Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

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

Huobi and Seychelles regulators can’t agree on where the exchange is registered

The major crypto exchange has long claimed registration in the famous offshoring haven.　　Despite long claiming to be compliant with local laws, Huobi has not registered with the proper authorities, according to regulators in Seychelles.　　On Monday, the Seychelles Financial Services Authority, or FSA, posted an official statement saying that Huobi Global Limited is not registered in the country, despite being the International Business Company publicly affiliated with Huobi.coms crypto services.　　The FSA stated that Huobi Global Limited does not hold any license issued by the regulator to undertake in virtual asset trading. “Therefore, the entity is not being regulated by the FSA nor has it been in the past,” they said. The authority went on to urge investors and the general public to be alert in respect to services offered by Huobi Global Limited as well as “any other company providing such services.”　　Speaking to Cointelegraph, a Huobi spokesperson denied the FSAs announcement, saying, “Huobi Global Limited is a Seychelles registered company under Huobi Group. It provides services to global customers in accordance with applicable laws.”　　The spokesperson added, “We are currently in good standing with the FSA and communicating closely with them to clarify the situation. It is our understanding that the alert

2021-03-10Deep Dive

Major Swiss retailers set to debut Bitcoin gift cards

Manor and Valora are leveraging the current crypto hype to sell Bitcoin gift cards in their stores across Switzerland.　　Switzerlands crypto boom has entered another dimension with retailers rolling out Bitcoin (BTC) vouchers and gift cards.　　According to Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger, Manor — the countrys largest department store chain — is already selling Bitcoin voucher cards in 59 of its branches.　　Meanwhile, the retail giant Valora will begin selling BTC gift cards in its kiosks across the country starting April 1.　　Dubbed “Cryptonow,” the Bitcoin vouchers are from the stables of Värdex Suisse, a cryptocurrency financial services firm. Värdex is also a subsidiary of major Swiss crypto exchange Bitcoin Suisse.　　According to Simon Grylka, head of operations at Värdex, Cryptonow offers a simple onboarding channel for would-be cryptocurrency adopters daunted by the usual avenues for acquiring virtual currency. For Grylka, the Cryptonow voucher is akin to digital gold coins.　　The Cryptonow voucher cards will be available in three different variants ranging from 100 to 500 francs ($107 to $535). The Värdex Bitcoin gift card product is coming amid continued growth in Switzerlands crypto and blockchain industry.　　As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the top-50 blockchain firms in the Crypto Valley are up more than 680% in value since

2021-03-10Deep Dive

Why Bitcoin Is More Of An Inflation Hedge Than A Tech Stock

Coming to gentle after the monetary darkness of 2007-2009, Bitcoin was birthed—however it doesn‘t have a mother or father or a house. As an asset exactly constructed to cope with the shortcomings of central planning, will or not it’s efficiently examined within the doubtless close to way forward for run-off inflation？　　Coalescing Hyperinflation Narrative　　In a deliberate economic system, you will need to observe what the central committee is as much as. Final week, on Tuesday, the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell addressed the Senate Banking Committee. Few had been shocked to be taught that financial hardship and instability will proceed. Accordingly, the Feds present insurance policies will proceed as deliberate.　　Particularly, the Fed funds price—an vital rate of interest set for industrial banks to lend and borrow—should be maintained throughout the vary from 0% to 0.25%, persevering with its historic low.　　Powell famous that sturdy demand is pushing Treasury invoice yields close to zero. When you recall, Treasury yield represents an efficient rate of interest paid by the U.S. federal authorities to borrow cash. Total, Powell concluded that financial restoration is “removed from full”, which necessitates extra Quantitative Easing (QE). In different phrases, additional enhance of the already record-breaking cash provide surge.　　Till the

2021-03-10Deep Dive

Decision Time in the Dollar Could Impact Bitcoin Trend Dramatically

Bitcoin price is back trending upward after reclaiming $50,000 and the pivotal $1 trillion market cap level. With new all-time highs in sight, the only factor that could have a dramatic impact on the current crypto market trend, is a reversal in the dollar. This reversal has been brewing for some time, but has yet to come to fruition. Its now decision time, and what happens in the dollar in the next 24 to 48 hours is especially critical for the continued bull market.　　HOW BITCOIN HAS BENEFITTED FROM ONGOING STIMULUS EFFORTS　　The last year has been among the worst in the dollars history, seeing a historic decline in the face of continued debasement by the US government. As more stimulus packages are approved, the overall fiat money supply continues to balloon and swell to unprecedented proportions.　　With the value of the dollar in decline, investors have sought to put capital in the stock market, and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Once Bitcoin and Ethereum took such a commanding lead over stocks, the crypto bull trend kicked into overdrive and has barely looked back since.　　Bitcoin has since emerged as the “stimulus asset” according to economists, making it the best hedge against post-pandemic inflation. However, if

2021-03-10Deep Dive

Digital Assets Firm Taurus Integrates Aave Protocol to Improve Banking Access to DeFi

Taurus Group said it has integrated the Aave Protocols version 1 and 2.　　Swiss fintech firm Taurus Group has integrated the decentralized finance (DeFi) Aave Protocol into its asset infrastructure, allowing banks and exchanges to deposit and borrow digital assets.　　In an announcement, Taurus Group said it has integrated the Aave Protocols version 1 and 2 into its end-to-end digital asset infrastructure.　　Aave is a DeFi protocol used for both retail and institutional clients, providing users with a decentralized backend infrastructure for lending and borrowing.　　The Aave Protocol is being used in the Taurus Group custody product “Taurus-PROTECT” as well as its smart contract issuance and interaction platform “Taurus-CAPITAL,” allowing institutional clients to deposit, withdraw and borrow assets, and stake AAVE tokens, said the firm.　　“DeFi provides transparent, efficient and cost-effective solutions for banks to deploy their capital more effectively. We are excited to work with Taurus, whos a leader in onboarding banks to DeFi through its secure custodian and smart contracts platforms,” said Aave CEO Stani Kulechov.

2021-03-09Deep Dive

Automata Network Launches With $1M in Funding to Help Keep Dapps Private

The seed round was jointly led by KR1, Alameda Research, IOSG Ventures, Divergence Capital and Genesis Block Venture　　Decentralized service protocol Automata Network has announced its official launch, backed by a $1 million investment.　　The seed funding round was co-led by various blockchain and decentralized protocol investors, including Genesis Block Ventures, IOSG Ventures and Sam Bankman-Frieds Alameda Research.　　Automata Network provides what it calls “middleware-like” services for decentralized applications (dapps), helping them maintain privacy while allowing frictionless integration onto platforms like Ethereum and Polkadot.　　The protocol harnesses a cryptographic scheme called “oblivious RAM” to conceal data access patterns, while its privacy relayer will offer functionalities such as tamper-proof data sourcing and anonymous voting.　　Automata will attempt to “capture an immediate market demand for privacy-preserving DeFi applications without having to rewrite them,” according to IOSG partner Xinshu Dong.

2021-03-09Deep Dive

Connect Financial to List CNFI Tokens with BitMax

BitMax.io (BTMX.com), an industry-leading digital asset trading platform built by Wall Street quant trading veterans, has announced the listing of CNFI Tokens under the trading pair of CNFI/USDT on Mar 8th at 9:00 a.m. EST.　　Connect Financial is offering the worlds first true Crypto Visa Credit Card that allows users to use their assets as collateral without spending them. Staking CNFI tokens assigns the　　user a credit card tier and its associated features and benefits. Tier levels are based on　　the number of CNFI tokens staked.　　Other Crypto Card projects are essentially prepaid debit cards, which are often met with　　severe limitations on their usage or acceptance. Most require users to liquidate their cryptocurrency and load their card with fiat currency which they then spend on demand. Other projects even require users to convert their digital assets into their token, which is then used as cash on the card.　　The Connect Financial Crypto Visa Credit Card allows users to hold their crypto as long as they want by offering credit based on their cryptocurrency collateral. Users can choose to convert and spend at the point of purchase or they can carry it forward and pay it off with fiat if they want to keep their crypto

2021-03-09Deep Dive

...

694696

...

742