Autor Cointelegraph By Brian Quarmby

Crypto 'best place' to store wealth during Fed rate hike: Pantera CEO

Crypto 'best place' to store wealth during Fed rate hike: Pantera CEO

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 18, 2022 |

The CEO and founder of leading blockchain venture fund Pantera Capital, Dan Morehead, stated that digital assets will be the “best place” to store capital following the potential fallout of interest rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Investors across stock and crypto markets are currently fixated on the direction the Fed might take to combat rising inflation which topped 7.5% as of this month. Bitcoin and crypto markets have often moved in correlation to trends in the stock market, however, Morehead argued in his Feb. 16 newsletter that bonds, stocks, and real estate will cop the brunt of the Fed‘s “massive policy U-turn,” in relation to hiking interest rates. Despite the crypto market suffering a downturn since late 2021, the CEO suggested that digital assets will be the “best place” to store capital during the fallout of the Fed’s actions: “I think our markets will decouple soon. Investors are going to think: bonds are going to get crushed as the Fed goes from the only buyer on Earth to seller. Rising rates will make equities and real estate less attractive.”“So, where does one invest when both stocks and bonds are falling? (Normally they are negatively correlated.) Blockchain is a very legit place to invest in that world,” he added.#Bitcoin is down -19% year-on-year — during a period when the Fed printed $5 trillion — seems cheap.The Next Mega-Trade: https://t.co/kfWepItKpe pic.twitter.com/MgGz2bD6BB— Dan Morehead (@dan_pantera) February 17, 2022To add to his point, Morehead also highlighted a previous statement he made during a conference call with investors earlier this month in which he pointed out that asset classes such as gold and crypto don’t directly correspond to interest rates as bonds do. “Whereas blockchain isn’t a cashflow-oriented thing. It’s like gold. It can behave in a very different way from interest-rate-oriented products. I think when all’s said and done, investors will be given a choice: they have to invest in something, and if rates are rising, blockchain is going to be the most relatively attractive,” he said. Related: Biden expected to issue executive order on crypto and CBDCs next week: ReportMorehead admitted that while the crypto market appears to have responded to Fed’s movements of late, the value proposition of digital assets has remained the same, while the decreasing prices may also have been a result of the U.S. financial tax year coming to a close:“Some of crypto selling pressure has been unintended tax positions. Imagine a trader actively buying and selling BTC, ETH, XRP, etc. Great year. Made a ton of money. Kept it all in the markets.”“There were $1.4 trillion of cryptocurrency capital gains created last year. That could have caused a decent chunk of the recent sales,” he added. He did note, however, that there could be a lot and ups and downs before the crypto market goes on to surge again.

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Ethereum dominance may dwindle as competitors emerge: Morgan Stanley

Ethereum dominance may dwindle as competitors emerge: Morgan Stanley

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 18, 2022 |

Morgan Stanley’s wealth management global investment office has published a report on Ethereum (ETH) arguing that the blockchain’s dominance could dwindle if strong market competition emerges. The investment banking giant’s report is titled “Cryptocurrency 201: What Is Ethereum?” and it provides a detailed rundown of the ecosystem along with its advantages and disadvantages in relation to Bitcoin (BTC). “Due in part to its more ambitious addressable market, Ethereum faces more competitive threats, scalability issues, and complexity challenges than Bitcoin. Furthermore, Ether is more volatile than Bitcoin,” the report reads. Morgan Stanley argued that Ethereum may lose smart contract superiority to cheaper and faster blockchains — something that has often been argued by supporters of the Ethereum killer market that includes networks such as Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Polkadot (DOT), and Tezos (XTZ): “Ethereum faces more competition in the smart contract market than Bitcoin faces in the store-of-value market. Ethereum may lose smart contract platform market share to faster or cheaper alternatives.”The investment bank also suggested that Ethereum poses a greater investment risk than Bitcoin as it faces greater competition in the smart contract market than “Bitcoin faces in the store-of-value market.”“Fewer transactions per user are needed to ‘use’ Bitcoin, which is akin to a decentralized savings account. Ethereum demand is tied more closely to transactions. Therefore, similar scaling constraints hurt Ethereum demand more than they suppress Bitcoin demand,” the report read. Other concerns raised about the network included the evolving regulatory status of applications built on Ethereum such as Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) which may see strict regulations placed on them in the future, resulting in reduced demand for Ethereum transactions.Related: From Morgan Stanley to crypto world: in a conversation with Phemex founderWhile the centralization of Ethereum was also highlighted, with the report noting that most of Ether’s supply is held by a “relatively small number of accounts”:“It is less decentralized than Bitcoin, with the top 100 addresses holding 39% of Ether, which compares to 14% for Bitcoin.”On the bullish side of the equation, the Morgan Stanley report argued that Ethereum has greater market potential than Bitcoin, it has deflationary traits via its transaction-based burning mechanism, and its performance will significantly improve following the eventual transition to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism: “Ethereum has a much bigger addressable market than Bitcoin and can therefore be worth more than Bitcoin, which is simply the market for store of value products like savings accounts and gold.”

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4% of crypto whales are criminals and they have $25B between them: Chainalysis

4% of crypto whales are criminals and they have $25B between them: Chainalysis

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 17, 2022 |

Chainalysis data shows that 4068 criminal whales (roughly 4% of all whales) are hodling more than $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency between them. The blockchain analytics firm defines criminal whales as any private wallet that holds more than $1 million worth of crypto with over 10% of the funds received from illicit addresses tied to activity such as scams, fraud and malware. The data is from the “Criminal Balances” section of the Crypto Crime Report that explores criminal activity on the blockchain over 2021 and early 2022. The wide-ranging report also covers topics such as Ransomware, Malware, Darknet markets and NFT related crime. “Overall, Chainalysis has identified 4,068 criminal whales holding over $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency. Criminal whales represent 3.7% of all cryptocurrency whales — that is, private wallets holding over $1 million worth of cryptocurrency,” the report reads. The data showed that 1,374 whales had received between 10% and 25% of their balance from nefarious sources, while 1,361 had between 90% and 100% . Those with balances between 25% and 90% of illicit funds totaled 1,333 criminal whales. Percentage of whale balance via illicit addresses: Chainalysis“Whereas stolen funds dominate overall criminal balances, darknet markets are the biggest source of illicit funds sent to criminal whales, followed by scams second and stolen funds third,” the report read.Related: Chainalysis report finds most NFT wash traders unprofitableIllicit transaction activityIn terms of illicit transaction activity, the report revealed that criminal addresses had received more than $14 billion in 2021, marking a whopping 79% increase compared to the $7.8 million seen in 2020.Value recieved via type of crypto crime: ChainalysisThe lion’s share of that $14 billion figure last year was attributed to scamming which increased by 82% year-over-year to account for $7.8 billion. Decentralized Finance (DeFi) rug pulls in particular were highlighted as a key source of scamming at $2.8 billion:“We should note that roughly 90% of the total value lost to rug pulls in 2021 can be attributed to one fraudulent centralized exchange, Thodex, whose CEO disappeared soon after the exchange halted users’ ability to withdraw funds.”Theft also increased by 516% to account for $3.2 billion worth of illicit transaction activity, with the DeFi sector once again being an area of concern. On the positive side, Chainalysis pointed out that all transaction volume in USD value in 2021 totaled around $15.8 trillion, with illicit addresses accounting for a mere 0.15% of that figure, down from 0.34% the year prior. “Crime is becoming a smaller and smaller part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Law enforcement’s ability to combat cryptocurrency-based crime is also evolving. We’ve seen several examples of this throughout 2021, from the CFTC filing charges against several investment scams, to the FBI’s takedown of the prolific REvil ransomware strain, to OFAC’s sanctioning of Suex and Chatex,” the report said.

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Swyftx signs major sponsorship deal with Aussie National Rugby League

Swyftx signs major sponsorship deal with Aussie National Rugby League

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 17, 2022 |

Brisbane-based crypto exchange Swyftx has penned a major three-year sponsorship deal with the Australian National Rugby League (NRL).Swyftx is registered in Australia and New Zealand and offers trading services for around 300 digital assets. The firm was founded in 2018 and the NRL deal marks another major milestone for promoting the local crypto and blockchain sector to sports fans, with the Australian Football League women’s competition already signing with Crypto.Com for $25 million over five years. The latest deal will cover NRL, Women’s NRL (NRLW), State of Origin and All-Star games. There is also an option for a fourth-year extension to the end of 2026. Swyftx’s branding is set to be featured on LED signage in stadiums and virtually via TV broadcasts, while its name will also be displayed on the NRL’s in-game review and decision board which is set to be named the “Swyftx Bunker” in 2023.Swyftx CEO Ryan Parsons told Cointelegraph that Australia is “witnessing an almost overnight mainstreaming of crypto” as he emphasized the significance of the deal: “The partnerships we’re seeing at the moment represent a sign of growing confidence in the future of crypto and its potential for universal adoption. The real question now isn’t whether cryptocurrency is here to stay, but how quickly it reshapes the future of the global economy and traditional financial services.”Questioned on why crypto exchanges such as Swyftx, Crypto.com and FTX actively seek out sporting partnerships, Parsons outlined that the “mass appeal of sport means it’s a hugely important way for exchanges to announce themselves” and obtain mainstream recognition from the traditional finance sector. “Exchanges are effectively saying that ‘we’re here and we’re supporting people to embrace new technologies and opportunities,’” he said.Related: Crypto at the Olympics: NFT skis, Bitcoin bobsledders and CBDC controversyMoving forward in 2022, Parsons stated that he expects the crypto sector to take market share from banks and traditional finance :“We saw that process begin in 2021, it’ll only extend and deepen into this year as you get more product offerings into the market that provide hyper-competitive alternatives to existing bank products.”The CEO stated that crypto is no longer a niche topic in Australia, and that the target demographic is becoming harder to define as the market sees rapid adoption by all kinds of people across the country. “We’re also seeing a shift in demographic reach so you can no longer really point to a ‘typical’ crypto owner in the country. Our expectation is that regulation could accelerate this process, especially in terms of business adoption. But it really does depend on the form the regulation takes,” he said.

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YGG-backed Oasys blockchain hopes to take P2E gaming mainstream

YGG-backed Oasys blockchain hopes to take P2E gaming mainstream

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 17, 2022 |

The team behind the new gaming-focused proof-of-stake blockchain Oasys say that it’s been designed to increase mainstream play-to-earn (P2E) adoption.The Singapore-based firm (Oasys PTE. LTD) behind the new chain touts its scalability, eco-friendly PoS blockchain, “zero gas fee experience” and the portability of digital assets between different projects built on the blockchain as key drawcards for developers and users. The founding team includes a host of names from top crypto and gaming firms including Bandai Namco Research president and CEO Hajime Nakatani, Sega Corporation co-COO Shuji Utsumi, double.jump.tokyo CEO Hironobu Ueno, Thirdverse CEO Hironao Kunimitsu and Yield Guild Games (YGG) co-founder Gabby Dizon. The Oasys blockchain officially launched on Feb. 7 and has partnered initially with 21 gaming and Web3 tech companies to act as validators, with Dizon’s crypto gaming guild YGG signed on as one of the first. As part of the launch last week, Sega Corporation’s Utsumi highlighted the importance of building a scalable blockchain gaming ecosystem that also recognizes “the need to have an eco-friendly platform that takes into account important societal and cultural considerations.” The much debated environmental impacts of proof of work blockchains have been a bone of contention for many in the traditional gaming community, who have pushed back against several firms that have started to make moves into the NFT sector. Speaking with Cointelegraph, YGG co-founder Dizon echoed Utsumi’s environmental sentiments when he stated that: “For developers, there will always be trade-offs in choosing the right blockchain to build on and each one is focused on solving different challenges and optimizing certain features. Oasys is focused on improving user experience for gamers through scalability while also reducing environmental impact.”While Dizon was tight-lipped on any upcoming announcements or partnerships, the YGG co-founder stated that the Oasys team’s ties to Japan via its founders would help create “a gateway to the blockchain for major Japanese IP.”“Japan has always been a world leader in gaming and its cultural influence has had a huge impact in shaping the industry as we know it today,” he said. Related: Major crypto exchanges eye Asian market amid growing regulatory claritySpeaking on the blockchain gaming sector in general, Dizon bullishly predicted that the market could see more than a 7X increase on the 1.4 million active wallets that interacted daily with blockchain gaming apps as of late 2021.“Gaming is the best use case the world has ever seen for blockchain and I believe we will see 10 million wallets interacting with blockchain games before the end of this year,” he said. Oasys head of marketing Kokushi Hattori said that the company expects numerous mainstream gaming companies to launch P2E games in 2022, and its gaming blockchain was developed to be at the forefront of the “explosive growth” of the sector: “To realize that prediction, Oasys decided to lead rather than follow and optimize itself and its architecture to support mainstream adoption starting with gamers and ending with consumer users.” “In the near short term, our main focus will be to attract game developers, content creators and gamers to start building early adoption among the gaming community so gamers can connect, create and play within the Metaverse,” he added.

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