe-haven asset.”　　In January, the banking giants Cross-Asset Strategy team offered up three different reasons why investors should consider Bitcoin. These included the overall favorable market conditions, the diminishing returns on bonds and other traditional hedges, and the unconventional platform of Bitcoin.　　JPMorgan‘s interest in crypto doesn’t end with Bitcoin

2021-03-10Deep Dive

Three reasons to ride the NFT wave

Why are so many people captivated by the blockchain and crypto world？ It‘s an infant compared to the traditional financial world; a little unsteady on its feet, still growing and trying to figure things out. Yet it’s thrilling to watch it evolve, to discover new realms and possibilities its crashing into, to witness it disrupt and break down traditional rules and barriers.　　To see its potential in making your wildest imaginings and dreams real – virtually real. And recently, more and more people are beginning to take notice of a particularly exciting, relatively new trend: non-fungible tokens (NFTs).　　The advent of blockchain and cryptocurrencies opened the gates to making value transfer accessible to anyone, anywhere. Then DeFi, decentralized finance, entered the scene in 2020. Suddenly, blockchain technology had expanded to more complex financial use cases, from trading and insurance to savings, loan, and more. Incredibly disruptive and with limitless potential, its no wonder DeFi became the biggest craze in 2020.　　But while the large majority kept their eyes on DeFi, a shining dark horse has been growing in the shadows. NFTs are tokenized versions of an asset, digital or otherwise. They represent non-fungible assets like collectibles, artwork or real estate – items in

2021-03-10Deep Dive

German Bank Donner & Reuschel to Offer Crypto Custody Services in Response to a 'High Market Demand'

Cryptocurrency adoption among the traditional banking industry keeps spreading across the board, and it has arrived at a bank based in Hamburg, Germany. Donner & Reuschel is set to make its inception into the crypto business by offering related custody services.　　Bank Will Also Explore Further Blockchain Projects　　According to the local magazine Asscompact, the Hamburg-based private bank will offer crypto buying and custodial services. Although Donner & Reuschel didnt provide an exact date of the launch, they are expecting to deliver the products “as soon as possible.”　　Marcus Vitt, a spokesman of the bank, argued that the decision to enter the crypto business is tied to the surge of interest towards the digital assets:　　 “We have been observing the digital assets market for quite some time and are convinced of the potential of blockchain technology also concerning classic securities transactions.”　　Donner & Reuschel is a subsidiary of Signal Iduna, a group that offers insurance and financial services based in Dortmund. Moreover, Vitt stated a high demand for crypto custody services is trending in Germany, and the bank doesnt want to lag behind the trend.　　The banks spokesman added:　　 “Blockchain technology will result in the greatest structural change in the financial industry that I have

2021-03-10Deep Dive

What the new ‘Statemint’ proposal means for governance on Polkadot

Parity Technologies plans to develop and propose a generic assets parachain called Statemint as one of the first common-good chains on Polkadot, CryptoSlate learned in a release today.　　Benefiting Polkadot　　Polkadot‘s and Kusama’s on-chain governance can grant parachain slots by public referendum, instead of determining the slot winner via its auction mechanism.　　The parachains that are granted slots via governance, known as common-good parachains, provide core functionality that would be susceptible to the free-rider problem if left to the auction market dynamics.　　This parachain would provide functionality for deploying assets — from tokenized artwork to Central Bank Digital Currencies — in the Polkadot network and give their users a better experience with lower fees than existing solutions.　　As a common-good parachain, Statemint will stay fully aligned with the Relay-chain‘s token holders. As such, the Relay-chain’s governance bodies will have control over the direction of the chain and make decisions such as registering an asset without requiring a deposit, changing parameters like the deposit amount and proposing upgrades to the chains logic and functionality.　　The Relay-chains Council may also provide funding for maintenance and infrastructure costs, such as running full nodes and collators.　　The problem　　On-chain assets are usually issued as smart contracts with common interfaces. Using smart contracts

2021-03-10Deep Dive

Bitcoin Mining Giant Bitmain Accused of Illegally Hiring Taiwanese Engineers

Chinese mining hardware manufacturer Bitmain is being investigated by Taiwanese authorities on suspicion of illegally hiring engineers from local firms, according to a report by Apple Daily.　　Bitmain allegedly set up two separate units in Taiwan, Zhijiao and Xindao, to recruit top talent from big technology companies like MediaTek and ASE to develop artificial intelligence (AI) chips, thus undermining the countrys competitive advantage.　　Businesses from mainland China are prohibited by law to set up shop in Taiwan without registering with the government.　　Apart from the geopolitical battle between the two countries, Chinese semiconductor firm SMIC is the biggest rival of Taiwans TSMC, the biggest semiconductor foundry in the world. Chinese companies actively try to lure Taiwanese engineers with higher salaries.　　Both Bitmain and MediaTek are yet to comment on the matter. ASE claims that its engineers were not involved in the “poaching.”　　Branching out　　After dabbling in AI back in 2018, Bitmain, together with other top Chinese ASIC manufacturers, started focusing on chipmaking last year to hedge against uncertainty in the Bitcoin mining industry while finding a new revenue stream.　　Regulatory uncertainly remains a major risk factor for miners. For instance, Chinas Inner Mongolia region revealed its plan to shut down all existing mining farms earlier this

2021-03-10Deep Dive

1.2 Billion People Live Under Double-Digit Inflation, ‘Many Have Found Escape in Bitcoin’ Says HRF

While central banks are focusing on creating more stimulus and economists expect inflation in the U.S. to rise, a number of other countries are suffering from considerable inflation right now. On Monday, the chief strategy officer for the Human Rights Foundation, Alex Gladstein, explained that 1.2 billion global citizens are living under inflation rates as high as two to three-digits.　　Inflation: The Silent Killer of an Individuals Purchasing Power　　During the last week, a number of analysts and economists have been discussing the possible inflation rise coming to the U.S., mostly because of the massive amounts of stimulus created in 2020 and 2021. It has led economists to believe that inflation is coming to the U.S. soon, as the Federal Reserve is backed into a corner with plans to keep the easy-money schemes going strong.　　Inflation is the depletion of a currency‘s purchasing power paired against goods and services over time. Inflation can be measured by observing the currency’s purchasing power over a period of recorded time.　　For instance, an inflation calculator will tell an American how much the U.S. dollars purchasing power has lost since 1913, the very year the Federal Reserve was created. According to data, if a person spent $20 on

2021-03-10Deep Dive

Payments Firm Wirex Launches Multi-Currency Debit Card in UK, Europe

Payments platform Wirex announced Tuesday the launch of its multi-currency Mastercard debit card in the U.K. and the European Economic Area (EEA). The card supports 18 crypto and traditional currencies, Wirex said.　　The card includes real-time point-of-sale conversion, interbank and over-the-counter exchange rates, free international ATM withdrawals, zero monthly fees and free fiat-to-fiat exchanges, the firm said in a press release.　　“After reaching 75,000 people on the waitlist for the new card, these new features will help to make crypto more accessible to everyone,” Wirex said.　　The firm says it has 3.5 million customers in 130 countries.　　Wirex became Mastercards first crypto-native principal member in July; it achieved the same principal member status with Visa in December.　　“Our work with Wirex is another example of how we are empowering consumers with more choice and peace of mind in the way they shop and pay,” Edoardo Volta, head of fintech at Mastercard U.K. and Ireland, said in a statement.

2021-03-10Deep Dive

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