Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Former Social Media Giant Cyworld To Return With A New Token

The erstwhile South Korean social media giant Cyworld is set to take a second stab at relaunching its business under new ownership – in a bid to retain its former glory with a new token.　　Per Hanguk Kyungjae, the firm is now under new ownership, after a consortium of at least five domestic firms – all unnamed except for entertainment company SKY E&M – snapped up Cyworld from its troubled former owner for a paltry USD 897,000.　　The media outlet pointed out that, as an unpaid wage bill to Cyworld employees totaled around the same amount, the consortium had, in effect, picked up a company with a worth of zero.　　However, the Cyworld brand name is still strong in South Korea. The social media network launched in 1999 and enjoyed enormous popularity in the early 2000s, with some 25% of the nation believed to be active Cyworld users at its peak toward the end of the decade. It was bought out by business conglomerate SK in 2003, and its popularity spread to China and other Asian nations.　　A data leak and the rise of non-domestic social media platforms led to a sharp decline after 2011, though, and the firm was eventually sold off to

2021-02-04Deep Dive

Kucoin Recovers All Stolen Funds From 2020’s $285 Million Hack

As the first few weeks of 2021 have concluded, various firms in the crypto world have provided their communities with recaps of the previous year and have given briefs on what to expect moving forward. Few of these were as anticipated as that of KuCoin, the popular cryptocurrency exchange which suffered a security breach in September 2020.　　The breach was no small one, as over $285 million was stolen from the exchange. Now, in an open letter to the community, Johnny Lyu, the CEO of KuCoin, has finally addressed the issue as well as what steps the exchange is taking.　　The Root of the Matter 　　Lyu, in the letter, noted that crypto exchanges are always wary about their security protocols, calling them the ‘sword of Damocles’ that hangs over exchanges. He clarified that once the management became aware of the security breach, they took measures to protect both their partners and their customers. Deposits and withdrawals were resumed a week after the incident before all features were then restored.　　Furthermore, a majority of the funds that were stolen have been recovered. KuCoin‘s cooperation with other crypto exchanges led to the recovery of 78% of the missing funds and assistance from law enforcement also

2021-02-04Deep Dive

Hanwha to acquire $52M stake in crypto exchange Upbit’s parent company

South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group is reportedly acquiring a stake in the parent company of major local cryptocurrency exchange Upbit.　　Hanwha Investment and Securities, the securities brokerage arm of Hanwha Group, has reached an agreement to buy a 6.15% stake in Upbit operator Dumanu for 58.3 billion won ($52.24 million), The Korea Herald reported on Feb. 3.　　According to the report, the acquisition of 2.06 million shares is scheduled to take place on Feb. 22. A representative from Hanwha said that the deal is a long-term investment for the company to keep up with the fast-growing fintech industry and digitization:　　“As we are focusing on developing more digital services, we anticipate to achieve meaningful results in fintech related businesses. Since Dunamu already has a high-skilled innovative finance service, we decided to cooperate with the financial technology firm.”　　As an operator of a major crypto exchange in South Korea, Dunamu has been introducing more digital asset services recently. In mid-January, Dunamu introduced the Bitcoin (BTC) “fear and greed” index intended at helping digital asset investors make better decisions.　　Hanwha is one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea alongside giants like Samsung, Hyundai, LG, and SK Group. The company has been actively growing its involvement in

2021-02-04Deep Dive

CoinFlip Grows By 359% YoY, Crosses One Million Transactions In 2020

CoinFlip had a monster of a 2020 wherein overall revenue increased by 359% YoY, and their overall transactions crossed one million.　　The leading Bitcoin ATM operator had grown its network from 441 ATMs to 1,400 ATMs in 2020.　　What Is CoinFlip？　　CoinFlip is the worlds leading Bitcoin ATM operator that supports the buying and selling of nine major cryptocurrencies. They cut transaction fees by more than 50% and offer a simple UX and 24/7 customer support. The company was founded in 2015, and they aim to “advance crypto adoption, accessibility and liquidity to support communities, like the underbanked, who need it most.”　　More Details About CoinFlips Expansion　　CoinFlip ATMs are currently operational in 45 out of the 50 states in the United States. They have also seen an average 48% increase in the amount per customer transaction in 2020. CEO and founder of CoinFlip, Daniel Polotsky, commented about this growth:　　“2020 was the year Bitcoin proved all the doubters wrong and showed that the cryptocurrency market is maturing and viable. As we continue to expand our ATMs across the United States and later internationally, we offer a quick, secure and simple cash-to-crypto onramp allowing anyone to quickly and safely start investing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”　　To

2021-02-04Deep Dive

pNetwork Launches Wrapped EOS on Ethereum to Connect the Two Biggest DeFi Ecosystems

During the last year, Ethereum‘s DeFi ecosystem has grown exponentially to form a multi Billion Dollar market. As Decentralized Finance expands, it becomes more and more relevant to have cross-chain connections that enable crypto assets to flow instantly and seamlessly across blockchain networks. These make it possible for DeFi platforms to be an effective alternative to centralized exchanges. Today, pNetwork launches the first EOSto Ethereum cross-chain connection to enable the EOS crypto asset to be moved into Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem.　　EOS on Ethereum　　EOS, the native token on the EOS blockchain, is a top20 cryptocurrency by market cap and the engine powering one of the most active dApps ecosystems. The asset counts over $ 3.5 Billion in daily trading volumes, figuring as the 9th most traded cryptocurrency. At present, only a fraction of the total is happening in a decentralized fashion.　　While the DeFi ecosystem on EOS continues to grow, it has not yet reached Ethereums size. The latter powers Billions in daily trading volumes, Uniswap being the largestlarges liquidity protocol in existence and the fourth biggest DeFi protocol in terms of Total Value Locked.　　Following the delivery of 26 bridges connecting six different blockchain protocols, including the cross-chain transfer of popular cryptocurrencies such

2021-02-03Deep Dive

Lightweight Blockchain Mina Resilient to 51% Attacks, Reports Gauntlet

Mina blockchain is resilient to 51% attacks, according to Gauntlet Network. The research firm‘s analysis looked into the blockchain’s use of zk-SNARK technology.　　Analysis: Mina Scalable and Secure　　The Mina blockchain is scalable and secure, a new report has found.　　Gauntlet Network, a financial modeling platform for crypto and DeFi, released the protocol analysis, specifically examining its use of zk-SNARK technology.　　The firm concluded that a profitable 51% attack on the protocol would be difficult to execute because any bad actor would lose more money than gain due to the token falling in value. A 51% attack is an attack on a blockchain network in which a group or individual can take over more than half of the mining hash rate.　　Though more commonly associated with Proof-of-Work chains, a 51% attack is also possible with a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm. Gauntlets research said:　　“Mina Protocol is actually often more expensive than normal PoS attacks. The main condition where it is cheaper requires the attacker to withstand an 80% drop in token price while still being able to execute a profitable attack.”　　Mina Protocol uses zk-SNARKs, otherwise known as “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge,” or zero-knowledge proofs. They use secret cryptographic keys that allow one party to show

2021-02-03Deep Dive

Yearn Finance Mints YFI Tokens Worth $200 Million

Yearn Finance has passed a proposal to increase the maximum supply of its YFI token, according to the projects governance pages.　　Yearn Finance Breaks Its Supply Cap　　Yearn Finances proposal to increase the maximum supply of YFI by 22% and mint 6,666 YFI has passed successfully. The vote attracted roughly 1,670 YFI in favor and 331 YFI against.　　The authors of the proposal chose to increase the cap by 22% as it was the minimum viable amount to meet the projects needs. Funds in the Yearn Treasury can be used to incentivize new contributors, fund liquidity mining and staking rewards, acquire talent, and provide new cross-protocol incentives.　　Now that the proposal has passed successfully, the 6,666 YFI tokens should be minted in 3 days.　　Allocation of Funds　　Of the newly created funds, 2,222 YFI ($69.32 million) will be given to leading contributors. There will be a vesting period on these tokens.　　Those funds will be allocated and distributed through a multi-signaturesetup, which will be coordinated by the members of a new Compensation Working Group.　　Another 4,444 YFI, amounting to $138.64 million, will be given to the Yearn Treasury. The operations fund will hold these tokens. These tokens cannot be used to vote on governance proposals.　　In Dec, 2020, Yearn

2021-02-03Deep Dive

Bitwise To Launch Bitcoin Shares on U.S. Brokerages

Bitwise Asset Management has initiated the process for listing shares of its Bitcoin Fund on OTCQX, the largest OTC market in the U.S.　　Bitwise Lists Bitcoin Investment Instrument　　American digital asset management firm Bitwise has formalized intent to begin trading shares of its Bitcoin Fund on the U.S. retail market. The trust fund has been in operation since December 2018. Until now, the investment was issued and redeemed at Bitwise only.　　A listing on the top U.S. OTC market would potentially allow the asset to be traded on brokerages like Fidelity, Schwab, E*Trade, and TD Ameritrade. OTCQX is maintained by OTC Markets Group Inc., which is the operator of the largest OTC markets in the U.S. The group trades over 11,000 different securities.　　Bitwise President Teddy Fusaro noted in a press release that the firm has been managing the fund since 2018, “offering investors a cost-effective, convenient, and secure means of gaining investment exposure to bitcoin.” The firm is “excited to potentially see shares of the fund quoted on OTCQX,” he concludes.　　Bitwises Other Offerings　　Recently, Bitwise launched its Bitwise 10 Crypto Index on the OTC platform. The product quickly became one of the most active stocks on the U.S. OTC market.　　The total assets under management

2021-02-03Deep Dive

Algorand (ALGO) is now bringing music to the booming DeFi industry

Turning to Algorand　　The Algorand blockchain will be utilized on Opulous, an upcoming music service and payments protocol, CryptoSlate learned in a release today.　　Opulous is a peer-to-peer platform to help increase artists access to capital without the need for traditional institutions such as banks. Behind it is Ditto, award-winning global music distribution and record label services company that has processed more than $1 billion in royalties to date.　　“Musicians are often largely overlooked when it comes to traditional banking loans, or the terms are so unfavorable it isnt worth their time,” said Ditto CEO Lee Parsons in a statement. He added, “Using DeFi, Opulous cuts out traditional banking, providing musicians a platform with minimal interest payments.”　　The product claims to be the first-ever decentralized finance (DeFi) offering backed by music as an asset class. As such, Opulous will function as a loan pool wherein artists can borrow from and also contribute. As such, artists looking to borrow money will receive a loan guaranteed against their past streaming revenues with the copyrights they own held as collateral.　　On the other hand, artists, and other investors, will also be able to pay into Opulous‘ ’Music Copyright Pools, earning 10% per annum on any contributions they make.　　How

2021-02-03Deep Dive

Miami mayor says city employees should be able to take their salaries in Bitcoin

Miami wants to overtake Silicon Valley as the most Bitcoin-friendly place in the U.S.　　Miami city employees could soon choose to get their salaries paid in Bitcoin rather than USD. In an interview with Forbes, Mayor Francis Suarez said tangible paths to expand Bitcoins adoption throughout the city included enabling city employee salaries to be paid in BTC.　　Major figures in the cryptocurrency world have responded positively to the idea, with Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey calling it “smart” on Twitter.　　Germini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss stated that the mayor is “leading the way for governments and Bitcoin.”　　Mayor Suarez told Forbes that due to the rise in crypto‘s popularity among citizens, he wants to do everything he can to make Miami a Bitcoin-friendly city. Other proposals include allowing local fees and taxes to be paid in Bitcoin and certain other cryptocurrencies, as well as investing some of the city’s treasury into Bitcoin, following Microstrategys example.　　Although he isnt sure of specific amounts, Suarez explained that the treasury investment would be structured as a public-private partnership, with the private partners receiving some of the rewards for alleviating some of the risks.　　He also revealed that he‘s also considering financing his reelection campaign in Bitcoin. He isn’t

2021-02-03Deep Dive

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