Author: marketanalysis

Written By: Isha Goel | July 15 2021

In recent efforts to becoming a more crypto-friendly place to live, Wyoming has officially become the first U.S state to recognize a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) called the American CryptoFed DAO. 

What exactly is a DAO?

An example from Cointelegraph paints the picture quite well. ‘Imagine a vending machine that not only takes money from you and gives you a snack in return but also uses that money to automatically re-order the goods. This machine also orders cleaning services and pays its rent all by itself. Moreover, as you put money into that machine, you and its other users have a say in what snacks it will order and how often should it be cleaned. It has no managers, all of those processes were pre-written into code.’ This management model originated when financial transactions with Bitcoin had no need for a middleman. In the same way, the fundamentals of DAO are based on developing a company or organization where there is no sense of hierarchy even when fully functional. 

In order for a DAO to be operational once it is fully established, a set of rules must be put into place. Those rules are encoded as a smart contract, a computer program that autonomously exists on the internet while still requiring people to perform the tasks that it cannot complete by itself. Funding the DAO is the next step and this is important for two reasons. The first is that it is necessary for the DAO to have some internal property in the form of tokens to be spent by the organization and the second is that users that invest in the DAO get voting rights to influence how it operates. Once that is taken care of, the DAO becomes fully autonomous and independent from its creators. The key here is that the open-source nature and blockchain transaction record management system make DAOs fully transparent, immutable, and incorruptible. Decisions on spending the funds are made by everyone who bought a stake in the organization reaching a consensus. They also have the option to send in potential opportunities through proposals, possibly requiring a monetary deposit to avoid spamming. Those proposals are then voted on and require majority support to be enacted (the percentage is specified in the code itself). Essentially, ‘DAOs enable people to exchange its funds with anyone in the world. This can be done in the form of an investment, a charitable donation, money raising, borrowing and so on, all without an intermediary.’

The Benefits for Wyoming

The state of Wyoming has recognized an opportunity to stream in more revenue. In fact, it has been writing new legislation to become more attractive and it worked. Crypto companies Ripple and Kraken both set up shops there alongside about 50 smaller LLCs with ‘bitcoin’ in their name. Earlier this year, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis even temporarily added laser eyes to her Twitter profile picture. This trend on the internet was spread by investors who supported and favored the crypto market. As the top coal-producing state, Wyoming is using this as an opportunity to improve revenue generation and jobs. Marian Orr, CEO of the American CryptoFed DAO, stated that ‘Wyoming is the leading digital assets jurisdiction in the USA, and now with this DAO law, Wyoming is arguably the top blockchain jurisdiction in the world. What this means is that creating a true digital currency with mass acceptance is now possible.’

The Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) supported the filing as well and has always advocated for more competition in the payment acceptance space as it represents 165 of the largest merchants in the U.S. Mobile banking solutions provider mSHIFT was the company that established the American CryptoFed DAO with the mission as ‘promoting a two-token economy that is immune from inflationary or deflationary influences.’ The Ducat is the DAO’s native algorithmic stable token that facilitates fee-free transactions and is based on the delegated-proof-of-stake EOS to achieve high-speed transactions at the expense of decentralization. The interest paid to Ducat holders and rewards given to the network’s users allow for more tokens to be issued. Additionally, ‘Ducat rewards and interest rates are adjusted dynamically by machine learning, with the Ducat intended to appreciate against the U.S. dollar by the amount of inflation the dollar experiences’ and is stabilized by the governance token Locke.

Work Cited

Cointelegraph. “What Is DAO and How It Works.” Cointelegraph, Cointelegraph, 13 Feb. 2018, cointelegraph.com/ethereum-for-beginners/what-is-dao. 

Crowley, James. “Why Are Bitcoin Supporters Giving Themselves Laser Eyes? Wyoming Senator Joins Trend.” Newsweek, Newsweek, 19 Feb. 2021, www.newsweek.com/bitcoin-laser-eyes-senator-cynthia-lummis-1570644.   

McIntosh, Rachel. “Wyoming Grants Legal Status to a DAO for the First Time in US History: Finance Magnates.” Finance Magnates | Financial and Business News, Finance Magnates, 5 July 2021, www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/wyoming-grants-legal-status-to-a-dao-for-the-first-time-in-us-history/. 

Wilde, Jamie. “Crypto-Friendly Wyoming Officially Recognizes a DAO.” Morning Brew, Morning Brew, 9 July 2021, www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/2021/07/09/cryptofriendly-wyoming-officially-recognizes-dao. 

Young, Martin. “Wyoming Legally Recognizes First DAO in the United States.” Cointelegraph, Cointelegraph, 5 July 2021, cointelegraph.com/news/wyoming-legally-recognizes-first-dao-in-the-united-states.

Written By: Kenichi Yamaguchi | July 8 2021

According to a new report from the blockchain analysis company Chainalysis, developing countries are promoting the adoption of retail encryption, while Ukraine is in the lead. In its Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index released on Tuesday, Chainalysis stated that Ukraine, Russia, and Venezuela are the top three countries adopting cryptocurrencies. The index is part of the company’s upcoming report on global trends in the use of cryptocurrencies. According to the Chainalysis ranking, the United States and China continue to provide the highest transaction volume, but excluding the largest holders of “whale” cryptocurrencies, Ukraine, Russia, and Venezuela are the most active retail users of digital currencies. It is closely followed by China, Kenya, and the United States.

Of these three countries, Ukraine may be the most surprising leader because the country has largely gone unnoticed by the global crypto community. The country is located in Eastern Europe, has a population of 42 million, economically unstable, and its citizens are tech-savvy, which is obviously a good way to use encryption. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine stated that there are several reasons for the popularity of cryptocurrencies among Ukrainians: the huge community of blockchain developers and the general population who knows the technology, cumbersome import and export trading regulations, and the country’s lack of stock markets. In a blog post, all of this encourages people to try digital assets.

Chobanyan believes that Ukraine also has many retail cryptocurrency investors. He said that Kuna sees approximately $800,000 in retail cryptocurrency transactions every day. Given the popularity of exchanges such as Binance and EXMO and the country’s many over-the-counter cash dealers, this is only a small part of the overall retail volume. Retail investors are interested in cryptocurrencies because Ukraine does not have many other passive income and savings options. The economy is small and there is no national stock market. Chobanyan said that banks often fail and that investment in real estate is too expensive for most people. On the other hand, Crypto has a low entry barrier, easier compliance requirements, and is safer than simply holding cash. Alex Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, believes that the most active crypto users in the country are people, not companies. “They use cryptocurrency for small investments and transactions,” he explained.

In addition to questions about investors, Ukraine is betting heavily on cryptocurrencies. In a document called Virtual Assets of Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation listed how Ukraine plans to become the preferred destination in the world of cryptocurrencies. In addition to passing the new virtual assets law (first reading in the Ukrainian parliament in December last year), Ukraine also plans to actively attract cryptocurrency companies through a very competitive tax rate. Companies will pay 5% of profits and no value-added tax will be applied, while individuals will pay a grace period of 5% until the end of 2025. “We have a great talent pool and a strong developer community of blockchain in Ukraine, “Alex Bornyakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation told me. “They embraced the cryptocurrency trend faster than people in many other countries and figured out how to build a business around it.” According to the government, Ukraine has so far owned about 100 companies in the field of cryptocurrencies, although the legislation has not. it has still been completely overcome. According to a new report from cybersecurity company Hacken and the Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, between July 2019 and June 2020, $ 8.2 billion in cryptocurrencies flowed from Ukraine, and $ 8 billion in funds flowed in the country. The country’s average daily cryptocurrency trading volume is now equivalent to 150 million to 200 million US dollars. 

 “Once we pass the legislation, Ukraine will become one of the most popular cryptocurrency destinations in the world,” Bornyakov said. “There are not many crypto-friendly countries, so companies will go to those that are crypto-friendly.” He calculated that when the legislation is in effect, Ukraine may become home to some 2,000 cryptocurrency companies. The Data Mining Center aims to ensure the safety of the company’s decision to establish itself in Ukraine because collecting cryptocurrency is a very energy-intensive business. Cryptocurrency mining consumes astronomical amounts of energy. This is because these digital currencies are mined, created, and traded using a large and complex digital ledger called blockchain. An almost unlimited number of high-performance computers can be connected to these blockchains. 

As the Financial Times reported last month, “The latest Bitcoin Power Consumption Index calculation from the University of Cambridge shows that Bitcoin mining consumes 133.68 terawatt-hours of electricity each year. … This makes it slightly higher than Sweden, which will consume 131.8T ​​Wh in 2020 and slightly lower than Malaysia with 147.21TWh. “This situation worries even the first cryptocurrency adopter, Elon Musk. He recently announced that Tesla will no longer accept Bitcoin as payment for his cars. Considering that Tesla owns approximately $ 1.5 billion in Bitcoin, this was a notable turning point. Musk’s withdrawal caused the cryptocurrency market to plummet by nearly 370 billion US dollars. 

Governments, academics, and even Musk believe that cryptocurrencies are too dangerous for the planet. Is it a good idea to invest in them structurally? Switzerland? Zug thinks so. Starting in February this year, individuals and companies in the state can use cryptocurrency to pay taxes. Due to its cryptocurrency-friendly rules, this state nicknamed “Crypto Valley” has become a hotbed of cryptocurrency businesses. Last September, this small state with a population of 129,000 had 439 well-known cryptocurrency companies. “Attracting cryptocurrency companies is a smart move for Zug and Ukraine,” said Katarzyna Ciupa, a cryptocurrency researcher and PhD. He told me, a candidate for finance and blockchain technology at the Warsaw School of Economics. “Encryption is the technology of the future, and it will continue to exist.”

Written By: Isha Goel | July 8 2021

As crypto-linked cards are becoming more popular, Visa announced on July 7 that a global total of more than $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency spending occurred in the first half of the year on goods and services on these cards. While exact numbers weren’t released, the payments giant did mention that the previous two years only had a fraction of that amount in the same period. 

Why the Need for Crypto Credit Cards?

The importance of liquidity has always been prominent but up until recently, cryptocurrency owners could only hold long-term (HODL) or speculatively trade. Cashing out the crypto for fiat currency meant having to wait for the conversion and then the deposit into the bank account, a seemingly inefficient method to access funds. This is when crypto debit cards appeared on the scene, driving up interest and public adoption to allow cryptocurrency to be seen in a more real-world setting.

Just like a standard debit card is used, crypto rewards debit cards can be used at merchants. The only difference is that this card is backed by the individual’s crypto wallet as opposed to a bank account. When the user wants to load funds, the cryptocurrency is converted into the fiat currency of choice but rewards are often given as a specific digital coin depending on the debit card. Crypto credit cards, on the other hand, offer the benefit of purchasing on credit viz the credit line of the issuing institution. 

Visa’s Efforts in Promoting Crypto

While cryptocurrency volatility remains an issue for owners, larger efforts to help it become more mainstream are being employed. Visa CFO Vasant Prabhu mentioned during an interview with CNBC that they ‘are doing a lot to create an ecosystem that makes cryptocurrency more usable and more like any other currency,” and that ‘people are exploring ways in which they can use cryptocurrencies for things they would use normal currencies for’. Emerging payment technologies such as biometrics, contactless, QR code systems, and cryptocurrency are becoming increasingly more popular, and recent research shows that 93% of North American consumers will adopt such technologies. Even 75% of millennials are open to cryptocurrency if they understood it better. 

More than 50 crypto firms have launched cards with Visa and the program is part of a push to merge cryptocurrency with traditional banking. This allows customers to access stablecoins through Visa’s payment network and enable cryptocurrency buy and sell features through banks. The best part is that ‘Visa powers both cards that allow consumers to easily convert crypto to fiat and spend it as well as cards that allow them to spend fiat and earn crypto as rewards.’

Partnership Buds Between BlockFi and Visa

In conjunction with Visa, the cryptocurrency services company BlockFi launched its first-ever crypto rewards credit card on July 6. The plans for such a launch were initially disclosed in December 2020 and the firm released a waiting list for US-based clients. That list now includes over 400,000 people and the CEO of BlockFi, Zac Prince, believes that the distribution will be completed by the end of the month. The relationship is symbiotic: clients can acquire bitcoin without the complications of fees or onboarding and BlockFi now has a new customer acquisition channel and revenue stream from the card’s fees. 

As with all credit cards, the perks on this new card provide unmatched benefits to users. Flori Marquez, the Co-Founder and SVP of Operations at BlockFi, mentioned that ‘this card will make it easier than ever for people to earn Bitcoin back while making day-to-day purchases’. The game-changer credit card will continue to push the efforts and important role that cryptocurrency is playing in reshaping the financial space. Specifically in regards to the Bitcoin rewards, ‘holders of BlockFi’s Rewards Visa Card will be able to earn 1.5% back in bitcoin on every purchase, with the payout increasing to 2% on every dollar spent over $50,000 annually. As an incentive to new users, they will receive a 3.5% bitcoin rewards rate for the first 90 days or until they receive $100 worth of bitcoin’. Other added benefits include a rebate on trading fees and no annual or foreign transaction fees.

A Worthy Competitor

Depending upon an individual’s spending habits, the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini may actually offer better perks. This exchange launched its own crypto rewards credit card this summer with Visa’s competitor Mastercard. The key difference between the two cards is that while BlockFi only offers rewards in Bitcoin, Gemini has the ability to provide rewards in any of the cryptocurrencies offered on the exchange. Clients receive 3% back on all dining purchases but only 2% on groceries and 1% on all other purchases. Other possible options include the SoFi Credit Card and Tomo Credit Card, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Regardless, it is evident that this emerging technology is here to stay. Established crypto traders will benefit from the rewards that are an addition to their current wallet and the relatively low risk of the credit card will provide newcomers an opportunity to dip their toe into the world of crypto as well. 

Work Cited

DiCamillo, Nate. “Visa Crypto Cards Have Racked Up $1B in Spending in 2021.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 7 July 2021, www.coindesk.com/visa-crypto-cards-have-racked-up-1b-in-spending-in-2021.

Holland, Frank. “Visa Says Crypto-Linked Card Usage Tops $1 Billion in First Half of 2021.” CNBC, CNBC, 7 July 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/07/07/visa-says-crypto-linked-card-usage-tops-1-billion-in-first-half-of-2021.html.

Mason, Emily. “Visa And BlockFi Launch 2% Bitcoin Rewards Credit Card.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 6 July 2021, www.forbes.com/sites/emilymason/2021/07/06/visa-and-blockfi-launch-2-bitcoin-rewards-credit-card/?sh=12989868795c.

Perkins-Southam, Toni. “Are Crypto Rewards Credit Cards A Good Idea?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 24 June 2021, www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/are-crypto-rewards-credit-cards-a-good-idea/.

Written By: Kenichi Yamaguchi | July 1 2021

According to Chainalysis’s 2020 Cryptocurrency Geography Report, Africa is booming in the adoption of cryptocurrencies. Chainalysis is a blockchain analysis company that provides data, software, and services to government agencies, exchanges, financial institutions, insurance companies, and cybersecurity. And research. 50 countries.

According to the report, on-chain cryptocurrency activities in Africa have been further consolidated into the top 10 services in the region, and the share of these services in the overall activities in the region has increased from 67% in October 2019 to 78% in 2020. Most activity in Africa goes to Binance, which is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume. Provide a platform for trading various cryptocurrencies. The report stated that since the beginning of 2020, Binance’s share of all cryptocurrency activities in Africa has increased dramatically. Retail transfers (transfers below $10,000) account for a larger share of African cryptocurrency activity than any other region, and remittance demand is a large part of it. 

 However, the Central Bank of Nigeria recently ordered the bank to stop providing services to cryptocurrency providers.  “Adoption is just beginning to take off in Africa, especially in Nigeria, where there has been an explosive growth last year,” said Buchi Okoro, co-founder and CEO of Quidax, a platform that allows people to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. “Trading is still going on on the exchange. [There] you will see the leak, but it is a far cry from the volume of transactions we have seen.” 

Since Nigeria is excluded from what Mr. Okoro calls “global prosperity”, its Many people are now turning to peer-to-peer (P2P) communication. Unfortunately, the lack of regulation in some countries can cause problems with asset ownership. “We have seen a lot of activity through P2P exchanges, and then other exchanges are also trying to solve problems related to making money,” he said. “But in essence, it’s still about being able to find a delivery method.

In fact, P2P transactions are also a major trend in Kenya. Although the country’s central bank issued a warning notice to warn investors about cryptocurrency platforms, this has not stopped some people from jumping in. “A lot of people said on Twitter that their funds were still there when the bank closed their accounts because they somehow facilitated cryptocurrency transactions,” said Roselyne Wanjiru, Director of User Growth and Acquisitions at Pesabase. Pesabase is a platform. Enable users to send money and make payments. “But people also feel that if they can make money from it during the pandemic, that’s what they have to do.”

In addition to the lack of a reliable and affordable Internet (especially outside of urban areas), part of the problem surrounding the adoption of cryptocurrency in Africa is the uneven level of financial education. Most people don’t know the type of investment other than basic knowledge, such as real estate or stocks. Even those who have heard of certain billionaires may not understand how they accumulate wealth, and only think it has something to do with money. 

 “The later this information is communicated to the public, especially the younger generation, the less likely they will be eager for it in the first place,” Ms Wanjiru said. “This means that decentralized finance and cryptocurrency may face very niche risks in the future.” To make cryptocurrency more common, we must first decompose the concept of local language. However, although Ms. Wanjiru has seen some efforts to translate educational materials into Swahili, there are still hundreds of other languages ​​and dialects across the African continent. “More work needs to be done to translate it into different local languages ​​so that the elderly and those not in urban areas can access this information,” he said. “At the same time, various platforms should make it easier for people unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies to understand them. 

 Given the changing nature of the cryptocurrency world, one of the biggest risks is the lack of adequate regulation in some African countries. company went bankrupt overnight, not through its own fault, but regulation is what the industry needs most. “We do not have a regulatory framework. We follow policies on minimum capital and transaction limits granted to banks,” Okoro said. “But anything can happen at any time. So, in terms of what we are doing now, we have written some letters requesting supervision.” Related to the need for supervision is the need for trust. As someone who has been talking about cryptocurrencies for many years, Ms. Wanjiru has seen her friends shift from mild curiosity to a strong desire to participate. Ms. Wanjiru believes that to achieve mainstream adoption, especially when there are many conflicting opinions on this issue, the industry needs to be more consistent. “If they don’t trust me or see my consistency, then this trust is of little value,” she said. The lady said that if people don’t buy your platform, or download your app, or register to be a member of your community, you still need to be an authority by interacting with them and answering any questions they might ask Wanjiru: “Just stay in There, stay consistent and build trust, and let these people come (even after two or three years) and become your most loyal customers.” 

 Although the continent is still the smallest cryptocurrency economy of all the regions analyzed in the report, that year Only 8 billion US dollars have been received, and 8.1 billion US dollars have been sent on the chain, but relatively few activities are creating a world-changing value for the lives of users in the region facing economic instability, providing low-cost remittances and another kind of savings the way.

Written By: Isha Goel | July 1 2021

As the cryptocurrency market volatility continues to persist, many investors have kept Bitcoin in their portfolios to hedge additional risks presented by other coins. It appears that the ‘hype has left the market’ but an optimistic recovery is still predicted. While the initial crash after April was caused by the regulatory action in China, Bitcoin managed to stay relatively steady despite similar actions in the UK over the Binance Markets. Naeem Aslam, the chief market analyst at Ava Trade mentioned that ‘The king of cryptocurrencies has made a significant recovery from its recent slump… In contrast, the bulls have carried digital assets above their 20-day average.’ He noted that crypto traders should track the currency’s price chart as it approaches its 50-day simple moving average, where the critical level is currently near $38,221.

Credit for Image: Yahoo Finance

Bitcoin’s Resistance Levels

During Asia hours on June 30th, Bitcoin maintained its trading price around the $36,000 resistance and as a result, may face further downside toward the $31,000 support zone after having gone down about 2% in the past 24 hours. Upon taking a look at the chart below, the relative strength index (RSI) peaked on June 29th. This indicates that the stock is overbought and will likely keep sellers active over the short term. This cryptocurrency may continue to experience a longer period of consolidation through August as it was unable to sustain a series of higher price lows over the past few days and selling pressures stabilize from May. The four-hour chart utilizes the 50-period moving average to show that there is initial support at $33,000 but buyers may find more attractive entry levels to be closer to $30,000 once oversold conditions appear on the chart. 

Credit for Image: Coindesk

An Interesting Pattern

As Bitcoin stays stuck trading between $30,000 and $40,000, QCP Capital analysts have noticed an interesting pattern in the price chart on Tuesdays in June. The past four weeks ‘have seen the pair deliver either highs or lows within its range each Tuesday, with this week no exception.’ There was a brief dip below $30,000, which is what set it as the support level and analysts have thus formed a moderately bullish bias as a result. Multiple indicators are flashing an ‘oversold’ for BTC/USD so it is important that the selling pressure decreases to provide an opportunity for an organic run-up to challenge resistance levels. While some of the pressure is assumed to come from institutional investors in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the adoption announcement from El Salvador has also played a role in the recent Bitcoin prices. QCP mentioned that ‘on a broader note, we think that the market might be underpricing the recent acceptance of crypto by sovereigns (El Salvador and Paraguay)’ and ‘these might not be huge countries but we think it is a watershed in BTC’s transition from a speculative instrument to an investment-grade asset.’

Credit for Image: Cointelegraph

Influences on Options Trading

Until prices break through the resistance level, fears of a deeper sell-off persist. The options smile chart below plots implied volatilities against options at various strike prices expiring on the same date where the implied volatility is influenced by the demand for call and put options. It is visible that the option smile for short-date and near-date expiries have a steeper slope at strikes lower than Bitcoin’s current price, which means that ‘investors are continuing to buy protective puts – contracts that give purchaser the right but not the obligation to sell the underlying asset, in this case bitcoin, at a predetermined price on or before a specific date.’ Pankaj Balani, the CEO of Delta Exchange claims that there likely won’t be a bullish trend for a while as Bitcoin’s price remains susceptible to the macro trends of the economy. That said, ‘some observers remain optimistic and are drawing parallels with the price action seen in 2013 when bitcoin crashed from $250 to $45 in April, bringing the bull run to a screeching halt, only to surge to four figures by November.’

Credit for Image: Coindesk

Work Cited

Dantes, Damanick. “Bitcoin Stalls; Could Find Support Near $30K-$33K.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 30 June 2021, www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-stalls-support-30k-33k. 

Godbole, Omkar. “Bitcoin Set for Record Second-Quarter Price Drop.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 30 June 2021, www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-set-for-record-second-quarter-price-drop.  

Riaz, Saleha. “Crypto Update: Bitcoin Slides as ‘Hype Leaves Market’.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 30 June 2021, finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-update-bitcoin-recovers-even-as-hype-leaves-market-ethereum-090238946.html.  

Suberg, William. “Coincidence? Bitcoin Saw Its Highs and Lows on ‘Turnaround Tuesdays’ in June.” Cointelegraph, Cointelegraph, 30 June 2021, cointelegraph.com/news/coincidence-bitcoin-saw-its-highs-and-lows-on-turnaround-tuesdays-in-june.  

Written By: Kenichi Yamaguchi | June 24 2021

If you asked me two months ago if Gemini would be the next Coinbase or Robinhood, I would’ve laughed. But now at this moment, Gemini has risen to one of the most popular trading platforms for crypto enthusiasts, and even was adopted by TradingView to be one of the trading outlets that is directly supported by it.

(Source: Apple App Store)

Quick take: Gemini is a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian that can provide investors with 33 coins and tokens (as of June 2021). Gemini was founded in the United States and is expanding globally, especially in Europe and Asia. Products include major cryptocurrency projects like Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as smaller altcoins like Orchid and 0x. 

 Gemini is one of the only brokers that offers multiple platform options based on skill level. New investors will love the streamlined interface of Gemini’s web and mobile applications, while advanced investors will love all the tools that come with ActiveTrader. 

 In addition to multiple platform options, Gemini users can also access a secure mobile wallet to store tokens without worrying about the theft of digital assets. Learn more about what Gemini can do for you in our review.

Why is Gemini so attractive to young people? Gemini offers many unique features that are different from competing crypto brokers, including: 

1.  A series of platform options. Gemini provides a simple and standard web interface, as well as a more advanced ActiveTrader platform. This allows you to customize your Gemini experience according to your trading skill level. 
2.  Multiple cryptocurrency products. Gemini supports a diverse portfolio of 33 cryptocurrencies, from large projects to smaller altcoins. 
3.  Dynamic price reminder function. Mobile investors will love the alert feature in the Gemini app. You can receive automatic notifications when the asset you are interested in reaches a predetermined target price. You can even set up alerts to notify you when asset prices go up or down by a predefined percentage.

More importantly, Gemini offers a great UI/UX for both website and app users. Not only does Gemini have an app that is easy to understand and navigate both exchange information and wallet information, users have the options to choose a basic chart and advanced chart for the website to choose between a beginner interface like Robinhood, versus an advanced interface similar to TradingView. 

In addition to that, there are many exciting projects that Gemini is currently working on. For instance, Gemini credit card. Gemini credit card is one of the first credit cards that gives the user 3% crypto back, and not limited to Bitcoin. Instead of Cash back like many credit card companies, Gemini offers many cryptos to get the rewards of purchases. There is currently a waitlist and it is subject to launch in the summer of 2021. 

The future of cryptocurrency is in the hands of young adults. It is optimistic to say that Gemini will not be the last innovative crypto trading company to offer solutions to attract the younger people. This is a first of many successful steps moving forward, especially during these difficult times of crypto trading.

Written By: Isha Goel | June 24 2021

As COVID-19 cases begin to decline with a rise in vaccinations, an economic reopening has proceeded quicker than Federal Reserve officials anticipated, thus driving inflation higher with it. 

A Temporary Rise

In comparison to the usual 2-3 months of heightened inflation, two U.S. Federal Reserve officials claimed on June 23rd that a period of high inflation may last between 6-9 months. This will affect when the central bank begins raising interest rates that were sitting at a near-zero level as a result of the pandemic. At the end of 2020, 12 Fed policymakers had felt that this crisis-level of interest rates would need to sustain through 2024 for better recovery but it appears that this will now move up to late 2022. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that growth will likely surge to an estimated 7% this year and inflation will be well above the Fed’s 2% target. He claimed at the central bank’s meeting the previous week that ‘Given the upside surprise in recent data points I pulled forward my projection.’

Rest assured, both Bostic and Fed Governor Michelle Bowman generally agree that recent price increases will prove temporary, but the catch this time is that it may take longer than anticipated for them to fade. Bostic mentioned that ‘temporary is going to be a little longer than we expected initially… Rather than it being two to three months, it may be six to nine months.’ Measures of inflation have been pushed to multi-year highs as a result of prices for goods like lumber and used cars. This has resulted in the consumer price index showing a 5% annualized increase in May, the fastest since 2008. While it is important to note that some prices have begun to ease, this phenomenon has forced the Fed and elected officials to develop a course of action to ensure prices don’t increase too much or too quickly. Bowman said in remarks to a Cleveland Federal Reserve bank conference that she ‘agrees prices are being driven by clogged supply chains and surging demand as the economy reopens, factors that should ease.’ Granted, she mentioned no time frame for this ease so it would need to be closely watched as the Fed sets policy. Over time, they remain optimistic that the economy will hit the 2% inflation target on average. 

How Does This Affect Cryptocurrency?

Many investors have begun looking to Bitcoin as an inflationary hedge as liquidity traps intersect with the near-zero interest rates. Billionaires have gone as far as to compare Bitcoin to gold, especially after the recent halving. The crypto derives its value from both speculative interest and its deflationary and controlled money supply. Just like many other coins are built as well, ‘The 21 million Bitcoin limit means that at a certain point, there should be fewer Bitcoins versus the demand for them, meaning that in terms of value, the price per unit should increase as the supply decreases.’

Inflation ultimately means that the value of a certain currency is decreasing and this can become problematic for any nation. El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender, has taken an assertive approach to tackle this issue in its own country. The country’s President Nayib Bukele claimed that ‘El Salvador is determined to push ahead with making bitcoin legal tender, a process that will bring only small risks and prove a leap forward for humanity.’ He mentioned how this plan would provide the opportunity to lessen El Salvador’s reliance on the U.S. dollar because ‘(We will be) at least becoming a little less dependent on the output of new dollars, and the new inflation that’s coming with those all those new dollars.’

The Impact on the Rest of the World

It has become apparent that the fate of the global economy is closely tied to the performance of the U.S. economy. This week, ‘the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee suggested that it would probably raise interest rates by a seemingly minor 0.5% in about two years.’ Shortly after the announcement, stocks tumbled in Tokyo and London out of intensified concerns about the rising inflation and worries that preventative measures wouldn’t be taken to control the situation until drastic action might become necessary. The worst-case scenario that most economists worry about is ‘a spike in inflation high enough that the Federal Reserve feels compelled to bring it back down by pushing interest rates high enough to trigger a brief recession.’ Even though a recession would be better than hyperinflation, the movement in the markets makes sense as a result of the Fed’s announcement as investors reassess their risk profile. 

Work Cited

Garver, Rob. “US Inflation Worries, However Small, Still Roil Global Markets.” Voice of America, Voice of America, 18 June 2021, www.voanews.com/usa/us-inflation-worries-however-small-still-roil-global-markets. 

Huang, Roger. “Bitcoin vs. Inflation.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 21 May 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/rogerhuang/2020/05/18/bitcoin-vs-inflation/?sh=2bcadf201c07. 

Rugaber, Christopher. “Fed’s Powell Says High Inflation Temporary, Will ‘Wane’.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 22 June 2021, apnews.com/article/inflation-health-coronavirus-pandemic-business-6e7c813472a3eb706e0cdafe305c1477.   

Schneider, Howard. “Fed Officials Say ‘Temporary’ Inflation Surge May Last Longer than Thought.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 23 June 2021, www.reuters.com/business/feds-bowman-bottlenecks-high-inflation-may-take-time-ease-2021-06-23/. 

Strohecker, Karin, and Tom Arnold. “El Salvador Bitcoin Plan ‘Bulletproof’, President Says.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 23 June 2021, www.reuters.com/business/el-salvador-bitcoin-plan-bulletproof-president-says-2021-06-23/.

Written By: Kenichi Yamaguchi | June 17 2021

The violent collapse of Bitcoin in May was attributed to China’s continued crackdown on cryptocurrencies, but the reality is that the fundamentals have not changed between 2017 and today. Chinese authorities have recently adjusted their national policies on cryptocurrencies, but Bitcoin and other digital assets have been banned in China for a long time. Regulatory agencies such as the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued guidelines as early as 2014. 

 In a recent report, three industry self-regulatory organizations, including the China Internet Finance Association, the China Banking Association, and the Payment and China Compensation, reiterated that they fully comply with the previous People’s Bank of China cryptocurrency laws and regulations.

(Source: The Guardian)

The report stated: “The recent surge and decline in virtual currency prices have prompted a rebound in speculative virtual currency trading activities.” “It has seriously damaged people’s investment security and disrupted the normal economic and financial order.” The report stated that three industry organizations and Its members are prohibited from engaging in encryption-related businesses or providing services to industry companies. “Financial and payment institutions shall not provide their customers with virtual currency-related services or directly and indirectly provide their customers with cryptocurrency-related services, including cryptocurrency trading, custody, loans and settlement; accept virtual currency as payment Tools; exchange virtual currencies with the renminbi,” the statement read. The statement also reminded readers that “virtual currency has no actual value support, and its price can be easily manipulated.” 

It is also important to remember that most cryptocurrency transactions in China are conducted through individual-to-person over-the-counter markets. Owning digital assets such as Bitcoin is not illegal in China; in fact, the court has reiterated its support for treating them as virtual assets under Chinese law, rather than currency or financial products that the banking industry can interact with. For example, Binance operates a P2P OTC exchange for the Chinese market, which has many trading pairs named Tether. Many exchanges, such as OKEx, are operated by Chinese and target the Chinese market, but fly a foreign flag of convenience: OKEx provides addresses in Malaysia, but has a company registered in Malta. At the same time, blockchain technology is still China’s national research focus, and has been integrated into different technical verticals, from supply chains to courts.

Since the crash this morning, the price of Bitcoin has rebounded and is currently about $37,800.

Reference:

Forkast.News. “DeFi with Chinese Characteristics? How China May Centralize Crypto Finance.” Forkast, 30 Sept. 2020, forkast.news/defi-china-decentralized-finance-capital-controls-james-gillingham-finxflo/.

“How the DeFi Craze Made Its Way to China.” Yahoo!, Yahoo!, www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/defi-craze-made-way-china-140148481.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACwqPqov9LgFhc24CWWO07o2DOqhpE8wPi8vdev2VVEur2BY4W_3tp9f-Ybo_RPAeI3FO4EJL5Nr4i1kzpp4onSGW2tUo20SbeSKk8lEZA80-DAR72xNFxV3i2oY1uDfiiUj44z7CMh7OOZWxy6f-QSWbD4Nj-9Mj_kmEI0l884y.

Pan, David. “How the DeFi Craze Made Its Way to China.” CoinDesk, CoinDesk, 16 Oct. 2020, www.coindesk.com/china-defi-craze.

Redman, Jamie. “After Banning ICOs China’s Defi Ecosystem Grows Exponential This Year – Finance Bitcoin News.” Bitcoin News, 5 Oct. 2020, news.bitcoin.com/after-banning-icos-chinas-defi-ecosystem-grows-exponential-this-year/. 

Written By: Isha Goel | June 17 2021

A new pop-culture event is taking place this week as Tom Holkenborg A.K.A Junkie XL is using the AmplifyX platform to host a Tezos-based NFT auction. This Grammy-nominated DJ has done collaborations with famous artists in the past like Britney Spears, Madonna, and Justin Timberlake. In fact, ‘Junkie XL scored a #1 hit in over 20 countries with his remix of Elvis Presleys’ “A little less conversation” and was the first artist outside of the Presley organization to receive authorization from the Elvis Presley estate to remix an Elvis Presley song’. 

His work in the film music composition industry has been used in several Hollywood Blockbusters including Mad Max: Fury Road, Deadpool, and Justice League. The Elvis Presley remix has been further purposed for films like Ocean’s Eleven and Sharktale as well as many commercial sports. 

The Star of the Show

On June 16th, the NFT auction built on Tezos dropped and consisted of 15 items, including the auction for ‘The Soundtrack of Your Life’. This NFT concept developed by Holkenborg was meant to push the boundaries of what is possible with NFTs through a ‘20+ minute original score, based on an interview with the winner, that encapsulates the unique victories, heartbreaks, memories, and emotions that make up their lives’. This truly personalized audio odyssey created by one of Hollywood’s singular composers is meant to be the star of the auction. 

Holkenborg is excited about the possibilities with this Tezos-based technology, stating that ‘this is my first real exploration of the blockchain, I am definitely curious to experiment more, drawn to its transparency and decentralized approach’. The composer believes that blockchain can empower creators to expand the limits of music by collaborating with artists in other mediums rather than simply the traditional ones. The non-fungible tokens are ‘cryptographically unique tokens that can be associated with digital content, enabling the owner to prove ownership of that content’. In the past, they have been predominantly associated with digital content consisting of artwork but can now be associated with any digital content including music. 

The AmplifyX platform ‘seeks to empower artists by bringing transparency, equity and artist ownership to the music industry’. As a FINRA and SEC-registered platform, it is ‘reinventing the intersection of NFTs and securities to transform digital ownership and monetization across technology, finance, and popular culture’. The key advantage of the platform is that it is built on the Tezos blockchain and uses up to two million times less energy than rivals Bitcoin and Ethereum through its proof-of-stake design. For a little more background on the technology’s purpose, ‘Tezos is smart money, redefining what it means to hold and exchange value in a digitally connected world. A self-upgradable and energy-efficient blockchain with a proven track record, Tezos seamlessly adopts tomorrow’s innovations without network disruptions today’.

A Generous Donation

Aside from the original Holkenborg score creation, the other 15 auction items include other artistic pieces from his past work. One will be the single titled ‘Despite All That Was’ as the first original non-film-related work from the composer since 2012. Another three pieces will be originals that are created in collaboration with Juan Piana (better known as Space Renders), who has worked with other artists such as Camila Cabello and rapper Machine Gun Kelly. 

After the auction ends, 10% of the gross profit will be donated to Leonardo DiCaprio’s Earth Alliance Charity to help fight climate change. With much of the cryptocurrency conversations revolving around environmentalism and the importance of minimal carbon footprints, the decision to utilize a Tezos-based platform and donate to a climate change fund was made in an effort to head off criticism and backlash.

Work Cited

Graves, Stephen. “Mad Max Film Composer Junkie XL to Auction ‘Soundtrack Of Your Life’ As NFT.” Decrypt, Decrypt, 14 June 2021, decrypt.co/73519/mad-max-film-composer-junkie-xl-auction-soundtrack-of-your-life-nft.  

Molchan, Yuri. “Leonardo DiCaprio’s Earth Alliance to Receive Donation from Tezos-Based NFT Auction.” U.Today, 14 June 2021, u.today/leonardo-dicaprios-earth-alliance-to-receive-donation-from-tezos-based-nft-auction.

Msoh, Steven. “Mad Max Composer Junkie XL to Auction Soundtrack as NFT on Tezos.” Crypto News Flash, 15 June 2021, www.crypto-news-flash.com/composer-behind-mad-max-and-justice-league-soundtracks-to-auction-custom-soundtrack-as-nft-on-tezos/.

“Tom Holkenborg Announces Auction for ‘Soundtrack Of Your Life’ Personalized Audio Odyssey By DailyCoin.” Investing.com, Investing.com, 14 June 2021, www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/tom-holkenborg-announces-auction-for-soundtrack-of-your-life-personalized-audio-odyssey-2531729.

Walters, Allen. “Tom Holkenborg A.K.A Junkie XL Announces Tezos-Based NFT Auction On AmplifyX.” XTZ.News, 14 June 2021, xtz.news/adoption/tom-holkenborg-aka-junkie-xl-announces-tezos-based-nft-auction-on-amplify-x/.

Written By: Kenichi Yamaguchi | June 10 2021

The past weekend was a big one for the Internet. Social media sensation, Logan “the Maverick” Paul was able to fight an eight-round bout with one of the all time greats, Floyd Money Mayweather at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Throughout the entire weekend, especially the post-fight conference, Mayweather has always emphasized that he was fighting for the money, calling the entire fight “legalised bank robbing”. Well, he did just that — he earned 30 million dollars just for the advertisements on his trunk, especially his promotion on Ethereum Max, just another token sponsored by many celebrities. The questions now lay ahead: Is cryptocurrency for athletes just another quick way to earn money, or a financial opportunity with a feasible future? How many athletes are truly open to this new way of investment?

(Source: USA Today)

Though many athletes started to test the waters of the crypto market a long time ago, it really started to become a reality in 2021. From Russell Okung — Seattle offensive lineman getting paid half of his salary as Bitcoin in late 2020, to Kansas City tight end Sean Culkin converting his entire salary to Bicoin in April, many more athletes started to see the potential of cryptocurrency. The sports world started to take note of it, and began to be involved in the market in various different ways. The NBA and its player association created Top Shot, a digital collection of player cards. Individual athletes chose to dip their toes in the blockchain market by creating their own NFTs and fan coins. Some succeeded, some did not.

(Source: KMBC)

Many players, however, took the cautious route and decided to enter the space, but are taking it slowly with professional guidance. In a recent interview/speaker event between LA Rams kicker Kai Forbath and Tulane University’s premier Blockchain student organization, Tulane Fintech, Forbath shared that he has been working with several financial advisors with his friends in the league to continue to find success off the field financially. While he is paying someone to help in trading cryptocurrency, Forbath emphasized his cautions, and shared that he has far safer investments elsewhere with stable returns. This could be the equalizer here — when will the social media influences and celebrity dominance on crypto market maneuvers be over? People like Elon Musk have proved to the market to have huge influences in the trends of cryptocurrency because of his financial status and social influence, but the experts question whether they are with financial purpose, or simply disrupting the market. 

(Souce: USA Today)

I was able to talk to a basketball agent about the potential impact of financial investments for future athletes this past weekend, who wishes to be kept anonymous. The agent told me that many of their clients — everyone from All-Stars, to G-League rookies — have started to learn about the crypto market. The NBA as an organization even understands that digital collections like Top Shot would not be the only way to be involved in the blockchain market for the association and the players. Many teams hold financial literacy lessons for the rookies during their summer camps after the draft, but it is up to the management whether they are willing to include the crypto market as a segment of the literacy advice. After all, cryptocurrency is such a new and exciting project that many older executives have not yet been keen to adapt to the ideas. 

The future of the cryptocurrency market in the entertainment and sports industry is, in my opinion, brighter than any other collaborations of two industries. The adoption of digital currency in real life would have to be pushed by these social media influencers under the current media climate. This would forever be a win-win for not only the financial benefits of professional leagues and associations, but more importantly, the athletes and the fans. There is no doubt that future collaborations and negotiations around the crypto market will continue to be discussed in the near future. 

Reference: 

Browning, Kellen. “How ‘Put That on Top Shot!’ Became a New N.B.A. Mantra.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 May 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/business/nba-top-shot-moments.html.

Ryan, Danny. “Floyd Mayweather Lived up to ‘Money’ Nickname in Shameless Interview after Logan Paul Fight.” GiveMeSport, GiveMeSport, 7 June 2021, www.givemesport.com/1703358-floyd-mayweather-vs-logan-paul-mayweathers-interview-shows-why-hes-nicknamed-money.

Teicher, Adam. “Kansas City Chiefs’ Sean Culkin Becomes 1st NFL Player to Convert Entire Salary to Bitcoin.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 26 Apr. 2021, www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31339960/kansas-city-chiefs-sean-culkin-becomes-1st-nfl-player-convert-entire-salary-bitcoin.

Warner, Jonathan. “Former Seattle Seahawk Russell Okung Puts Half of Salary in Bitcoin, Considered Highest Paid in the League Now.” RSN, 22 Feb. 2021, www.nbcsports.com/northwest/seahawks/former-seattle-seahawk-russell-okung-puts-half-salary-bitcoin-considered-highest.