Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Forbes Publishes Its Top 50 Blockchain Firms of 2021

Forbes has published its Blockchain 50 list, outlining some of the most notable blockchain companies in operation today.　　Who Is On the List？　　The list includes several notable crypto exchanges, such as Binance and Coinbase, alongside derivatives exchanges such as CME Group and the Intercontinental Exchange (via Bakkt).　　A number of payments companies are also on the list, including Square (which supports Bitcoin payments and is led by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey), PayPal (which recently added crypto sales) and Visa (which has just announced support for Bitcoin banking).　　The list also includes several blockchain friendly banks, including Credit Suisse, which uses Paxos to settle stock trading. It includes HSBC, which uses blockchain for forex trading, and ING Group, which uses blockchain for AML compliance. JPMorgan Chase, with its interbank blockchain Liink, is also on the list.　　Investment companies are featured as well. Grayscale and Fidelity Digital Assets, both of which offer institutional Bitcoin investment funds, have both made the list.　　The remainder of companies listed largely use blockchain for data management and supply chain purposes. The list includes household names such as IBM, Microsoft, and Walmart.　　New Companies Added　　This publication is Forbes third annual list. 21 new companies were added, while previously high-ranking companies such as Facebook,

2021-02-04Deep Dive

CrossTower Launches Bitcoin Fund to Compete With Grayscale’s GBTC

Crypto capital markets firm CrossTower, based in Bermuda, is launching a hedge fund at the end of the month in a bid to compete with Grayscales Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and other bitcoin funds for accredited investors.　　Similar to how Teslas boom created a larger demand for electric-vehicle stocks, the success of GBTC with $20 billion in assets under management (AUM) has caused a plethora of funds to follow suit, said crypto analyst Kevin Rooke. (Grayscale is owned by Digital Currency Group, the parent company of CoinDesk.)　　Most recently, crypto lender BlockFi registered a Bitcoin Trust with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Bitwise announced it was seeking regulatory approval to publicly trade shares of its bitcoin fund on an over-the-counter marketplace, similar to GBTCs secondary market.　　CrossTower Bitcoin Fund wont trade in a secondary market, but it is trying to compete on management fees and liquidity.　　The fund charges a management fee of 60 basis points, or 0.6%, compared to GBTCs 2% management fee, said CrossTower co-founder and president Kristin Boggiano. It trades at net asset value (NAV) of bitcoin and has no lockups, letting investors redeem within a day.　　“This is the most plain-vanilla of the suite of offerings that we expect to

2021-02-04Deep Dive

Bitcoin Market Eyes Grayscale Premium as Unlock Looms

The premium for Grayscales Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares slid into the negative territory yesterday, a rare occurrence for the asset. With another unlock coming up, the premium could face further downside.　　Grayscale at a Critical Juncture　　GBTC shares representing 20,000 Bitcoin (worth nearly $700 million) will be unlocked beginning this week. However, a discounted price of GBTC shares threatens to disrupt the “Grayscale effect,” where price surges follow unlocking events.　　This week, GBTC shares turned negative for the first time.　　Grayscale share unlocking has previously had a positive impact on the price, as institutional investors have been known to re-buy the asset. The primary driver of the investment in the past has been its “premium.”　　In 2020, GBTC shares traded at a premium of roughly 15-20% to Bitcoins Net Asset Value price.　　Institutional investors have been known to use the premium to their advantage by executing low-risk arbitrage trades since Grayscales launch—the average premium on the product since launch is 38%.　　Hence, when GBTC shares unlock, investors sell their shares at a premium on brokerages like Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and TD Ameritrade to reinvest in the trade again, causing an uptrend in price.　　The trend first discovered by Jarvis Labs Ben Lilly followed perfectly during the last unlocking.　　The

2021-02-04Deep Dive

Binance Pay Beta Launched: Will It Turn Into The Crypto PayPal?

The worlds leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance, has launched a beta version of a contactless and borderless crypto payments product by the name of Binance Pay. The exchange will enable its users to send and receive crypto payments worldwide, similarly to PayPal.　　 The Crypto PayPal？　　Presented earlier today by the companys CEO, Changpeng Zhao, Binance will launch its latest product – the Binance Pay. Currently, in a beta stage.　　“Binance Pay is a basket product that we plan to spend quite a lot of time developing this year as we think that payments are one of the most used cases of crypto.” – said CZ during a live AMA session.　　Users will be able to set up their Pay wallets in a way that the wallet will spend their preferred currencies. For now, the only way to top up the Binance Pay wallet by transferring funds from the Binance Spot wallet on Binance.　　Its worth noting that the Binance Pay wallet and the Binance Card wallet are actually the same. Meaning that incoming or outgoing funds will be reflected in the same wallet on the exchange.　　During its beta stage, Binance Pay is restricted to a daily spending limit of $1,000, and a

2021-02-04Deep Dive

Countries Lack Guidance on DeFi Taxes: Library of Congress

In brief　　Congress commissioned a report from the Library of Congress on countries tax policies toward mined and staked tokens.　　The report shows most of the surveyed countries do not have specific guidelines for proof-of-stake currencies.　　Congressional Blockchain Caucus Co-Chair Tom Emmer sees a chance for the US to lead in digital asset tax policy.　　As it turns out, theres no one way to tax a token—but just about every country could do a better job communicating the rules.　　A new report from the Law Library of Congress, “Taxation of Cryptocurrency Block Rewards in Selected Jurisdictions,” drills down on 31 countries policies. It notes that most countries havent figured out how to tax gains from decentralized finance applications.　　“While tax authorities of a number of countries have published guidance on the taxation of mined tokens such as Bitcoin and other ‘proof-of-work’ cryptocurrencies, only a few specifically address the taxation of tokens received through staking, a term used to describe the process of obtaining reward tokens in the newer ‘proof-of-stake’ cryptocurrencies,” the report reads.　　Which includes pretty much anything DeFi—the set of applications that take banks and clearinghouses out of the process of lending and trading. Everyday users of DeFi on the (still proof-of-work) Ethereum blockchain, for instance,

2021-02-04Deep Dive

PayPal Q4 Transaction Revenue Report: Great Achievement Since Adding Crypto

In the final quarter of 2020, PayPal gained 16 million in net new active accounts and handled $277 billion in total payment volume.　　The earnings are the payment giants first since rolling out crypto buying and selling late last year. It removed the waitlist for BTC , ETH , LTC and BCH to all of its 350 million users on Nov. 12, 2020.　　Customers who purchased crypto through the platform have been logging into PayPal twice as much as they were before buying crypto, the company said in its investor update.　　PayPals transaction revenue increased by around 12% from Q3 to $5.7 billion. The company also notes it will recognize transaction revenue from its crypto buys, sell and hold product, but it will not include transactions related to crypto in its total payment volume.　　Notably, PayPals spending in technology increased year over year by more than 30% to $732 million.　　“The volume of crypto traded on our platform greatly exceeded our projections,” PayPal CEO Dan Schulman said on the company‘s fourth-quarter earnings call. “We’re excited to build on this early success by allowing customers to use their crypto balance as a funding source. … We hope to launch our first international market in the next

2021-02-04Deep Dive

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

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