Day: May 7, 2022

Google Creates Web3 Team to Take Advantage of Growing Crypto Popularity

by Blockchain News

To set the ball rolling in Web3, Google is assembling a team to create services for developers in this ecosystem through its cloud unit, according to CNBC.

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Through an email, Amit Zavery, the vice president at Google Cloud, noted that the objective was to make the Google Cloud Platform the most preferred by developers in Web3. He wrote:

“While the world is still early in its embrace of Web3, it is a market that is already demonstrating tremendous potential with many customers asking us to increase our support for Web3 and Crypto related technologies.”

Therefore, Google seeks to tap the potential presented by the crypto space, given that Web3 Pioneers have developed peer-to-peer and decentralized systems intended to transform the internet.

 

As a new iteration of the World Wide Web-based on blockchain technology, Web3 aims to incorporate token-based economics and decentralization concepts. 

 

With Google battling for market share in cloud infrastructure against Amazon, Alibaba, and Microsoft, the tech giant intends to provide back-end services to developers eyeing their own Web3 software. 

 

Zavery pointed out:

“We’re not trying to be part of that cryptocurrency wave directly. We’re providing technologies for companies to use and take advantage of the distributed nature of Web3 in their current businesses and enterprises.”

Therefore, the in-house team shows Google’s commitment to the crypto market.

 

Steve Cooper, Warner Music Group CEO, opined that Web3 would revamp the music industry. He added:

“From collectibles to music royalties, Web3 represents an exciting future for the music industry that will help our artists reach millions upon millions of new fans in interesting and innovative ways.”

Crypto exchange KuCoin recently rolled out a $100 million “Creators Fund” to propel the Web3 ecosystem and support early-stage non-fungible token (NFT) projects, Blockchain.News reported. Concerted efforts like these are crucial toward the development of the Web3.0 space which at present is still in its nascent stages.

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China’s Guangdong Province Orders Fresh Crackdown on Bitcoin Mining

by Blockchain News

The authorities of China’s Guangdong province have imposed a fresh ban on cryptocurrency mining equipment and ordered confiscations of such equipment where found.

The Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission announced the fresh ban on Saturday, stating that cryptocurrency mining activities cause huge energy consumption and carbon emissions and have a low contribution to national economic activities.

In accordance with the Energy Conservation Law of the People’s Republic of China, the authority ordered the use of mining equipment to be stopped and confiscated according to law.

Government officials at the provincial level have been asked to implement relevant measures with regard to the investigations of digital currency mining activities as well as confiscations.

According to the announcement, the Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Provincial Department of Justice have guided all localities to strengthen the administrative law enforcement of digital currency mining activities.

Administrative law enforcement departments at all levels are expected to adhere to strict, standardized, impartial, and civilized law enforcement and implement administrative punishments in accordance with statutory authorities and procedures.

Complementing Crypto Mining Ban

The move by the Guangdong authorities follows a complete ban the Chinese government imposed on virtual mining activities in June last year.

In late May 2021, China’s State Council cracked down on Bitcoin trading and mining as part of efforts to fend off environmental and financial concerns after the global Bitcoin craze revived Chinese speculative trading in crypto coins. The clampdown came as the country’s apex bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) heightened tests of its own national digital currency.

Last year, China’s sweeping ban on crypto mining paralyzed an industry that accounted for over 50% of global Bitcoin production. The crackdown caused local miners to dump their machines in despair while others sought refuge in places such as Kazakhstan and the US.

As a result of China’s shutdown, mining operations outside China have continued to benefit as their share of the global hash rate of the Bitcoin network has increased.

Today, it is estimated that the share of the US in crypto mining stands at 40%. The US is followed by Kazakhstan with a rate of 18%, and Russia comes third at 11%.

Despite all such pressures, global interests in Bitcoin mining have continued to rise and mining activities are increasing.

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9 in 10 Central Banks are Eyeing CBDCs, BIS Study Shows

by Blockchain News

90% of apex banks have shown intentions of rolling out Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), according to a study by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

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Per the report:

“Nine out of 10 central banks are exploring central bank digital currencies, and more than half are now developing them or running concrete experiments.”

The study surveyed 81 central banks about their engagement in CBDCs as well as their intentions and motivations about CBDC issuance. China has already set the ball rolling with its digital yuan. 

 

The BIS found that the emergence of cryptocurrencies like stablecoins and the Covid-19 pandemic have accelerated the CBDC drive, especially in advanced economies. Additionally, retail CBDCs have gained more momentum because they are moving to advanced stages. The survey noted:

“Globally, more than two thirds of central banks consider that they are likely to or might possibly issue a retail CBDC in either the short or medium term.”

On the other hand, wholesale CBDCs are being fronted because they are stepping stones toward cross-border payment efficiency. 

 

The BIS had previously noted that wholesale CBDCs would face challenges like differences in jurisdictional boundaries and governance provisions amongst countries. Therefore, it was willing to help countries handle these differences while fostering the development of technical capabilities and testing at a large scale level. 

 

Per the study:

“Central banks consider CBDCs as capable of alleviating key pain points such as the limited operating hours of current payment systems and the length of current transaction chains.”

Once rolled out, CBDCs are expected to drive the financial inclusion of nearly 1.7 billion people left out of the banking system. 

 

This is because CBDCs are digital assets pegged to a real-world asset and backed by the central banks meaning that they represent a claim against the bank exactly the way banknotes work. Central banks will also be in full control of the supply, one of the major features that have drawn criticism across the board.

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Bitcoin Slips to $35.7K as Daily Active Addresses Hit a 5-Month High

by Blockchain News

Bitcoin (BTC) entered the weekend in the red after dropping to the $35,700 level based on a high number of daily active addresses, according to market insight provider Santiment. 

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Santiment noted:

“The Bitcoin network had 1.17M unique active addresses making transactions, which was the highest amount of utility since December 2, 2021.”

 

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Source: Santiment

 

Based on these statistics, after the number of daily active addresses hit a 5-month high, selling pressure in the Bitcoin network escalated, leading to a price drop. 

 

Meanwhile, the leading cryptocurrency had regained some momentum during intraday trading to hit $36,064, according to CoinMarketCap. 

 

Bitcoin’s realized capitalization reached a monthly low

According to crypto analytic firm Glassnode:

“Bitcoin realized cap just reached a 1-month low of $464,403,390,073.42.”

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Source: Glassnode

 

Realized market capitalization is calculated by valuing each supply unit at the exact price it last moved on-chain or at the last time it was transacted. 

 

As a result, it does not calculate coins that remain unmoved because cryptocurrencies can be lost, unreachable, or unclaimed. This contrasts with the standard market capitalization that values every supply unit evenly at the current market price. 

 

While the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increase by 0.5% on May 4 initially resulted in a bullish reaction in the market, it now seems to be triggering selling pressure in the Bitcoin market based on the present price drop. Tammy Da Costa, a market analyst at DailyFx, opined:

“Over the past week, fundamentals have included interest rate expectations and nobody can ignore the ongoing war which continues to place pressure on supply constraints, particularly for commodities.”

Time will tell how the tightened monetary policy will continue playing out in the crypto market because Bitcoin needs to reclaim $37.5K to paint a bullish picture. This price level previously acted as a significant support level. 

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Bitcoin Volatility Fades Away; Analyst Who Predicted Bitcoin Drop to 35000 Points Out Top Most Promising Privacy Coins

by Blockchain News

In terms of seasonality, May is considered a relatively successful month for BTC. Given the current risk aversion among investors and the macroeconomic environment, this May may prove to be different. 

 

Those accustomed to Bitcoin’s extreme volatility are scratching their heads and looking forward to a rally similar to that of last year when the flagship cryptocurrency doubled in price from July to November’s all-time high. What happened to Bitcoin’s legendary volatility? The following are a few possible explanations. 

 

BTC Is Still Correlated, But to a Lesser Degree

 

As concerns grow over how aggressively the Federal Reserve should tighten policy to combat decades-high inflation, richly valued tech stocks have been experiencing historic volatility. Bitcoin, however, hasn’t been battered to the same extent.

 

The chart below measures systematic risk by looking at how Bitcoin’s returns correlate with the market. As of right now, its value is 0.0362, which indicates that it is moving in sync with the benchmark, but not as drastically.

 

Source: Macroaxis.com

 

Bitcoin Volatility Vanishes

 

I wrote in December that institutional investors might dampen the volatility of the crypto market and smooth out the market’s dynamics some time in the future, and it seems we are already witnessing that.

 

The Average True Range Index, a volatility indicator, shows that Bitcoin volatility has been falling and is currently at its lowest level since December 2020.

 

Source: Macroaxis.com

 

Top Performing Privacy Coins 

 

Over the past three months, the privacy coin sector with a combined value of $8.84 billion has posted an overall gain of 20.24% compared to weak or negative performance by other sectors during the same period.

 

Haven Protocol (XHV)

 

Haven Protocol posted the biggest gain over the last three months, rising 135.23%. With a market cap of $75,268,861, it traded at $3.04 at the time of writing.

 

Built on Monero and including xUSD, the world’s first private stablecoin, Haven aims to become an open, private, and decentralized offshore bank, with a mint-and-burn mechanism that allows users to convert between XHV, Haven’s native token, and its ecosystem of synthetic assets and algorithmic stablecoins.

Source: CoinGecko 

 

Monero (XMR)

 

Monero (XMR) is the most popular privacy-centric cryptocurrency based on the CryptoNote protocol, a secure and untraceable system. All of Monero’s transactions remain 100% unlinkable and untraceable thanks to a special kind of cryptography.

 

XMR was worth $221.24 when this article was written, with a market capitalization of $4,006,536,770. For the past three months, it gained 49.81% and outperformed Bitcoin by 40.49%.

 

Monero is nearing its tail emission on June 8, which is expected to appeal to the mining community and keep the price of XMR high.

 

Source: CoinGecko 

Railgun (RAIL)

 

Railgun provides privacy for trading on DEXs and lending due to its fully Eth layer-1 architecture, which does not use layer 2 nodes or cross-chain bridges to compromise security. It is a smart contract system that gives zk-SNARK privacy to any Ethereum transaction or smart contract interaction.

Railgun allows users to go untraceable when trading, using leverage platforms, or adding liquidity with any Ethereum dApp. 

 

Currently trading at $3.22 with a market cap of $184,773,805, RAIL is 23.5% away from its record high of $4.20 set in January 2022, so it’s likely it will soon retest the new high. 

 

Source: CoinGecko 

 

Zcash (ZEC)

Another privacy-preserving cryptocurrency, Zcash provides anonymous value transfer using zero-knowledge cryptography. The protocol provides the option of shielding transactions to ensure they are completely anonymous, or to make them transparent to show them on the Zcash blockchain. 

 

It has recently been revealed that Edward Snowden played a key role in the creation of Zcash privacy coin.

 

Source: CoinGecko 

 

In the past three months, ZEC gained 31.10% against the greenback and 23.04% against Bitcoin. With a market cap of $1,640,053,535, its price is currently $132.16, up 10% over the past 24 hours. 

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Bitcoin (BTC) $ 27,575.39 1.76%
Ethereum (ETH) $ 1,665.57 3.57%
Litecoin (LTC) $ 66.04 2.47%
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 241.91 0.59%