Day: June 8, 2022

Human Rights Advocates Urge U.S. Lawmakers to Concern Crypto, Saving Crumbling Currencies

by Blockchain News

A group of human rights advocates from across the globe have written a letter to U.S. lawmakers, urging them to be concerned about the role of importance of cryptocurrencies against unstable economies whose local currencies are collapsing.

The letter reads:

“We are 21 human rights advocates from 20 countries across the globe who have dedicated ourselves to the struggle for freedom and democracy. In this struggle, we have relied on Bitcoin and dollar instruments known as stablecoins, as have tens of millions of others living under authoritarian regimes or unstable economies.”

As a counter to technologists’ claim that crypto is unproven and risky, experts had sent a letter to the U.S. Congress last week, reflecting their sceptism towards cryptocurrencies as they deemed them too dangerous. Nevertheless, human rights advocates are up in arms against this declaration because they believe digital assets have been life-changing.

One of the supporters, Lyudmyla Kozlovska, pointed out:

“For me, Bitcoin is not just technology. It has literally saved the lives of my friends and many Ukrainians. Without it, we would not have been able to raise money so quickly to pay for protective equipment for soldiers in the early days of the Russian invasion.” 

Therefore, the advocates asked the U.S. lawmakers to use an empathetic and open-minded approach when tackling the matter because cryptocurrencies were proving to be game-changers for people facing economic hardship and political repression.  

The letter added:

“Bitcoin provides financial inclusion and empowerment because it is open and permissionless. Anyone on earth can use it. Bitcoin and stablecoins offer ungated access to the global economy for people in countries like Nigeria, Turkey, or Argentina, where local currencies are collapsing, broken, or cut off from the outside world.”

In Argentina, citizens sought shelter in crypto to tame runaway prices as local inflation surged by more than 50%, Blockchain.News reported. 

A similar picture was painted in Nigeria because 35% of Nigerians had entered the crypto market in six months based on factors like high inflation rates, according to a study by crypto exchange KuCoin. 

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Will Ethereum Merge Trigger a Shift from Selling to Buying Pressure?

by Blockchain News

The merge of Ethereum (ETH), which is expected to complete the transition from the current proof-of-work (PoS) consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS) framework, has been elusive for quite some time.

Nevertheless, a DeFi educator under the pseudonym Korpi believes it will be a game-changer because it will shift the selling pressure experienced in the Ethereum network, given that structural supply will change to structural buying. The educator explained:

“The Merge is a substantial change in supply or demand forces most people underestimate. Multiple Ms of daily sell pressure on ETH will be replaced by buy pressure. Every day we will need new sellers to prevent the price from going up.”

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Source: Korpi

The DeFi educator also acknowledged that if the merge happened today, the $10 million of daily selling pressure witnessed in the Ethereum network would be changed to $8 million of buy pressure. Korpi added:

“Let’s confront structural supply and structural demand on a daily basis. PoW: Daily Sell Pressure: $19M Daily, Buy Pressure: $8.5M, Net: $10.5 of SELL PRESSURE every day. PoS: Daily Sell Pressure: $0.3M, Daily Buy Pressure: $8.5M, Net: $8.2M of BUY PRESSURE every day.”

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Source: Korpi

Since the merge will bring both chains together, Korpi believes this will trigger a 90% issuance reduction, which will prompt a supply deficit. The educator noted:

“Every day ~13,200 ETH is issued to miners on PoW chain and ~1,590 ETH to stakers on PoS chain. ~14,790 new ETH daily corresponds to a 4.5% annual issuance rate. At the Merge block, both chains ‘merge’ into one, and the PoS era begins.”

Previously, analyses have shown that the merge will trigger a deflation rate in the ETH ecosystem based on slashed supply. 

For instance, crypto service provider LuckyHash stated that a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism would prompt a 1% annual deflation rate, Blockchain.News reported. 

Similar sentiments were shared by market analyst Lark Davis who opined that the merge would trigger a supply growth rate of -2.8% in the Ethereum network.

With Ethereum researcher Justin Drake recently disclosed that the merge is expected to work in August because testing was in the final stages, it remains to be seen how things shape up in the ETH ecosystem. 

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Bitcoin Transferred $98,769 of Value for Just $1 in Fees Last Month, Analyst Says

by Blockchain News

Despite the consolidation happening in the Bitcoin market, the leading cryptocurrency has emerged as an efficient settlement network based on the low fees charged.

Dylan LeClair, an analyst at UTXO Management, pointed out:

“The Bitcoin network transferred $50 billion of value daily over the last month for an average fee of 0.001012%. Said differently, $98,769 of value was transferred for every $1 paid in fees.”

This shows that Bitcoin is continuously cementing itself as an ideal medium of exchange because it attracts minimal fees. 

Is the current sell-off mostly happening during U.S. trading hours?

According to Vetle Lunde, an analyst at Arcane Research:

“The entire sell-off since April has occurred during U.S. trading hours. The cumulative YTD return of BTC during U.S. trading hours has plunged from 4.22% on April 1st to -32.55% today. During Euro and Asian trading hours, BTC has seen flat returns since Apr 1st.”

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Source: ArcaneResearch

Therefore, this suggests that while Bitcoin traders in the U.S. are selling, their counterparts in Asia are buying. Will Clemente, an analyst at Blockware Solutions, shared similar sentiments and stated:

“Asia buying BTC from US/Europe after dumping them at the top.”

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Source: Glassnode

Bitcoin needs to hold $30,400 for sustained momentum

The back and forth experienced in the BTC market has been going on for a couple of months as the top cryptocurrency ranges between $28K and $32K. 

Market analyst Michael van de Poppe believes that Bitcoin should hold $30.4K as support to enhance its chances of surging to the $32 and $35K levels. He pointed out:

“When it comes down to Bitcoin, it’s back in resistance and chopping around like crazy. I’d like to see $30.4K hold as support. Finally, if that holds, I’m assuming we’ll see $32.8K and potentially $35K.”

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Source: TradingView/MichaelvandePoppe

Since Bitcoin was up by 3.29% in the last 24 hours to hit $30,558 during intraday trading, it remains to be seen how it plays out moving forward.

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez stated:

“BTC faces stiff resistance between $31,600 and $32,000, but the RSI slicing through 65.5 could confirm a bullish breakout to $35,000, max $40,000.”

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Source: TradingView/AliMartinez

Nevertheless, Bitcoin needs an upward catalyst to exit the current range based on mounting scepticism, Blockchain.News reported. 

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Citadel Securities to Develop Crypto Trading Marketplace

by Blockchain News

U.S. electronic trading giant Citadel Securities is developing a “cryptocurrency trading ecosystem”, which people with familiar sources have disclosed.

Citadel is building a crypto marketplace to make the overall cryptocurrency market an efficient space for conducting business by working with Virtu Financial, a trading and market-making firm, as well as venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Paradigm. in developing the ecosystem.

The trading platform will also be joined by other wealth managers, market makers, and other industry leaders that are expected to join the marketplace ahead of the launch. “This marketplace is intended to create more efficient access to deep pools of liquidity for digital assets. So, a group of industry leaders are working closely together to facilitate the safe, clean, compliant and secure trading of digital assets,” the source disclosed.

The current crypto market structure has deficiencies and hinders broader adoption from millions of investors seeking to benefit from digital assets traThe source stated this. This is what the consortium led by Citadel is addrested.

“It’s more of a crypto trading ecosystem or marketplace than an exchange. It’s going to take on the exchanges by building a better mousetrap,” the source elaborated.

The source further revealed that Citadel has been “quietly hiring executives” to develop a crypto trading stack.

The Rise of Cryptocurrencies

Citadel Securities, founded by billionaire Ken Griffin, is one of the biggest market-making firms in the world.

Some market makers – companies that provide market liquidity by streaming, buying and selling quotes for others to trade against – such as Virtu Financial, Jump Trading, and DRW, have embraced the nascent asset class. But Citadel has largely stayed on the sidelines in the past.

Griffin, the CEO and founder of Citadel, is a known crypto sceptic. In the past, he was extremely critical of crypto. He once called cryptocurrency “a jihadist call” against the dollar. He also said crypto was similar to the “tulip bulb mania” of the 1630s, in which the prices of flowers spiked before crashing.

Griffin’s scepticism of cryptocurrency may have influenced his participation in an auction of one of the few remaining original copies of the U.S. Constitution. In November last year, the hedge fund billionaire out bided crypto investors for a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution.

Even though Griffin remains sceptical about the market’s long-term value, he recently stated that his investment company will likely work with cryptocurrencies in the near future.

Last month, Griffin envisioned the firm entering the crypto market as a liquidity provider and an exchange combination. He said that given the institutional increase in interest in crypto, he sees the firm as more involved in the crypto space providing liquidity to institutional and potentially retail investors. Griffin said that at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles in early May.

Griffin further mentioned that Citadel Securities will aim to offer liquidity to the crypto market. He said that the firm believes crypto exchange technology is “very important” in helping to bring buyers and sellers together.

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Japanese Lawmakers to Introduce New Bill, Empowering Crypto Seizure

by Blockchain News

In a bid to strengthen its regulatory landscape, Japanese lawmakers are reportedly looking forward to amending the Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes and Control of Proceeds of Crime (1999).

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The amendments will grant the authority to law enforcement agencies and courts to seize cryptocurrencies that have been linked to criminal activities.

The reports have it that the Ministry of Justice will be involved in discussions with the Legislative council with respect to the proposed amendment. In proposing the regulation, a number of factors will have to be considered including how the private keys to a particular crypto asset will be obtained in order to enforce the seizure. 

Japan has been charting a very pivotal course for the crypto industry and is removing every form of ambiguity that may impact how investors relate to the nascent ecosystem. Earlier this month, Blockchain.News reported that Japan has passed a new Stablecoin bill that defined these asset classes as digital money.

While the stablecoin bill solely aims to protect investors in the country, the Bill stipulates that the issuance of the asset will only be made possible through licensed financial services firms and that stablecoins will have to be backed by Japanese Yen.

In the same vein, the amendments to the Control of Proceeds of Crime Bill will bring certainty and add crypto to a list of assets including properties, monetary claims, and movable assets such as machinery, vehicles, tools, and supplies that the Bill currently stipulates can be seized.

Regulators around the world are notably jostling to tame and bring comprehensive regulations to the nascent crypto ecosystem, however, with differing speeds and headstarts.

One of the efforts to caution investors from dealing with speculative assets was that of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong, which advised citizens not to trade in Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) if they do not have a full understanding of the risks that may be inherent in the space.

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Britain Eyes Becoming a Crypto Hub, Upgrading the Market by Adopting DLT

by Blockchain News

In pursuit of becoming a global crypto hub, the United Kingdom seeks to revamp the traditional financial market using distributed ledger technology (DLT), according to the finance ministry, as reported by Reuters. 

By live testing crypto blockchain technology in activities like settlement and trading of bonds and stocks, the UK intends to make the financial market more efficient and innovative for users. 

Per the report:

“In financial markets, the trading of stocks, bonds, and other assets traditionally involves three distinct activities of trading, clearing, and settlement. Using DLT could change this and allow financial assets such as bonds or stocks to be issued in hours rather than days or weeks.”

DLT projects will be tested using a financial market infrastructure dubbed “sandbox” from next year, according to the ministry’s director-general for financial services, Gwyneth Nurse. “A sandbox will allow testing new regulatory best practices and making permanent changes to ensure market users benefit,” Nurse added.

Nurse also pointed out that the Bank of England and the finance ministry were delving deeper into the digital pound as a public consultation was expected later this year. 

The sandbox is expected to be rolled out simultaneously with the stablecoin regulation.

It seems a race against time for global governments to put up guardrails in the stablecoin arena following the shocking collapse of the algorithmic TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin, which triggered the loss of approximately $60 billion.

Meanwhile, In Asia, Japan recently passed a law stipulating that stablecoins would only be issued by licensed banks, trust companies, and registered money transfer agents to protect investors. 

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Crypto is No Longer Men Club as More Female Entering the Space, Study Shows

by Blockchain News

Women are no longer excluded from the crypto bandwagon because they are rapidly participating and investing in this sector, according to a co-study by mobile crypto wallet Valora and global market researcher Appinio.

“It’s encouraging to see women from around the world joining the crypto community and unlocking new financial opportunities,” Jackie Bona, Valora’s CEO, pointed out.

Bona added that the notion of crypto being a boys’ club was fading away as more women were setting foot in the sector. She noted:

“Crypto has this reputation for being a bit of a boys’ club, but more and more women are now empowered to meaningfully participate in this new financial system.”

Women are taking up the crypto mantle as most of them made their first investment in this sector less than a year ago. Per the study:

“Nearly two-thirds (60.6%) of women who own crypto made their first crypto investment less than one year ago.”

Furthermore, twice as many women made their crypto investment within the last six months at 28.1% compared to more than two years ago at 13.9%. 

Therefore, this phenomenon represents a trending shift. Per the research:

“Until recently, the space was predominantly made up of men. Over half (51.8%) of men made their first cryptocurrency investment more than a year ago.”

More women are entering the crypto sector based on changing needs, tastes, and preferences. Morgan Beller, a general partner at Valora, said:

“I think the growth can be attributed to need, want, increased understanding/education, and superior product experiences.”

The study was conducted between March 23 and April 10, 2022, and surveyed 1,500 NFT and crypto investors or owners aged 18 to 65 across Spain, France, Germany, the USA, and the UK.

A past survey by crypto exchange KuCoin noted that women’s desire to know about cryptocurrencies was considerably higher than that of men in Turkey, Blockchain.News reported. 

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Cake DeFi Has Issued Over $317 Million In DeFi Rewards To Users In Three Years

by Blockchain News

The growing appeal of decentralized finance highlights the need for convenient solutions to explore passive income opportunities. Cake DeFi recently turned three years old and has already paid out over $317 million in rewards. Furthermore, the team acquired the necessary license in Lithuania as part of its broader push into the European Union. 

Cake DeFi Checks Off More Milestones

The outset of Cake DeFi is making decentralized finance more accessible and usable by everyday users. Through the platform, users can go from buying crypto for the first time to earning over 80% APY through decentralized finance opportunities in a few minutes. Moreover, the service spans staking, lending, and yield farming for various supported assets, providing users with many options depending on their expertise and risk appetite. 

Since Cake DeFi’s inception three years ago, the platform has paid out over $317 million in user rewards. That is a staggering amount, highlighting the potential DeFi brings to the table. More importantly, it focuses on passive income opportunities rather than forcing users to remain glued to a screen all day. Additionally, the platform has over $1 billion in customer assets on its platform.

Cake DeFi CEO and Co-founder Dr. Julian Hosp adds:

“Our third anniversary is an important milestone for us. Despite the recent downturn in crypto prices, we have continued to experience tremendous growth in the past three years. We are now one of the fastest-growing Decentralized Finance (DeFi) platforms in Asia. This is only made possible by relentlessly creating value for our customers – we paid out a staggering US$317 million in rewards in just three years. We achieved this by creating a safe and secure one-stop platform for consumers to easily access DeFi services. The next stage of our growth will come from building access to DeFi and Web3 not just for consumers, but for businesses as well. It is our ambition to list Cake DeFi on a public stock exchange in the near future. We were offered a SPAC merger at US$1.5 billion, but we had turned it down earlier in the year.”

The objective of enhancing financial inclusion is still the core focus of Cake DeFi’s team. Moreover,  they remain committed to introducing users to responsible investment options for crypto assets to generate passive income. With nearly one million registered users already, the team can look forward to checking off future milestones, including hitting two million users. 

A New License In Lithuania

Beyond the growing revenue for users and customer assets on the platform, Cake DeFi makes inroads in other ways. Licensing and regulation remain key aspects of the crypto and blockchain industry. That also applies to providers of decentralized finance products and services. Cake Defi’s team keeps close tabs on these requirements and continues to make inroads in regions crucial to its long-term growth.

The European Union is one of the regions of interest to this team. Acquiring a license to conduct services for crypto exchanging and provision of custodial wallets in Lithuania marks a big step forward. But, more importantly, acquiring this license enables it to gain more ground more quickly in other EEA member states. For those unaware, the EU Markets in Crypto Assets Regulations will become effective soon, and Cake DeFi positions itself as a leader in compliance. 

Beyond regulation, Cake DeFi will sponsor SportCares and help establish a sport-based development program involving basketball. The initiative will help vulnerable individuals to experience and reap the benefits of sport. It is good to see crypto-oriented firms explore opportunities on this front, as it will introduce more people to the Cake DeFi brand. 

 

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Thetanuts Finance Launches Stronghold Vaults With Organic Yield Generation & Risk Diversification

by Blockchain News

Panama City, Panama / June 7th, 2022 / Thetanuts Finance, a structured DeFi platform that simplifies the process of options trading, today announced the launch of the Thetanuts Stronghold index vault, a new trading product that offers non-inflationary return opportunities, thoughtful risk management and a radically simpler user experience. 

 

Thetanuts Stronghold enables users to avoid the headaches associated with options strategies by staking their assets directly into DeFi Option Vaults. It performs a similar function to the S&P 500 in stock trading, representing customized option vault indexes created by Thetanuts researchers that aim to provide users with organic yield generated from option selling, benchmarked against major ecosystem tokens. 

 

Through the Thetanuts Stronghold protocol, user’s staked assets are automatically deployed into specified covered selling option strategies through the use of smart contracts. The base yield is obtained via the payment of premiums as opposed to the inflationary token rewards seen in many other DeFi protocols. Users receive a yield-bearing token that generates superior returns by selling options across the curve, while benefiting from a diversified risk profile. The strike prices and expirations of each Stronghold strategy are algorithmically determined to generate the highest risk-adjusted yield. 

 

“I am excited about Thetanuts Stronghold because it gives users great risk adjusted returns through selling diversified option selling strategies.” said Stelian Balta CEO of Hyperchain, an investor in Thetanuts. He added “great team and looking forward to Thetanuts being the future benchmark of yield generation.”

 

The protocol aims to solve problems around choice paralysis, liquidity lock and concentrated risk. With competing protocols, investors are faced with a choice of multiple put vaults on the same chain, which can make it difficult to decide which one is most suitable. In addition, once users enter a vault position on other protocols, their liquidity is collateralized and can only be withdrawn once the vault expires. Finally, single strike single tenor vaults carry the risk of going in-the-money on one strike. 

 

With Thetanuts Stronghold, investors benefit from simpler investment choices and are able to withdraw their liquidity at any time, while risk management is achieved by diversification. The Stronghold indexes are backed by multi strike, multi tenor, multi asset options vaults aggregated into a single Stronghold token, protecting users from excessive vault draw-downs in bearish market conditions. In addition, the multi strike, multi tenor strategy protects users from temporary market downturns via mean reversion. 

 

Investors further benefit from an improved user interface courtesy of two major updates. All Thetanuts Stronghold products have been consolidated into a single, simplified panel, allowing users to easily discover assets to generate yield on, interact with the indexes they’re most suited to, and understand which blockchain their assets are hosted on. Meanwhile, yield generation becomes as simple as a swap – simply swap the underlying asset for Stronghold and vice versa with a single click, moving into and out of a position at any time. 

 

Thetanuts Stronghold has launched initially with the USDC Stronghold index vault and is live now on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and Avalanche, with Polygon, Fantom and other chains launching soon. As the product gains traction among DeFi investors over the coming months, Thetanuts will launch other Stronghold indexes for additional major crypto assets.

 

About Thetanuts Finance

Thetanuts F inance’s DeFi structured products and its customizable vaults are the future of generating yield. The platform is designed to provide treasury management for DAOs, as well as help retail traders earn yield on their tokens. Thetanuts’ vaults simplify the process of options trading, making previously complex instruments easy for any investor to access, empowering users to monetize volatility in a risk-adjusted manner. Launched in August 2021, Thetanuts is founded by a team of programmers, hedge fund managers, and financial analysts who specialize in building financial crypto products.

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Bitcoin (BTC) $ 26,572.12 2.21%
Ethereum (ETH) $ 1,585.73 2.72%
Litecoin (LTC) $ 64.45 0.44%
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 208.41 3.01%