Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

RSK Introduces New Solution To Simplify Bitcoin DeFi Experience

IOVlabs and the RIF community have announced a new service to simplify the onboarding of novice DeFi users at the Bitcoin Smart Contract Network RSK.　　The new RIF enveloping solution supports meta-transactions that enable third parties to subsidise transaction fees, which obviates the need to use native currencies for this purpose, thereby leading to a far more “intuitive” process.　　The RSK community, in collaboration with IOVlabs and Beexo technologies have designed the enveloping solution in order to simplify the first transactions of new users and provide a familiarisation of Decentralised Finance tools and services.　　Blockchains require users to transact by paying a fee in the native currency, such as ETH on Ethereum and RBTC on RSK. This entails the new user having to buy the native tokens and then sending them to their wallets before they can even start to interact.　　RIF enveloping means Smart Wallets such as Beexo can pay the fee on behalf of the user or optionally, charge for the service in tokens.　　Diego Gutiérrez Zaldívar, CEO of IOVlabs & RSK co-founder, said:　　“Bitcoin and RSK are about enabling a new financial system open to everyone. Making our technology easy to use for non-technical users is key to drive positive change with real

2021-01-29Deep Dive

Congress announces hearings on stock market in light of Robinhood v. Reddit battle

Legislators are responding fast to the madness surrounding Gamestop and AMC shares and the hedge funds selling them short.　　On Jan. 28, Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee Maxine Waters announced a coming hearing on short-selling. Sherrod Brown, the incoming chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, similarly called for a re-examination of stock market rules.　　Short selling has been the subject of widespread controversy as the past two days have seen wild volatility for certain securities, especially Gamestop (GME). Retail traders, communicating via Reddit and buying on Robinhood, have been busy buying up GME in the face of soon-to-expire short positions from several major hedge funds.　　Earlier today, Robinhood and a number of other platforms aimed at retail investors cancelled buying on GME, in what many have been calling unfair collusion with the hedge funds in question. Waters said:　　“I will convene a hearing to examine the recent activity around GameStop (GME) stock and other impacted stocks with a focus on short selling, online trading platforms, gamification and their systemic impact on our capital markets and retail investors.”　　Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, who both sit on the House Financial Services Committee, both announced their firm opposition to Robinhoods action, with AOC calling for

2021-01-29Deep Dive

New Grayscale trust filings spin rumour mill into overdrive for six cryptocurrencies

Crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments filed new trusts for Aave, Cardano, Cosmos, EOS, Monero, and Polkadot in the Delaware corporate registry.　　As expected, each respective community is bullish over the news. However, filings do not necessarily mean Grayscale will follow through with them. The firm commented on the matter by saying filings relate to preparation for possible trust launches. But that in itself is no guarantee of any future launch.　　Source: icis.corp.delaware.gov　　A Chainlink filing was made at the Delaware corporate registry office a week ago, fanning speculation over the imminent introduction of a Grayscale Chainlink trust.　　This was followed by a +20% breakout performance from LINK and a subsequent new all-time high, at $25.36.　　In conjunction with the news, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein had also posted a Justin Sun-style teaser tweet saying:　　“Stay tuned CT, @Grayscale and I have something good for you in the AM! (yes, that was the announcement of the announcement)”　　But much to the Link Marines disappointment, this tweet later turned out to relate to a $1 million donation and pledge match to Coin Center.　　Coin Center is a non-profit organization based in Washinton, DC, that advocates public policy concerning cryptocurrencies. Its mission is to promote regulatory change thats conducive to blockchain innovation.　　At

2021-01-29Deep Dive

Are cryptocurrencies legal? How do I protect myself?

Are cryptocurrencies legal？　　Theres no question that theyre legal in the United States, though some country has essentially banned their use, and ultimately whether theyre legal depends on each individual country. Also be sure to consider how to protect yourself from fraudsters who see cryptocurrencies as an opportunity to bilk investors.　　 How do I protect myself？　　If youre looking to buy a cryptocurrency in an ICO, read the fine print in the companys prospectus for this information:　　Who owns the company？ An identifiable and well-known owner is a positive sign.　　Are there other major investors who are investing in it？ Its a good sign if other well-known investors want a piece of the currency.　　Will you own a stake in the company or just currency or tokens？ This distinction is important. Owning a stake means you get to participate in its earnings (youre an owner), while buying tokens simply means youre entitled to use them, like chips in a casino.　　Is the currency already developed, or is the company looking to raise money to develop it？ The further along the product, the less risky it is. It can take a lot of work to comb through a prospectus; the more detail it has, the better

2021-01-28Deep Dive

Why More Institutional Traders Are Stacking Up Ethereum

Ethereum; A Better Store of Value？　　Over the years, bitcoin had been the major store of value in the crypto space, with investors clinging to it as an edge against economic turmoil. However, institutional traders are now taking a keen interest in ethereum as well.　　Coinbase‘s annual review for 2020 noted that there’s a growing interest from institutional clients in ether. The reason for this is tied to how investors valued the Ethereum network.　　For one, its the native currency of the network. Because ethereum has been a platform of choice, being the backbone of numerous valuable projects, ether will always be required to power transactions on the ethereum network.　　“The case for owning ethereum [ether] we hear most frequently from our clients is a combination of, first, its evolving potential as a store of value and, second, its status as a digital commodity that is required to power transactions on its network,” the report says.　　Coinbase, Gemini, Others, Bullish on Ether and DeFi　　In a statement to Coindesk, Arthur Cheong, the founder, and portfolio manager at DeFi-focused crypto fund DeFinance Capital, expressed his opinion on institutional interest in ether and DeFi. In his words, he says;　　“I think the more adventurous institutions are exploring ethereum and

2021-01-28Deep Dive

Bitcoin ETF unlikely until market cap reaches $2 trillion, fund manager says

Sorry, no Bitcoin ETF　　Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been on the wishlist of crypto market participants for years now, especially among the retail and professional managers in the US.　　Such products are regulated, custodied crypto offerings that would allow traders and investors to bet on the growth (or fall) of cryptocurrencies using a well-regulated, legal, and reputed platform which minimizes counterparty risk (the scenario of an exchange failing to pay out or acknowledging ones trade position).　　Investors have waited long for such a fund to make an appearance in the US, and they may have to wait even more if one fund manager is to be believed.　　Cathie Wood, the CEO of the crypto-focussed division of Ark Investment, said in a recent appearance at the ETH Trends Big Ideas event that the crypto market had a long way to go before it could be considered formidable in the US markets.　　As per Wood, the entire crypto market cap needs to reach at least $2 trillion for Bitcoin or crypto ETFs to be considered/passed by US regulators. This is a near 200% increase than the $700 billion market cap that Bitcoin managed to reach earlier this month, its highest-ever.　　She said, The flood of

2021-01-28Deep Dive

Research Proves Recent Transfers of 8,000 Ten-Year-Old 'Forgotten Bitcoins' Were Sold to Coinbase

The Case of the Mysterious 2010 Block Reward Spends　　For a while now our newsdesk at news.Bitcoin.com has been monitoring a strange bitcoin (BTC) whale that has been spending coins mined in 2010. The bitcoins were mined a decade ago and they had never been moved since the day the block rewards were discovered. However, throughout 2020 and into 2021, news.Bitcoin.com has tracked a total of 7,000 BTC that mysteriously moved after ten years. Our team has worked with researchers at Btcparser.com and weve also discussed the topic with the Russian blockchain researcher and the author of the Telegram channel “gfoundinshit,” Issak Shvarts.　　Shvarts has also leveraged the parser Btcparser.com and the blockchain explorer oxt.me. The researcher believes he has provided 100% proof that the old school bitcoins are now owned by Coinbase, and even dispersed to the San Francisco exchange‘s customers. Shvarts has also tracked an aggregate total of 8,000 BTC, which is worth over $250 million using today’s exchange rates.　　“I have previously suggested that these bitcoins belong to Coinbase,” Shvarts details in his latest report. “Now, I am sure of that,” he added.　　His research study suggests that there‘s a consolidation of 20 wallets, 50 BTC each for one address. Then

2021-01-28Deep Dive

South Korean Lawmaker Wants To Criminalize Crypto Manipulation

Per News1, the measure is the brainchild of the opposition People Power Party MP Lee Ju-hwan, who has criticized architects of the existing legal framework for being overly focused on anti-money laundering protection in all things crypto-related.　　Courts and prosecutors in the country have previously charged individuals who have been accused of market manipulation under existing fraud laws, but Lee claims that there is no specific legal basis to address unethical trade practices in the crypto sphere for market price manipulation, crypto speculation offenses or the imposition of excessive fees by virtual asset service providers (VASPs).　　Lee, gave the example of a domestic crypto exchange whose executives agreed to list a token in exchange for crypto payments worth “hundreds of millions of dollars” – as part of a wider plan to drive up token prices. He also spoke about a company whose CEO was sentenced to prison time after “arbitrarily manipulating” trading figures.　　However, the lawmaker claimed that existing regulations did not specifically pertain to the crypto sector.　　If passed, the legislation would also seek to punish the perpetrators of insider trading and purposeful info leaking on forthcoming listings.　　And the MP added that “frequent” abuses of power were now common in the crypto industry,

2021-01-28Deep Dive

Ark Invest Reveals What Could Push Bitcoin to $500,000

In brief　　Bitcoins price could increase by $40,000 if Ss report.　　If institutional investors allocate 6.5% in BTC across the board, its price could surge to $500,000.　　Today, Bitcoin already “deserves a strategic allocation in well-diversified institutional portfolios,” the researchers noted.　　Bitcoins (BTC) price could surge by at least $40,000 if institutional investors allocate just 1% of their funds in BTC, according to the annual research report published by ARK Investment Management yesterday.　　“According to our research, if all S&P 500 companies were to allocate 1% of their cash to bitcoin, its price could increase by approximately $40,000,” ARKs researchers asserted.　　If these companies went further and converted 10% of their cash to Bitcoin, its price could increase by $400,000 instead, putting it around $430,000, the report claimed.　　Arks maximum price target　　At the same time, global institutional allocations between 2.5% and 6.5% across the board could push the price of Bitcoin far beyond even that, to anywhere between $200,000 and $500,000. And roughly 6.5% is exactly the portion of their funds that big players should invest in Bitcoin to maximize returns, the researchers noted.　　“Based on daily returns across asset classes during the past 10 years, our analysis suggests that allocations to bitcoin should range from 2.55% when

2021-01-28Deep Dive

TomoChain Launches LuaSwap: Attempts to Fight High ETH Gas Fees

Ever since last summer, the DeFi space is booming. The total value locked in various protocols has surged to more than $24 billion, up some 4000% in less than a year. But theres one challenge that many believe is hampering the further growth of the space – sky-high ETH gas fees.　　The Booming DeFi Space　　The massive increase in popularity of decentralized finance (DeFi) led to the creation of hundreds of projects, each one battling to garner the users trust. One of the more successful ones is Uniswap – an automated market maker and a decentralized exchange for ERC20 tokens. This, however, created an issue.　　Ethereums suffering from congestion: with so many apps and people using the network, gas fees are highand transactions can be slow. In fact, gas fees have been so high lately that many started to question whether DeFi is actually only profitable for larger holders.　　TomoChain proposes a solution to this with its Proof of Stake Voting (PoSV) consensus algorithm which incentivizes all token holders to be active in staking across a network of over 150 Masternodes. In essence, the goal is to help Ethereums network function more efficiently.　　Enters LuaSwap　　Put simply, LuaSwap is a coin-swapping platform which enables users to

2021-01-28Deep Dive

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