Crypto
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23-year-old Australian buys $314k property via planned crypto investments
A young resident from Queensland, Australia played the long game of accumulating Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) over several years to eventually overcome the soaring real estate prices during the 2020 bull run and own his dream home. The 23-year-old Loi Nguyen started his journey as an investor back in 2017 by purchasing a few hundred dollars worth of BTC, ETH and traditional stocks. However, his interest in crypto reached new heights while pursuing an Economics degree: “Crypto came back into my life when I did a course at the uni on inflation. I learned that Bitcoin can be disinflationary.” Speaking to news.com.au, Nguyen revealed that the lower interest rates (less than 0.5%) offered by traditional banks could never help him break into the real estate market. By following a dollar-cost...
Yuga Labs faces user backlash for under wraps KYC-restricted project
Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, or BAYC, teased a new collaboration with blockchain game publisher Animoca Brands on Twitter on Thursday. The catch is that no details about the project have been revealed yet, and users who signed up for it via a Know Your Customer, or KYC, verification process have expressed their concerns on social media. BAYC simply tweeted out a link to a website where interested fans can apply in the hope of being approved to participate in whatever “is brewing.” To apply, users must connect to an Ethereum wallet, provide a photo of their license, passport or other ID as well as proof of their home address, and take a headshot on the camera of the device on which they sign up. fuck it, again.https://t.co/1KlPpVjWkb — Bored Ape Yacht Club...
US and EU double down on measures against Russia potentially using crypto to evade sanctions
The United States and the European Union have announced new actions targeting Russia’s economy and wealthy individuals as a report suggests Vladimir Putin’s allies have attempted to circumvent sanctions using cryptocurrency in foreign countries. In a Friday announcement, the White House said leadership from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Union will take additional actions aimed at economically isolating Russia in response to President Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine. The announcement includes banning imports of many Russian goods, banning the export of luxury goods to Russia and guidance for the U.S. Treasury Department to monitor the country’s attempts to evade existing sanctions. “Treasury’s expansive actions ag...
Russia and Belarus face crypto sanctions, Crypto.com hounds users for loan payments and Biden signs executive order on crypto: Hodler’s Digest, March 6-12
Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link. Top Stories This Week Biden to sign executive order on crypto, authorize all-government effort to consolidate regulation While many in the crypto community previously feared the worst regarding regulation, President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order on digital assets that had a relatively favorable approach to the crypto sector. While the order didn’t explicitly outline the scale of regulatory measures that could be expected, the general sentiment from the U.S. federal government appeared to be constructive as ...
Decentralized finance as a new globalization accelerator
Those who studied history well might remember the city-states of medieval Europe. Back then, caravans of merchants traveled from one city-state to another, bringing luxury goods and news from far-away places. It was this lifestyle that enabled these merchants with freedom of mobility and choice. It is a very similar concept to the one described by Michael Ondaatje in his book The English Patient. The author envisioned complete freedom, without borders or nationalities limiting people in their strive for development and progress. Today, broader access to the financial markets through decentralized finance marks the beginning of the open world. DeFi has been highly positive from the standpoint of wealth accumulation and cheaper financing, giving new meaning to the concept of “finance f...
How do you assess the value of an NFT?
Understanding the valuation matrix There is no rule book on how to assess an NFT valuation. The metrics you use for evaluating private companies or conventional investment vehicles such as shares are simply not applicable to NFTs. Usually, the payment rolled out by the last buyer gives some indication of the value. For NFTs, however, it is hard to guess what the next buyer might pay, depending on their estimates. Most buyers lack the skills to ascertain the value of NFTs logically and base their quotes on guesswork. For sellers too, it is hard to determine what they might end up receiving for the tokens they hold. Over time, the value of NFTs is driven by a perception over which both buyers and sellers may lack any control. An example can bring home the point even better. An artwork NFT mi...
Ally or suspect? The war in Ukraine as a stress test for the crypto industry
It has been two weeks since Russia kicked off the first large-scale military action in Europe in the 21st century — a so-called “special operation” in Ukraine. The military conflict immediately triggered devastating sanctions against the Russian economy from the United States, the European Union and their allies and has put the crypto industry in a position that is both highly vulnerable and demanding. As the world watches closely, the crypto space must prove its own standing as a mature and financially and politically responsible community, and it must defy the allegations of being a safe haven for war criminals, authoritarian regimes and sanctioned oligarchs. Up to this point, it has been going relatively well. But despite reassurances from industry opinion leaders, some experts say that...
In defense of crypto: Why digital currencies deserve a better reputation
Ever since its inception and throughout its turbulent journey toward mainstream acceptance, crypto has elicited both enthusiasm and trepidation in equal measure. After the unfair battering it has received over the years, the time has come to defend digital currencies. Unfortunately for crypto, first impressions count. Bitcoin (BTC) initially gained a tawdry reputation in its early years as the currency of choice for illicit activities — favored by dark web users, ransomware hackers, drug traffickers and money launderers worldwide. But, the world has changed since the first Bitcoin was mined in January 2009. There are now more than 18 million of them in circulation, and more than 90,000 people have $1 million or more stashed away in Bitcoin, according to cryptocurrency data-tracking firm Bi...
Crypto Biz: Goldman Sachs tip-toes into ETH, Mar. 4-10
Wall Street’s embrace of digital assets is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, they don’t even need to tell us about it as the proof is in the fine print. This week, a United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing revealed that multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs has been quietly offering clients exposure to Ether (ETH) through Galaxy Digital, a crypto-focused financial services provider headed by billionaire Mike Novogratz. Of course, this isn’t the first time Goldman has worked with Galaxy Digital to offer clients a gateway to digital assets. In June 2021, the investment giant began trading a Bitcoin (BTC) futures project in collaboration with Galaxy Digital. Like other financial services giants, Goldman Sachs sees the writing on the wall and realizes...
Altcoin Roundup: DeFi token prices are down, but utility is on the rise
The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector has been sitting in the backseat since whipping up a frenzy in the summer of 2020 through the first quarter of 2021. Currently, investors are debating whether the crypto sector is in a bull or bear market, meaning, it’s a good time to check in on the state of DeFi and identify which protocols might be setting new trends. Here’s a look at the top-ranking DeFi protocols and a review of the strategies used by users of these protocols. Stablecoins are the foundation of DeFi Stablecoin-related DeFi protocols are the cornerstone of the DeFi ecosystem and Curve is till the go-to protocol when it comes to staking stalbecoins. Top 5 protocols by total value locked. Source: Defi Llama Data from Defi Llama shows four out of the top five protocols in terms of to...
Terraform Labs donates $1.1B for Luna Foundation Guard‘s reserves
On Friday, Do Kwon, founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, which develops the blockchain ecosystem consisting of Terra Luna (LUNA) and the TerraUSD stablecoin (UST), announced that TFL had donated 12 million LUNA, or $1.1 billion at the time of publication to the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG). LFG launched in January to grow the Terra ecosystem and improve the sustainability of its stablecoins. Kwon noted that the funds, denominated in LUNA, will be burned to mint UST to grow the LFG‘s reserves: “We will keep growing reserves until it becomes mathematically impossible for idiots to claim de-peg risk for UST.” UST is an algorithmic stablecoin with a theoretical exchange rate of 1:1 with the U.S. dollar and is in part maintained by swapping of/for LUNA tokens when its market value deviates from it...
Citi’s digital asset co-heads resign with plans to create crypto startup
Alex Kriete, co-head of digital assets at Citi, announced his resignation from the banking giant after 11 years at the firm on Thursday via LinkedIn. He stated in his post that he intends to devote himself full-time to developing a new cryptocurrency company but provided no additional details at the time. Kriete co-led the digital assets group with Greg Girasole for less than a year since the unit launched in June 2021. Girasole also announced his departure via LinkedIn and together, he and Kriete plan to start their own blockchain-related venture. The two said they would share more details about it in the coming weeks. Kriete‘s excitement for his new undertaking stemmed from the belief that digital assets will “continue to grow in importance to global capital markets and the formatio...
