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Articles about Cryptocurrency / Crypto crime dropped 57% in 2020 but DeFi hacks surged: CipherTrace

« on: January 29, 2021, 04:46:12 AM »

Crypto crime rates are dropping despite a massive increase in attacks targeting the DeFi sector, reports security firm CipherTrace.

Crypto crime dropped 57% in 2020 but DeFi hacks surged: CipherTrace NEWS
Crimes targeting the virtual currency sector decreased by more than half in 2020 according to blockchain security firm CipherTrace.

The firm’s 2020 cryptocurrency crime and anti-money laundering report revealed that losses from cryptocurrency theft, hacks, and fraud fell 57% in 2020 to $1.9 billion, due mainly to improved security systems. The same figure in 2019 hit a record $4.5 billion.

CipherTrace said that “massive exit scams” such as the PlusToken Ponzi dominated crypto crime over the past two years, with that scam alone netting $2.9 billion. In 2020, a similar scheme by some of the same culprits called WoToken defrauded investors out of $1.1 billion, accounting for 58% of the year’s major crime volume.

The report found that fraud is the dominant cryptocurrency crime, followed by theft and ransomware. Dave Jevans, CipherTrace’s chief executive officer, told Reuters:

“Thefts from hacks against centralized exchanges continue to decrease as these financial institutions mature and adopt stronger security measures,”
However, 2020 saw a surge in decentralized finance related crime, the majority of which were “rug pulls”. That’s where a token is artificially hyped and inflated, with the creators and early investors pulling the plug after the pump leaving the latecomers out of pocket.

The report explained that some bad actors will liquidate the entire liquidity pool, leaving the remaining token holders with no liquidity and unable to trade, wiping out the remaining value of the token:

“Half of all 2020 crypto hacks were of DeFi protocols—a pattern that was virtually negligible in all prior years—and nearly 99% of major fraud volume in the second half of 2020 stemmed from DeFi protocols performing ‘rug pulls’ and other exit scams in a pattern eerily reminiscent of the 2017 ICO craze.”
Due to being mostly unregulated, DeFi protocols have many exemptions from traditional enforcement regimes that centralized exchanges, money service businesses and banks face, Jevans added.

The report stated that 2020’s largest theft, the $281 million hack of the centralized exchange KuCoin, also involved the DeFi sector as criminals attempted to launder the stolen funds through Uniswap, the world’s largest decentralized exchange.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-crime-dropped-57-in-2020-but-defi-hacks-surged-ciphertrace

Banks & Cryptos / Major Russian Bank Sberbank Files Application to Launch Its Own Stablecoin

« on: January 27, 2021, 01:57:56 PM »

Major Russian Bank Sberbank Files Application to Launch Its Own Stablecoin — Possibly Pegged to the Fiat Ruble
Russian Major Bank Sberbank Files Application to Launch Its Own Stablecoin — Possibly Pegged to the Fiat Ruble
A major Russian bank revealed an upcoming digital asset launch, which complements another of its latest crypto-related moves. Sberbank applied to register a platform to issue a token named “Sbercoin.”

Bank Expects the Stablecoin Could Launch in the Spring of 2021
During an interview with 1prime, Anatoly Popov, Sberbank’s deputy chairman, said the bank made the correspondent filings with the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) “early in January.”

The executive is hopeful that his bank’s application will be approved by the CBR, following the crypto law that came into effect in Russia on Jan. 1. Popov suggested the token would be a stablecoin pegged to the ruble:

Under the law, digital financial assets can be issued on a registered platform, and among other things, one of the possible financial assets will be a fiat coin for a ruble, and, in fact, the bank is technologically ready to issue and work with this instrument.

The bank already conducted internal tests with the token, Sberbank’s deputy chairman clarified. He added that they’re seeking “great opportunities” by adopting crypto-related technologies.

As for the expected launch date, the executive believes that Sberbank could launch the stablecoin in the spring of 2021.

But this is not the first time that Popov mentioned the possibility of launching a ruble-pegged stablecoin. In 2020, Popov and Herman Gref, Sberbank’s chairman, talked about the idea of launching a token that could become a “sentiment tool” for other digital assets.

Sberbank’s Interest in the Crypto Industry
Ahead of the crypto regulation taking effect in Russia, Sberbank unveiled its initial plans related to the crypto industry.

As news.Bitcoin.com reported in December 2020, the Russian banking heavyweight was considering launching its stablecoin by teaming up with JPMorgan. However, during the interview with Popov, there was no mention of JPMorgan’s involvement in the project.

Also, Sberbank revealed it wanted to build its own “blockchain platform, which provides services for the purchase of digital financial assets.”

https://news.bitcoin.com/major-russian-bank-sberbank-files-application-to-launch-its-own-stablecoin-possibly-pegged-to-the-fiat-ruble/

Legality & Taxation of Cryptos / The United States updates its crypto AML/CFT laws

« on: January 25, 2021, 06:49:39 AM »

The U.S. Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism laws: Where will these updates lead the crypto space?

The United States updates its crypto AML/CFT lawsEXPERT TAKE
Against great push back from the crypto industry and as the price of Bitcoin (BTC) reached new all-time highs several times during the last couple of months, the United States has updated its cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism laws.

Related: COVID-19 pandemic spurs crypto law updates in J5 countries

The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and the Corporate Transparency Act
Last December, the Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act and, as part of that legislation, passed the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 and the Corporate Transparency Act.

Related: EU amends AML laws for crypto trading as US ponders

The Act’s provisions broaden and update the Bank Secrecy Act, or BSA, and the U.S. AML/CFT regime by:

Codifying existing FinCEN guidance related to digital currencies by expanding and modifying several definitions and provisions within the BSA to encompass “value that substitutes for currency.” Thereby, it requires businesses that operate with cryptocurrency to qualify as money transmitters to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and establish reporting and recordkeeping requirements for transactions involving certain types of digital currencies as detailed in proposed regulations issued by FINCEN (see below).
Requiring many smaller companies to disclose beneficial ownership information to FinCEN.
Prohibiting a person from knowingly concealing or attempting to concealing, falsifying or misrepresenting, from or to a financial institution, a material fact concerning the ownership or control of assets involved in a monetary transaction if “(1) the person or entity who owns or controls the assets is a senior foreign political figure, or any immediate family member or close associate of a senior foreign political figure” and “(2) the aggregate value of the assets involved in 1 or more monetary transactions is not less than $1,000,000.”
Creating awards to whistleblowers — up to 30% of monetary penalties recovered from an entity where the tip led to penalties over $1 million — who report actionable information about BSA AML/CFT violations.
Related: Better regulation needed to stop crypto tax evaders from running wild

Proposed AML/CFT cryptocurrency regulations
At the end of last year, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also issued proposed regulations looking to subject convertible digital currency or digital asset transactions to similar AML/CFT reporting requirements placed on other financial institutions by the BSA.

The new regulations, if adopted, would require entities covered by AML/CFT, including payments involving “unhosted wallets” (not held by a third-party financial system), to obtain and report the identities of parties engaging in cryptocurrency transactions if the transaction exceeds $3,000.

This information would include:

The name and address of the financial institution’s customer.
The type of cryptocurrency used in the transaction.
The amount of cryptocurrency in the transaction.
The time of the transaction.
The assessed value of the transaction, in U.S. dollars, based on the prevailing exchange rate at the time of the transaction.
Any payment instructions received from the financial institution’s customer.
The name and physical address of each counterparty to the transaction of the financial institution’s customer.
Other counterparty information the secretary may prescribe as mandatory on the reporting form.
Any other information that uniquely identifies the transaction, the accounts and, to the extent reasonably available, the parties involved.
Any form relating to the transaction that is completed or signed by the financial institution’s customer.
The new regulations will also require banks and money service businesses to report the same information for cryptocurrency transactions above $10,000 to FinCEN 15 days from the date on which a reportable transaction occurs. Structuring transactions to avoid the reporting requirements is strictly prohibited under the proposed rules.

Related: US crypto regulations will return Bitcoin to its digital cash origins

According to an official press release, Secretary Steven Mnuchin explained:

“This rule addresses substantial national security concerns in the CVC [convertible virtual currency] market, and aims to close the gaps that malign actors seek to exploit in the recordkeeping and reporting regime.”
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world have been forced to focus on integrating blockchain technology into their financial services. As Secretary Mnuchin added:

“The rule, which applies to financial institutions and is consistent with existing requirements, is intended to protect national security, assist law enforcement, and increase transparency while minimizing impact on responsible innovation.”
Related: Cybercrime task force monitoring the global digital financial system

Separately, FinCEN announced its intention to amend the BSA’s Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts regulations to mandate U.S. individuals and entities to report cryptocurrency as part of their foreign financial accounts if they have more than $10,000 in cryptocurrencies with foreign financial or digital asset service providers.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-united-states-updates-its-crypto-aml-cft-laws

Bitcoin News & Updates / Believing, not seeing: Institutions still predict $100K Bitcoin price

« on: January 24, 2021, 02:56:12 PM »

Even though Bitcoin has struggled to reclaim its recent high of $42,000, projections of BTC reaching $100,000 still seem achievable to some.

Believing, not seeing: Institutions still predict $100K Bitcoin priceANALYSIS
Despite Bitcoin price cooling off in recent days, with the premier cryptocurrency currently hovering around the $32,000 mark, it is still showcasing strong technicals as well as a thirty-day price gain of nearly 40%. Not only that, but even since its recent dip — which has seen the digital asset fall from its recently established all-time high of around $42,000 to its present value — the top crypto is still in the green over the last 12 months, exhibiting a value spike of nearly 300%.

In this regard, since the fourth quarter of 2019, a number of traditional finance players have been predicting big things for Bitcoin (BTC), especially as governments all over the world continue to print money in the form of “economic stimulus packages,” leading to fears of inflation becoming more prevalent but also of a looming economic disaster that could potentially result in a global recession of unprecedented proportions.

For example, during the second quarter of 2020, the economy of the United States plunged at an unprecedented rate, with the global powerhouse’s gross domestic product, which outlines a nation’s total output of goods and services, falling by 31.4%.

In the wake of such developments — including an alarming rate of money being printed by central banks globally — many investment houses and banking institutions are now beginning to see a future for Bitcoin, especially as a hedge against monetary inflation, despite its current volatility levels.

Many institutions see BTC at $100,000-plus
Earlier this year, American megabank JPMorgan Chase’s strategy team, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, claimed that a theoretical target of $146,000-plus could be sustainable for BTC by the end of 2021, pushing the narrative that the digital currency seems to be a prime candidate for replacing gold as a long-term store-of-value, especially for a budding base of younger, more tech-savvy investors.

In a similar vein, new data released by Pantera Capital, an investment firm and hedge fund, reiterates JPMorgan’s sentiments surrounding BTC, suggesting that its price action is closely following the Stock-to-Flow model, thus reaffirming its faith in the digital asset hitting the $115,000 mark by Aug. 1.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/believing-not-seeing-institutions-still-predict-100k-bitcoin-price

Cardano Forum / Ergo and Cardano teams to explore key DeFi challenges at Ergo Summit

« on: January 23, 2021, 04:12:12 AM »

Ergo and Cardano teams to explore key DeFi challenges at Ergo SummitPRESS RELEASE
The cross-organisation event held on Saturday, Jan. 23, will unveil new technologies developed in partnerships between the blockchain initiatives.

2020 proved two things: Decentralized finance is here to stay, and significant challenges still remain. While Ethereum remains the largest DeFi infrastructure platform, more recent projects have sought to address some of the first smart contract blockchain’s shortcomings.

Ergo Platform, a DeFi blockchain launched in 2019 by former Nxt and IOHK developer Alexander Chepurnoy, showcases an impressive set of new smart contract technologies built on the foundations of Bitcoin’s UTXO model and proven track record of security. The team has collaborated with Cardano via a partnership with Emurgo, a leading blockchain company, to explore solutions that will further both platforms and the DeFi space as a whole.

https://cointelegraph.com/press-releases/ergo-and-cardano-teams-to-explore-key-defi-challenges-at-ergo-summit

Banks & Cryptos / Top Russian bank Sberbank plans to launch its stablecoin by spring 2021

« on: January 21, 2021, 05:20:32 PM »

Sberbank has applied with the Central Bank of Russia to launch a blockchain platform for its “Sbercoin” stablecoin.

Top Russian bank Sberbank plans to launch its stablecoin by spring 2021NEWS
Sberbank, the largest state-owned bank in Russia, has reportedly filed an application with the Bank of Russia to launch a blockchain platform for its “Sbercoin” stablecoin.

Sergey Popov, director of the transaction business at Sberbank, announced the news on Jan. 21 at a local financial event Russian news agency Interfax reports.

At “Digital transformation and prospects for regulating the digital economy,” Popov said that Sberbank applied with the central bank in early January, explaining that the registration procedure usually takes no longer than 45 days. As such, the bank may launch its platform and stablecoin by the spring this year, the official said. However, Sberbank is still working out how to tax Sbercoin:

“There is a high probability that this project will be launched in the spring. There is one more issue that has not yet been fully resolved, which is connected to the taxation of digital financial assets. But we hope that this question will be resolved soon.”
Popov reportedly added that Sberbank is “ready to work with such a fiat currency” from a technological standpoint so far. “We have completed an internal testing to see that the solution works,” he said.

Sberbank did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

As previously reported, Sberbank broke the news on developing its native Sbercoin token at the end of November, following long-running speculation about these plans. Sberbank’s latest announcement comes shortly after Russia officially adopted its crypto law “On Digital Financial Assets” on Jan. 1, 2021.

In late 2020, Anatoly Aksakov, a member of the Russian State Duma, said that the Duma’s Committee on Financial Markets expects Russian crypto issuance to surge after the adoption of the country’s new crypto law.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/top-russian-bank-sberbank-plans-to-launch-its-stablecoin-by-spring-2021

Bitcoin News & Updates / Is Bitcoin headed for a deeper correction? Watch these levels if $30K breaks

« on: January 21, 2021, 05:17:10 PM »

Is Bitcoin headed for a deeper correction? Watch these levels if $30K breaks
The price of Bitcoin still has a lot room to drop below $30,000 before the bull market is in trouble.

Is Bitcoin headed for a deeper correction? Watch these levels if $30K breaks PRICE ANALYSIS
Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a massive surge in the past two months, in particular, as institutions jumped into the new asset class. The latest is Blackrock, announcing interest in trading in Bitcoin futures while Grayscale continues to scoop up BTC at an accelerating pace.

Total amount of BTC held by Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. Source: CryptoQuant
However, after a massive surge, the asset’s price has to come down for some tests of support as investors take profit. This is the beautiful cyclical nature of supply and demand.

BTC/USD is currently in a corrective phase since Bitcoin’s rally became overextended above $40,000. The primary question is how far the correction will go from here or whether the $30,000 level will be strong enough to fend off the bears.

$30,000 must hold to stay bullish

BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView
The daily chart for Bitcoin shows a tremendous rally in recent months. However, some weaknesses are emerging since the recent high, after which the price corrected by roughly 30%.

One of these weaknesses is the continuing lower highs since the recent peak high at $42,000. These lower highs are confluent with weaker bounces from the support area.

In this case, the $30,000 area has held before. However, to the concern of the bulls, the bounces from this area are getting weaker.

If the $30,000 area doesn’t hold, a further correction toward $24,000 becomes likely, which would mean a retrace of 40% since the recent highs.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/is-bitcoin-headed-for-a-deeper-correction-watch-these-levels-if-30k-breaks

Articles about Cryptocurrency / 83% of cryptocurrencies that peaked in 2018 are still down by 90%

« on: January 21, 2021, 06:41:41 AM »

Data compiled by Messari indicates that the 157 crypto assets that posted record highs in 2018 are still bumbling along at prices more than 90% down from their ATHs.

83% of cryptocurrencies that peaked in 2018 are still down by 90%NEWS
Data published by crypto market data aggregator Messari shows that 83% of crypto assets that tagged all-time highs in January 2018 are still down by at least 90%.

The data was spotted by CMT Digital analyst Matt Casto, who tweeted data showing the average return-on-investment, or ROI, of crypto assets sorted by the year in which they posted record price highs.

Holding assets that hit high marks +3 years ago is proving to be a massive lost opportunity cost for deploying capital.

There's a reason 83% of assets that hit a high price in January 2018 are trading +90% below their ATHs.

ATH/Cycle Low data is from @MessariCrypto API pic.twitter.com/Kfzfq69ZMp

— Matt Casto (@mcasto_) January 21, 2021
The data set included 410 assets that posted record prices during 2017 or later, with 2018’s 157 star coins performing the worst with an average of -90.71% since the previous ATH.

2017’s top crypto’s have since crashed by 82% on average, while 2019’s crop is down 72%, and 2020’s standouts have shed 53%.

The data may help support the ‘great repricing’ concept, that the capital that once flowed into the “ghost-chain” layer-one blockchains that dominated the sector in 2017 and 2018 is now being redirected towards the nascent DeFi sector.

The concept is even a trading strategy for some, with dHedge pool manager Wangarian describing his strategy as longing “tokens that obtain direct value accrual (DeFi)” while shorting “dogs**t L1s that have no value accrual whatsoever.”

However, despite the poor performances of many altcoins from yesteryear when compared to their record highs, many older altcoins have still produced enormous percentage gains since bottoming out.

Since finding local lows during the “Black Thursday” crash of March 2020, Cardano (ADA) has increased nearly 1,700%, Zilliqa (ZIL) is up 2,670%, and Decred (DCR) has gained 14,130% from their respective price floors.

Source:https://cointelegraph.com/news/83-of-cryptocurrencies-that-peaked-in-2018-are-still-down-by-90

Ethereum News & Updates / 11 indicators that suggest Ether’s new ATH is just the beginning

« on: January 20, 2021, 03:07:51 AM »

Many analysts predict that a parabolic ETH rally may be imminent, pointing to Ethereum’s surging DeFi ecosystem and network fundamentals.

11 indicators that suggest Ether’s new ATH is just the beginningNEWS
With Ethereum inching its way into new all-time highs over the past 24 hours, a number of onlookers believe Ether could quickly surge through the $1,400 price range.

Ethereum’s robust fundamentals are strengthening the conviction that Ether might sail past resistance in the mid-$1,400s, with many pointing to Ethereum’s ever-growing DeFi ecosystem as the force most-likely to propel ETH into price discovery.

On Jan. 19, Spencer Noon of crypto VC fund Variant shared 11 indicators he believes suggests that a parabolic bull-run is nigh. He pointed to the fact taht more than one million unique addresses t have interacted with DeFi over the past eight months.

Unique DeFi wallets: Dune Analytics
Noon adds that monthly DEX volume is currently sitting at an all-time high of more than $30 billion, while more than $20 billion has been deposited into DeFi lending protocols — of which more than $4.5 billion has been issued as currently outstanding loans.

Looking beyond DeFi, Noon also highlights that Ethereum is the top blockchain network by daily fees generated — beating out BTC by more than 50%; the number of daily active Ether addresses has doubled in the past 12 months to reach all-time highs of 550,000; and that nearly $20 billion worth of stablecoins were minted on Ethereum over the past year.

The thread notes that more than $25 billion is currently locked in DeFi, adding that 21 decentralized finance protocols now represent at least $100 million in total value locked each.

#1: Ethereum continues to dwarf the entire crypto space in terms of fees paid ($7.25m daily avg) -- proving it's the most useful network in the world. pic.twitter.com/t7Co50GukJ

— Spencer Noon (@spencernoon) January 19, 2021
Despite Ethereum’s surging fundamentals, Noon notes that the number of Ether transactions valued at more than $100,000 is seven times smaller than during Jan. 2018’s highs, suggesting that “institutions still haven’t entered the game.”

On the same day, Token Terminal, an analytics platform that uses traditional financial metrics like P/E to examine crypto markets, tweeted a chart of Ethereum’s “price to sales ratio” with the caption “this time is different.”

This time is different pic.twitter.com/4pfqAnvm9n

— Token Terminal (@tokenterminal) January 19, 2021
The chart shows that Ethereum’s price relative to the fees generated by the network is reaching all-time lows — suggesting the market may be extremely undervalued. However, replies on Twitter challengede the applicability of using the metric to Ethereum, noting that Ethereum’s “sales” comprise fees that are collected by miners.

Messari also shared data indicating that the daily volume of Ethereum transactions now exceeds that of Bitcoin by 28%.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/11-indicators-that-suggest-ether-s-new-ath-is-just-the-beginning

Bitcoin News & Updates / Bitcoin can scale on chain just fine as a store of value

« on: January 20, 2021, 03:01:38 AM »

Could Bitcoin's blockchain handle full mainstream adoption?

Bitcoin can scale on chain just fine as a store of value, Blockdaemon CEO suggests NEWS
Can Bitcoin’s (BTC) blockchain handle full mainstream adoption as a store of value, without needing layer-two scaling solutions? Konstantin Richter, founder and CEO of blockchain infrastructure company Blockdaemon, seems to think so.

“Bitcoin is the best cryptocurrency suited for store of value,” Richter told Cointelegraph, adding:

“In terms of what the Bitcoin blockchain can currently handle from a latency and throughput point of view, Bitcoin is very strong. If we start talking about using Bitcoin for payments, that’s where the need for layer-2 scaling comes into play, but for people who plan to buy and hold, there’s no need right now.”
Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, produced the digital asset as “A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” as noted in the asset’s 2008 white paper. As price and adoption rose, however, Bitcoin’s role seemingly changed from a transactional, cash-like asset, to a gold-like store of value, due to relatively slow transaction times and high fees.

Near the end of the last Bitcoin bull run in 2017 and early 2018, Bitcoin’s transaction fees rose significantly. Since then, teams have worked on various layer-two solutions for moving BTC around, such as the Lightning Network — although as a store of value, Bitcoin’s blockchain may work fine as-is for now, based on Richter’s comments.

“Infrastructure and liquidity provisioning are also converging, allowing for new business models to be tested,” he included, adding:

“Exchanges, custodians and financial institutions are looking for bridges to all major protocols which is possible with horizontally scaling blockchains across a common stack which is where we are actively collaborating with protocols to support these integrations and the growth of the stack.”
Bitcoin still has the largest market cap of any crypto asset, even after a decade that ushered in thousands of new cryptocurrencies.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-can-scale-on-chain-just-fine-as-a-store-of-value-blockdaemon-ceo-suggests

Binance / Binance Coin (BNB) hits a new all-time high one day before its token burn

« on: January 19, 2021, 02:16:12 AM »

A growing DEX ecosystem, competitive futures platform and low fee incentives pushed Binance Coin to a new all-time high one day ahead of its scheduled token burn.
Binance Coin (BNB) hits a new all-time high one day before its token burnALTCOIN WATCH
Over the past 6 months, Binance Coin (BNB) has been quietly rallying higher, gaining 189% during this period and notching a new all-time high at $46.90 on Jan. 18. This price peak happened just one day before its quarterly token burn, leading investors to question whether or not BNB price will move higher once the event concludes.

A token burn is a permanent removal of coins from circulation and this deflationary technique is a common practice used by many projects in the crypto sector. As Cointelegraph reported, the process does not destroy the coins but rather renders them unusable.

Aside from the supply change, Binance Chain recently launched smart contract capabilities which allow Decentralized Finance (DeFi) applications and cross-chain asset swaps to join. The exchange has also been wildly profitable since launch so al of these factors provide good reason for BNB’s appreciation.

BNB/USDT price (Binance). Source: TradingView
When Binance Futures rolled out, the exchange announced that futures platform revenue would be included in its BNB quarterly burn. These coins taken out of circulation will reflect a percentage of Binance’s earnings for the latest quarter of 2020.

Despite being the absolute market leader on futures contracts, the ever-growing exchange launched this service fairly recently. Over the 16 months since inception, the platform has grown to a $4 billion open interest. This number surpasses more established derivatives exchanges like OKEx, Huobi and BitMEX.

Initially, Binance stated that it would repurchase the coins slated for destruction, but this policy changed in February 2019. Thus, the actual token burn process involves reducing the potential supply until it reaches the 100 billion goal.

The latest BNB burning round occurred on Oct. 16, 2020, and it involved a total of 2.25 million BNB. Although its reported supply stands at 142.41 million, Messari calculates a 108.35 million liquid supply. This difference comes from coins currently restricted or vested, meaning they are not actually being traded.

Binance Chain’s evolution
After launching staking and validation services in September 2020, Binance Smart Chain quickly started gaining traction. The network adds Ethereum compatible smart contracts capacity to the original Binance Chain.

Shortly after launching, a host of decentralized applications started to emerge, totaling 60 projects and 600,000 unique smart chain addresses. Furthermore, 3 million BNB have been staked by network validators.

To date, cross-chain assets to Binance Chain have surpassed $250 million, and a $100 million accelerator fund was created to attract decentralized finance applications.

Binance Launchpad is also another positive factor that supports BNB’s value. The platform hosts Binance’s Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) and in 2020 six successful token sales occurred.

BNB Twitter user activity vs. market capitalization (USD). Source: TheTie
Data from TheTie, an alternative social analytics platform, shows that the recent price spike was accompanied by a sharp increase in Twitter user activity. Although this is not a fundamental factor, data shows that the more attention a token gets on social media, the easier it becomes to gather additional buying pressure.

Many investors believe that token burns positively impact price as the supply is constricted and this supposedly incentivizes investors to hold their tokens rather than market sell them at each top.

Interestingly, the latest burn had little to no impact on BNB price. This situation could indicate that the market is evolving to price in these events ahead of the announcement date.

On the other hand, investors may have perceived a non-circulating token burn as a non-event. Therefore, those recently buying BNB with the expectation of a post-burn pump may be sorely disappointed.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-coin-bnb-hits-a-new-all-time-high-one-day-before-its-token-burn

Banks & Cryptos / Anchorage granted US's first national crypto bank charter

« on: January 14, 2021, 01:43:29 AM »

Custody pioneer Anchorage is the first crypto firm to see a charter from the U.S. national bank regulator.

Per a Wednesday announcement from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Anchorage will have conditional authorization to operate as a trust institution nationally. The charter is the first of its kind, part of an idea of a "fintech charter" stretching back to the Obama years, but which has been accelerated under the leadership of Acting Comptroller Brian Brooks, formerly of Coinbase's legal team.

Per the announcement, Anchorage's continued charter will hinge upon unique requirements:

"As an enforceable condition of approval, the company entered into an operating agreement which sets forth, among other things, capital and liquidity requirements and the OCC’s risk management expectations."
The actual agreement between Anchorage and the OCC specifies a point that has been central to the debate around the fintech charter; namely, that the new species of banks will not hold deposits: "The Bank shall not engage in activities that would cause it to be a “bank” as defined in section 2(c) of the Bank Holding Company Act."

It's a controversial point. What is a bank? With the advent of online banking and especially with the technological security that crypto provides, Brooks believes that the future belongs to more bespoke financial services. Narrower uses more tailored to individual needs, but still requiring national authorization, as he described his vision earlier today.

In the same interview, Elliptic CEO Simone Naimi asked Brooks when to expect the first such national charter for a crypto bank. Brooks checked his watch, in what at the time seemed to be jest.

Hitherto, such registration has been done state-by-state, but only recently for crypto. This past summer, Wyoming authorized Kraken as the first crypto-native bank in the U.S.

Nonetheless, state regulators have expressed concern that the OCC's push to charter non-depository institutions represents a threat to their authority.

An OCC representative declined to comment as to whether to expect more crypto bank charters in Brooks' final days as Acting Comptroller.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/anchorage-gets-occ-s-first-national-charter-to-a-crypto-bank

Ripple News & Updates / Grayscale Investments liquidates all of its XRP... while it still can

« on: January 14, 2021, 01:39:36 AM »

Grayscale is dissolving its XRP Trust and will distribute cash to investors after liquidating all XRP held by the trust.

Grayscale Investments liquidates all of its XRP... while it still can NEWS
Institutional crypto-fund manager Grayscale Investments has begun the dissolution of its XRP Trust in response to the Security and Exchange Commission’s December 2020 lawsuit alleging the XRP token is a security under U.S. law.

According to an announcement published Wednesday, Grayscale decided to dissolve the trust in response to the spate of XRP delistings from major crypto-asset exchanges after the SEC’s complaint was filed. Grayscale concluded:

“It is likely to be increasingly difficult for U.S. investors, including the Trust, to convert XRP to U.S. dollars, and therefore continue the Trust’s operations.”
All XRP held by the trust has already been liquidated, with Grayscale intending to distribute the net cash proceeds to XRP Trust shareholders after deducting expenses. The trust will be terminated following the distribution of said cash.

Despite the SEC’s hardline position on XRP, regulators in other countries are not convinced the token comprises a security.

A January report on cryptocurrency regulation published by the U.K. Treasury classified XRP as an “unregulated token” alongside leading digital assets Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), with the Treasury describing unregulated tokens as “neither e-money tokens nor security tokens.”

The report describes XRP primarily as an “exchange token” — a token that is “primarily used as a means of exchange.”

On Wednesday, Japan’s Financial Services Agency told The Block it classifies XRP as a cryptocurrency, not a security.

XRP is currently trading for $0.31 and is down 40% in the past 30 days.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-investments-liquidates-all-of-its-xrp-while-it-still-can

Banks & Cryptos / OCC's Brian Brooks thinks that DeFi can root out bias and fraud in traditional b

« on: January 13, 2021, 07:17:17 AM »

Brooks is optimistic that regulators will find it easier to work with algorithms than with bankers.

OCC's Brian Brooks thinks that DeFi can root out bias and fraud in traditional bankingNEWS
In an opinion piece published in the Financial Times on Tuesday, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks put forward the need to reconfigure banking regulations for an age of algorithms.

Brooks, who currently leads the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, compared existing banking regulations to traffic laws. He further used the analogy of self-driving cars for new steps in decentralized finance. "Just as the original rules of the road protected us from other drivers, so our current bank regulations exist mainly to prevent human failings," wrote Brooks.

The overall tone of Brook's letter is confident that banking regulators are capable of retooling, of learning how to appraise algorithms for bias and fraud — which he says will ultimately prove simpler than trying to root those same issues out of human bankers. Brooks concludes:

"Could we usher in a future where we eliminate error, stop discrimination, and achieve universal access for all? Optimists like me think so. How different would banking in the US be today if regulators, bankers, and policymakers were as bold as carmakers 10 years ago?"
The OCC charters and directs national banks. Formerly the leader of Coinbase's legal team, Brooks has been a major proponent of integrating crypto technology into the national payments system. Under his watch, the OCC recently authorized national banks to run stablecoin payments and nodes.

Brooks has similarly been a proponent of a national charter for non-depository institutions, specifically aimed at giving fintech firms a chance at national licensing rather than having to go through each state in the U.S. Near the end of December, however, state regulators struck back with a lawsuit deriding what they call the OCC's "non-bank charter" as an overreach of federal power. In today's opinion piece, Brooks may have been referring to these issues with state regulators when he wrote that:

"There is also a risk that, in the absence of federal regulatory clarity, US states rush to fill the void and create a patchwork of inconsistent rules that impede the orderly development of a national market."
While President Trump nominated Brooks to be the full Comptroller back in November, the Senate never moved forward on his nomination. With the new administration taking over next week, Brooks' continued tenure at the OCC seems dependent upon a Biden nomination.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/occ-s-brian-brooks-thinks-that-defi-can-root-out-bias-and-fraud-in-traditional-banking

Bitcoin News & Updates / SolidX files lawsuit against VanEck alleging Bitcoin ETF ‘plagiarism’

« on: January 13, 2021, 07:09:48 AM »

SolidX accuses VanEck of terminating their partnership in bad faith after “surreptitiously” working to launch a Bitcoin product based on SolidX’s work.

SolidX files lawsuit against VanEck alleging Bitcoin ETF ‘plagiarism’NEWS
Global investment management firm VanEck, is facing a lawsuit from blockchain firm and former-partner SolidX over a Bitcoin ETF that VanEck filed for SEC approval less than two weeks ago.

In 2017, VanEck became the first company to file for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund registered under the Investment Company Act, while SolidX has been working to bring a Bitcoin ETF to market since 2015. The two firms joined forces in June 2018, with SolidX touting its deep experience with crypto as a compliment to VanEck’s extensive background in issuing financial products.

However, after withdrawing their most recent joint application for a Bitcoin ETF in September 2019, the two firms parted ways in August 2020. SolidX’s complaint describes the split as a “bad faith termination” of their agreement.

On Dec. 31, VanEck announced it had filed a new application for a Bitcoin ETF.

According to the lawsuit, VanEck’s SEC filings suggest the firm was “surreptitiously working on its own Bitcoin product even while telling the world that it was 'married' to SolidX.” The blockchain firm asserts:

“Using SolidX's work and work product to compete with it is bad enough, but the registration statement VanEck filed would be called plagiarism in any other context: the structure of VanEck's proposed Bitcoin ETF is substantively identical, or virtually so, to the structure for which SolidX sought SEC approval.”
The plaintiff also alleges that “VanEck began announcing products that directly compete” within weeks of their terminated agreement, and that VanEck “could not have begun to issue [said products] without working against SolidX's interests while still its business partner.”

In November, VanEck launched a physically-backed Bitcoin exchange-traded note on Germany’s Deutsche Börse Xetra market.

SolidX states that VanEck’s “marquee” brand and “credibility” as an ETF issuer informed its decision to team up with the firm, claiming that VanEck “had little, if any, expertise in Bitcoin” and hired SolidX for its expertise on crypto assets.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/solidx-files-lawsuit-against-vaneck-alleging-bitcoin-etf-plagiarism