Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

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

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

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