Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Bitcoin could soon feature on VISA network, CEO Al Kelly says

The payments giant might add cryptocurrencies to its expansive global network.　　Bitcoin on VISA？　　Payments giant VISA could soon add Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to its expansive payments network, CEO Alfred Kelly said during an online appearance last week.　　“To the extent, a specific digital currency becomes a recognized means of exchange, theres no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already supports over 160 currencies today,” said Kelly.　　However, despite the words, Kelly is not entirely convinced of the broader use case of cryptocurrencies so far. The payments veteran said that while Bitcoin was among the most widely used and known cryptocurrencies, its function was more like “digital gold” and that it was “not used as a form of payment in a significant way at this point.”　　Cryptocurrency services are, so far, allowed only for exchanges and wallet providers who receive fiat from a customer and exchange it to crypto on their end. This means that whenever a customer uses a “crypto card” at a retail merchant, the actual crypto itself does not interact with the VISA network. Instead, the exchange sells an equivalent amount of crypto, and VISA processes the payment in fiat.　　But Kelly says that could soon change. In

2021-02-01Deep Dive

Stellar Roadmap for 2021: Development for further cross-border payments and securitized assets

Stellar‘s vision for 2021 is based on their belief that this is Stellar’s year to grow in meaningful ways — growth of the number of entities building on Stellar, growth of relevant transaction volumes on Stellar, and growth of the number of people that know about Stellar. We want to do their part to ensure that Stellar is known as a credible and valuable integration option by business leaders, policy makers, regulators, and consultants.　　Their roadmap to achieve this vision is supported by three strategic pillars:　　- Support the robustness and usability of Stellar;　　- Help Stellar be the blockchain people know and trust; and　　- Foster and develop sustainable Stellar use cases for cross-border payments and securitized assets.　　This vision for Stellar and the ecosystem can only be achieved by focusing on technology, ecosystem, policy, brand, and use-case development.　　Support Robustness and Usability of Stellar.　　To ensure that Stellar is usable, scalable, secure, and robust enough to support all existing and future use cases, and to further decentralization and network trust, SDF will focus on attracting and maintaining new stakeholders and high-quality validators to Stellar. SDF will also work with the ecosystem and on the technology itself to create more safety and resilience measures.　　 a. Support

2021-02-01Deep Dive

机构继续狂热！基金信托公司Emerald Mutual购入超7.8万份GBTC

据消息称，基金信托公司Emerald Mutual Fund Advisors Trust于1月29日向美国证券交易委员会（SEC）提交该公司有关2020年12月的文件。报告称，它已经加入了通过灰度比特币信托（Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, GBTC）投资比特币（BTC）的机构热潮，目前共持有78,090份GBTC。　　推特用户MacroScope17注意到了这份文件，并指出Emerald Mutual基金在2020年9月就着手管理47亿美元。按照目前的BTC价格和1股GBTC相当于0.001个BTC以下的价格，即持有的GBT相当于约200万美元，占9月份Emerald管理资产的0.5%。　　其他备案　　MacroScope17还指出，Hellman Jordan Management报告说拥有63,355股GBT。Kingfisher Capital也向美国证券交易委员会提交了文件，并报告拥有10,667股GBT。　　机构投资者的进入被认为是2020年比特币上涨的主要动力。散户投资者有时也会有所作为，例如在年末推动比特币涨至35,000美元的过程中。但总体而言，头条属于机构投资者，如MassMutual。　　进入企业　　诸如MicroStrategy之类的企业投资者购买比特币以替换其公司国库券中的现金，是当前环境下即将出现的一个特点。MicroStrategy首席执行官Michael Saylor表示，在2021年2月，该公司将分享其如何将比特币纳入他们的资产负债表。此举将有助于帮助其他有意向的追随机构不必在法律的丛林中摸索前进。　　像PayPal等购买比特币以供零售客户使用的公司是支撑需求的第三个支柱。Pantera Capital去年11月的数据显示，仅PayPal一家公司就购买了每月开采的大约70%的比特币。　　有鲸鱼，也有灰度　　在市场上规模较大的机构采购商中，没有一家像灰度（Grayscale）一样掀起波澜。该公司在2020年入市，实现了HODLers的机构参与梦想。Grayscale对比特币的需求表明，由于监管原因，机构投资者认为间接持有加密货币更容易，他们对这种资产的兴趣正在增加。它在市场上的购买量很大，不仅仅是以美元计算：1月19日，该公司购买了16,244枚BTC，仅仅几天后，该公司就在48小时内购买了4700多枚BTC。　　灰度公司是目前机构投资者最知名的比特币渠道。然而，它并不是唯一的一家。Massachusetts Mutual通过NYDIG（原纽约数字投资集团）也向比特币投资1亿美元。　　注：原文来源于beincrypto，由Olivia编译，英文版权归原作者所有。

2021-02-01Deep Dive

What to expect from Cardano after Mary hard fork?

With the Mary hard fork around the corner, the Cardano blockchain will soon see some significant updates. These include token forging and a multi-asset ledger, both of which will pave the way for decentralized applications (DApps), native tokens, and DeFi use cases. This was the roadmap highlighted by the Cardano Foundations Elliot Hill in a recent blog.　　According to Hill, DeFi on Cardano would see lower transaction fees as transactions between native tokens and assets do not incur execution fees, owing to the way they are deployed on-chain.　　Hill also claimed that Cardano differentiates itself from other blockchains through its ‘native’ token support, wherein the tokens do not require a smart contract to run and instead, use token logic that relies directly on Cardanos ledger. User-defined native tokens will make it possible for DeFi tokens to be forged without the need for custom code, he added.　　Here, it should be noted that Cardano has begun welcoming DeFi proposals through Project Catalyst, a community-led fund with over $500,000 of funding to support initiatives on the platform.　　A result of Project Catalyst was Liqwid Finance, the first DeFi application to be built on Cardano. Liqwid Finance is an algorithmic protocol for lending and automated liquidity provisions

2021-01-29Deep Dive

DeFi platform Parsec launches with $1.25 million seed round led by Polychain

An application aiming to be the decentralized finance (DeFi) systems all-in-one trading platform has launched, and its already gotten a seal of approval from a number of cryptos biggest venture capital firms.　　Polychain Capital led Parsecs $1.25 million funding round, with participation from Robot Ventures, Volt Capital, Free Company as well as Eric Conner, Alex Pack and Will Price. Details of the round were included in a Medium postpenned by founder Will Sheehan and published Thursday.　　Before this seed round, Parsec had raised a small pre-seed from Polychains incubator program.　　The seed funding will allow Parsec to layer “complimentary services” on top of its flagship product: an interface that aggregates 30 information components and in-app trading.　　“The funds will be used to build a world-class team to achieve our lofty goals,” he told The Block in an email.　　Parsecs app represents an attempt to craft an experience in DeFi “similar to that of a professional brokerage account without the friction of custody,” according to Sheehan.

2021-01-29Deep Dive

Visa's Q1 earnings call reveals details about its crypto strategy

Visa dedicated a section to crypto during its Q1 2021 earnings call today. In his prepared remarks, CEO Alfred Kelly said Visa is poised to make crypto payments safer and more widely used through its partnership approach.　　Kelly said Visa plans to work with wallets and exchanges to enable Visa users to purchase crypto-assets, and to allow users to cash out and make fiat purchases with their crypto.　　During the call, Kelly described how the payments giant sees digital assets. At the moment, Visa sees two classes of digital assets, according to Kelly. Those that represent new assets, like bitcoin, Visa views as “digital gold,” and those that are fiat-backed, including stablecoins and central bank digital currencies. He called the second category “an emerging payments innovation that could have the potential to be used for global commerce.”　　Kelly also teased the possibility of Visa enabling crypto as a payment itself, rather than converting crypto to fiat for payments.　　“It goes without saying to the extent specific digital currency becomes a recognized means of exchange, theres no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already supports over 160 currencies today,” said Kelly.

2021-01-29Deep Dive

Money Will Flow into Bitcoin as Robinhood Restricts GameStop Trading: Max Keiser, Barry Silbert

Pumped by Twitter mentions of Elon Musk and traders on Reddit, shares of GameStop (GME) have reached a whopping $500 today.　　However, several trading platforms, like Robinhood, TD Ameritrade and Schwab, have first restricted trading GME, AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) and Nokia (NOK) trading by suspending purchases and leaving selling only.　　Now, buying has been stopped with these shares plunging by 12 percent, 38 percent and 25 percent. But traders can still sell.　　Prominent Bitcoiner Max Keiser and the founder of Digital Currency Group (Grayscales parent company) have tweeted that they now expect funds to flow into decentralized markets no one can shut down: Bitcoin and other crypto.　　Massachusetts regulator calls GME a threat to U.S. equity market　　As reported by CNBC, the chief securities regulator in Massachusetts has referred to the sharply rising GME stock today as “a broader threat to the U.S. equity market,” saying that trading these shares offers reckless risk and is undermining the market.　　According to William Gavin, over 100 percent of GameStop shares were shorted before the massive short squeeze driven mainly by retail traders on Reddit. He added that it brings uncertainty to the marketplace and compared the situation to the dot-com bubble of 1999 in terms of market

2021-01-29Deep Dive

Study: 60% of Digital Asset Holders Store Funds on Exchanges While Half Derive an Income From Crypto

Despite the risks that come with storing crypto assets with third parties, the findings of a new study suggest many cryptocurrency holders still trust exchanges with the safekeeping of their funds. Conducted by Binance Research, the study finds that 60% of “the general population store their cryptocurrencies on an exchange.” In contrast, 26% of the respondents use cold wallets and only 11% are using hot wallets.　　Security of Funds Remain a Key User Concern　　Dubbed the 2021 Global Crypto User Index, the study‘s findings “are based on a global survey issued to over 61,000 crypto users across 178 countries and regions.” The study survey, which ran from September 15 to October 25, 2020, explored questions surrounding the respondents’ demographics. Researchers also sought to understand the crypto holders attitudes, preferences, adoption, and motivations towards cryptocurrency investment.　　Meanwhile, the study findings show that despite the high percentage of the respondents who prefer storing funds with an exchange, security of the same assets remains a key. As the findings show, 28% of respondents prioritize an exchanges “reputation of being secure” when choosing the best platform to buy cryptocurrencies.　　The concern receiving the next highest consideration is the “intuitive user experience and user interface.” On the other hand,

2021-01-29Deep Dive

South Korean Bank Shinhan Seals Crypto Custody Deal with BitGo

The South Korean banking giant Shinhan is looking to take its fast-expanding crypto operations global – after striking a deal with American major crypto custody player BitGo.　　Per EDaily, the deal pertains to crypto custody – a deal that also involves the South Korean crypto firm the Korea Digital Asset Trust (KDAC), which is backed by the crypto exchange Korbit.　　Sources familiar with the South Korean banking sector told Cryptonews.com that banks in the country are increasingly fearful that forthcoming regulation will shrink the size of the domestic crypto exchange sector – driving crypto custody-keen banks overseas in search of custom.　　The Shinhan-KDAC-BitGo deal, said the firms, will see the trio “jointly promote the development of” crypto custody solutions and “provide custodial services” for “digital assets including cryptoassets.”　　The companies added that they hope to seek further “cooperation with various external partners, such as global virtual asset providers.”　　KDACs founders also include the blockchain firm Blocko and the crypto researcher Fair Square Lab. The joint-venture firm was established in March last year.　　Shinhan is growing increasingly bullish on all things crypto-related, particularly crypto custody. And the latest move follows Shinhans “strategic investment” in KDAC announced earlier this month.　　The deal also represents another coup for KDAC, which

2021-01-29Deep Dive

Ethereum dev must face jury for allegedly helping North Korea evade sanctions

A New York federal judge has denied an Ethereum developers motion to dismiss criminal charges over allegations he assisted the North Korean regime to bypass U.S. sanctions.　　The developer and former-hacker, Virgil Griffith, is accused of helping North Korea evade economic sanctions by delivering a speech during a Pyongyang blockchain conference in April 2019.　　Law360 reported that in his motion, Griffith had claimed the speech he delivered at the Pyongyang Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Conference was protected by his First Amendment right to free speech.　　Griffith also requested a bill of particulars, claiming he was unable to prepare for the hearing as the four-page indictment against him was“short and vague,” and lacked specific detail outlining his criminal conduct. However, the judge also rejected this request, finding that “adequate notice of the charges against Griffith” had been provided.　　The judge cited text messages Griffith allegedly sent to colleagues during the lead up to the conference, stating:　　“Wed love to make an Ethereum trip to the DPRK and set up an Ethereum node […] Itll help them circumvent the current sanctions on them.”　　Another message apparently noted that while Griffith did not know exactly what the purpose of the North Korean administrations interest in crypto assets was, he speculated

2021-01-29Deep Dive

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