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On April 23, the publicly listed mining operation Bitfarms revealed a partnership with the Digital Currency Group (DCG) subsidiary Foundry Digital LLC. Bitfarms will be joining Foundry’s American mining pool and the two bitcoin mining firms have revealed the joint purchase of 2,465 Whatsminer M30S ASIC mining machines. Bitfarms Partners With Foundry’s US Operations At the end of March, the mining company Hut 8 explained that the bitcoin mining operation was joining Foundry’s U.S. mining pool. At the time, Hut 8’s CEO Jaime Leverton explained that “having a formidable bitcoin mining pool based and operated entirely in North America is important.” Now another mining operation has announced a partnership with the DCG-owned Foundry as Bitfarms (TSXV:BITF) explained on Friday it was joining the company’s U.S. operations. The two companies disclosed the joint purchase of 2,465 machines and 1,465 were previously installed in Bitfarms’ Sherbrooke facility for hosting purposes. The company ended the hosting agreement and “returned 100%,” while the mining rigs added 133 petahash per second to the firm’s operational capacity. Bitfarm’s announcement notes there’s a semiconductor shortage worldwide and ASIC mining rig purchases need 50% to 100% deposit. Adding 90 Petahash: Bitfarms Plans to Finance Another 1,000 Bitcoin Mining Rigs Foundry’s efforts aim to make things more convenient for U.S. bitcoin miners operating facilities. The DCG subsidiary claims it has “helped procure nearly half of the Bitcoin mining machines installed in North America in 2020.” With the latest procurement of mining rigs Bitfarms believes it can recover its deposit in less than a month and from there profit for a few years later. The company plans to obtain financing in order to purchase another batch of 1,000 Whatsminer M30S bitcoin miners. The additional 1,000 Microbt Whatsminers will provide roughly 90 PH/s to the company’s mining operations. Mike Colyer, CEO of Foundry says that helping forward this technology is what the DCG company was meant to do. Foundry provides “equipment financing and a mining pool that has been designed to help publicly traded companies such as Bitfarms scale their operations locally and in a fully compliant manner,” Colyer said during the partnership announcement. What do you think about Bitfarms and Foundry’s partnership and the acquisition of 2,465 ASIC mining machines? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Although he is outspoken, raucous, and bombastic when it comes to his public persona, Sun’s questionable publicity stunts could be part and parcel of his strategy for catapulting Tron into the spotlight and capitalizing on crypto’s momentum. Bombastic Approach May Underpin Tron’s Success It’s tough to take Tron’s Justin Sun seriously. His endless shilling on Twitter and use of celebrity endorsements of the likes of Lindsey Lohan are certainly not helping him cultivate an image of blockchain savvy. Yet, despite his controversial approach, something more interesting is brewing beneath the surface. Even with his limited technological abilities compared to Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin and Polkadot’s Gavin Wood, Sun has managed to position himself as one of the most successful individuals within the field. With his brash style of sucking all the oxygen out of the room with his comments or ideas, no matter good or bad, Justin Sun has positioned himself as a mighty successful cryptopreneur. While he is still frowned upon by many within the community for his hollow attempts to stay in the spotlight, there is no doubt that some of his business acquisitions and partnerships have been strokes of brilliance. Is Sun a More Potent Business Force Than Previously Thought? Yes, it might sound questionable to be talking about taking Justin Sun more seriously, but in truth, a closer look at his business dealings tells us a starkly different tale. Starting with his $120 million acquisition of Bittorrent in 2018, Sun was on the receiving end of a wave of negative publicity. As one of the earliest decentralized protocols that arrived long before cryptocurrency, BitTorrent’s global status was still a feather in Sun’s cap given its name recognition and seamless fit within the crypto ecosystem. Eventually, Sun went on to list Bittorrent Token (BTT) on Tron’s blockchain. It turned out to be a smart move. BTT has since rocketed to the 31st most valuable coin by capitalization, with its fully diluted market capitalization now standing over $7 billion. Beyond this acquisition, Sun’s status as a part-owner of exchange Poloniex, despite his initial denials, is a testament to his ambitions. While it may not align with his public statements of “decentralizing the web,” given that Poloniex is a centralized exchange, it follows other similar moves of seeking to centralize more services under his umbrella. Tron’s acquisition of Steemit was even more controversial after it was posited that Sun conspired with major exchanges to remove node validators on the dPOS blockchain and replace them with his own. This move effectively centralized a blockchain-based decentralized social media platform. However, despite the uproar and number of users that abandoned the platform, since the February 2020 acquisition, STEEM tokens have nearly risen nearly five-fold. The latest announcement of integration with DAO Maker reflects another serious move to expand the Tron ecosystem of blockchain-based services. The recently unveiled strategic partnership will see DAO Maker bring all of its cross-chain incubation, fundraising, and growth-oriented services onto Tron. By bringing a retail-focused investing initiative onboard, Sun shows that he intends to make Tron a hyper-competitive chain relative to Ethereum and Polkadot despite its more limited technological acumen. Sun The Businessman and Centralization Architect Most of these moves directly conflict with web decentralization activities, as evidenced by the testimony of present and former employees, which highlights some of Sun’s more nefarious efforts to block competition. Yet, despite the ridicule, Sun is still riding high. He may not be blockchain’s best advocate, but Justin Sun has undoubtedly identified it as a money-making opportunity and leveraged it as such as part of his unbridled ambition to rise through crypto’s ranks. So what do you think – Justin Sun, a crypto hawker or business savant? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The craze for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) has engulfed the blockchain space as more people move towards this unique sector. The ability to sell works of art and tokenize real-life assets has ensured that the NFT sector has grown immensely, with record sales of NFTs witnessed in recent weeks. However, to this point the NFTs released have been for personal gain or issued by large companies and organizations. Metis, a blockchain project focused on developing Decentralized Autonomous Companies (DACs), plans to introduce a new concept with the launch of the first ever community-minted NFT, named ‘’Rebuilding The Tower of Babel’’. First community-minted NFT The ‘’Rebuilding the Tower Babel’’ NFT will bring together a community of incentivized contributors. NFT participants will take part in five major phases: Reserve Airdrop, Claim Tribe NFT, Community NFT minting, Auction, and Rewards. Community members that participate in the airdrop phase can unveil a mystery box displaying three cards. Each card has a mining power reward attached to it. The mining power represents the rate at which users can mine Metis Tokens within the incentivized pool that will launch when the community NFT project is finished. The vast majority of rewards will offer 1x mining power, while a few lucky participants will receive 3x mining power. Apart from the reward cards on offer, participants will also receive an option to create a Tribe on the Metis blockchain and receive Metis tokens via airdrops as an incentive. The Tribes are an important aspect of the Metis NFT ecosystem, and a way to increase mining power for the incentivized pool. Participants can refer friends and other members to increase the Tribe’s Trust with the referrers receiving Metis Tokens as incentives. Furthermore, the higher a Tribe’s Trust, the stronger the mining power. Each Tribe can hold a maximum of 15 members, thus creating a fair and transparent system for all participants. The airdrop phase will last for five days. Following this phase, the community NFT-minting project will mint the main NFT artwork called ‘’Rebuilding the Tower of Babel’’. The artwork will consist of 256 puzzle pieces, each representing a different Tribe. Each member of a Tribe can claim the NFT piece representing that specific Tribe. As more pieces are claimed, the artwork will be built up until the artwork is fully unveiled. Once the artwork is unveiled, information regarding Tribes and their members will be minted into the final artwork NFT. Since the NFT is built on the blockchain, it will depict the contributions and information of community members, immutably and forever. Once the ‘’Rebuilding the Tower of Babel’’ NFT is completed, it will be auctioned on the NFT marketplace OpenSea, with 70% of the proceeds shared among contributors and the artist (StarCloud AI) receiving the remaining 30%. Interested contributors can sign up to form their Tribes at http://Tribe.MetisDao.org. Major Milestone for Metis This is a significant development for Metis, as it aims to establish a larger community-oriented NFT platform that will provide incentives to all participants. The ‘’Rebuilding the Tower of Babel’’ project will be a significant event that will showcase the versatility of NFTs within the Metis ecosystem and encourage community participation in NFT initiatives. Elena Sinelnikova, Metis CEO and co-founder, believes the project will show the power of communities in building NFTs. “We may speak different languages and come from different cultures, but people around the world can achieve amazing things through decentralized collaborations. We’re excited to watch the rebuilding of the Tower of Babel and show just how much power communities can have when they band together.” Metis is a blockchain platform that is building a user-friendly, scalable, and affordable Layer 2 framework for applications and businesses to migrate from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0. The protocol supports a wide range of applications, including decentralized exchange trading, yield farming, and lending via dApps that provide fast, low-cost payments. Metis makes it easy for developers and creators to build applications, communities, and Decentralized Autonomous Companies (DACs) via pre-set tools that are user-friendly, without the high costs and limitations of the Ethereum network. To learn more about Metis, visit https://metisdao.org/. To explore the company’s demo app on its Layer 2 alpha testnet, visit https://Alphatest.MetisDAO.org. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

The Biden administration has revealed plans to raise taxes on investors who are millionaires according to a flurry of recent reports. President Joe Biden wants to overhaul the U.S. economy in order to help fund American childcare and education. Biden’s proposal will almost double the current capital gains tax rate from 20% to 39.6%, and for some investors, the tax rate could be as high as 43.4%. Biden’s Capital Gains Tax Rate on Wealthy Individuals Could Climb as High as 43.4% Fresh off the heels of proposing new stimulus in order to bolster the American economy, President Joe Biden is also planning to increase the tax rate on wealthy individuals with $1 million or more. The increased capital gains tax will jump to near double for some individuals and possibly even 43.4%. Every report disclosing the capital gains matter stems from people who are familiar with the proposal but wish to remain anonymous. Currently, U.S. capital gains taxes are around 20% and the marginal rate of 39.6% is meant to be applicable to wealthy Americans. Proposed capital gains tax increase? I hear Puerto Rico is nice this time of year… — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) April 23, 2021 Further, the 3.8% tax on capital gains will also be tethered to the 39.6% in order to bolster Obamacare funding. Biden started talking about overhauling the tax code in more depth during the first week of April, as his administration hopes to raise $2.5 trillion in revenue during a 15-year span. On Thursday afternoon while stock markets were open, traders started to sell off stocks and bonds. Ten-year Treasury fell and stocks like the S&P 500 Index saw some losses as well on Thursday but stocks and bonds rebounded Friday morning. Bitcoin (BTC) and a number of crypto assets took some losses as well after the tax news began to spread. On Thursday, BTC fell from a high of $55,186 per unit to a low of $47,555 at 3:45 a.m. (EST) on Friday. BTC is currently trading just below the $50k range and the only crypto asset that did not get routed was ethereum (ETH). Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst, Asia Pacific, at OANDA noted that BTC’s slide in value stemmed from Biden’s tax overhaul proposal. “Bitcoin headed South today after President Biden signaled that he wanted to raise capital gains tax in the U.S.,” Halley explained on Friday. “Now whether that happens or not, many bitcoin investors are probably sitting on some substantial capital gains if they stayed the course over the past year. “I firmly believe that developed market regulation and/or taxation remain the crypto markets’ Achilles Heel.” Since Thursday’s revelations about the tax hike went viral, the crypto economy has rebounded a hair as well, but many digital assets haven’t fully regained all the losses. “We can most likely attribute bitcoin’s sharp decline to the fact that U.S. investors are facing a capital gains tax if they sell the cryptocurrency after holding it for more than a year amidst reports that President Biden is contemplating doubling this for the wealthy,” Don Guo, CEO at Broctagon Fintech Group told Bitcoin.com News in an email. “Further, investors will see the price drop across the crypto market as an opportunity to widen their portfolio by averaging up their investment outlay and buying in new altcoins such as ethereum,” the executive added. Guo further commented: Therefore, likewise for bitcoin, a further drop is unlikely as the big conglomerates will see it as an opportune moment to make their entry in acquiring bitcoin while prices are relatively low. White House Press Secretary Says Plans Are Still Being Finalized President Biden revealed his efforts to up the capital gains on wealthy individuals while campaigning. Individuals who are against the idea have complained that a million dollars doesn’t necessarily make a person ‘wealthy’ these days. Detractors have said that this will place a burden on people who don’t have much wealth and the extremely rich will simply find loopholes. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki discussed the tax reform during her briefing on Thursday with a quick response to a reporter’s question. “We’re still finalizing what the pay-fors look like,” Psaki told the press. Meanwhile, Republicans are fighting for the tax cuts imposed by former President Trump and may try to stop the proposal in its tracks. The Biden administration also wants to increase the estate tax for wealthy individuals as well. Americans making $400k or more annually could pay more on estate taxes in order to help pay for the “American Jobs Plan.” What do you think about Joe Biden and his administration looking to increase capital gains for those who have $1 million or more? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The famous author of The Black Swan, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, says investors should not buy bitcoin. To hedge against the current turbulent market, he advises buying stocks or real estate, emphasizing that bitcoin has no connection to inflation or “anything economic.” Nassim Taleb Advises Against Bitcoin Investing Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the famed author of “The Black Swan,” has shared his view on bitcoin and on how to hedge against the current turbulent market in an interview with CNBC Friday. Taleb is a Lebanese-American scholar, mathematical statistician, former options trader, and risk analyst. He was asked about cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin, given that investors have been increasingly restructuring their portfolios with this asset class. Regarding bitcoin, “It has the characteristics of an open Ponzi scheme. Everyone knows it’s a Ponzi,” he claims, adding: Basically, there is no connection between inflation and bitcoin. None. You can have hyperinflation and bitcoin goes to zero. There is no link between them. Admitting that bitcoin is “a beautifully set up cryptographic system,” Taleb insisted that “It’s well-made but there is absolutely no reason it should be linked to anything economic.” “If you want to hedge against inflation, buy a piece of land,” he advised, adding that one can “grow olives on it. You’ll have olive oil.” He continued, “Of course, the best strategy for investors is to own things that produce yields in the future.” While a number of analysts support Taleb’s theory that bitcoin is not an inflation hedge, some believe otherwise. Investment bank Goldman Sachs said in December last year that “bitcoin is the retail inflation hedge,” noting that it “is replacing gold as the inflation hedge of choice.” British investment management firm Ruffer wrote that bitcoin “acts as a hedge to some of the monetary and market risks that we see.” Deutsche Bank observed that there “seems to be an increasing demand to use bitcoin where gold used to be used to hedge dollar risk, inflation, and other things.” Concluding Friday’s interview on how to hedge risk in today’s market, Taleb said: Stay out of bitcoin. Buy stocks that are stable and buy things you understand. He also reiterated that investors can also “Buy a piece of land” and grow something on it, like in his earlier olive example. The famous author was initially a bitcoin proponent, believing that BTC can be used as a currency. However, when he saw that the price of bitcoin is very volatile and investors are using the cryptocurrency as a vehicle for speculation, he started selling off his bitcoin and began calling it a failed currency. What do you think about Nassim Taleb’s advice about bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

TrustSwap — a DeFi project offering a wide range of different services — recently announced the launch of a new program that was created to provide an incentive for smaller stakers. The program, known as the FlashDrop program, will essentially reward up to 3,000 users that have staked a certain amount of SWAP tokens. In doing so, it will create opportunities for the loyal SWAP community, and it will hopefully attract new users interested in participating in the program. What Do You Need to Know About FlashDrop? The crypto industry is rich with various projects, and there are millions who may still be unaware of TrustSwap. This program will help put the project on their radar, and show them all the benefits and advantages of this emerging DeFi project. When it comes to FlashDrop, there are a few important things to note. 1) Where is it being launched? First of all, it will be conducted from YIELD App, which is another DeFi-based platform that actually launched on TrustSwap’s Launchpad in late 2020. The platform offers large returns (up to 20% APY) for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and two stablecoins — Tether and USD Coin. The platform believes that everyone in the world deserves equal access to emerging opportunities in the world of investments, which was not the case for a long time. Initially, only wealthy individuals and financial institutions were able to invest in projects. With the invention of the internet, centralized investment platforms emerged and expanded the possibilities to include retail investors. Now, with the era of decentralization taking over, projects like YIELD App aim to use it to push the ability to invest even more, and create a user-friendly system that everyone in the world will understand and be able to use, should they choose to. As mentioned, the platform launched on TrustSwap’s launchpad, which TrustSwap created to help new tokens get on their feet, and provide its community with the best investment opportunities. Since its launch on TrustSwap, YIELD App’s YLD token skyrocketed, climbing up by around 1,700% above its launch price, thanks to its innovative technology and ever-growing community. 2) What is FlashDrop about? As noted earlier, FlashDrop’s goal is to provide an incentive to stakers by granting 3,000 users the opportunity to win 500 YLD tokens, each. There is no need to compete in boosting your volume score or have the best earnings through trades — the entire event will be treated as a fully transparent lottery, where users will have to fulfill only a few specific requirements in order to be eligible. Some users may already be eligible to participate and win rewards, while the newcomers who are only arriving now will have to make some preparation in the next several days, before the event starts. With that said, the event will take place on April 23rd, and it will last from 9 AM to 9 PM PST. 3) How will the event work and what do you need in order to participate? The first thing to note is that the project will take a snapshot for the event on April 22nd, at 9 AM PST. So, all preparations that you need to do must be done before that. Every address that has 500 SWAP tokens staked at the time when the snapshot is taken will be eligible to participate in the lottery, and it will receive 1 entry ticket. The only exception are addresses that hold a TrustSwap Golden Ticket, as they will automatically receive 500 YLD. However, these users will still be eligible to participate, so if they end up winning the lottery, they will receive a total of 500 YLD. Also, users who already hold at least 1,000 YLD will receive a second ticket, thus increasing their chances of winning. However, it should be noted that users need to have 500 SWAP in order to be eligible, and without these coins, no amount of YLD will help them win the rewards. Lastly, all users who wish to participate need to have a YIELD App account that is successfully registered and fully verified. That means passing the KYC procedure, in addition to loading the account with the tokens needed for receiving tickets. Once again, the program will reward 3,000 user addresses in total, through a fully transparent and provably fair random drawing that will take place on April 23rd. Users can apply for participation via the TrustSwap dashboard. 4) Important restrictions to keep in mind There are also a few restrictions that users need to remember. First of all, anyone who previously claimed a YLD airdrop in the SwapDrop round will not be eligible for participation. Also, no US residents and citizens can participate. Lastly, only a single claim is allowed per individual, except in cases where users received a second ticket due to holding 500 SWAP and 1,000 YLD upfront. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

On April 20, a video stemming from the Youtube channel called “1stmil.com” has the Bitcoin Cash community talking. The host of the channel sitting in a Tesla dealership parking lot explains in his recent video that if Elon Musk gets Tesla to accept bitcoin cash directly for cars, he plans to commit to purchasing 111 Tesla Model 3s. 111 Tesla Model 3s to be Purchased if Elon Musk Gets Tesla to Accept Bitcoin Cash Not too long ago, Tesla the electric car manufacturer announced accepting bitcoin (BTC) for payments and also mentioned that the coins wouldn’t be sold for fiat. Just recently, the host of the Youtube channel 1stmil.com claims he will buy 111 Tesla Model 3 cars. However, the host of the educational Youtube channel that teaches “people learn how to make their first million dollars,” wants Elon Musk to accept bitcoin cash (BCH) in exchange for the offer. 1stmil.com’s host is a Tesla fan and the model can be seen in a variety of his prior videos. Host of the educational Youtube channel 1stmil.com says he’s committed to purchasing 111 Tesla cars if Elon Musk got Tesla to accept bitcoin cash payments. The host has been publishing videos for three years now on Youtube and his “hobby is educating others about financial freedom.” The cost to purchase 111- 2021 Tesla Model 3s at the base MSRP of around $38,500 per car would cost over $4.2 million. He’s also at a Tesla dealership parking lot and shows a wallet on his smartphone loaded with BCH that can purchase up to three Tesla Model 3 cars. “As you can see I’m back at Tesla again,” the 1stmil.com host said. “They don’t know that I am here and I want to make this a surprise for all the Tesla people as well, particularly for Elon Musk. As a special celebration of 10x in [bitcoin cash], me and a friend of mine, who is a big promoter of bitcoin cash came up with great ideas about how to get Elon Musk to accept bitcoin cash for payments.” ‘Many Bitcoin Cash Holders Have a Lot of Money and Want to Spend It’ The 1stmil.com host also explained how Tesla is accepting bitcoin (BTC) for payments and the company is not transferring the funds into fiat. “It’s my suggestion,” the Youtuber notes. “Not just me, but many other bitcoin cash holders have a lot of money… we want to spend it. Let me just make a commitment, Elon… If you are going to accept bitcoin cash as payment, my phone to your phone, or to Tesla’s phone… Then I hereby am officially committing to buy 111 Tesla Model 3s. Yes, you heard me right, 111 Tesla Model 3s.” The video host further says that he hopes Elon Musk can tweet out to his Twitter followers that Tesla will be accepting bitcoin cash (BCH) for payments. The Youtube video was extremely popular on the Reddit forum r/btc with over 500 upvotes and a number of BCH proponents discussing the video. “I live in the same city as this guy,” one Redditor wrote. “Already left him a comment on the video in case he wants to collaborate on local BCH adoption. Glad to know there are other BCH peeps nearby,” he added. Following the video, the 1stmil.com host published two more Youtube videos pertaining to the same subject. What do you think about the proposal to purchase 111 Tesla Model 3s if Elon Musk gets Tesla to accept bitcoin cash payments? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Guggenheim CIO Scott Minerd has warned of a “major correction” in bitcoin in the near term. Claiming that bitcoin is “very frothy,” he is forecasting a 50% decline in the price of the cryptocurrency. Scott Minerd’s Latest Warning About Bitcoin The chief investment officer (CIO) of Guggenheim Partners, Scott Minerd, is back with another bearish prediction for bitcoin’s price. Minerd is also the chairman of Guggenheim Investments, the global asset management and investment advisory division of Guggenheim Partners. Guggenheim Investments has about $270 billion in total assets under management across fixed income, equity, and alternative strategies. He said in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday that bitcoin has run too far, too fast. The executive opined: Given the massive move we’ve had in bitcoin over the short run, things are very frothy, and I think we’re going to have a major correction in bitcoin. “I think we could pull back to $20,000 to $30,000 on bitcoin, which would be a 50% decline, but the interesting thing about bitcoin is we’ve seen these kinds of declines before,” he continued. Nonetheless, Minerd noted that he thinks the major price correction is part of “the normal evolution in what is a longer-term bull market.” The Guggenheim CIO has maintained his long-term prediction that the price of bitcoin could reach $600K. He first revealed his high BTC price forecast back in December last year. However, he subsequently focused on bearish short-term trends. Earlier this month, he warned of a bitcoin pullback, noting that it will be a great entry point for long-term investors. What do you think about Scott Minerd’s ‘major correction’ warning about bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The famous gap in cryptocurrency prices in South Korean crypto exchanges and overseas ones known as “kimchi premium” raises some concerns among the nation’s government. The latest reports suggest that the country is planning to regulate international remittances tied to kimchi premium-driven transactions. Remittances to Exploit Kimchi Premium Could Be Flagged as Money Laundering According to Maeil Kyungjae, South Korea’s government has found that some domestic investors actively send their fiat abroad to buy crypto from sellers in China. The maneuver allows these crypto traders to sell the digital assets bought from the over-the-counter Chinese sellers and other locations in South Korean exchanges to exploit the advantages of the kimchi premium. Moreover, South Korean authorities suspect that the fiat transacted with Chinese sellers could be subject to prosecution, as the domestic traders could be committing money laundering. That said, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is assessing the issue and looking to formulate guidelines to target such kinds of remittances. Local media report states it will involve consultation with ministries such as the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Also, the FSS held meetings with some of the heads of foreign exchange departments at undisclosed commercial banks in South Korea. The purpose of the briefings is to strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) measures by flagging suspicious transactions, such as higher sums of money. One Bank Already Took the First Step in Imposing Limits As an example, the annual overseas remittance limit in South Korea is $50,000. If somebody sends such an amount of money in a single transaction, banks would be required to flag it as suspicious and then report it to the authorities. One major bank, Woori, already took measures by imposing limits on remittances, setting them at $10,000 monthly. Moreover, if a customer wishes to send fiat to China, they should go to a branch to prove to the bank the motive of the transfer. However, there is skepticism among the banking industry about the possible strengthening of measures to tackle such transactions. An unnamed official at a “major commercial bank” in South Korea said: The Ministry of Finance, the Financial Services Commission, and the Financial Supervisory Service have shown an ambiguous attitude towards the cryptocurrency sector. Kimchi Premium Is Back on Business As Bitcoin.com News reported early this month, bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) jumped 18% higher than the global average at the start of the month. At the time of publication (April 6), the price of BTC on Bithumb was 77,804,000 KRW or $69,423 per unit. However, the price per bitcoin was hovering around $58,500 in most of the global crypto exchanges. What do you think about the plans of the South Korean government? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The premium or arbitrage gap on bitcoin in South Africa recently turned negative following the offloading of coins worth over $75 million by liquidators of MTI. As a result of the temporary supply glut, buying bitcoins on local South African exchanges briefly became cheaper than buying on overseas exchanges. The Impact of the MTI Liquidators’ BTC Sales However, following the conclusion of the liquidators’ sale nearly two weeks ago, the arbitrage gap has now turned positive. As one South African media report notes, the premium of BTC has now recovered and was hovering between 4.8% and 6.5% on April 20. Meanwhile, the same report also quotes, Jon Ovadia, the CEO of a crypto start-up Ovex, explaining why BTC is usually sold at a premium in South Africa. He said: What we have seen is that crypto arbitrage gaps appear in those countries that have foreign exchange controls, such as South Africa. This of course impacts the demand for hard currency assets, such as bitcoin. The CEO also discusses the principal factors that determine the size or the extent of fluctuations in the arbitrage gap. For instance, Ovadia states that when the bitcoin price in US dollars falls, “the arbitrage gap tends to rise as there is a lag in the South African rand price of bitcoin.” The other key factors influencing the size of the gap include the massive money printing by central banks as well as the BTC’s bull run. Bitcoin Premium and Exchange Controls In the meantime, Ovadia’s assertion that BTC is largely sold at a premium in countries that have stringent exchange controls appears to be validated by the top crypto’s price range in certain countries. For instance, Bitcoin.com News reported in February 2021 that the premium on BTC surged to more than 40% in Nigeria after the country’s central bank imposed restrictions on crypto trading. Nigeria, just like many of its peers across the African continent, has faced shortages in foreign exchange since the start of Covid-19 lockdowns. Consequently, the country has since introduced tough regulations that seek to conserve this scarce resource. Similarly, Bitcoin.com News reported in early April that BTC was trading at a premium of 18% in South Korea. Just like South Africa, the Asian economic powerhouse has stringent exchange controls in place and this might explain the huge premium on BTC. What else do you think causes BTC to trade at a premium? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX, formerly BitMax, an industry-leading digital asset trading platform built by Wall Street quant trading veterans, has announced the listing of the Beyond Finance Token (BYN) under the pair USDT/BYN on April 20 at 1:00 p.m. UTC. Beyond Finance is a synthetic asset trading platform that brings investment opportunities in traditional financial assets to everyone with a permissionless financial service ecosystem leveraging blockchain infrastructure. Aiming to be a leading exchange, Beyond Finance seeks to deliver a seamless and user-friendly service with a competitive UI/UX with gamification experience to make it easy and compelling to trade. Beyond Finance will adopt a Layer 2 solution for enhanced scalability. Initially, it will be launched with an on-off chain hybrid solution, and it will then migrate to a fully operational Layer 2 solution. BYN token’s primary function is to collateralize USDb stable coin and Beyond Finance’s synthetic assets. Users can stake BYN tokens and mint USDb stable coins. With the minted USDb, users can choose to invest in various synthetic assets such as TSLAb, OILb, GBPb, and more. BYN can also be used as the primary reward for all platform activities – such as staking rewards, LP rewards, and trading fee rewards. Also, users will use the BYN token for participation in DAO through BIPs. Users can decide on key matters of exchange operations, such as adding new trading pairs, fee structure, and new functionalities through the voting. About AscendEX Originally founded in 2018 as BitMax.io, AscendEx is a leading crypto and digital asset financial platform catering to both professional and retail traders. Our venue offers spot, futures, margin trading and staking products and incorporates key elements from the DeFi space to foster a unique market structure for users. AscendEx is led by a team of Wall Street veterans who have applied traditional markets’ rigor to create a robust, secure, and reliable experience for all participants; and a consistent source of liquidity for primary offerings. For more information and updates, please visit: Website: https://ascendex.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/AscendEX_Global Telegram: https://t.me/AscendEXEnglish Medium: https://medium.com/ascendex About Beyond Finance Beyond Finance is a synthetic asset trading platform that brings investment opportunities in traditional financial assets to everyone with a permissionless financial service ecosystem leveraging blockchain infrastructure. For more information and updates, please visit: Website: https://beyondfinance.io/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/beyondfinanceio Telegram: https://t.me/beyondfinanceglobal Blog: https://bfinance.medium.com/ This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

On Tuesday, the founder of the decentralized exchange (dex) Uniswap tweeted about the trading platform passing $10 billion in weekly trade volume for the first time. Decentralized trading volumes have grown massively, as dex platforms built on Ethereum have seen more than $18 billion in volume during the last week. Meanwhile, the dex Pancakeswap, an app that uses the Binance Smart Chain, has seen trade volumes skyrocket. Uniswap’s 7-Day Stats Capture $10 Billion in Global Trade Volume Decentralized finance (defi) has exploded during the last 12 months, as $58 billion in total value locked (TVL) is held in defi applications today. A great deal of this money is held on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, but a number of other blockchains are eating into this market. Seven-day and 24-hour dex trade volumes on April 21, 2021. While liquidity pools are growing larger, dex volumes have grown immensely during the last few weeks as well. Hayden Adams, the founder of Uniswap, tweeted about a milestone for the dex he invoked as it recently captured $10 billion in seven-day trade volume. “Uniswap weekly trading volume just passed $10b for the first time,” Adams wrote. “$10b/week is over $0.5 trillion per year,” he added. In terms of dominance using defipulse.com stats, Uni holds the third position in terms of TVL. Uniswap seven-day trade volume photo via Hayden Adam’s recent tweet on April 20, 2021. Stats from Dune Analytics does not show Uniswap tapping the $10 billion mark, but awfully close at $9.7 billion. Dune Analytics has recorded $18 billion in dex-based swaps during the last week via 13 different dex applications. This includes Uniswap, Sushiswap ($3B), Curve ($2.1B), and 0x Native ($1.1B) respectively. Alternative Chains See Demand However, these days a dex called Pancakeswap, a platform that uses the Binance Smart Chain is pulling in significant trade volumes. It is becoming well known that the fees on Binance’s sidechain network are far less than Ethereum’s fees which have spiked considerably in recent times. Pancakeswap trade volumes on April 21, 2021. Pancakeswap has seen over $4 billion in global swap volume during the last seven days and volumes have been increasing a great deal week over week. Pancakeswap’s biggest pairs this week include wrapped BNB/BUSD, safemoon/WBNB, and CAKE/WBNB. Moreover, there are other projects seeing increased interest some of which are being constructed like Smartbch on BCH, others that have matured like Switcheo’s Demex, and projects just getting started such as Thorchain. Further, blockchains like Tezos, Polkadot, Cardano, and a number of others want a piece of the defi pie as well. Additionally, the popular dex Uniswap has plans to launch version three (V3) during the first week of May. Uniswap V3 is expected to see a number of newly added features that could increase Uniswap’s volumes more so. Meanwhile, centralized exchanges (cex) platforms continue to face stronger competition from dex platforms coming from all sides. What do you think about dex applications gathering major traction and significant trade volume during the past few weeks? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The cryptocurrency proposed by social media giant Facebook is gearing up to launch using a “phased approach,” its co-creator explains. The Diem Association, which oversees the crypto’s development, has been in talks with regulators to obtain a license. Diem Updates Launch Plan The Facebook-backed cryptocurrency “diem,” formerly called libra, is taking a “phased approach” to launch, co-creator and chief economist of Diem, Christian Catalini, told CNBC in an interview published on Tuesday. The Switzerland-based nonprofit Diem Association, which oversees diem’s development, aims to launch a pilot with a single stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar this year, the news outlet reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. This pilot will be small in scale and will largely focus on transactions between individual consumers, the person explained, adding that there may also be an option for users to buy goods and pay for purchases. The Facebook-proposed cryptocurrency project has faced strong opposition from various regulators worldwide since it was first announced by the social media giant in June 2019. The cryptocurrency was initially intended to be a universal currency tied to a basket of sovereign currencies, such as the U.S. dollar and the euro. However, after much scrutiny from regulators, the group revised its plan. It now aims to launch multiple stablecoins backed by different government-backed currencies, as well as one multi-currency coin. Diem is now in talks with Swiss financial regulators to obtain a payment license. Catalini told the news outlet: A big step of our dialogue with regulators has been a phased approach to launch. We are going to be phasing in different functionalities and use cases, applications in different areas. He further described that all members will have to undergo extensive know-your-customer (KYC) checks. “Once we get the green light [from the regulators], we will start experimenting with a small number of users and a small number of players,” he clarified. What do you think about Diem’s launch plan? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Global space provider Wework has announced that it will now accept payment in select cryptocurrencies. The company has partnered with Bitpay and Coinbase for inbound and outbound transactions. In addition, the Softbank-backed company says it will also hold the currency on its balance sheet. Wework Dives Into Crypto Wework announced Tuesday several initiatives regarding cryptocurrencies. The company provides environments for individuals and businesses, from freelancers to Fortune 500 companies. With over 800 locations worldwide in more than 150 cities, Wework says it is the largest global space provider in the world. Japanese multinational conglomerate Softbank Group Corp. (9984.T) has a majority stake in the company. In Tuesday’s announcement, Wework said that it is “now accepting payment in select cryptocurrencies.” The company will also utilize “cryptocurrency for inbound and outbound transactions” in partnership with Bitpay and Coinbase. Furthermore, it will keep cryptocurrencies on its balance sheet, joining a growing list of companies to do so, including Elon Musk’s Tesla, Jack Dorsey’s Square, and Michael Saylor’s Microstrategy. The announcement details: Through Bitpay, a cryptocurrency payment service provider, Wework will accept bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), USD coin (USDC), paxos (PAX), and several other cryptocurrencies as payment for its offerings. Wework will also hold the currency on its balance sheet. “The company will pay landlords and third-party partners in cryptocurrencies where applicable through Coinbase, a Wework member and the largest U.S. cryptocurrency trading platform,” the announcement continues. Furthermore, Wework says that Coinbase has become its first member company to pay for membership in cryptocurrency. Wework CEO Sandeep Mathrani opined: “Wework has always been at the forefront of innovative technologies, finding new ways to support our members. It only makes sense for us to expand on the optionality we provide by adding cryptocurrency as an accepted form of payment for our members.” Softbank Group International CEO and Wework Chairman Marcelo Claure commented: Cryptocurrency helps build a stronger global economy and Wework’s announcement demonstrates the company’s commitment not only to innovation but also to being a globally-focused business. What do you think about Wework getting into crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On April 21, Bitcoin network fees touched an all-time high according to a number of transaction fee aggregators. The average bitcoin transaction fee is approximately $59.88 and the median fee is around $26.44 USD per transfer. Bitcoin Fees Climb Sky High After the Hashrate Plummeted The cost to send a bitcoin (BTC) transaction has never been higher in terms of average fees. In terms of the median value, charts show median fees are nearing an all-time high (ATH) as well, but are not quite there yet. The average fee rate touched an ATH of around $59.88 per transaction on Tuesday evening (EST). Blockchain.com’s “mempool transaction count,” which shows the total number of unconfirmed transactions in the mempool, is around 114,000 transactions waiting in the backlog. A number of BTC fee aggregators including bitinfocharts.com (shown above) indicate transaction fees on April 20 and 21, 2021, are a few nickels away from $60 per bitcoin transfer. BTC fees have been growing higher as the price per coin started swelling, but network fees really started accelerating northbound after the hashrate dropped and market carnage that took place this past weekend. Bitcoin (BTC) hashrate is still 38% lower than the all-time high posted six days ago before the hashrate dropped. At the time of publication, the overall hashrate is 133.14 exahash per second (EH/s) which is 38% lower than the ATH recorded on April 15, 2021, at 218 EH/s. When a significant fraction of hashrate drops the miners’ processing blocks slow down, which means the mempool or transaction queue starts to climb. However, Coin Metrics’ founder Nic Carter believes the loss was only around 25% of the hashrate. “Based on [five] days of data, it looks like 25%,” Carter tweeted on Wednesday. Because block space is only 1MB and developers have not addressed the issue besides relying on offchain and sidechain solutions, the space becomes scarce and a bidding war happens. Bitcoiners call this the “fee market” and people compete with higher transaction fees in order to get faster confirmation times. ‘Fees Are Designed to Pump Forever— Embrace Them’ It is believed by some proponents that additional fees will increase the number of miners joining the network. People have also asserted that higher fees will push people toward the Lightning Network (LN), which has seen some capacity increases in recent times. The backlog of bitcoin (BTC) transactions waiting to be confirmed according to Blockchain.com data. However, the LN pales in comparison to other chains that are moving bitcoin via wrapping or bridge technology. Some bitcoiners are telling people they should expect “a higher fee future,” while others have lots of faith in alternative solutions. “If you were not ready for these high bitcoin fees do not panic. Fees should come down substantially in a few weeks after the next difficulty adjustment,” Matt Odell tweeted on April 19. “That said, I expect fees to trend up in general so after that adjustment, you really need to prepare for a higher fee future.” Odell added: Sustained high fees are expected and necessary to prevent denial of service (spam) attacks that can threaten decentralization and therefore censorship resistance. Sustained high fees will secure the bitcoin network long term. Fees are designed to pump forever. Embrace them. User Complains ‘Fewer People Can Afford to Use Bitcoin,’ Bitcoiners Put Faith in Solutions That Haven’t Gained Traction However, lots of people disagreed with Odell’s statement and one person replied: “Sustained high fees ruin decentralization, as less and less people can afford to use Bitcoin. Including LN open/close channels, BTW. Less adoption = less business and users running nodes. Block size should be bumped. It’s been [four] years and consumer [hardware] can handle more.” Others are still hoping that different solutions, that have yet to gain much traction, will fix bitcoin’s scaling woes. “Is it controversial to think RSKsmart is probably going to become larger and more popular than [the] Lightning Network and Liquid over the next year or so?” asked Kyle Torpey. “Copy/Pasting the Ethereum tech stack might lead to high growth over the short term,” he added. Although, the number of bitcoin used on the RSK network is tiny compared to the massive amounts of BTC held on Ethereum. There’s a whopping 198,407 BTC ($11 billion) being leveraged on the ETH chain and that doesn’t count Binance’s wrapped BTC project (54,598 BEP2). The Block Crypto’s Larry Cermak replied to Torpey’s tweet and said: “Sovryn is the only one I’m aware of and still very little traction. UI/UX is incredibly weak.” Bitcoin held on Ethereum according to data from Dune Analytics. Whatever the case may be, after 2017’s high fees which jumped to $50 per transaction, solutions like the Lightning Network, Liquid, and RSK have not helped toward reducing fees. Despite trust model debates, Ethereum is Bitcoin’s largest sidechain by total value locked even as fees on that network grow larger. This has pushed a lot of use toward the Binance Smart Chain and other networks. Moreover, an Ethereum sidechain is being built on the Bitcoin Cash network in an attempt to cut fees down to extremely inexpensive rates. For now, Bitcoin (BTC) network participants will simply have to deal with the fees and maybe even embrace them like Odell says. Yet this seems to be pushing users toward alternative blockchains and feeds the very thing maximalists hate— altcoins. What do you think about the high bitcoin fees in recent days? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Cryptocurrencies have been on an incredible trajectory over the past 12 months, with the total market capitalization growing from $198 billion in April 2020 to more than $2 trillion today. This meteoric rise is coupled with increasing adoption from consumers driven by major announcements from household names, such as Square, Visa, and PayPal, which now accept digital assets as means of payments or settlements. Electric car maker Tesla announced in February that it would accept bitcoin as payment for its cars, as well as also demonstrating its commitment to crypto by making a $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase for its balance sheet. Simultaneously, the industry has experienced a resurgence of institutional adoption like never before. Hedge funds have rushed into the market, stock investors have flocked to publicly-listed crypto companies, and commercial banks are adding more crypto services. All while central banks worldwide eagerly watch on, with many mulling their own digital currencies. With such rapid and fundamental changes in the landscape in just 12 months, EQUOS looks at what the future of digital money looks like for the next 12 months and years beyond. In tomorrow’s webinar hosted by EQUOS, Roger Ver, Founder of Bitcoin.com, and Richard Byworth, CEO of Diginex, will look at what themes are driving the market now and how they will develop in the future. They will look at how the traditional models will evolve and how crypto will become a staple in every facet of our lives. EQUOS to List BCH The upcoming webinar follows the decision by the EQUOS Listing Committee to approve the listing of Bitcoin Cash on the exchange in March. Roger Ver is a staunch proponent of BCH, which has larger block sizes to manage massive transaction throughput at high speeds like real digital money or a true peer-to-peer electronic cash system. “EQUOS has delivered a platform that is focused on providing transparent and fair markets with innovative products and is pleased to list BCH as a constantly evolving, developing, and resilient crypto that has passed muster at its listing committee,” explained EQUOS. EQUOS, launched in July 2020, is an institutional-grade crypto exchange available. EQUOS is part of Diginex (Nasdaq: EQOS), which became the first Nasdaq-listed company with a crypto exchange in October 2020. The listing of Diginex was an important milestone for the cryptocurrency industry and opened the door for financial institutions to participate in the digital assets market through a public company. EQUOS recently launched its own token, EQUOS Origin, which rewards traders with exclusive benefits for using EQUOS, such as enhanced interest, lower fees, and it can be used as collateral. The Diginex group also includes digital asset trading technology platform Diginex Access, digital asset custody provider Digivault, and the investment management business Bletchley Park Asset Management. Join the Live Webinar titled “Roger Ver and Richard Byworth tackle Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and the Future of Digital Money” on April 21st 9 am ET/9pm HKT. Click here to register. View the full article

The South African cryptocurrency investment platform, Revix, has reportedly raised about $4.1 million from its latest capital raise round. According to the firm, part of the raised capital will be used “to launch Revix’s mobile application, a variety of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) investment opportunities.” Furthermore, Revix says it also plans to use part of these funds to finance the firm’s expansion into the European Union. According to a report that shares details of the crypto platform’s future plans, Revix also intends to “offer a behavioural loyalty and rewards programme, where customers can earn points that can be redeemed for bitcoin.” In expanding on this, Revix founder and CEO, Sean Sanders said: We’re building a behavioural loyalty model that incentivises investors to undertake smart investment decisions, such as diversifying their investment portfolios, growing the investment community, improving their financial knowledge and making smart long-term investment decisions, while being rewarded for doing so. Meanwhile, a different report quotes Sanders warning South African crypto investors not to “invest beyond what they can afford to lose.” Instead, the CEO wants investors to consider allocating a small portion of their net worth towards cryptocurrencies. Sanders added: “A small 1% to 5% allocation of your total net worth to crypto can result in significant improvement to your overall portfolio returns over the long-term.” In the meantime, the CEO concludes the interview by advising crypto investors to consider “diversifying their stock portfolio to reduce the risks of exposure to a single stock or industry.” What do you make of Revix’s $4.5 million capital raise? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The Ukrainian parliament is enforcing its tough stance against people who don’t disclose their cryptocurrency holdings on the tax fillings. The measure comes in the wake of a recent publication that showed alleged mistakes in declarations from public servants. Offenders Could Spend up to Two Years in Jail According to an official document released by the country’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, the bill that seeks to criminalize such wrongdoing passed with 283 votes. The proposal aimed at imposing jail times and fines on offenders. The bill details show that the authorities will prosecute those who possess over $4,050 worth of non-declared crypto holdings. In fact, offenders could spend up to two years in jail, and even pay fines ranged between $162,100 and $202,950. Also, the bill clarifies that erroneous data are not exempt from being targeted by the authorities. Still, those who admit before a court any wrongdoings are also being covered by the criminalization of the proposal. Interestingly, Forklog revealed a document drafted by a group of crypto industry leaders in Ukraine, and the group called “Blockchain4Ukraine” intended to force public officials to disclose their crypto wallets for transparency purposes publicly. Although the Verkhovna Rada passed the bill, it will return to the committee stage for a second reading ahead of final approval. Public Servants Under the Authorities’ Eye Recently, Bitcoin.com News reported that the latest declarations from Ukrainian public officials revealed a billion-dollar amount of money they allegedly own in bitcoin (BTC). However, Sergiy Petukhov, the head of the Mandatory Inspections Department at the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption, stated that his office conducted 250 checks this year, including bitcoin’s holdings state employees. He added that some officials claimed their filings had mistakes and warned about the results of such reports. At that time, he warned that if they found that data provided is inaccurate, “this is the basis for administrative or criminal liability.” What do you think about this bill soon-to-be fully approved in Ukraine? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX, formerly BitMax, an industry-leading digital asset trading platform built by Wall Street quant trading veterans, has announced the listing of the Oddz Protocol Token (ODDZ) under the pair USDT/ODDZ on Apr 19 at 1:00 p.m. UTC. Oddz Finance is the world’s first on-chain option trading platform built on the Binance Smart Chain, Polkadot, and Ethereum Blockchains with a built-in oracle solution. Its distinguishing features include instant trades, interoperable options trades, transparent premium discovery methods, and custom option trading techniques. The Oddz Protocol’s native token is ODDZ, which is designed to incentivize and promote the community’s active participation. The ODDZ tokens represent power for users and are central to the incentive structure and governance of the Oddz Protocol. The ODDZ token holders represent an integral part of the Oddz ecosystem. They vote on various proposals for the protocol’s growth. Moreover, the primary motive of Dapps in the ecosystem is to fuel the decentralization of authority; thus, the community holds a substantial role in driving the development and use of Dapps. Platform users can also employ ODDZ tokens to facilitate transactions seamlessly. The Oddz platform has a few key product features available to users. Users can stake ODDZ tokens on the Oddz platform to earn higher yields, thus maximizing returns. Tech-savvy traders can also employ various yield farming strategies to earn greater returns. Regarding governance, users can support or disregard protocol proposals through community votes. If the user shares the platform with others by spreading the word, they are entitled to referral bonuses. Oddz Protocol simplifies multichain option trades and facilitates creating, maintaining, and settling options contracts, conditional tokens, and futures contracts safely and securely. About AscendEX Originally founded in 2018 as BitMax.io, AscendEx is a leading crypto and digital asset financial platform catering to both professional and retail traders. Our venue offers spot, futures, margin trading and staking products and incorporates key elements from the DeFi space to foster a unique market structure for users. AscendEx is led by a team of Wall Street veterans who have applied traditional markets’ rigor to create a robust, secure, and reliable experience for all participants; and a consistent source of liquidity for primary offerings. For more information and updates, please visit: Website: https://ascendex.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/AscendEX_Global Telegram: https://t.me/AscendEXEnglish Medium: https://medium.com/ascendex About Oddz Protocol Oddz Protocol simplifies multichain option trades and facilitates creating, maintaining and settling options contracts, conditional tokens and futures contracts safely and securely. Oddz is also the world’s first on-chain option trading platform built on the Binance Smart Chain, Polkadot and Ethereum Blockchains with a built in oracle solution. For more information and updates, please visit: Website: https://oddz.fi/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/oddz_finance Telegram: https://t.me/oddz_finance This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

On Monday, the oracle provider API3 announced a ten-year partnership with the Open Bank Project in order to connect more than 400 banking APIs to blockchain smart contracts using API3’s Airnode. The collaboration between API3 and the Open Bank Project aims to bridge conventional banking with blockchains and Web 3.0 applications. API3 DAO Partners With the Open Banking Project Connecting Over 400 Banking APIs to Blockchain During the last few months, there’s been greater interest in oracle providers like Chainlink, Band Protocol, API3, and DIA. Recently, Bitcoin.com’s news reported on a number of oracle-based tokens gathering two-digit gains. Further, our newsdesk covered how Chainlink’s modular oracle for the Substrate framework aims to empower developers and decentralized finance (defi) applications with trusted off-chain information. On April 19, API3, the project that claims to provide “decentrally governed and quantifiably secure data feeds,” revealed a partnership with the Open Bank Project (OBP). The API3 project is a DAO-governed protocol and the union with OBP will be for ten years. The project will provide over 400 banking APIs the ability to access Airnode, an open-source gateway developed by API3. Essentially, OBP is an organization that promotes the standard of providing transparent and secure banking API access to third-party providers. In 2007, EU lawmakers made it so all banks must comply with open banking API standards. Third-Party Dapp Developers Can Begin Rapidly Prototyping Blockchain Solutions, Traditional Finance and Crypto Converge The alliance will use Airnode, a first-party oracle so “third-party decentralized application developers with the opportunity [can] begin rapidly prototyping blockchain solutions powered by Open Banking data.” “We are absolutely thrilled to work with API3 on enabling Open Banking on the blockchain,” the Open Bank Project’s CEO Simon Redfern said during the announcement. “Hopefully, this will serve as a framework for financial regulators to explore and create new standards and set the foundation for the blockchain economy to converge with banking-based digital offerings.” Use cases for leveraging the Open Banking standards with blockchain technology are endless as decentralized solutions for data verification are considered necessary on a global scale. Banks and third parties can cohesively work together without needing as much trust as they did prior to distributed ledger tech. The two partners envision “data marketplaces and unions enabling banking customers to monetize their private financial data.” “API3 is incredibly excited to see the blockchain industry begin to merge with Open Banking, and we can’t wait to see the innovative solutions that will grow out of this,” Heikki Vänttinen the cofounder of API3 remarked. “Now that traditional finance and crypto are converging, we hope this newfound connectivity between the two will build a foundation for the future of a digital banking experience inclusive of blockchain-enabled systems like defi,” the API3 cofounder concluded. What do you think about API3’s ten-year partnership with the Open Banking Project? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Major investment bank Morgan Stanley believes that central bank digital currencies are not a threat to the existence of cryptocurrencies. The bank believes that both types of digital currencies can coexist because they serve different purposes and have different appeals. Cryptocurrencies and CBDCs Can Coexist Morgan Stanley’s analysts, including chief economist Chetan Ahya, discussed the impact of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in a report published last week. They wrote: Cryptocurrencies will still exist, as they continue to serve other use cases … For instance, some cryptocurrencies can function as a store of value … as some segments of the public do not place their full faith in fiat currencies. The analysts explained that the uses and appeals of central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrencies are different. They added that cryptocurrencies can be both a store of value, similar to gold, and a speculative asset. A growing number of people have said that bitcoin is a store of value, including the pro-bitcoin U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Rob Kaplan. Regarding why investors are increasingly interested in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the Morgan Stanley analysts described: Investors’ interest in cryptocurrencies has risen alongside the unprecedented monetary and fiscal policy response to the pandemic. In contrast, Morgan Stanley said in the report that government-backed digital currencies probably pose the biggest risk to stablecoins. A growing number of central banks are increasingly interested in issuing their own digital currencies. The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) says 86% of the world’s central banks are studying digital currencies in varying stages. Morgan Stanley believes that CBDCs would be quite different from cryptocurrencies as they are unlikely to use blockchains. The European Central Bank (ECB) has similarly said that CBDCs have little to do with cryptocurrencies, which the bank sees as speculative assets and not actual currencies. Do you think cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies can coexist? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas president says bitcoin is clearly “a store of value.” Emphasizing the differences between cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, and central bank digital currencies, he said the latter “won’t necessarily be a store of value.” Fed Bank Chief Calls Bitcoin a Store of Value The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Robert Kaplan, talked about bitcoin and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) Friday at the Texas A&M Bitcoin Conference 2021 hosted by Mays Business School. Firstly, Kaplan explained that he would distinguish between bitcoin and central bank digital currencies. “I would differentiate between a cryptocurrency, like bitcoin, and the discussions that are being had about digital currency,” such as the digital yuan experiment in China, he described. He proceeded to explain that the challenge on bitcoin is “how widely it will be adopted.” The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas chief elaborated: Right now, it’s clear it’s a store of value. “It obviously moves a lot in value,” he continued. “That may keep it from spreading too far as a medium of exchange and wide adoption but that can change and that will evolve.” The Fed bank chief also confirmed that he and his team “have studied intensely and will keep studying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.” He then talked about central bank digital currencies, emphasizing: The discussions around the world on digital currency are slightly different in that a digital currency won’t necessarily be a store of value. “If you’re worried about the value of underlying currency, digital currency is likely to be, for example in China, tied to the value of the underlying,” he detailed, adding that it’s also “a way of ease of payment, domestic payments first, getting money to where it’s needed.” Kaplan further opined: “In some cases, you could argue in China it’s a way to monitor flows … and then ultimately how far will this go, and there’s been speculation about global payments and the implications.” As for the digital dollar, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in February that the Fed is actively studying the possibility of issuing a digital dollar. He emphasized that it is a “very high priority project” for the Fed. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) plan to unveil at least two prototypes of a digital dollar in the third quarter of this year. What do you think about what the Dallas Fed president said about bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

After the well-known crypto crackdown launched by the Chinese government four years ago, it seems there is now a change in the tone from the country’s central bank. At least that’s what has been suggested recently by the deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC). Central Bank Clarifies Its Regulatory Framework on Cryptos Will Remain Unchanged During a panel hosted by CNBC at the Boao Forum for Asia, Li Bo is now naming bitcoin (BTC) with the “investment alternative” term for the first time since the crackdown. However, he made some clarifications on the meaning of his stance towards cryptocurrencies: We regard Bitcoin and stablecoin as crypto-assets. These are investment alternatives. They are not a currency per se. And so, the main role we see for crypto assets going forward, the main role is investment alternative. Such a statement implies an unprecedented change in Beijing’s tone on cryptos, even with experts quoted by CNBC considering these comments as “progressive,” as the country is also paving the way for the forthcoming digital yuan. Li continued to elaborate on cryptocurrencies as investment alternatives: Many countries, including China, are still looking into it and thinking about what kind of regulatory requirements. Maybe minimal, but we need to have some kind of regulatory requirement to prevent it. The speculation of such assets to create any serious financial stability risks. Still, he clarified that the PBoC would keep its regulatory framework on cryptos unchanged. PBoC Expects to Develop Cross-Border Solutions With Digital Yuan During the panel, the newly-appointed central bank’s deputy governor commented on the digital yuan. He pointed out that “our goal is not to replace the U.S. dollar or any other international currency, as our goal is to allow the market to choose and to facilitate international trade and investment.” That said, Li unveiled that the PBoC has some plans in regards to developing cross-border solutions with the “e-yuan”: Our focus, again, is that we want to establish a very solid domestic e-yuan first and build up a healthy ecosystem, at the same time working with our international partners. Hopefully, in the long term, we’ll have a cross-border solution as well. What are your thoughts on the PBoC deputy governor’s words on cryptos? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

In April, Smartlands will launch an alternative investment platform for buying and selling tokenized shares of real-world assets. The platform, built on the Stellar open-source network, will first focus on issuing security tokens that represent a suite of high-yield real estate listings based in Ukraine. Smartlands’ New Platform Is Revolutionizing the Real Economy in Eastern Europe How could blockchain technology revolutionize the real economy? One of the most exciting answers lies in unlocking liquidity. Consider this: The estimated value of tokenizable real estate worldwide is more than $270 trillion, while other real-world assets — like businesses, debt and agricultural holdings — put the total much higher. But the legacy financial system poses problems. Due to regulatory and technological barriers, it’s been difficult for owners of real assets to take advantage of their free equity for other opportunities. Meanwhile, the majority of investors have missed out on the benefits of investing in the real economy, such as protecting their capital from inflation. Smartlands bridges this gap. By using blockchain technology to unlock liquidity in traditionally illiquid assets, Smartlands enables investors and asset owners to access the massive value that’s trapped in the real economy. The team’s first major accomplishment came in 2019 with a pilot Security Token Offering (STO) for a student accommodation block in Nottingham, U.K. Smartlands raised enough capital from private investors to buy 30% of Winrise One Limited, the company that owns the property, while the remaining 70% was held by the original developer. The pilot project was a success — it not only served as a proof of concept for the Smartlands Platform, but also made history by becoming the first tokenized property in the U.K. Now, Smartlands is taking its next major step toward tokenizing the real economy. Smartlands Platform Launch In April, Smartlands will launch an alternative investment platform for buying and selling tokenized shares of real-world assets. The platform, built on the Stellar open-source network, will first focus on issuing security tokens that represent a suite of high-yield real estate listings based in Ukraine. Using the platform, owners of high-quality real estate will be able to issue Security Token Offerings (STO) to investors. Investors from around the world can then buy those asset-backed tokens and trade them on a secondary market, providing a secure way for investors to benefit from fractionalized ownership of real estate. A First-Mover Advantage in Ukraine Smartlands is uniquely positioned to launch such a platform. While other projects in the cryptocurrency space are aiming to tokenize real-world assets, few have overcome the regulatory roadblocks standing in the way. In contrast, Smartlands has already finalized the necessary legal framework to launch its platform in Ukraine. To accomplish this, Smartlands partnered with Quantum Attorneys, a law firm that provides best-in-class legal advice on all matters related to blockchain technology. Why is Smartlands launching its platform in Ukraine? European countries like Ukraine and Lichtenchtein have recently become some of the world’s most forward-thinking nations in regards to cryptocurrency. Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation is currently working on creating a progressive legal environment for the development and regulation of cryptocurrencies, while Ukraine’s finance minister recently described virtual assets as “promising.” Ukraine has also partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation to create a central bank digital currency, and the government plans to build cryptocurrency mining projects next to its nuclear power plants. This crypto-friendly landscape gives Smartlands a first-mover advantage in Eastern Europe and beyond. “The legal side is a stumbling block for many crypto projects,” said Ilia Obraztcov, CEO of Smartlands Platform Ltd. “We passed this test previously in the UK, and now our Ukrainian office with Quantum Attorneys has developed a stable structure for a successful launch in Ukraine that also allows a smooth expansion of the project.” As far as expanding the project, it’s worth emphasizing that real estate is just the first asset class that Smartlands will list on its platform. Soon, Smartlands plans to offer Initial Coin Offerings in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Ukraine. Toward that goal, Smartlands recently partnered with Business Incubator Group Ukraine, which helps SMEs in the early stages of their development. “This collaboration will unlock a new business direction for us, and tokenizing the SMEs company shares will certainly help small businesses to receive well-needed financial investment,” said Obraztcov. Smartlands has also partnered with Agroxy, a blockchain ecosystem that provides a regional trading platform for farmers and purchasers of agricultural products. Agroxy plans to incorporate Smartlands’ infracture into its trading system. Beyond these promising partnerships, Smartlands aims to enable the tokenization of a wide range of real assets, from tech platforms to debt trading platforms, in many nations across the globe. But no matter the asset or location, it’s worth highlighting what fuels transactions on the Smartlands Platform: the SLT token. The SLT Token On the Smartlands Platform, STO issuers will pay fees for listing assets. Issuers can pay fees in fiat currency, but all fees will be processed in SLT, which is native utility token of the Smartlands ecosystem. SLT is a unique token in the cryptocurrency space. That’s primarily because, after the platform launches, qualifying SLT holders will receive one-third of the total fee revenue generated by the Smartlands Platform. Smartlands’ near-term goal is to tokenize $1 billion in real assets. When this goal is reached, qualified SLT holders will have received a total of roughly $16.5 million, considering Smartlands applies a 5% commission to the total portfolio of assets on its platform, and qualified SLT holders receive 33% of this fee pool. Smartlands expects that this unique revenue-sharing model, combined with rising platform activity and future tier-1 exchange listings, will result in increasing demand for SLT over the long term. “At Smartlands, we believe the world is on the cusp of a quantum shift in how value is stored, transferred, and accounted for using blockchain and crypto-currencies,” said Martin Birch, Non-Executive Chairman of the Smartlands Group and Managing Partner of Ukrainian investment bank Empire State Capital Partners. “This financial landscape of Dollars, Euros, and other fiat currencies supporting stock markets and the foreign exchange markets will change beyond all recognition in the coming years as the key advantages of blockchain and the crypto world become accepted by users worldwide.” Fact list: Unique staking structure: Unlike other cryptocurrency projects, the amount of passive income distributed to stakers is based on the amount of activity on the Smartlands Platform, making SLT an ideal token during bear markets. First-mover advantage: Smartlands has finalized the legal framework to launch its alternative investment platform in Ukraine. This will help pave the way for expanding into other nations. Flexibility: The Smartlands Platform is capable of tokenizing not only real estate, but also any real-world asset, such as small and medium-sized enterprises, agricultural assets and debt. Fast, cheap and secure transactions: SLT is built on the Stellar network, one of the most trusted and environmentally friendly blockchains on the planet. What’s more, the Stellar Development Foundation is helping to create a central bank digital currency for Ukraine, where Smartlands is launching its platform. Low token supply: There are a total of 7.2 million SLT in existence, with about 5.1 million in circulation. Smartlands expects this to increase buying demand for the token. Upcoming exchange listings: Smartlands is pursuing negotiations with some of the best exchanges in the cryptocurrency space, while it’s currently available on StellarTerm, LOBSTR, WhiteBit and Atomars. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

As the launch date for parachains nears, a new initiative is constructing a decentralized finance (defi) index token that tracks Polkadot projects aimed at helping investors diversify their holdings through a single instrument. Six Projects Provide Soft Commitments to Join Polkadot Index Network Token The growing interest in Polkadot and its novel parachains has seen the blockchain’s native token become the source of frenzied speculation over the last few months, joining the list of the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Now, with approaching parachain launches for several projects, two organizations are taking steps to help improve access to the ecosystem’s opportunities through the Polkadot Index Network Token (PINT). Chainsafe, a protocol and infrastructure development firm, is collaborating with Stateless Money, a staking service provider, to bring this new index fund and accompanying token to fruition. The PINT token will be governed by a seven-member expert group called the PINT Council and a Constituent Committee formed of members of each project featured within the index. These two groups will oversee the index and take on specific roles like determining the index composition. Already, projects are lining up to join this new initiative, both as index components and part of the Constituent Committee. So far, PINT has received soft commitments from major ecosystem projects, including Acala, Equilibrium, Hydradx, Litentry, Moonbeam, and Plasm, helping further the index token’s appeal. A New Standard in Defi From inception to the present, this new index has represented a very unique undertaking in the blockchain ecosystem. Staker DAO, an on-chain governance protocol, brought its Polkadot Index Network Token proposal to its community for a vote. Despite being for the Polkadot ecosystem, voting occurred on both the Ethereum and Tezos blockchains, which operate competing ecosystems. In the time since Staker DAO first requested an index token feasibility study in late 2020 from Chainsafe and Stateless Money, a Staker DAO governance proposal was submitted in March and approved by the community in early April. This approval established that Chainsafe would be the party responsible for developing the token’s Substrate pallets over the next three months. In the meantime, Stateless Money will take the lead in coordinating the project. For Polkadot ecosystem participants and external investors, this new initiative promises substantial benefits. In terms of investor advantages, the idea of gaining broad, diversified exposure to high-profile Polkadot projects without the need to allocate individually to each project is enticing. On the other side, Polkadot projects can leverage PINT by allocating a certain portion of their respective parachain’s tokens. This entitles parachains to help from the PINT Treasury, which can help finance expensive Parachain Lease Offerings. This service can also help parachains manage native token volatility. Do you see yourself using PINT as an investment instrument? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article