Crypto
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Demystifying the business imperatives of the Metaverse
In a previous article, I discussed the evolution of Web3 economies and current volatility, focusing on the participatory nature of Web3, which is the foundational technology enabling the creator economy. The term “metaverse” — meta and universe — often describes the anticipated future iteration or evolution of the internet powered by Web3 technologies like blockchain and decentralized resource distribution and consumption principles. Although the focus has often been on metaverse modalities such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), gaming, Second Life, avatars and so forth, in my view, these modalities represent an interesting evolution or shift from the digital transformation of recent decades to the “transformation of digital.” That is exactly what the Metaverse aims to...
Belgian financial regulator FSMA to regulate crypto exchange services
A new rule imposed by Belgium’s financial regulatory agency, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), will now require crypto exchanges and custodial wallet services in the region to register within a sharp deadline. Starting tomorrow, May 1, legal individuals and entities that wish to provide crypto exchange services or custodial wallets in Belgium will have to register in advance, according to the information released by the FSMA. As from 1 May 2022, providers of exchange services between #virtual #currencies and legal currencies, or custody #wallet services will have to register with the #FSMA. Please consult the FAQs. https://t.co/P44mkovn5L pic.twitter.com/aAdtQ9Dqwx — FSMA (@FSMA_info) April 29, 2022 Crypto businesses in Belgium that have been already operating before thi...
Avalanche (AVAX) loses 30%+ in April, but its DeFi footprint leaves room to be bullish
Avalanche (AVAX) price is down more than 30% in April, but despite the negative price move, the smart contract platform remains a top contender for decentralized applications due to its scalability, low-cost transactions and its large footprint in the decentralized finance (DeFi) landscape. AVAX token/USD at FTX. Source: TradingView The network is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and unique in that it does not face the same operational bottlenecks of high transaction fees and network congestion. Avalanche was able to amass over $9 billion in total value locked (TVL) by offering a proof-of-stake (PoS) layer-1 scaling solution. This indicator is extremely relevant because it measures the deposits on the network’s smart contracts. For instance, the BNB Chain, running since S...
ECB, Eurosystem begins experimental prototyping of digital euro customer interface
Progress will continue on the development of the digital euro as the European Central Bank (ECB) and Eurosystem have begun looking for companies to participate in an exercise to prototype customer-facing payments services. Payment service providers, banks and other relevant companies were invited to express interest in the project in an announcement released Thursday. Eurosystem, which comprises the ECB and the national central banks of countries that use the euro, stated that it will select up to five front-end providers on the basis of their capabilities and the use cases they present. While participants are not required to have previous experience with the service they will prototype, experience will be considered in the selection process. The prototype providers will be expected to dev...
Here are 3 ways hodlers can profit during bull and bear markets
For years, cryptocurrency advocates have touted the world-changing capability of digital currency and blockchain technology. Yet with the passing of each market cycle, new projects come and go, and the promised utility of these “real-world use case” projects fails to satisfy. While a majority of tokens promise to solve real-world problems, only a few achieve this, and the others are mere speculative investments. Here’s a look at the three things cryptocurrency investors can actually “do” with their coins. Lending Perhaps the simplest use case offered to cryptocurrency holders is also one of the oldest monetary applications in finance: lending. Ever since the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector took off in 2020, the opportunities available for crypto holders to lend out their tokens in exch...
2 key metrics point toward further downside for the entire crypto market
The total crypto market capitalization has been holding a slightly ascending trend for the past 3 months and the $1.75 trillion support was most recently tested on April 27 as Bitcoin (BTC) bounced at $38,000 and Ether (ETH) at $2,800 on April 27. Total crypto market cap, USD billion. Source: TradingView The crypto market’s aggregate capitalization showed a 3.5% decrease in the last 7 days and notable losers were a 18.8% loss from XRP, a 10.2% loss from Cardano (ADA), and 9.7% drop in Polkadot (DOT) price. Analyzing a broader range of altcoins provides a more balanced picture, that includes 25% gains from some gaming and Metaverse projects in the same time period. Weekly winners and losers among the top 80 coins. Source: Nomics Apecoin (APE) rallied 44% due to the upcoming Otherside metave...
Hashstack Finance’s public testnet represents a ‘significant accomplishment’
Hashstack Finance, a DeFi platform focused on disrupting the DeFi lending market, officially announced its public testnet launch of its Open Protocol. The company said in a Friday press release its Open Protocol is the first of its kind to offer non-custodial, secure under-collateralized loans. Extracting maximum value DeFi users will now be able to experience first-hand how to extract maximum value from their collateral when borrowing. According to the press release, Hashstack’s Open Protocol is the only platform offering under-collateralized loans at a 1:3 collateral-to-loan ratio. For example, a user can borrow $300 after securing $100 worth of assets as collateral. From this, the user can withdraw $70 (up to 70% collateral) with the remaining $230 representing in-platform trading capit...
Turkey’s second wave of major crypto interest: Bitfinex, Coinbase and KuCoin ramp up
Turkey is experiencing a resurgence in cryptocurrency interest as major crypto exchanges set foot in the transcontinental country. From demographics to offline marketing to currency depreciation, there is plenty of motivation for the 84 million Turkish people to sign up to the new exchanges. Bitfinex, among the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, recently announced its plans to expand into Turkey (see tweet). Coinbase reportedly set its sights on acquiring local exchange BtcTurk, while Binance is launching its first customer service center. Dünyanın önde gelen dijital varlık alım satım platformu Bitfinex çok yakında Türkiye’de. pic.twitter.com/bReVOyg1gU — Bitfinex TR (@BitfinexTR) April 24, 2022 For Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Bitfinex and Tether — ranked 8...
US crypto adoption remains high despite global inflation fears
A quantitative analytics report published by DappRadar has unveiled a number of revelatory behavioral market indicators for the global adoption of digital assets. The blockchain data portrays a positive sentiment for the Web3 and metaverse sectors, especially in the United States; a reactionary rise in crypto interest throughout Ukraine and Russia following the outbreak of the conflict and the impact of the well-documented surge i gas prices throughout Europe on inflationary metrics. Bar chart statistics reported a high correlation between the unfavorable economic dynamics witnessed in times of currency deflation and the interest in engaging with cryptocurrencies, with the data suggesting that the latter could serve as an investment hedge. The tumultuous 217.65% deflation of the Brazilian ...
Bitcoin disappoints on bull run as AMZN stock sees biggest 1-day drop since 2014
Bitcoin (BTC) fell into the Wall Street open on April 29 as United States markets opened to volatility, including an 11% drop in Amazon stock. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView All change at the Fed Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirmed BTC/USD dipping to $38,622 on Bitstamp Friday. Despite a let-up in the U.S. dollar’s relentless bull run, Bitcoin showed little signs of strength as it remained firmly under $40,000. Macro factors remained against the largest cryptocurrency along with risk assets more broadly, commentators noted, as the Federal Reserve reduced its balance sheet. The start of #Fed deleveraging? Fed balance sheet has shrunk for the 2nd consecutive week. Total assets now at $8,939bn, equal to 36.6% of US’ GDP vs ECB&...
Robinhood makes significant strides in crypto business in Q1 despite falling revenue
On April 28, discount-brokerage platform Robinhood published its financial results for the first quarter of 2022. Year-over-year, the firm’s net revenue declined by 43% to $299 million. Specifically, revenue from cryptocurrency trading fell by 39% to $54 million during the same period. This was partly due to a decrease in the interest in meme stocks as well as an ongoing cryptocurrency bear market that dominated much of the first three months of the year. However, despite a decrease in sales, the company’s net cumulative funded accounts rose by 27% year-over-year to 22.8 million. At the same time, total assets under custody increased 15% to $93.1 billion. Robinhood took several important steps in enhancing its crypto business. First, the firm rolled out crypto wallets to the ap...
Crypto start-up Argent announces $40 million raise
The London-based firm seeks to make it easier for users to manage its non-custodial wallet offering Part of the funds will be invested in initiatives around DeFi and Web 3 One of the co-founders noted that the firm intends to address the scalability issue of its wallet Argent, the firm behind the eponymous smart wallet, on Thursday disclosed it had completed a Series B funding round that saw it raise $40 million. Two VC firms Fabric Ventures and Metaplanet led the fundraising, which also had participation from Index Ventures, Creandum and Paradigm. Animoca Brands, Jump Crypto, and Starkware (creator of rival Ethereum-scaling solution StarkNet) featured in strategic capacities. Worth noting, StarkNet is the host of Argent’s wallet – Argent X. This explains the strategic colla...
