Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Ripple Opens First Canadian Office with New Growth Strategy

Ripple has announced the establishment of a new office in Toronto to act as a technical hub. Ripples new office is the companys first physical presence in Canada, and it was designed to support the companys future growth in North America and beyond.　　Ripple, the firm behind the XRP cryptocurrency, also wants to hire 50 engineers in Toronto initially, with the goal of eventually hiring hundreds more blockchain software engineers, including applied machine learning scientists, data scientists, and product managers.　　“Crypto and blockchain give a great opportunity for engineers to tackle tough issues, with the potential for these solutions to impact the movement of value around the world,” said Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple.　　Despite the present market conditions, which have seen many other cryptocurrency companies announce major layoffs and hiring freezes, Ripple intends to hire hundreds of staff internationally this year. Ripple wishes to attract the greatest personnel by assisting the companys innovation and serving its clients for many years to come. In the preceding year alone, the firm launched new offices in significant cities such as Miami and Dublin.　　The opening of the Toronto office demonstrates Ripples commitment to a location that is already a digital hotspot, where it will be able

2022-06-28Deep Dive

Samsung Asset Management to Introduce the First APAC Metaverse Theme Active ETF on the HKEX

In July, Samsung Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited (“SAMHK”) announced the launch of the first APAC metaverse theme active ETF, branded Samsung Asia Pacific ex NZ Metaverse Theme ETF, in Hong Kong (Exchange Ticker: 3172.HK).　　The listing is scheduled to go live on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 7, 2022. (“SEHK”). The ETFs listing price is HKD15, with a board lot size of 50 units and a price per lot of HK$750. The ETF is projected to be Asias first global APACblockchain ETF, with management fees of 0.85 percent per year.　　The new ETF, according to Samsung, is “a simple tool that can let investors invest in Metaverse related businesses in APAC ex NZ.” The categories that will be evaluated, according to the business, may include, but are not limited to, augmented reality/virtual reality, artificial intelligence, social media, online gaming, digital transactions, devices, platforms, and content.　　As of yet, the corporation has not made an official declaration about its top ten holdings.　　The metaverse is a virtual realm produced by the modern internet that uses 3D technologies to mimic, duplicate, or augment physical reality. Virtual reality, blockchain, and augmented reality are among the technologies used in the metaverse.　　According to Gartner, the metaverse

2022-06-28Deep Dive

Why The 2022 Crypto Bear Market Is Different And Its Implications

The drawdown in the crypto market has seen new trends emerge in the market. With the recent crash, bitcoin has seen some first-of-its-kind movement. The implications for these are vast given that the digital assets future movements are being recorded. This has shown that the recent bear market is different from every single one that has preceded it.　　Bitcoin Falls Below Cycle High　　One trend that bitcoin has always followed has been the fact that its price has never fallen below its previous cycle peak. For all of the previous bear markets, this trend has held and has been a form of a beacon when it comes to calling the bottom of the bear market. This is why a lot of analysts had called the bitcoin bottom using this trend.　　Now, though, for the first time ever, the price of bitcoin has fallen below its previous cycle peak. This happened when the price of the digital asset had broken below $20,000 and hit a low of $17,600. It has since recovered from this point but it had already set a new precedent, which is, that the price of the cryptocurrency does not necessarily always hold above its previous cycle peak.　　The implications of such

2022-06-28Deep Dive

Goldman Sachs Recommends Selling Coinbase ($COIN) Stock

Investment bank Goldman Sachs on Monday downgraded its rating on crypto exchange Coinbase, now recommending that traders sell the stock.　　Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating on Coinbase to “Sell” from “neutral,” and also cut its price target on the stock to $45 from $70, in a recent research note. Shares of the firm fell 5.1% in premarket trade to $59.50.　　The investment bank‘s change of tone on Coinbase comes in the wake of the worst bear market experienced by crypto. A downturn in the crypto market has heavily dented the exchange’s operations, which saw it report a massive loss in the first quarter.　　Crypto crash dents Coinbases prospects　　Goldman Sachs analysts attributed the downgrade to the recent crash in crypto markets, which has pulled down token prices and weighed on trading volumes.　　The investment bank said that it now sees an extend crypto downturn further impacting the companys prospects, and expects its revenue to slump by about 61% in 2022.　　A bulk of Coinbases revenues come from the fees it earns from retail traders. This class of traders has been the worst hit by the crypto downturn, with rising U.S. inflation also weighing on their pockets.　　The exchange recently cut about 18% of its workforce, citing growing

2022-06-28Deep Dive

Morgan Stanley: Ethereum 2.0 Launch May Reduce Demand For GPUs

A new report from Morgan Stanley has revealed that if Ethereum switches to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus as planned, it will do away with the need for miners, reducing the demand for graphics processing units (GPUs), and significantly lower energy needs.　　Ethereum Miners Could Find Alternatives, Says Morgan Stanley　　GPU usage may decrease if Ethereum switches from a proof-of-work method to a proof-of-stake one through the Merge of the Beacon Chain with the ETH mainnet.　　Sheena Shah, an equity strategist at Morgan Stanley, says that the less energy-intensive proof-of-stake will result in a decline in the market for GPU miners. The report read:　　“Bitcoin and Ethereum currently require powerful computers for the mining process and consume a lot of energy which governments and regulators are increasingly concerned over. If Ethereum moves to using Proof-of-Stake (PoS) it will eliminate the need for miners (reducing demand for GPUs) and drastically reduce energy requirements.”　　The bank claimed that over the previous 18 months, crypto mining has significantly impacted the gaming graphics business, driving an expected 14% of revenue in 2021 while “significantly contributing to a major graphic shortage, which boosted overall mix and pricing.”　　ETH/USD trades at $1,200. Source: TradingView　　The report stated that although GPU demand might decrease, chip

2022-06-28Deep Dive

Report: Morocco's Central Bank to Unveil Crypto Regulation Bill Soon

The Moroccan central bank is presently working on a cryptocurrency regulation framework bill and according to the bank‘s governor, Abdellatif Jouahri, this is set to be introduced soon. The regulatory framework being worked on will result in Morocco’s money laundering and anti-terrorism financing regulations being upgraded.　　Crypto Regulation Best Practices　　A Moroccan central bank committee is working to put in place an appropriate regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) governor Abdellatif Jouahri has reportedly said. The governor also revealed his institution has engaged both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank over the benchmarks that will be used.　　Before Jouharis latest remarks, Bitcoin.com News reported in March 2022 that the Moroccan central bank was in talks with two global financial institutions as well as with the central banks of France, Sweden, and Switzerland. At the time, The talks, according to the central bank, were focused on what would be the crypto regulation best practices.　　Balancing Innovation and Consumer Protection　　Meanwhile, a Mapnews report stated BAMs mooted regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies is expected to strike a balance between the need to foster innovation and the welfare of consumers.　　In addition to addressing issues around the regulation of cryptocurrencies, Jouhari hinted that the framework being

2022-06-28Deep Dive

Crypto Exchange FTX is Exploring a Robinhood Buyout: Sources

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)s crypto exchange FTX is examining pathways by which it can acquire Robinhood, according to people with knowledge of the matter.　　As reported by Bloomberg on Monday, FTX is having internal deliberations on how it can buy out the brokerage app.　　The source of the information chose to remain anonymous, as this matter is not public yet. FTX is also yet to formally approach Robinhood with an offer.　　The exchange may still opt out of the deal, as no final decisions have been made.　　Robinhood is an app that grants users commission-free stock and cryptocurrency trades. It has since announced its upcoming NFT and Defi compatible non-custodial wallet, following plans for a lightning network wallet revealed in April.　　Robinhood grew massively in popularity during the 2021 Dogecoin boom, and currently holds around one-third of all circulating DOGE.　　However, the company was forced to lay off 9% of its full-time employees in April due to overhiring during the previous year. Multiple other crypto companies have since been forced into the same position, while others face possible insolvency.　　Meanwhile, SBF has positioned himself as a market savior at this time, offering to bailout firms like BlockFi and Voyager at FTX and Alameda Research respectively.　　SBF already acquired a

2022-06-28Deep Dive

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler calls Bitcoin a commodity

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler said that Bitcoin was the only cryptocurrency he was prepared to publicly label a commodity.　　Gensler made the comments on CNBCs Squawk Box, where he discussed the implications of labeling particular cryptocurrencies commodities rather than securities.　　Distinguishing commodities from securities　　Speaking to CNBCs Jim Cramer, Gensler addressed his earlier calls to introduce more regulatory clarity to the crypto market.　　He said that all of the main market regulators in the U.S. agreed that cryptocurrencies were a highly speculative asset class. Both the SEC and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have been following the ups and downs of this asset class for a long time, focusing not just on Bitcoin but on hundreds of other tokens on the market.　　Observing the market has led the SEC to conclude that the investing public was hoping for a return from most of those tokens, just like when they invest in securities. Gensler said that many tokens on the market have the “key attributes” of securities, which puts them under the jurisdiction of the SEC.　　Bitcoin, on the other hand, falls into a different category.　　Gensler said that “some like Bitcoin” are commodities.　　While he was careful when choosing his words to

2022-06-28Deep Dive

Crypto transactions hit a record high in Nigeria despite Government's sanctions

By: Damian Okonkwo　　The volume of Cryptocurrency transactions carried out in Nigeria has attained a record high in 2022 despite the current ban placed on Cryptocurrency transactions by the CBN.　　According to the report from punchng.com “Nigerians traded at least N77.75bn ($185m) worth of Bitcoin in the first three months of the year despite the Central Bank of Nigerias restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions in the country.” This amounts to a 5.71% increase from the N73.54bn worth of Bitcoin that was traded in the corresponding period of 2021.　　This data was disclosed by Paxful exchange which has become one of the most popular crypto exchange platforms in the country.　　As noted by the Paxful exchange, “trades from Nigeria accounted for 25.87 per percent of the total N300.48bn ($715m) worth of Bitcoin that was traded on the platform in the quarter under review.”　　Following the report, “this marks an over 8.33% increase from the N277.377bn ($660m) that was traded on the platform by Nigerian traders in 2021.” This has further set Nigeria apart as the largest of the Paxful exchange in 2022.　　Moreso, according to the report from KuCoin - a third major crypto exchange in Nigeria with over 11 million registered users; over 33.4 million Nigerians today

2022-06-27Deep Dive

Is Anonymity in Crypto Creating New Avenues For Women In Finance?

Women have always been underrepresented in the financial field.　　There are many phrases that women will hear throughout their lifetime, however, one of the most common is the idea to grow up and ‘marry a rich husband’. It pushes the idea that women should not pursue financial independence, and that men should be the ones dealing in and growing their finances.　　It is a simple idea, but one that completely explains the overwhelming dominance men have in financial sectors.　　When young girls are dissuaded from pursuing finance, it means that in the future fewer women will be inclined to pursue it. It is a constant cycle and one that can only be broken if women are shown the potential they have in finance. This is where crypto comes in.　　With Xchange Monsters (MXCH) even ratio of men and women in their leadership team, to the equality of anonymity, the opportunities presented to women to find a place in crypto is vast. However, whether women benefit more from being known or being anonymous in the crypto space is an angle worth exploring.　　Does anonymity level the playing field？ Or does being doxxed present opportunities for inspiration？　　Anonymity As Equality　　One of the biggest draws of cryptocurrency is the

2022-06-27Deep Dive

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