Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Bitcoin Lightning Startup Zap Goes Global, Adding Multiple Fiat Pairs, Stablecoins

Strike – the Chicago-based startups Bitcoin wallet and banking service – is rolling out native support for the euro, pound and Swiss franc, soon to be followed by the Australian and Canadian dollar after partnering with cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex Global, according to Zap founder Jack Mallers in a phone interview with CoinDesk.　　Described by Mallers, as a “Bitcoin neo-bank,” Strike leverages the Bitcoin network and scaling technology the Lightning Network to move fiat fast from point A to point B. Zap plans on providing banking services in up to 200 countries via the international exchange.　　By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy.　　“We can move any physical value anywhere in the world for no variable cost,” Mallers said. “Transaction finality from one point to another for free.”　　Moreover, Strike will also list popular stablecoins tether (USDT, +0.09%) and USD coin (USDC (+0.14%)), beginning with a pilot program in El Salvador. Stablecoins were one of the crypto industry‘s breakout products in 2020. The market cap of dollar-pegged tokens rose some from around $7 billion to over $30 billion by the year’s end, according to Messari.　　Mallers said Bittrex Global will handle the

2021-01-07Deep Dive

ShapeShift Takes on 1Inch, Matcha and Becomes DEX Aggregator

The Swiss cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift has announced a newly revamped platform to integrate popular decentralized exchanges (DEXes).　　The soon-to-be-launched trading service will aggregate order books from multiple decentralized exchanges (DEXes) in a single interface.　　ShapeShift Begins Its DeFi Journey　　As a DEX aggregator, ShapeShift will source market liquidity from several DEXes, offering users better token swap exchange rates than available on any single DEX.　　The move puts the company in direct competition with other aggregators such as 1Inch and Matcha.　　According to Voorhees, Shapeshift will integrate Uniswap, Balancer, Curve, Bancor, Kyber, 0x, mStable, and half a dozen other DEXse. The exchange will get paid a portion of the trading fees that each DEX charges.　　In 2019, ShapeShift had first launched a non-custodial trading platform, allowing users to retain private keys to their funds. However, the platform did not find enough traction due to stringent KYC requirements.　　However, the company says its revamped trading service will not require KYC from traders.

2021-01-07Deep Dive

Here’s why stablecoins like USDC going ‘legal’ is bullish for DeFi

A landmark announcement for USDC. Unending social euphoria. Observers calling it bullish for DeFi. But whats the whole deal really about.　　The day the US government supported crypto　　Monday saw one of the biggest ever announcements to be made by the US regulators with regards to cryptocurrencies: That of the countrys banks and financial providers getting the green light to settle transactions on stablecoin and even act as validator nodes on a public blockchain.　　Circle founder Jeremy Allaire, who took to Twitter to explain the act and ignited a frenzy among that part of town, said the judgment was a huge win for crypto and stablecoins—with the news potentially impacting the regulated stablecoin his company issues, the USDC, the most.　　Allaire noted the new interpretive letter suggested that national banks could now treat public chains as infrastructure similar to SWIFT, ACH, and FedWire—the current settlement networks in the country—and treat stablecoins like USDC as “electronic stored value.” “The significance of this cant be understated,” he said in the regard, adding:　　“We are on a path towards all major economic activity being executed on-chain.”　　For Allaire, the move means dollar-pegged stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies that are backed bu the US dollar on a 1:1 basis and redeemable in

2021-01-07Deep Dive

Ethereum & Bitcoin Locked in DeFi Plunge; ETH Staked Rises

Ethereum (ETH) locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) has seen a significant drop of 30%, while more than 50% of bitcoin (BTC) left DeFi during past several months as both cryptoassets have been rallying. At the same time, the number of coins staked in the Ethereum 2.0 (ETH 2.0) deposit contract is increasing.　　On September 17, 2020, the amount of ETH locked in DeFi had reached its peak, recording an all-time high of ETH 9.771m, according to DeFi Pulse data. At the time of writing, its ETH 6.845m, or 30% less.　　Source: defipulse.com　　Furthermore, a significant number of BTC has left DeFi as well over the past two months or so. Looking at the DeFi Pulse chart, we see the number of BTC locked at DeFi peaking at 64,993 on October 22, 2020. It then began a steady downward course, with a few minor spikes along the way, reaching BTC 30,918 on January 6. This means that it dropped by 52% in total since its all-time high less than three months ago.　　Source: defipulse.com　　However, as both BTC and ETH have been rallying, this exodus has been compensated. The two largest cryptoassets now have a 44% share in the total value locked in USD in DeFi.

2021-01-07Deep Dive

Ethereum Crosses $1,200 in Push for All-Time High

Ethereum (ETH) is trading above $1,200. The second largest cryptocurrency by market cap hit a high price of $1,207 on multiple exchanges today, its first time at the price level since January 2018.　　 Ethereums Latest Run　　Its been a bullish few days for Ethereum supporters. This most recent run started on the weekend, when ETH hit $800, following a wild Bitcoin run the previous day. The price of ETH soared 40% over the course of Sunday, surpassing $1,000 later that day.　　Source: TradingView　　The last time Ether made a run at this price level was in January 2018, towards the end of cryptos most fabled bull run. Bitcoin topped out at around $19,600 the previous month (December 2017) before ETH surged to a high of $1,448.　　Now Ethereum is nearing its all-time high once again. After todays milestone, Ethereum is only 17.4% away from reaching its peak price. Its market cap is now approximately $137 billion.

2021-01-07Deep Dive

Top Crypto Exchanges Record High Volume Bitcoin Withdrawals Amidst Bull Run

The crypto space has been buzzing with activity in the past few days because of the price surge of bitcoin and altcoins. One of these activities that have gone unnoticed is the movement of bulk bitcoins from exchanges. Transactions on the blockchain show that 92,085 bitcoin was withdrawn from major crypto exchanges in the last 30 days.　　According to Viewbase, this number accounts for about 6% of the bitcoin balance in these exchanges within the timeframe. The exchanges ranked according to their user bitcoin holdings are Coinbase, Huobi, Binance, Kraken, OkEX, Bitfinex, Bitflyer, Bittrex, Coincheck, Gate.io, Bitstamp, Poloniex, and BTC.top.　　Coinbase has experienced the biggest slump in the number of user bitcoin holding. The exchange which reportedly holds the highest amount of bitcoin for users has seen its user holdings drop from 973,000 bitcoin in February 2020 to 805,000 bitcoin presently. Huobi users have withdrawn about 2,085 bitcoins in the past 30 days, while Binance users have withdrawn 2,073 bitcoins in the same period.　　The massive withdrawal from exchanges is quite the reverse of what many analysts expect in the present market. It has raised many questions begging to be answered, most popular is the rationale behind these withdrawals. Could it be institutional

2021-01-07Deep Dive

Total Cryptocurrency Market Value Hits Record $1 Trillion

The total value of all cryptocurrencies passed $1 trillion Wednesday for the first time ever, per CoinGecko‘s index of 6,124 assets. At its prior peak in late 2017, the market’s total capitalization was just above $760 billion, according to TradingView.　　Bitcoin represents roughly 69% of the markets value, according to Messari.　　Traders aren‘t surprised by the market’s soaring value.　　“Is it frothy？ A little bit in the short term,” said Qiao Wang, co-founder of decentralized finance (DeFi) accelerator firm DeFi Alliance and former quantitative trader at Tower Research. “But is it ridiculous,” he asked rhetorically. “Nope.”　　Over the past 12 months, the nearly parabolic rise of bitcoin (BTC, +10.82%) and other cryptocurrencies has come as deep-pocketed institutional investors show increasing interest in bitcoin with a new crop of retail investors following their lead and showing some interesting in alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) as well.　　Bitcoin has already gained 25% in January, following its more than 300% gain in 2020. Ethereum has also soared over the past 12 months, reaching a total gain of roughly 860% Wednesday after trading above $1,200 for the first time since early 2018.　　Cryptocurrency total market value　　Source: TradingView　　“The $1 trillion mark cements cryptocurrency as a investable asset class that no longer sits on

2021-01-07Deep Dive

Maker’s MKR Token Surges to 2-Year High on DeFi Growth

MKR was trading at $1,068.53 as of press time, up 44% in the past 24 hours. However, it was trading at $1,251.14 earlier in the day, close to its Jan. 21, 2018, record of $1,798.70.　　Analysts told CoinDesk the recent rally was just a delayed and long-anticipated result of the rapid growth of the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. MKR is the governance token for both Makers decentralized lending platform and the decentralized autonomous organization, MakerDAO.　　Yan Liberman, co-founder of Delphi Digital, a research and consulting boutique specializing in digital assets, attributed the price rally to the sharply increased supply in dai, the native stablecoin for MakerDAO.　　The total market capitalization of dai.　　Source: Glassnode　　Dai is created when Ethereum blockchain users deposit one of many assets into the Maker Protocol and borrow against that asset in the form of dai. On the other hand, the MKR gives its holders voting rights on the development of Maker Protocol and dai.　　Subscribe to First Mover, our daily newsletter about markets.　　SUBSCRIBE　　By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy.　　Notably, the DeFi sector is becoming popular again with more than $21.6 billion total value locked as of press

2021-01-07Deep Dive

Cryptocurrency Mining Firm Marathon’s Market Cap Passes $1B

Shares of the Las Vegas-based company have soared over 1,700% in the past 12 months. Bitcoin gained roughly 330% over the same period.　　Marathon has been mining some cryptocurrency since at least 2016, but considerably increased its focus on mining operations in the past few years. At the cryptocurrency markets prior peak in late 2017, Marathon barely had a $50 million market capitalization.　　Coinciding with its recent nearly parabolic increase in share price, Marathon has aggressively expanded its mining capacity, with a total of 90,000 new machines purchased in October and December.　　In an email to CoinDesk, CEO Merrick Okamoto said the milestone is “a very special moment for our company.”　　“Many of our shareholders stuck with us through the difficult times in our industry,” Okamoto said. “We feel honored that those who stayed on this journey are now reaping this financial reward for their patience and confidence in our company.”　　The company also completed a $200 million capital raise Monday and announced a “clean block” mining pool with DMG Blockchain Solutions “that adheres to the Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC) compliance standards and reduces the risk of mining blocks that include transactions linked to nefarious activities,” per a release.　　Marathon reached the billion-dollar market

2021-01-07Deep Dive

South Korean Whales Accumulating BTC on Exchanges, Can Coinbase Buyers Hold Bitcoin Above 30k?

Bitcoin is currently trying to solidify its position above $32,000 after experiencing high volatility over the past couple of days after the $5,000 price crash. The price volatility is primarily because of Asian whales dumping large portions of their bitcoin holdings on exchanges during the Asian market time which results in a dip in bitcoin price which is followed by a buying spree on coinbase as the US markets opens right after the Asian market closes down.　　Source: CryptoQuant Alert　　The current selling and buying spree between the Asian and US markets is contributing to the high volatility of the top cryptocurrency observed in the past couple of days. The same pattern has started to begin today a little early as South Korean exchange as 1882 bitcoin worth $60 million was just sent to Bithumb an hour ago raising the concern of a possible upcoming dip in bitcoin price.　　Bitcoins price rise of over $34,000 led to heavy traffic and malfunctions on a number of crypto exchanges. The high demand for bitcoin at its current price and billions of spot rallies has led to BTC selling at premium rates on several exchanges especially in South Korea.　　This is one of the key reasons behind

2021-01-06Deep Dive

...

739 740742 743