Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Crypto Lawyer Stephen Palley Backs SEC, Says XRP Is A Security

A top lawyer and crypto enthusiast Stephen Palley has backed the SEC, saying that XRP is indeed a security. The company behind XRP, Ripple has been in court since late December last year following a suit by the SEC alleging that XRP was an unregistered security.　　Prior to this, the XRP community had accused the Ripple management of periodically dumping the cryptocurrency on the market due to its highly centralized system. Ripple has denied this allegation severally before the SEC filed a suit against the company and its executives for selling and making a profit from XRP to the tune of $1.3 billion.　　Though Ripple is ready to fight the SEC as it believes that XRP is not a security, some important personalities in the crypto space have affirmed the position of the SEC, one of which is Stephen Palley. Last week, Bidens newly appointed head of the SEC, Gary Gensler said there may be more unregistered securities like XRP in the crypto space and there is a need to regulate them.　　Although the case on XRP has not yet been concluded, the position of top cryptocurrency influencers such as Palley may give an insight into its outcome. Already, many exchanges have delisted

2021-01-25Deep Dive

Dogecoin (DOGE) Approved by Flare Community as New Asset

Flare Networks, the development team behind the much-anticipated Flare blockchain, organized a poll on its official Twitter account. Now it is clear whether Flare supporters are welcoming the most unusual asset of all old-fashioned cryptocurrencies.　　DOGE implementation approved by the Flare community　　As U.Today reported previously, on Jan. 21, 2020, Flare Networks launched a community referendum with only one question. Namely, Flare supporters were asked to specify their position on the possibility of adding Dogecoin (DOGE) as an F-Asset on Flare.　　Today, when the discussion concluded, it became clear that the Flare community is generally optimistic about DOGEs prospects on the platform. A whopping 53.1 percent of respondents showed enthusiasm about DOGE as a third F-asset alongside XRP and Litecoin (LTC).　　Image via Twitter　　Mr. Hugo Philion, Flare Networks CEO, stressed that the “value” behind a cryptocurrency protocol is the core criteria for new assets implementation.　　The poll generated great interest among Flare Networks Twitter community. Out of 64,000 followers, 11,546 crypto enthusiasts decided to take part in it.　　What are F-Assets？　　According to the official explanation by Flare Networks, an F-Asset should be referred to 1:1 representation on Flare of any token from another chain. Due to the trustless design of Flare, the bridge between the two

2021-01-25Deep Dive

Key metrics show this week’s $4B Bitcoin options expiry favors bulls

Over the past two weeks, Bitcoin price appears to have lost momentum and some analysts are suggesting that bears will be in control for the foreseeable future.　　Taking a look at derivatives market data provides a clearer picture of what is happening on the institutional side and how the moves of larger players may impact the spot markets.　　After peaking at $10.6 billion on Jan. 14, the open interest on Bitcoin (BTC) scaled back to $8.4 billion. The Jan. 29 monthly expiry continues to stand apart, totaling 47% of the options in play.　　Although a $4 billion expiry could be significant, one must consider that these options are split among calls (neutral-to-bullish) and the more bearish put options. Furthermore, having an opportunity to buy BTC for $52,000 on Jan. 29 might have made sense a couple of weeks ago, but not so much right now.　　BTC options aggregate open interest. Source: Bybt.com　　As the data above depicts, Deribit exchange remains the absolute leader with an 83% market share. Nevertheless, to understand how eventful this expiry could be, one must adjust data and compare both calls and put options near the current $32,000 BTC level.　　Its too early to panic　　Most exchanges offer monthly expiries and some also

2021-01-25Deep Dive

BITCOIN ON-CHAIN DATA REVEALS CHINESE MINING POOL BEHIND ITS CRASH

An otherwise decentralized cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, might have become a victim of a centrally orchestrated price dumping attempt.　　According to data fetched by CryptoQuant, a South Korea-based blockchain analytics firm, Bitcoin miners at Chinese mining firm F2pool started the massive sell-off that crashed the BTC/USD exchange rate by almost 20 percent in just less than 24 hours.　　Bitcoin outflow from F2Pool to all exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant　　OVERSUPPLIED BITCOIN　　CryptoQuant CEO Ki-Young Ju listed a series of bearish alerts he received when Bitcoin started plunging on early Friday. As per the data he provided, the Miners‘ Position Index went above 2.5, reflecting growth in Bitcoin units that miners moved from their wallets. Meanwhile, the CryptoQuant’s All Exchange Bitcoin Transaction Count Inflow surged, showing F2pool as a major BTC depositor.　　“The dump might have started from BTC miners in F2Pool,” Mr. Ju added. “ 569 people deposited BTC in a single block (10 min). 78 miners deposited BTC in a single block (10 min).”　　Miners typically sell their BTC rewards to cover their operational costs (including electricity bills, equipment handling, and maintenance). Many of them prefer to hold a portion of their Bitcoin holdings for speculations, thereby effectively limiting the cryptocurrency‘s supply from entering the retail markers. That, in

2021-01-25Deep Dive

Ampleforth-like Bitcoin rebasing token DIGG drops: crypto stimulus checks

The latest crypto stimulus (or DeFi stimulus check, to be more accurate) has just dropped.　　Badger DAO, a Bitcoin-focused decentralized finance project based on Ethereum, just rolled out a new coin called DIGG. BADGER, the governance token for the protocol, already exists.　　DIGG is a new token that works much like Ampleforth, a supply-elastic cryptocurrency that changes its supply based on the price of the coin at each time. Instead of being pegged to a dollar, DIGG pegs to the price of one Bitcoin. Although this may sound like a small nuance, many in the DeFi space have said that this change may result in more reflexivity in the coins price action.　　That being said, DIGG was distributed to users of the Badger DAO protocol on a semi-quadratic basis on these three key factors:　　BADGER staked in the protocol.　　BADGER earned by the user. BADGER could and still can be earned by users by depositing liquidity into the protocol for farming purposes.　　How much BADGER has been earned by the user relative to the coins they have staked.　　Regarding the semi-quadratic basis, this was done to make the distribution of DIGG more fair:　　“Other details regarding the distribution were outlined in the BIP 14 forum post, including the

2021-01-25Deep Dive

Is Bitcoin losing its dominance? Analyst picks best altcoins that will explode

The performance of the leading cryptocurrencies has slowed down. Investors are therefore turning their attention to cryptocurrencies or tokens with smaller market caps that are ready to explode at any moment. Trader and influencer Elliot Wainman shared his list of these tokens, with the focus being on Ethereums DeFi.　　Wainman believes that Bitcoin has lost its market dominance due to new projects that have caught the attention of investors. Due to Bitcoins price decline, the trader believes that the market dominance of the first cryptocurrency by market cap will continue to decline in favor of altcoins. The trader believes that the “alt season” is right around the corner, and explained:　　As people started to get too bearish yesterday, I started to get quite bullish. When people were overextended on Bitcoin, I was looking at the altcoins. This is the nature of predicting the next move and being a step ahead of the game. That‘s how you don’t just get a little 20%, 30% pump. Thats how you get those Xs and gains.　　Ethereums DeFi will offer the highest profits　　In that sense, the trader thinks it “nonsense” that Bitcoin has the greatest dominance and most capitalization of the crypto market. Therefore, he believes that

2021-01-25Deep Dive

Ethereum will become the main asset for investors in 2021

During the second half of 2020, we saw a growing interest in cryptocurrencies from institutional investors and big capital. However, all the attention of the whales, as well as all the attention of the public, was fixed on Bitcoin (BTC). Today, we will look at why Ether (ETH) is a more attractive asset and why this cryptocurrency should become the “first cryptocurrency” for every investor.　　Lets start with the numbers: ETH‘s growth since its March 2020 low after the coronavirus-induced market crash has been 1,200%, whereas BTC has only grown around 700%. ETH’s growth since its March 2020 low after the coronavirus-induced market crash has been 1,200%, whereas BTC has only grown around 700%. Of course, against the backdrop of record highs for Bitcoin, whose price reached $ 40,000, the rise of Ether to $1,400 does not seem so impressive. Moreover, the market capitalization of ETH is five times less than the volume of the BTC market. But what is more important for an investor: nice numbers and records of an asset from a portfolio or high income？　　There are very strong reasons to believe that Ether will continue to rise in price in 2021 and bring more profit to investors than

2021-01-25Deep Dive

DeFi on Cardano will enable users to earn yield on staked ADA

Once Cardanos Goguen era is launched, users will be able to earn additional yield on their ADA without having to unstake their funds. Liqwid Finance, a DeFi solution built on Cardano, will enable users to earn governance tokens by providing liquidity to the ADA market on Liqwid—all the while their tokens remain staked on the mainnet.　　Goguen set to unlock vas new DeFi capabilities on Cardano　　Most of the conversation focusing on Cardanos upcoming Goguen era seems to be analyzing the steps needed to unlock the smart contract functionality. However, the concrete things Goguen will bring to the blockchain seem to be seldom, if ever, discussed.　　Liqwid Finance, a DeFi project built on Cardano, highlighted some of the upcoming features Goguen will enable, giving the Cardano community a rare glimpse into what the future will look like on Cardano.　　Namely, the project, which won the first prize on IOHKs Wyoming Hackathon in October, said that they received a lot of inquiries from the Cardano community about their upcoming Liqwid tokens. The DeFi platform focuses on peer-to-peer lending and is set to launch governance tokens that will be distributed as rewards for users providing liquidity.　　The company said that the tokens will launch through user distribution

2021-01-22Deep Dive

Leading Crypto Derivatives Exchange Bit.com Set to Launch Bitcoin Cash Options

On January 21, the derivatives exchange by Matrixport, Bit.com, announced the launch of the first bitcoin cash perpetual swaps and options. The exchange says before the product launch there was no options market for bitcoin cash and the firm believes theres room for improvement in this arena of crypto derivatives.　　　　Bit.com to Launch Crypto Economys First Bitcoin Cash Options Market　　Bit.com, one of the leading derivatives trading platforms developed by Matrixport, has revealed the exchange plans to launch bitcoin cash (BCH) perpetual swaps and options. The exchange detailed that Bit.com will introduce the perpetual swaps product on January 20 and the BCH options trading will begin on the 1st of February.　　The announcement notes that BCH is a major crypto-asset “recognized by institutions,” and remains in the top ten positions among the leading crypto market capitalizations.　　News.Bitcoin.com recently reported on Bit.com as being among the exchanges with the most open interest in terms of BTC and ETH options. Bit.coms BCH options announcement details that both bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) derivatives markets “grew tremendously during the past few years.”　　“Currently, the cryptocurrency perpetual swaps market is dominated by BTC, which accounts for ~53% of the market share, while ETH attributes to 20%,” Bit.com said. “BCH

2021-01-22Deep Dive

Increased Mainstream Adoption of Bitcoin Cuts Diversification Benefit, JPMorgan Says

JPMorgan strategists questioned bitcoins utility as a reliable investment hedge in a memo published Thursday.　　Calling bitcoin the “least reliable hedge during periods of acute market stress,” strategists Federico Manicardi and John Normand questioned bitcoins ability to function as reliable diversification investment through times of economic uncertainty.　　“Mainstreaming is reducing diversification benefits and leading to underperformance during crises,” the memo said.　　Bitcoins recently heightened correlation with traditional markets, moreover, could “erode diversification value over time” if the strong positive correlation continues, they wrote.　　Per Coin Metrics data, bitcoin and the Ss close relationship with price movements in legacy markets and the “mainstreaming” of cryptocurrency investing generally is “potentially converting them from insurance to leverage,” the strategists wrote.　　Bitcoin prices to date have pulled back slightly to below $32,000 at last check after nearly touching $42,000 the first week in January.　　A similar sentiment was expressed in October 2020 by other JPMorgan strategists who wrote that bitcoin has proven itself to be more of a risk asset, than a safe haven.　　What could change this pattern, however, is “a more unique macro shock related to much higher U.S. inflation or a breakdown of the payments system,” the analysts said.

2021-01-22Deep Dive

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