Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

State Street Would Be the Fund Administrator for VanEck’s Pending Bitcoin ETF

Boston-based State Street would act as the fund administrator and transfer agent for a 比特币 (BTC, +1.33%) exchange-traded fund (ETF) for which investment manager VanEck is seeking approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).　　Should the SEC approve the ETF, State Street would provide services including ETF basket operations, custody of the ETF shares, fund accounting, order taking and transfer agency, the global custodian announced on Tuesday.　　On Monday, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) filed a Form 19b-4, announcing its intention to list shares of VanEcks bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The form starts a regulatory review process that could lead to the first approved bitcoin ETF in the U.S.　　State Street has served as an administrator for VanEck‘s Australia ETF business since 2016. VanEck’s Ireland-, Netherlands- and U.S.-based ETFs are also administered by State Street.　　“”We are pleased to continue expanding our relationship with VanEck to support [its] innovative advancements in the ETF market; including the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, Nadine Chakar, head of State Street Global Markets, said in a press release.　　“The work we have underway with VanEck is another example of State Street continuing to deliver on our broader strategy of building out the crypto and digital assets ecosystem, which

2021-03-08Deep Dive

UNI surges 50% in one week, becomes first DeFi DApp token in crypto’s top 10

The native token of leading decentralized exchange Uniswap has surged by nearly 50% this week, ranking UNI as the eighth-largest crypto asset with a $17.7 billion market cap as speculation builds for the exchanges coming V3 overhaul.　　Messari currently ranks UNI as the -second-largest Ethereum-based asset by market cap behind Tether, beating out the Chainlink by nearly 50% of its capitalization.　　UNI broke into the top 10 on March 5, becoming the first native token of a DeFi DApp to hold the distinction. In 24 hours, UNI‘s capitalization increased from $8.8 billion on March 4 to $14.7 billion, according to CoinMarketCap’s historic snapshots.　　The price of UNI is currently consolidating near yesterdays all-time high above $34, with the token last trading hands for $33.9.　　Uniswaps initial token distribution saw UNI tokens airdropped proportionally to liquidity providers, in addition to 400 tokens being sent to every wallet that interacted with the DEX as of September 2020. As of this writing, 400 UNI are worth $13.560.　　UNI‘s entrance into crypto’s top 10 follows a record month for trade volume on the exchange, with February hosting four consecutive records for weekly Uniswap trade — culminating in a monthly all-time high of $31.9 billion in volume.　　However, Uniswap‘s streak of

2021-03-08Deep Dive

The number of BTC held on exchanges crashed 20% in 12 months

Data from on-chain crypto information aggregator Glassnode indicates the number of Bitcoin held on centralized exchanges has fallen by roughly 20% in 12 months.　　The data suggests investors are accumulating BTC and withdrawing them from exchanges into cold storage, creating a supply crunch.　　On March 6, Glassnode also shared data revealing that coins purchased during 2021 were not moved at a loss during the late February dip, according to on-chain analysis.　　The firm‘s “Hodlwaves” metric, which measures the time since coins were last movedon-chain, also points to increasing accumulation activity. Hodlwaves data published on Feb. 22 indicated 57% of Bitcoin’s supply has not moved in more than one year. However, more than one-third of said BTC have not moved in more than five years, suggesting that a significant portion of the coins may have been lost.　　The increasing popularity of decentralized exchanges and DeFi yield protocols may also be driving the diminishing supply of BTC on centralized exchanges.　　Evidencing strong demand for Bitcoin in the DeFi ecosystem, the total value locked, or TVL, of BTC tokenization protocol Wrapped Bitcoin has increased by more than $1 billion since the start of March, according to DeFi Llama.　　Wrapped Bitcoin TVL: DeFi Llama

2021-03-08Deep Dive

Leading DeFi Protocol EasyFi Expands to Binance Smart Chain

The runaway success of Binance Smart Chain has helped propel the exchange‘s utility token to the top of the crypto market top ten, and has attracted some of the industry’s top projects to the chain already.　　The latest project to expand to Binance Smart Chain is leading DeFi protocol EasyFi. Heres how this latest move by EasyFi Protocol will benefit crypto investors, the project, and the ecosystem itself.　　EasyFi Protocol Integrates Binance Smart Chain Support　　Although Ethereum remains the most dominant foundational blockchain layer in the crypto market today, like any emerging technology there are challenges and limitations that developers are rushing to address.　　While Ethereum introduces scalability upgrades, DeFi applications, tokens, and stablecoins have begun to expand to additional chains, such as Polygon, or the ultra-hot Binance Smart Chain.　　The latest project to expand to Binance Smart Chain, is EasyFi Protocol and the $EASY token. EasyFi Network is a universal second-layer lending protocol currently shaking up the DeFi space. The integration was done to create new opportunities with the DeFi sector, and enable faster, more efficient transactions. The added interoperability will benefit the ecosystem and investors alike.　　EasyFi Protocol‘s $EASY token will now be available as an ERC20 token, as well as a BEP20 token

2021-03-08Deep Dive

How DAFI Protocol Rewards Long-Term Token Holders and Supports Sustainable Project Growth

As more cryptocurrency projects are beginning to understand firsthand, keeping key stakeholders and early investors involved in a projects ecosystem long-term is tough. With increasing speculation around new blockchain networks, specifically DeFi-focused platforms, cryptocurrencies can see instant price growth as they hit the market. With these profits too high for early investors to forgo, the people who supported the project earliest can end up cashing out, which is bad for the overall ecosystem.　　DAFI Protocol has come up with an innovative solution to this problem, rewarding long-term users with a metric-based reward structure that allows new crypto projects to maintain their original community over time.　　Synthetic Tokens Are the Answer　　DAFI Protocols solution revolves around synthetic tokens, or newly minted tokens produced to represent the value of other assets. Using synthetic tokens, new projects can deposit a portion of their total supply into the DAFI protocol. Following the deposit, synthetic tokens representing ownership rights to the original coins will be minted and distributed to holders. These tokens are not tradable, meaning original token holders cannot monetize these synthetic tokens while they hold them. Their only use is exchanging back for the initial token after a predetermined time period runs out.　　This may seem like

2021-03-08Deep Dive

Report: Chainlink May Eventually Eclipse Bitcoin

Chainlink is making waves in the crypto and blockchain industry, and now a report by Citi Group is suggesting something even more interesting. According to the report released earlier in the week, Chainlink is on its way to dethroning Bitcoin as the most prominent blockchain network.　　The report goes on to opine that in less than a decade from now, Chainlink could become the most favored cryptocurrency instead of Bitcoin in the international business arena.　　“Developers that utilize the Chainlink network pay with the protocols native token, LINK. Thus, a token that helps to facilitate the growth of the on-chain ecosystem may also gain prominence over Bitcoin in time as it becomes increasingly critical to the operation of the blockchain infrastructure”　　Citi Group thinks of Bitcoin as the guiding compass for the future full-blown evolution of crypto commerce. In this case, Chainlink is well-set as the immediate beneficiary.　　Recognized By WEF　　For one, Chainlink recently won the recognition of the WEF (World Economic Forum) as one of the top 100 tech pioneers in the year 2020. Thats a pretty huge boost coming from a reputable body respected the world over.　　Chainlink has been employing its resources in the development and expansion of its network to attract

2021-03-08Deep Dive

Generational Theory and The Historical Significance of Bitcoin

In a recent piece for CNN, journalist Kaya Yurleff made a rather startling announcement: emojis are dead…well, more or less. Says who？ Generation Z, that‘s who. Colloquially known as zoomers, these trendsetters were born between the years of 1996 and 2010. Everything lives, and everything dies. And emojis, we’re told, are on the way out. Times like these call for a yellow face sporting a slight frown, shedding a single, blue tear from one eye. Zoomers, however, would not approve.　　Ostensibly, what we are witnessing here is the exorcism of emojis from society. On closer inspection, though, what we‘re really witnessing is a generational shift, a shift in conceptual frameworks and cultural narratives. Can such shifts be used to explain bitcoin’s prominence？　　In 1981, William Strauss and Neil Howe developed the Strauss–Howe generational theory. Every 25 years, generation demands change; fresh social, political, and economic norms are created, often radically different from those that came before them. Established institutions are attacked and weakened, all in the name of freedom. The generation demanding change can be seen as cultural architects; in order to build, however, they must first destroy.　　1996, the year these architects first burst onto the scene, also happened to be the

2021-03-08Deep Dive

Searching deep: The quest for Bitcoin scalability through layer two protocols

As the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Bitcoins (BTC) effectiveness as a medium of exchange is still a matter for debate. Unlike fiat money that is inherently infinite in supply and must be managed by a central bank, Bitcoin is akin to gold in that it is commodity money with a finite supply of 21 million.　　However, the supply cap is not the major stumbling block for BTC as a medium of exchange, but rather, the transaction throughput. While Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned Bitcoin as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system capable of facilitating online payments without a central counterparty, seven transactions per second on average is hardly the standard for scalability.　　Indeed, scalability is only one of three major metrics required for any currency system to succeed as a medium of exchange along with adoption and liquidity. There is an argument to be made of Bitcoins growing adoption around the world across several strata of the global economy.　　Price volatility that has seen Bitcoin peak at $58,000 and then briefly fall below the $30,000 mark within the first two months of 2021 likely indicates lingering issues with liquidity. However, it‘s important to note that the current period is being characterized by a bullish advance

2021-03-08Deep Dive

UFC announces regional partnerships with top crypto-only sportsbook

Ultimate Fighting Championship, the worlds leading mixed martial arts, or MMA, organization, has announced an exclusive partnership with Stake.com — a leading crypto-powered online casinos and sportsbook.　　The partnership announced on March 7, will see Stake become UFCs “First Official Betting Partner” in Asia and Latin America. However, the deal will exclude UFCs key market in Brazil.　　The two firms began working together on March 3 — with Stakes customers receiving access to unique digital content surrounding the promotional “fight week” for UFCs March 6 pay-per-view. An announcement states the companys will also developer exclusive promotions, VIP experiences, and social content for Stake users.　　UFCs vice president of global partnerships, Nick Smith said:　　“Were thrilled to partner with an exciting and emerging platform like Stake.com to offer exclusive digital and social content to our fans, as well as an innovative gaming experience,”　　Stake is a crypto-only casino and sports betting platform that is licensed in the carribean island-nation of Curacao. Since launching in 2017, the platform claims to have turned over $35 billion worth of bets. Stake supports nine crypto assets including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Tron, and EOS, and Dogecoin.　　In January, Stake announced it had partnered with UFC Middleweight champion Israel

2021-03-08Deep Dive

Redefining the Future of Global Finance with DeFi

Decentralized, peer-to-peer, and borderless, digital assets and open networks offer a promising alternative to the way money and value has traditionally been transacted — but what is the true economic relevance of decentralized finance (DeFi), and how can it shape the future of global finance？　　In many ways, DeFi could provide us with an early window into what the future of global finance should look like. As the total value of assets locked in DeFi platforms surpasses USD 40bn, it seems more and more users are now buying into the unique features of DeFi: high yield, liquidity, flexibility, and transparency.　　Shaping the future of finance in the new normal　　While some may refer to the income earned via yield farming or liquidity mining as passive income, I prefer the term ‘coded income’, since DeFi income is hard-coded into smart contracts. Although DeFi yields are paid out in highly volatile tokens, its returns are generally significantly higher than those earned from centralized finance products.　　Interoperability is the core philosophy of the DeFi space. The flexibility of DeFi platforms comes from the technology stack composability in which new DeFi services are developed using previous tools as building blocks. Reminiscent of the popular childhood toy, these ‘money

2021-03-08Deep Dive

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