Autor Cointelegraph By Felix Ng

Regulatory clarity will drive the next bull run — hedge fund co-founder

Regulatory clarity will drive the next bull run — hedge fund co-founder

Uverejnil používateľ | sep 21, 2022 |

A former head of risk at Credit Suisse believes the next crypto bull market will stem from “regulatory clarity” in the United States — which he expects to happen in early 2023.Speaking to Cointelegraph, the former head of valuation risk at Credit Suisse, CK Cheng said some of the regulatory efforts underway in the United States will soon “open the doors” of traditional finance to crypto. Cheng is a former executive at investment bank Credit Suisse who left his role in July 2021 to co-found ZX Squared Capital, a crypto hedge fund targeting family offices and high-net-worth individual clients.Cheng said there has been a recent seachange in traditional institutions’ stance towards crypto, with many dipping their toes into the crypto waters for the first time. In August, one of the world’s largest asset managers BlackRock partnered with crypto exchange Coinbase to provide its institutional clients access to Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto through Coinbase Prime. More recently, several major names in finance teamed up to create a digital assets exchange serving institutional and retail investors, which is being backed by financial giants including Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, and Fidelity Digital Assets.“Nowadays, you see a lot more traditional finance institutions getting involved in the crypto space […] You can see tremendous interest,” said the hedge fund manager. Cheng also emphasized that there are many more “waiting for regulation in the U.S. to be further clarified,” before jumping in: “That will really open the door for traditional financial institutions, you know, bring a lot more institutions, investors into the space. So I would say that’s gonna be how the next bull market will start.”He also believes the Executive Order from U.S. president Joe Biden earlier this year has been a major signal for traditional investors, though admitted the “devil is in the details” when it comes to how crypto trading will be regulated, and whether a cryptocurrency will be considered a commodity or a security.“From an institutional perspective, as long as the regulation is clear, that gives an institutional investor a very clear path to see they don’t trip themselves into regulatory issues […] that will bring institutional investors into the space,” he added. Related: ‘Fear of the unknown’ holds back tradfi investors from crypto — Bloomberg analystAsked when the tipping point will be, Cheng said he expects regulatory clarity to be “fleshed out” sometime early next year.“So hopefully, by early next year, there’s something much more concrete. And that will help, you know, the market in terms of sentiment in terms of people’s perception [of crypto]. I think regulation will help with that.”Asked about when he expects BTC prices to move over the near term, Cheng says he expects October to be a “very volatile” month for BTC. “October is a pretty volatile period of time, especially when combined with high inflation, with a lot of debate in terms of the Fed and policy change. The concern is that if the Fed tightens too much, the U.S. economy may actually go into a severe recession.”Cheng believes this uncertainty will drive a lot of volatility in both the stock and crypto markets but will stabilize by next year. At the same time, the months ahead of the next Bitcoin “halving” in 2024 could start “another bull market.”

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Totality Corp CEO explains why India is still largely untapped for NFTs

Totality Corp CEO explains why India is still largely untapped for NFTs

Uverejnil používateľ | sep 21, 2022 |

Despite ranking as one of the highest adopters of cryptocurrency among emerging markets, the majority of the Indian market is yet to embrace nonfungible tokens (NFTs).In an interview with Cointelegraph, Totality Corp Founder and CEO Anshul Rustaggi explained that social and cultural barriers, as well as anti-crypto regulations, are holding back NFTs from mass adoption — particularly in some of the lower-tier cities in the country. India has a population of 1.38 billion people and is the second-most populous country in the world sitting just behind China. Last month, the United Nations forecast the country to overtake its competitor sometime in 2023.However, Rustaggi explained that crypto trading and NFT collection are seen as speculative investments — a concept that is frowned upon in Indian culture and sits in a similar boat as gambling. “India has a very love and hate relationship with speculation. So all of Asia, including India loves speculation. But morally, we like to always say bad things about it,” he said. Rustaggi explained that even his time as a hedge fund manager in London was seen by his own mother at the time as “basically gambling with other people’s money.” “With NFTs, the only way to earn money was speculation […] We haven’t yet as a society accepted digital goods.”While studies have found that most NFTs are bought due to their speculative nature, some collections can be seen as a “signal” for wealth and status, such as in the case with the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection which boasts a long list of celebrities and heavy hitters in crypto as hodlers.   However, Rustaggi says this concept hasn’t taken flight in India despite the strong emphasis on “social status” in Indian society. “In India, social status matters massively, the largest expense we have in India is marriage. On average, 34% of your life’s expenses are for the marriage of your children. And the thing is that it’s such a social event, you want to showcase your best to the world. So social status is important.”Rustaggi says the speculative nature of NFTs has prevented it from reaching the same level of social “signaling” compared to a luxury car or a Rolex watch, but noted:“So I think that time for NFTs to become a great signaling will come in India. I don’t think it has come yet, but it will come.” In late 2021, Totality Corp launched its first “Lakshmi NFT” — inspired by the goddess of wealth and fortune. Rustaggi said this was “by far” the largest NFT drop in India, bringing in a total of $561,000 from a collection of 5,555 NFTs. Rustaggi said the drop was successful as it touted staking rewards in USD Coin (USDC) as an incentive to hold the NFT, which made it a “guaranteed return” rather than “speculation.”Related: Indian government’s ‘blockchain not crypto’ stance highlights lack of understandingOverall, however, Rustaggi believes that crypto adoption will remain challenged in India as long as there is regulatory uncertainty.The Indian government has maintained a strong anti-crypto stance since 2013. Earlier this year, the government proposed and implemented two crypto tax laws which have since seen trading volumes plummet and many crypto unicorns leaving the country. “The government in India definitely doesn’t want crypto anymore […] The government is outright saying we don’t like blockchain and we don’t like cryptocurrency. But it’s kind of ridiculous.”

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3 ways scammers will try to fool you over Ethereum’s Merge

3 ways scammers will try to fool you over Ethereum’s Merge

Uverejnil používateľ | sep 14, 2022 |

Scammers are likely to use excitement around the Ethereum Merge to launch new scams aimed at newbie crypto users, PolySwam CEO Steve Bassi has warned. The Ethereum Merge is expected to take place within the next 24 hours.Speaking to Cointelegraph, Steve Bassi, founder, and CEO of PolySwarm said these scams could come in the form of fake ETH 2.0 tokens, fraudulent mining pools, and fake airdrops. PolySwam is a decentralized cybersecurity marketplace that connects cybersecurity experts to projects and companies through the use of bounties. Fraudulent staking pools The Ethereum upgrade marks the transition from the current proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake (PoS). Bassi said that for many Ether (ETH) holders, joining a staking pool will be their only way of reaping yield from staking rewards if they don’t have the 32 ETH required to become an independent validator. “Staking is a pretty new concept for most of the crypto community and unless you’ve got 32 ETH lying around you’re going to have to join one of the staking pools to make a yield off your ETH.”Bassi however warned that pooled staking providers “carry their own risk” as it often requires users to deposit and give up control of their ETH. Bassi said that upstart staking providers, which “may offer very attractive terms” could perform “sudden rug pulls” that would affect those participating in the pool.“This risk exists today with DeFi platforms/pools and tokens, but the Merge will give scammers a new character universe to work with.”Upgrade scamOne of the more imminent threats involves scammers attempting to trick users into signing fraudulent transactions or parting with their private keys under the guise of migrating to the new Ethereum chain. Bassi reiterated that the upgrade to proof-of-stake should be transparent, and a user should not need to do anything to migrate or preserve their ETH-based tokens, noting: “We’ll likely see scammers try to get users to sign fraudulent transactions and/or leak private keys based on some false pretense that the user needs to do something to migrate chains.”Fake airdropsAnother likely attack vector will come in the form of “fake airdrops,” added Bassi — convincing users to sign transaction messages or visit phishing sites in order to receive a bogus airdrop. “The ETH Merge will be a good excuse for these scammers to masquerade as well-known, economically valuable, projects promising airdrops.”“Those airdrops will likely redirect users to a phishing site where they may be fleeced out of their ETH, private keys, and/or crafted transaction signing attempts.”The Ethereum Foundation has called the upcoming Merge the “most significant upgrade in the history of Ethereum” and has urged users to be on “high alert” for scams trying to take advantage of users during the transition. It has repeatedly warned there is no such thing as an ETH2 or ETH 2.0 coin.Related: Vitalik Buterin impersonators ramp up ETH phishing ahead of The MergeThe upgrade is expected by most onlookers to be a success, given the experience in the previous testnets, however, Bassi said there could still be a chance that scammers or hackers have found a way to game the system. “We don’t really know if a group of scammers/hackers out there has already developed an attack or DDoS technique against the chain which can be used post-Merge when ETH 2.0 has the full economic value of ETH 1.0 moved over.”“If there were such an attack it’s likely to only temporarily affect the chain and, possibly, the market as there a lot of smart eyes watching behavior post-Merge. However, an attacker will likely be looking for the opportunity to monetize any discoveries.”

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Institutional investors headed for a tipping point on crypto — Apollo Capital

Institutional investors headed for a tipping point on crypto — Apollo Capital

Uverejnil používateľ | sep 14, 2022 |

Henrik Andersson, CIO of crypto asset fund manager Apollo Capital believes institutions may soon “flip” on their conservative stance towards crypto. Speaking to Cointelegraph, the Melbourne-based crypto fund manager said that while institutional interest in crypto has been slow in picking up, particularly in Australia, there are a lot of players that are waiting for the right moment to strike. Andersson admitted that major institutional investors in Australia, particularly retirement funds (or superannuation funds) have yet to warm up to the digital asset space. “It’s still early days. So yes, speaking to a lot of family offices in Australia and smaller boutique institutions. The big industry super funds are not there yet.”“From their point of view its still a lot of education going on. So it will still take some time, I believe,” he added. Apollo Capital is a fund manager focused on providing family office and institutional investors access to crypto investment opportunities. One of its latest launched funds is the Apollo Capital Frontier Fund, which is focused on nonfungible token (NFT) infrastructure, decentralized finance (DeFi) and multi-chain infrastructure. Asked what needs to happen for institutional sentiment to change, Andersson believes this will “flip” when big players start making more substantial moves in the space. “No one wants to be the first into something like this. Because if you’re the first one and things go wrong, then there’s a career risk. That will flip at some point to the opposite,” explained Andersson. “At some point, when prices go up, then people don’t want to miss out. And if others are making investments, then it will become a career risk not to be invested.”In Australia, several large banking institutions such as ANZ, NAB and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) have already been making forays into the digital asset space.“We’ve seen several of the major banks here in Australia, taking an interest in digital assets. So that’s really, really good to see,” he said.CBA was notably the first major bank in the country to announce crypto services through its mobile banking app last year, but later put its plans on hold noting it was still waiting on regulatory clarity from the new government. Others have pushed forward with stablecoin and tokenized asset trading.Related: Fidelity will ‘shift’ retail customers into crypto soon — Galaxy CEOInternationally, large banking conglomerates such as Singapore’s DBS Bank are continuing to grow its digital assets business despite the bear market, while major investment banks have also been beefing up its coverage of the crypto space. “You have all the major investment banks in the world writing research reports on the crypto space. Everyone from Goldman Sachs to Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JP Morgan and others. So there’s definitely still a lot of interest in the space from those kinds of institutional players,” he explained.“So while it seems like its going very slowly now, you know, once the sentiment changes, we see the first players making investments that can change very, very quickly.”Earlier this week, Irfan Ahmad, the Asia Pacific digital lead for the bank’s crypto unit State Street Digital told Sydney Morning Herald that despite the current crypto winter, institutional investors have maintained their interest in blockchain and digital assets.

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Ripple adviser teases ’more CBDC announcements in the next few weeks’

Ripple adviser teases ’more CBDC announcements in the next few weeks’

Uverejnil používateľ | sep 7, 2022 |

Ripple may soon unveil positive developments in its central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects, following hints from Ripple CBDC adviser Antony Welfare of more announcements to come. Crypto influencer Sentosumosaba shared on Twitter on Tuesday that Ripple was in the midst of several CBDC pilot programs, including one in Bhutan and the other in Palau. Ripple’s senior adviser Welfare, who handles CBDC Europe and global partnerships, responded on the same thread, teasing there could be “more CBDC announcements” in the “next few weeks.”Thanks @sentosumosaba for the mention – make sure you follow me for more CBDC announcements in the next few weeks — Antony Welfare (@AntonyWelfare) September 6, 2022The company has become increasingly active in the development of central bank digital currencies since piloting a private version of the XRP Ledger in March 2021, providing a platform for central banks to securely issue CBDCs.Just last week, Ripple was identified as one of the initial participants of a “Technical Sandbox Program” launched by United States-based think tank Digital Dollar Project, aimed at exploring the potential technical and business ramifications of a CBDC in the United States. Ripple also joined the European think tank Digital Euro Association as a supporting partner in February to jointly drive the development and growth of CBDCs and the Digital Euro. In September 2021, Ripple Labs announced it was partnering with the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan to pilot a CBDC in the south-central Asia kingdom to issue and manage a digital ngultrum aimed at improving cross-border payments.Part One: Learn more about the @ripple #CBDC solution which is built on a private ledger which is based upon XRP Ledger technology—a proven blockchain that has transacted over 70 million times over the course of 10 years #xrpl pic.twitter.com/HL6lhYhLDJ— Antony Welfare (@AntonyWelfare) September 5, 2022

Two months later, the blockchain company formed a partnership with the Republic of Palau to help the Pacific island develop its own climate-friendly digital currency, though it said it would act more like a USD-backed stablecoin than as a CBDC. Related: Ripple’s plan to tokenize Colombian land stalls amid new administrationIn June, the blockchain company also launched its first online CBDC hackathon called “Ripple CBDC Innovate.” The competition attracted 483 participants to build CBDC-focused applications that either improve interoperability of CBDCs and digital assets, make it easier for retail use and interaction, or bring banking to underserved populations. According to the CBDC Innovate website, the first stage finalists are set to be announced on Sept. 8, who will then move to the second phase of the competition. Part Two: Learn more about the @ripple #CBDC solution: built on a private ledger, which is based upon XRP Ledger technology—a proven #blockchain which has closed over 70 million blocks over the course of 10 years #xrpl #cbdcs #futurepayments pic.twitter.com/ks53QzMg26— Antony Welfare (@AntonyWelfare) September 6, 2022

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