Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Here are some of the big projects coming to Polkadot (DOT) in 2021

After signing off on an action-packed year, Polkadot is gearing up for an even more eventful 2021. We take a look at some of the projects that are set to launch on the blockchain platform this year, as well as a few major updates to the networks that are set to see the light of day in the coming weeks.　　Frontier　　With interoperability being one of the key foundation blocks Polkadot was built on, Frontier pops up as one of the most important additions to the blockchain. Developed by Parity Technologies, Frontier is an Ethereum-Substrate compatibility program thats set to be released this year. Substrate is a modular, extensible blockchain network that makes it easier to build custom blockchains and Polkadot parachains.　　Frontier Readme file. Source: Github　　Gavin Wood, the founder and lead developer of Polkadot, said that the program was “almost completely done” in his end-of-the-year blog post, adding that it will lead to a major interoperability movement within the blockchain.　　Frontier is Substrate‘s own Ethereum compatibility layer that allows developers to run unmodified Ethereum dApps. The program will allow any Substrate chain to appear exactly as an Ethereum chain would, as well as host any tooling supported by Ethereum’s Solidity programming language, which

2021-01-05Deep Dive

There could be a one million Cardano (ADA) wallets created in 2021

The number of new ADA wallets has skyrocketed in the past month, with an average of 64 wallets created every hour between Dec. 16 and Jan. 4. Using the data, projections have shown that there could be a million more ADA wallets created by the end of 2021, making Cardano one of the fastest-growing blockchain networks in terms of user acquisition.　　The number of new ADA wallets continues to grow in 2021　　While 2020 has been a major year for Cardano, this year is set to be record-breaking in every sense of the word. Both IOHK and the Cardano Foundation have dedicated 2021 to building the Cardano community, with Charles Hoskinson, the CEO of IOHK, saying that this will be the year when the power of the community is fully harnessed.　　These plans are additionally reinforced by the latest data coming from the Cardano network, which shows that there has been significant growth in the number of new addresses and wallets created on the network.　　According to data aggregated from AdaStat, an average of 121 new wallets were created every hour on Jan. 4. This represents a 98 percent increase from the 63 wallets created per hour on Jan. 1 and a 255 percent

2021-01-05Deep Dive

Stuck on Uniswap: Average Ethereum Transaction Fees Spike Above $10

While ETHs price went on a wild ride in the past 24 hours, the average fees on the network have spiked to above $10 for the first time in four months.　　ETHs price is not the only Ethereum metric rising in the past few days as the transaction fees on the network have skyrocketed to an average price of above $10. The popular decentralized exchange Uniswap still accounts for the largest share with over 30,000 ETH spent in the past 30 days.　　Surging Fees On The Ethereum Network　　According to data from the monitoring resource Ycharts, the average fees on the Ethereum network have surged recently to above $10. This development came following months in which the gas paid sat below $5.　　Nevertheless, exceeding $10 means that the average fees have increased to their highest levels since September 2020.　　Fees On The Ethereum Network. Source: YCharts　　This increase is a direct consequence of the high number of pending transactions on the Ethereum network. Etherscan data reveals that therere over 150,000 such transactions as of writing these lines.　　Uniswap accounts for the largest share, with nearly $13 million (31,700 ETH) spent in the past 30 days. The most widely used stablecoin, Tether (USDT), takes the second place with

2021-01-05Deep Dive

Canada’s NexTech AR Solutions increases Treasury Bitcoin holdings to $4M

Bitcoin has been registering new highs on the price charts this year, despite the crypto seeing a period of mild correction. Unlike the 2017 rally, the 2020-2021 rally has been associated with institutional interest. Many prominent institutions have shown trust in the asset value of Bitcoin and included it in their company portfolios. These include many names like MicroStrategy and Square Inc., among others. In fact, at the time of writing, the cumulative total of the companies holding Bitcoin sat at 1.151 million BTC.　　Joining the long list of investors is NexTech AR Solutions, with the firm increasing its Bitcoin ownership to 130.187 Bitcoins at an aggregate cost of $4 million. The provider of virtual and augmented reality (AR) experience technologies and services also noted that it may add more BTC to its treasury in 2021.　　The investment in Bitcoin is a part of the firms new capital diversification and allocation strategy, one announced on 29 December. Under this strategy, the company aims to maximize long-term value for its shareholders. It had initially purchased $2 million worth of Bitcoin last week, before adding an additional $2 million this week.　　The CEO of NexTech Evan Gappelberg stated,　　“This doubling down reflects our strong belief that

2021-01-05Deep Dive

Bitcoin Mining Machine Shortage Worsens as Bitmain Sells Out Through August

Even though leading bitcoin mining manufacturer Bitmain doubled prices to capitalize on overwhelming demand resulting from the surge in the price of bitcoin, it still pre-sold three months of inventory in a few weeks.　　In early December, Bitmain was pre-selling bitcoin ASIC miners with an expected shipping date of May 2021, per CoinDesks prior reporting. Less than a month later, Bitmain has sold out through August 2021 and has raised its prices significantly.　　In late November, Bitmains Antminer S19 was priced at $1,897. Now, the same machine sells for $3,769 a 98% markup.　　Bitmains prices have gone up, said Kevin Zhang, vice president of business development for New York-based mining company Foundry, noting that demand for new ASICs shows no sign of abating soon. “But there also has been very limited extra allocation for May though July next year for S19s and S19 Pro models.”　　With miners eager to buy any available machines, secondary mining markets continue to benefit from primary manufacturers low inventory with activity surging to its highest levels since 2017. Prices for more efficient, second-hand models have climbed to 12-month highs, per Luxor Technologies market data.　　“Secondary markets are also booming”, said Amanda Fabiano, head of mining at Galaxy Digital. “S9s that

2021-01-05Deep Dive

US regulator: Federally chartered banks can facilitate stablecoin payments, issue their own

National banks and federal savings associations can use public blockchains and stablecoins for settlement, The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said in an interpretive letter published late Monday.　　The letter indicates that banks and savings associations can now run crypto nodes and utilize associated stablecoins for “permissible payment activities.” This means banks can use public blockchains to validate, store, record and settle payment transactions as long as theyre compliant with existing laws.　　It also specifically mentions the use of stablecoins for transactions, saying blockchain networks can mitigate costs for cross-border transactions as a “cheaper, faster, and more efficient” means of payment. For that reason, its empowering banks to utilize blockchains and their stablecoins for converting to and from fiat during remittances — and even issue stablecoins if they so choose.　　The regulator noted:　　“Likewise, a bank may use stablecoins to facilitate payment transactions for customers on an independent node verification network, including by issuing a stablecoin, and by exchanging that stablecoin for fiat currency.”　　As the letter notes elsewhere:　　“Just as banks may buy and sell ESV as a means of converting the ESV into dollars (and vice versa) to complete customer payment transactions, banks may buy, sell, and issue stablecoin to facilitate

2021-01-05Deep Dive

Ukraine Government Picks Stellar Development Foundation to Help Build National Digital Currency

Announced Monday, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build out a “virtual assets ecosystem and national digital currency of Ukraine.”　　The National Bank of Ukraine has been researching the possibility of CBDC implementation since 2017, and the Stellar partnership will now be the basis of its virtual currency development, according to Digital Transformation and IT Deputy Minister Oleksandr Bornyakov.　　“The Ministry of Digital Transformation is working on creating the legal environment for the development of virtual assets in Ukraine,” Bornyakov said in a statement. “We believe our cooperation with the Stellar Development Foundation will contribute to development of the virtual asset industry and its integration into the global financial ecosystem.”　　Stellar, the cryptocurrency and non-profit organization launched in 2014 by Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb, was selected last month by German bank Bankhaus von der Heydt (BVDH) as the means to issue a euro stablecoin. German regulator BaFIN has also approved the issuance of tokenized bonds on Stellar.　　Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon said the partnership with Ukraines government and other stakeholders to digitize the hryvnia will officially launch this month.　　“We‘ve been in conversations with governments and institutions all over the

2021-01-05Deep Dive

Bitcoin Miner Marathon Patent Group Completes $200M Capital Raise

Nasdaq-listed bitcoin mining firm Marathon Patent Group (MARA) has announced the completion of a $200 million capital raise.　　U.S.-based Marathon reported Monday that following the previously announced shelf offering, it had ended the 2020 fiscal year with $217.6 million in cash and 74,656,549 shares outstanding.　　The company plans to use the funds to pay for major purchases of bitcoin (BTC, -5.63%) miners from manufacturer Bitmain, as well as further expand the business.　　So far, Marathon said it has bought 103,060 miners that, once delivered and deployed, are expected to produce approximately 10.36 EH/s in hash power.　　15,200 of these units are scheduled to be shipped in the first quarter of 2021, Marathon said. Its further anticipating installing 4,000 units in February, 6,300 in March and 4,800 in April.　　If all the miners were deployed immediately, at a bitcoin price of $28,000, “we would produce approximately $618 million in revenue annually and approximately $523 million in gross profit annually,” said Marathons chairman and CEO, Merrick Okamoto, citing numbers from mining profit calculators.

2021-01-05Deep Dive

Bitwise’s Crypto Assets Under Management Rise Fivefold in Just 2 Months

Bitwise Asset Management, a provider of crypto index funds, says its assets under management (AUM) have now passed the $500 million mark – up from $100 million reported in late October.　　The company said Monday that its Bitwise Bitcoin Fund and Bitwise Ethereum Fund have seen increased demand in the fourth quarter of 2020 from financial advisers, hedge funds and institutional investors.　　But the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund – aimed at tracking a basket of 10 top crypto assets – saw the strongest demand, recently crossing over $400 million in AUM, the firm said.　　“The speed at which professional investors are moving into crypto right now is remarkable,” said Hunter Horsley, co-founder and CEO of Bitwise.　　The period since October has also seen prices across cryptocurrencies rise sharply, helping to boost the AUM total.　　Still, Bitwise said its funds had seen record inflows during Q4 2020, “surpassing the total cumulative inflows of 2018 and 2019 combined.”

2021-01-05Deep Dive

We Don’t Need a New Regulator to Have Better Crypto Regulation

Most crypto firms complain there are too many regulatory bodies globally and particularly in the U.S., and protest that this overlapping and even contradictory regulation stymies growth and innovation. The “alphabet soup” of U.S. federal regulatory bodies – the SEC, CFTC, DOJ, FDIC, FTC and IRS, to name a few – is just the beginning.　　At the state level, there are 50 attorneys general to contend with, not to mention the various state agencies and regulators that enforce the myriad of laws passed by state legislatures and applied by the courts. Digital currency has no borders, and while regulators do, they can extend their regulatory reach if markets, consumers and institutions in their jurisdictions are impacted.　　Donna Parisi is the Global Head of Financial Services and FinTech at law firm Shearman & Sterling. Sandra Ro is a former derivatives banker and market infrastructure executive and the CEO of the Global Blockchain Business Council, a Swiss industry non-profit building the next multi-trillion dollar industry through partnership, education, and advocacy.　　Some crypto startups and fintech leaders have advocated for a new regulatory body that would supersede these myriad of regulators, as a way to streamline regulatory compliance and reduce overlap between competing agencies. The Financial

2021-01-05Deep Dive

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