Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

The Smart Way to Talk About DeFi’s $22B

Decentralized finance (DeFi), the sector of crypto that drove all the excitement this summer, isnt quite back to its old energy, but the lull is over.　　“Raw DeFi numbers are at all-time highs, and they‘re not fake,” Alameda Research founder Sam Bankman-Fried told CoinDesk in an email. “But in relative terms to the rest of crypto, they’re down from their peak but up from their nadir.”　　From a casual glance, it can look like DeFi is stronger than it‘s ever been. Judged by the sector’s favorite metric, total value locked (TVL), the sector has been adding about a billion dollars worth of additional value per day since the new year started – from $15.67 billion to $22.35 billion as of this writing; however, a lot of that growth has been driven by the simple fact of asset prices going up across the board.　　By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy.　　“TVL isnt the best indicator when ETH and all other crypto is green for weeks,” Jesse Walden, founder of the venture firm Variant, told CoinDesk in an email.　　ETH, the asset that powers DeFi, traded at $737 on Jan. 1, rising

2021-01-09Deep Dive

Ethereum 2.0 Explained in 4 Easy Metrics

With the launch of every new blockchain comes a new block explorer website to understand.　　Block explorer sites offer real-time updates on network activity. Normally, they feature information on blocks, transactions and fees. On Ethereum 2.0, the block explorers depict a very different array of metrics involving epochs, slots and attestations.　　But even for those familiar with the usual Ethereum explorers such as Etherscan, Etherchain and Blockchair, the new sites for tracking Eth 2.0 activity may be difficult to decipher. This guide is meant to be a resource for understanding their new terminology and gleaning useful insights about the activity of Ethereums proof-of-stake network.　　By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy.　　For anyone unfamiliar with blockchain explorers in general, this guide will go over the basic details of reading an Ethereum 2.0 blockchain explorer. These explorers don‘t require a keen familiarity to other blockchain explorers but do host similarities with others that will help expand one’s knowledge of reading blockchain data.　　See also: Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain Goes Live　　Well go over four basic metrics tracked by two different block explorer sites, BeaconScan and beaconcha.in. These metrics are by no means an

2021-01-09Deep Dive

Cardano Project Catalyst fund3 launches with $500k

Project Catalyst, the first stage of Voltaire roadmap has been kicked-off as IOHK announced the launch of a $500,000 fund for the next step. According to the announcement by IOHK, the fund is a part of the launch of the Voltaire era and will be destined to promote groundbreaking ideas that boost the development of the Cardano ecosystem.　　Project Catalyst is the last era in the project‘s roadmap and will allow the project to be more independent and move from IOHK’s management. This will be done by creating a voting and treasury system. By making the project more self-reliant, the user will be in charge of governing the Cardano ecosystem, which will be an important step for the projects long-term future.　　IOHK had earlier launched test funds namely, fund0 and fund1, before fund2 in September 2020. Fund2 allocated nearly $250,000 worth of ADA to allow users to submit proposals for the improvements in the Cardano ecosystem and also to bring the project to West Africa. Now in the next stage, Fund3 will allow community members to submit proposals for the future of Cardano and decide upon developments which will be funded by the Catalysts “on-chain” voting process.　　According to the release, Fund3 faces

2021-01-09Deep Dive

Bitcoin’s wild rally — and a fear of missing out — has retail investors flocking to crypto

Bitcoins record-breaking rally has led to a surge in retail investment interest in the cryptocurrency market.　　Crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance and online trading platforms including Revolut and eToro have seen a spike in activity recently, as new investors race to capture some of the wild gains in the market.　　“There is certainly market data pointing to increased retail participation,” said Michael Bucella, partner at crypto investment firm BlockTower Capital.　　“This is reflected in the recent surge in ‘altcoins’” — other digital tokens that came after bitcoin — “and the increase in volumes on the retail platforms, as well as the crypto-native exchanges that have historically been more retail-focused,” Bucella added.　　Bitcoin bulls claim the cryptocurrencys latest rally is different to a late-2017 bubble that saw its price soar close to $20,000 before collapsing as low as $3,122 the following year. The main difference, they say, is that institutional investors are driving the price gains this time round.　　A number of famed investors including Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller came out as believers in the cryptocurrency last year, while U.K. asset management firm Ruffer added £550 million ($747 million) of bitcoin to its portfolio.　　There remain skeptics, however, such as American stock broker

2021-01-09Deep Dive

Morgan Stanley now holds 10% stake in Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy

Per a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission released on Jan. 8, investment bank Morgan Stanley had acquired 792,627 shares in business intelligence firm MicroStrategy. The investment represents a 10.9% stake in a firm that has made massive investments in Bitcoin over the past several months.　　The purchase apparently happened on Dec. 31. MicroStrategy has had a colossal month, seeing its shares move from $289 on Dec. 8 to $545 as of Jan. 8.　　Source: NASDAQ　　In August, MicroStrategy took bold steps into crypto, making Bitcoin its primary reserve asset. At the time, CEO Michael Saylor said of the firms choice:　　“This is not a speculation, nor a hedge. It is a deliberate corporate strategy to adopt the Bitcoin Standard.”　　Just weeks ago, MicroStrategy announced a $400 million securities offering with the stated purpose of raising funds to buy more Bitcoin. As of Dec. 21, the firm had stockpiled 70,470 Bitcoin.　　At prices as of publication time, MicroStrategys BTC stockpile was worth over $2.8 billion.　　Institutional investors like Morgan Stanley have warmed up to crypto assets considerably over the past year. Many have attributed Bitcoins recent bull market to this institutional uptick, as compared to the retail FOMO that was so critical to BTCs 2017 highs,

2021-01-09Deep Dive

Comparing the technicals of Polkadot (DOT), Cosmos (ATOM), and Avalanche (AVAX)

Polkadot, Cosmos, and Avalanche have all been created to solve the same set of problems—the low latency and scalability issues plaguing Ethereum. However, each of the blockchains took on a different approach to improving Ethereum. We explore the subtle differences between them and the ways each of them will complement the network they set out to improve.　　Multiple-chain networks will shape 2021　　Scaling blockchain technology has become one of the most pressing issues the industry faces today. The rapid rise the crypto industry has seen in the past several years, both in terms of market cap and number of users, has been unprecedented in its history and has pushed some of its core problems to the surface rather aggressively.　　The fact that scaling is such a massive problem across the board doesn‘t mean that there aren’t any viable solutions to it—there are numerous Layer 2 solutions being developed, all utilizing different technologies and ideas to create more efficient networks.　　A major problem is implementing these solutions—introducing even the slightest changes to a network as big as Ethereum is a slow and tedious process, often requiring a consensus between hundreds, if not thousands of network participants. And while Ethereum 2.0, the networks second, proof-of-stake iteration,

2021-01-08Deep Dive

Up or Down? Data Send Mixed Signals About Sell Pressure for Bitcoin & Ethereum

While some data shows the selling pressure increasing for ethereum (ETH) this year, and remaining largely unchanged for bitcoin (BTC) as it keeps hitting new all-time highs - other data sends mixed signals, suggesting that more market participants want to buy the two major coins, not sell them.　　According to the data by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, there was an increase in ETH inflows to exchanges since the year began, suggesting an increased selling pressure in the market. Starting with ETH 358,309 on January 1, the number went up 361.8% to nearly ETH 1.66m on January 4, dropping somewhat since. “ETH inflows to exchanges in the last day are 1.09M ETH [USD 1.3bn], above the 180-day average,” noted the Chainalysis Market Intel website.　　Inflows to exchanges fluctuate with changes in market sentiment. For instance, an increase in inflows suggests increased selling pressure in the market. Source: markets.chainalysis.com　　Furthermore, assets held on exchanges have jumped in the first days of this year when it comes to the worlds second cryptoasset by market capitalization. Assets held on exchanges increase when there are more market participants who want to sell than there are those who want to buy, as well as when buyers choose to store

2021-01-08Deep Dive

Google Searches For ”Ethereum” Skyrockets As Price Nears All-Time High

As Ethereum manifests strength and continues to surge, there seems to be growing interest in the second-largest cryptocurrency. According to data from Google Trends, the search volume for the word “Ethereum” has hit an all-time high as the cryptocurrency continues to rise in price.　　Ethereum made some giant strides in 2020 with the price reaching over $700 for the first time since the second quarter of 2018. In 2021, Ethereum crossed $1000 for the first time since the end of January 2018 following the 2017 bull run during which it reached an all-time high price of $1,329.　　The rise in the price of Ethereum has been attributed to the rapid growth of the network, driven mainly by the DeFi ecosystem. DeFi received a significant boost in 2020 with many investors running to yield farming with DeFi tokens for some quick profits. Although the growth led to the problem of exorbitant fees, it has helped to push Ethereum to new highs with a lot more room to grow further.　　The massive buying of the asset by the world‘s leading digital assets manager Grayscale could have also contributed to this rally. As of the end of 2020, Grayscale had bought at least 5% of all

2021-01-08Deep Dive

Finland's customs authority is looking to sell bitcoin seized in 2016, now worth more than $75 milli

Finlands customs authority, Tulli, is looking to sell 1,981 bitcoins, local public broadcaster Yle reported the news on Thursday.　　The majority of the seized bitcoins (1,666) were confiscated in 2016 via the arrest of Finnish drug dealer Douppikauppa. The bitcoins were worth about $860,000 at the time of confiscation, and now they are valued at more than $75 million.　　Tulli is looking to sell the bitcoins directly or via a broker, CFO Pekka Pylkkanen told Yle. The collected amount will be sent to Finlands Ministry of Finance.　　Back in 2018, Tulli was looking to sell the bitcoins through auction but didnt go ahead with that plan because it was concerned that the cryptocurrency would end up back in criminal hands.　　Now that bitcoins price has skyrocketed, Tulli wants to liquidate the seized assets “as soon as possible, in the coming months.” Pylkkanen said: “I dont see a reason to sort this out more. Nothing will change by waiting longer.”

2021-01-08Deep Dive

Hut 8 Invests 1000 Bitcoins with Genesis to Earn 4% Interest

Toronto Stock Exchange-listed mining company, Hut 8 is hoping to lure bitcoin investors and onboard more clients by opening a savings-like account with a premium interest rate. The crypto miner opened a Bitcoin (BTC) Yield Account in partnership with Genesis Global Capital, a New York-based cryptocurrency trading and lending platform.　　Hut 8 will make an initial investment of 1000 bitcoin and earns a 4 percent rate of return on its idle bitcoin holdings. The program permits Hut 8 to redeem their borrowed coins without a long term commitment, and the firm can increase or decrease their holdings with one day notice.　　Bitcoin mining is a very competitive industry as miners worldwide are verifying transactions while securing the network for economic incentives. Additionally, the global demand is growing in lockstep with Bitcoin price, which does not show signs of slowing. The abrupt upside movement of the bitcoin price, which made over 300 percent gain in 2020, will pretty much mean solid business for crypto miners like Hut 8 as they are making a lot of money confirming blocks.　　“We are excited to be partnering with Genesis to manage our digital assets, allowing us to yield Fiat currency from the significant BTC on our balance

2021-01-08Deep Dive

...

731733

...

736