crypto blog
DeFi transforming lending routes on the blockchain
The world of decentralized finance (DeFi) is gradually expanding to encompass a significant share of the global financial lending space by virtue of the inherently trustless manner of operation and the ease of accessing capital. As the crypto ecosystem has grown to a $2-trillion industry by market capitalization, new products and offerings have emerged thanks to burgeoning innovation in blockchain technology. Lending and borrowing have become an integral part of the crypto ecosystem, especially with the emergence of DeFi. Lending and borrowing are one of the core offerings of the traditional financial system, and most people are familiar with the terms in the form of mortgages, student loans, etc. In traditional borrowing and lending, a lender provides a loan to a borrower and earns intere...
Bitcoin and Ethereum had a rough week, but derivatives data reveals a silver lining
This week the crypto market endured a sharp drop in valuation after Coinbase, the leading U.S. exchange, reported a $430 million quarterly net loss and South Korea announced plans to introduce a 20% tax on crypto gains. During its worst moment, the total market crypto market cap faced a 39% drop from $1.81 trillion to $1.10 trillion in seven days, which is an impressive correction even for a volatile asset class. A similar size decrease in valuation was last seen in February 2021, creating bargains for the risk-takers. Total crypto market capitalization, USD billion. Source: TradingView Even with this week’s volatility, there were a few relief bounces as Bitcoin (BTC) bounced 18% from a $25,400 low to the current $30,000 level and Ether (ETH) price also made a brief rally to $2,100 af...
Crypto Biz: Luna’s meltdown will live on in infamy, May 5–11, 2022
Terra’s meltdown forced cryptocurrency investors to ask a question they never thought was possible: Will TerraUSD (UST) or Terra (LUNA) reach $1.00 first? The magnitude of this question provides a sobering reminder of just how quickly things can change in crypto. While Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon remains defiant, many people in the industry are beginning to distance themselves from the protocol they thought was delivering real-world utility for stablecoins and Bitcoin (BTC). The threat of contagion from Terra’s apparent collapse could take months or even years to fully quantify, but it looks like the howls of crypto winter are growing louder. Luckily, blockchain projects are bootstrapped with tens of billions of dollars. They will continue to build. Can you wait a little while longer...
Bitcoin price could bounce to $35K, but analysts say don’t expect a ‘V-shaped recovery’
Altcoins saw a relief bounce on May 13 as the initial panic sparked by Bitcoin’s sell-off Terra’s UST collapse and multiple stablecoins losing their dollar peg begins to decrease and risk loving traders look to scoop up assets trading at yearly lows. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 Despite the significant correction that occurred over the past week, Bitcoin (BTC) bulls have managed to claw their way back to the $30,000 zone, a level which has been defended multiple times during the 2021 bull market. Here’s a look at what several analysts have to say about the outlook for Bitcoin moving forward as the price attempts to recover in the face of multiple headwinds. Is a short squeeze pending? Insight into the minds of derivatives traders was provided by ...
Metaverse-as-a-service will be the basis of the next internet era of Web3
The concept of the Metaverse has been around since the 1980s, but it has only been in recent years that we’ve seen hundreds of projects popping up on the scene. What we are currently experiencing are gamified worlds with limited integration and engagement abilities. Right now, the Metaverse is still a blank canvas for early adopters to test and entertain the concept. When looking at the future of engagement in the Metaverse and bridging the gaps between the physical and digital worlds, however, we need to push the boundaries and go beyond what is currently seen as a metaverse. Let us begin looking at leaders who have begun building the next internet, which promises to be powerful for commerce, engagement and entertainment. For the Metaverse to succeed and become a regular tool used in peop...
Interview: Computecoin raises $6.2M to power Web3 infrastructure
ComputeCoin have annouced that the company has secured $6.2 million in strategic funds, led by Aves Lair. The network provides decentralised infrastructure for Web3. This is interesting because despite decentralisation being one of the core aspects of Web3, the reality is that a lot of Web3 applications are still deployed on Web 2.0 infrastructure. This creates central points of failure, as well as being converse to one of the mantras of Web3. AWS is an example of one such company that drives a huge amount of the Web3 network. With ComputeCoin, who only came together in 2018, aiming to “make global, distributed computing and storage power widely available for all Web3 builders to easily use”, we sat down with Dr Max Li, the Co-Founder and CEO, to get some answers to questions w...
Breaking: Do Kwon proposes Terra revival, including token redistribution plan
Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon has tabled a proposal to preserve the Terra ecosystem following the historic depegging of its algorithmic stablecoin, UST, and the resulting death spiral that plunged Terra (LUNA) tokens to practically zero. In a Friday post on Terra’s research forum, Kwon said, “The Terra community must reconstitute the chain to preserve the community and the developer ecosystem.” His proposal, which was in response to validator groups discussing the possibility of forking the Terra chain, involves compensating UST and LUNA holders who were unable or unwilling to sell their holdings during this week’s price collapse. Kwon proposed that validators should reset network ownership to 1 billion tokens distributed among LUNA and UST holders as well as a community pool to ...
Crypto donations fund ATVs and gas masks for Ukrainian military
Ukrainian officials have used funds from the crypto donation platform launched by the government to purchase supplies for the country’s military amid its ongoing war with Russia. In a Friday tweet, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, announced that the country had purchased five all-terrain vehicles, which “will come in handy for a challenging environment” — possibly referring to conditions near the front lines with Russia or where roads have been damaged or destroyed. Funds for three of the ATVs originated from Aid for Ukraine, a platform the government launched in March that accepts crypto donations “to support people in their fight for freedom.” Three ATVs for defenders are funded for crypto donations @_AidForUkraine, two more — supplied by the Minister of De...
Buy the dip, or wait for max pain? Analysts debate whether Bitcoin price has bottomed
It has been a rough week for the cryptocurrency market, primarily because of the Terra ecosystem collapse and its knock-on effect on Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and altcoin prices, plus the panic selling that took place after stablecoins lost their peg to the U.S. dollar. The bearish headwinds for the crypto market have been building since late 2021 as the U.S. dollar gained strength and the United States Federal Reserve hinted that it would raise interest rates throughout the year. According to a recent report from Delphi Digital, the 14-month RSI for the DXY has now “crossed above 70 for the first time since its late 2014 to 2016 run up.” DXY index performance. Source: Delphi Digital This is notable because 11 out of the 14 instances where this previously occurred “led to a strong...
CFTC commissioner appoints senior policy adviser experienced in digital asset regulation
In a Friday announcement, Pham said Keaghan Ames will be her counselor and senior policy adviser at the CFTC starting May 23. Ames worked at Credit Suisse for more than two years as vice president and head of U.S. regulatory policy, which included advising executives on digital assets regulation. He will be joining the CFTC from the Institute of International Bankers, where he has been the director of government affairs since July 2021. Sworn in as a commissioner in April, Pham is one of five heads serving at the CFTC under chair Rostin Behnam — all of whom were appointed by United States President Joe Biden. Pham is the latest commissioner to join the CFTC following the confirmation of Christy Goldsmith Romero, Summer Mersinger and Kristin Johnson. NEWS: CFTC Commissioner Pham Announces A...
Top DEX tokens to get on May 13
UNI, CRV, 1INCH, and SUSHI are some of the best DEX tokens that you can get on May 13. Each token has showcased an increase to its value within the last 24 hours. All of these tokens have the potential to increase in value by the end of May 2022. Uniswap (UNI), Curve DAO Token (CRV), 1inch (1INCH), and Sushi (SUSHI) are all decentralized exchange (DEX) tokens. On May 6, 2022, Enzyme announced its integration with Uniswap. On May 12, 2022, ParaSwap also posted a tweet about how $180 million were sent to Curve Finance. SushiSwap also announced how the Sushi 2.0 Proposal passed on Snapshot and is paving the road ahead. Then on May 13, 2022, 1inch Network announced the 1inch cumulative Merkle drop tool. All of these developments will contribute to the growth of these...
NFTs on course to hit $111 billion in marketplace volume in 2022
A total of $37 billion was sent to NFT marketplaces in first four months of the year, compared to $41 billion during all of 2021 Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs lead the way, with three of the top five projects by volume April’s Otherside project is already the fifth-largest project in history by volume NFTs on course for $111 billion in volume this year As the cryptocurrency market reels from the bloodbath of this week (looking at you, Terra), Cointext thought it would be prudent to take a step back and assess how far it has come. Perhaps no sector has seen as much progress as NFTs. By May 1st, there had been $37 billion sent to NFT marketplaces so far this year. That already places it on the brink of overtaking the entire total from 2021, which landed at $41 billion, accordi...
