Author: Ibiam Wayas

Ibiam is an optimistic crypto journalist. He loves to associate with like-minded individuals and collaborate with them on similar projects. He spends much of his time honing his writing and critical thinking skills.

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Crypto News DeFi

Report: Non-financial Risks in Decentralized Finance Investors Should Know

Report: Non-financial Risks in Decentralized Finance Investors Should Know

The decentralized finance (DeFi) market is faced with other risks than investors losing their money due to price fluctuation. BNC Research, which focuses on digital currencies, revealed the non-financial threats in the DeFi market, showing just how the industry is still nascent. So, there’s an uphill battle for the industry to face before it becomes even safer for mainstream adoption. 

Meanwhile, it’s worth commending the developments so far in the decentralized finance industry. Since 2020, the industry has recorded more investors and protocol developments, which was fueled by the recent yield farming craze. At the time of writing, the total value locked (TVL) in the DeFi market had reached $14.1 billion, according to DeFi Pulse.

Other DeFi Risk Investors Should Know

Besides the common volatility issues with cryptocurrencies in general, BNC mentioned “scalability” as another risk investors should worry about in DeFi. Notably, Ethereum is the root network for DeFi, and scalability is one of the concerns with the current version. As Ethereum 2.0 – a more scalable version of the blockchain – is years away, BNC said that the network is likely to get congested as more people flock to DeFi.

Congestion of the network would cause higher transaction fees, as was seen during the rush in DeFi some months ago. Also, there are chances that many DeFi applications might be forced to shut down due to higher transaction fees. One other concern is smart contract vulnerabilities. In recent months, many new protocols were exploited by hackers due to bugs/flaws in the coding. It was estimated that tens of millions of dollars had been lost this year to hackers.

Another problem relates to price oracles used by DeFi protocols. There are times where these oracles provide outdated and inaccurate price updates. Bad actors can exploit this weakness, especially if the oracles post a price for an asset that is higher than the actual market value. BNC Research also mentioned poor design and coding as a problem, adding that these challenges and more, need to be addressed to prepare the room for DeFi mainstream adoption.

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Australia

Gallantree Partners Aussie Exchange to Offer Crypto Trading

Gallantree Partners Aussie Exchange to Offer Crypto Trading

A fintech company in Australia, Gallantree, is looking to include cryptocurrency trading in its suite of financial services, according to a report on Friday. Based in Brisbane, the fintech has reportedly partnered with Aussie digital currency exchange, Elbaite, to allow residents in the country to purchase and sell many cryptocurrencies. This is quite a milestone as it further broadens access to cryptocurrency in the Australian market.

Gallantree is Preparing to Debut Crypto Services

Gallantree already provides investors in the country with investment opportunities in private banking, stockbroking, etc. By adding cryptocurrency to the list, the company intends to expand investment opportunities to the public, not just the “one percent” financial elite. Having inked a partnership deal with Elbaite exchange, Gallantree will provide the option to buy, sell, and hold digital currencies in a very secure manner. 

Both companies understood the need for adequate security of the assets, and pledged to provide a risk-mitigated venue for clients to trade cryptocurrencies securely, yet at a low cost. While highlighting the need for asset security, the CEO of Elbaite said many investors are aware of the benefits associated with holding digital currencies, especially Bitcoin (BTC). However, it’s a wearisome thing to do because of the poorly managed risks.

Crypto Risks are Keeping Investors Away

One of the challenges with holding cryptocurrency is the fact that it can be hacked from exchanges with a lax security system. Last year, hackers stole more than US$4 billion worth of digital currencies from trading platforms. Kraken and KuCoin are two other major exchange that has been hacked. With adequate security, however, many exchanges are free from hacks. 

“The challenge for any astute investor entering into the digital asset world is often in the form of security. They see the upside, yet no fund manager would risk their reputation and investor capital on an investment that has a high chance of being hacked and the funds disappearing,” said Clive Kay, the managing director at Gallantree.

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Market Analysis

TOP 10 best performing cryptos with premiere listing in 2020

TOP 10 best performing cryptos with premiere listing in 2020

ICO Analytics, a digital currency market analytics platform, recently reviewed the ten best cryptocurrencies with an exponential kind of growth in value despite they barely had their premiere listing this year. Most of these cryptocurrencies happened to be the native digital currency of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. The valuation of the DeFi market itself surged significantly since the beginning of the year.

From as low as US$675 million on January 1, the entire assets locked in the decentralized finance market grew to the present value of US$14.02 billion, according to the information provided by DeFi Pulse. The increase in DeFi market value represents almost 2000 percent growth. 

Best Performing 2020 Coins

The best performing cryptocurrency with a premiere listing this year is the SORA (XOR) cryptocurrency, according to the market infographics from ICO analytics. SORA presents itself as a new economic system that decentralizes the concept of a central bank. Its native cryptocurrency, XOR had its primary market on the leading decentralized exchange (DEX), Uniswap, with a market capitalization of $42 million.

Best coin returns for 2020

  1. XOR 133,700%
  2. YFI 3,300%
  3. ORN 3,200%
  4. VELO 2,200%
  5. STAKE 2,200%
  6. BZRX 1,400%
  7. JST 1,300%
  8. KAI 1,100%
  9. ALPHA 1,100%
  10. ALEPH 1,100%

The XOR crypto is the best 2020 crypto in terms of price growth, given that the value skyrocketed by 1,337 times since the listing on Uniswap. XOR currently trades at US$118 on CoinGecko at the time of writing. The token is followed by the yearn.finance (YFI), one of the leading protocols in the DeFi market. Binance is reportedly the primary market for the YFI token, which surged by 33 times since launch. The token’s market cap is around US$772 million.

The third-to-tenth best performing new cryptos in 2020 includes the Orion token (32x), Velo token (22x), Stake (22x), BZRX token (14x), Just token (13x), KardiaChain token (11x), ALPHA token (11x), and ALEPH token (11x). This set of cryptocurrencies have a market valuation above US$274 million combined.

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Australia

Australia Records 21 Bitcoin ATMs as Global Installation Nears 13,000

Australia Record 21 Bitcoin ATMs as Global Installation Nears 13,000

Since the launch of the first set of Bitcoin Automated Teller Machine (ATM) seven years ago, the number of these machines installed around the world has been growing with every proceeding year. This somewhat corresponds to the growth and adoption of cryptocurrencies. According to the information by Coin ATM Radar, the number of Bitcoin ATMs is nearing a total of 13,000. Although the number has been steadily making new all-time highs (ATH), this year holds the biggest records ever. 

The majority of these machines were installed within this year, making access to digital currency like Bitcoin (BTC) even more convenient and easy. 

Global Bitcoin ATMs Installation Reaches New High 2020

According to Coin ATM Radar, there are currently 12,951 Bitcoin ATMs available around the world. Not only Bitcoin; these machines also make it easier for digital currency investors to purchase and sell other cryptocurrencies such as Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), etc. Aside from exchanges, investors can choose to exchange fiat for crypto and vice versa using these machines with a similar experience as bank/fiat currency ATMs.

On January 1, there were only 6,374 Bitcoin ATMs existing worldwide. However, the number has increased significantly, adding up by 6,577 so far to the current record which is close to 13,000. This represents about 103 percent growth on a year-to-date chart. Judging by the year’s installation rate, the number of Bitcoin ATMs are most likely to surpass 13,000 before the end of the year.

Australia Sees 21 Bitcoin ATMs Installed

So far, there are currently 21 cryptocurrency ATMs in Australia. These machines are installed in only five cities in the country – Adelaide, Brisbane, Launceston, Melbourne, and Sydney. Melbourne sees the highest number of Bitcoin ATMs (10), followed by Sydney (7).  

Meanwhile, the United States and Canada are topping the list as the countries with the highest number of crypto ATM installations globally. The US records around 10,707, while Canada has 1,052 crypto ATMs. 

Categories
Crypto News

Bitcoin Market is Currently in Extreme Greed as F&G Index Clicks 83

Australian SMSFs are Buying More Bitcoin Despite Increase in Price

Compared to the past weeks, the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) is losing price momentum after many failed attempts to break above the US$20,000 level. The cryptocurrency has been fluctuating since this week, which resulted in a US$1,000 drop sometime on Wednesday. 

Although, many industry experts the volatility in the crypto market to be over soon, the fear and greed index developed by Alternative.me suggests that the Bitcoin market might even face more correction. 

Bitcoin Investors are in Extreme Greed

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin fear and greed index clicked 86, while a higher score of 95 was recorded on Tuesday. Although the record today is lower compared to the previous data, it still indicates an extreme level of greed amongst Bitcoin investors in the current market conduction. For the past week and 30 days, the index reached a score of 92 and 90, respectively. 

On that note, ICO analytics tweeted that November was the biggest month that got many Bitcoin investors in extreme greed. This is evident given that the cryptocurrency made an exponential kind of growth in November. Bitcoin briefly crossed its previous all-time high (ATH) at $19,900 in the past month. Since that move, however, the cryptocurrency began correcting dropped below US$19,000 to the current price of US$18,311 on Coinmarketcap.

What 86 Fear & Greed Index Mean

With a zero score on the index, the Bitcoin market is supposedly in extreme fear, while a score of 100 means extreme greed. As the index currently clicks at 86, Alternative.me explained that Bitcoin investors are still very greedy; hence, the cryptocurrency might continue to face some correction in price. On the other hand, fear in the market could mean a buying opportunity for investors.

Categories
Scams

Someone Just Lost $50K Bitcoin to Ledger Phishing Scam

Buying and holding Bitcoin (BTC) or any other cryptocurrency might be an easy thing to do, but it does require a great level of vigilance to ensure you don’t lose them to cyber-scams. Hackers are becoming a big threat to the growth and development of the crypto industry. Today, a Bitcoin investor reportedly lost about US$50,000 life saving to hackers in a recent Ledger wallet attack.

Ledger Phishing Scam

Ledger is one of the biggest hardware wallet providers for storing cryptocurrencies offline. About a month ago, the company’s marketing/sales database was breached by hackers, exposing the customers’ contact information to the bad actors. This allowed the attackers to unauthorizedly send false and malicious messages to the wallets users’ who gave Ledger their contact details before the database was breached.

Part of the phishing message sent to Ledger users reads: “Our forensics team has found several of the Ledger Live administrative servers to be infected with malware.” While the message looked professional, the content was false. A few customers were able to spot the attack and raised an alarm. However, the attackers recently changed the content of the message, telling customers that their wallet has been disabled due to know-your-customer (KYC) regulation.

US$50,000 in Bitcoin Gone!

As Brad Mills tweeted on Tuesday, the recent message tricked the Bitcoin investor into sending his life savings to the Ledger phishing scammers. According to Mills, Bitcoin investors must be extra vigilant to overcome social engineering hacks, not just being your own bank. One other proven approach all crypto investors must know is not to input their wallet key phrase in any link or website if they must avoid losing their funds in crypto.

Those key phrases are to be directly entered on the wallets, in this case, the Ledger device.

Categories
Australia

S&P/ASX 200: Crypto Market Shades Points as Aussie Stocks Peak

Swyftx Exchange to List BSC DODO and PancakeSwap Token

The recent bullish rally in the cryptocurrency market is gradually calming down, as many popularly-traded digital currencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Ripple (XRP), etc., were seen slightly dropping and fluctuating in price today. While the crypto market shades points, the Australian stock market was seen in its good times. The S&P/ASX 200 reached/closed on Tuesday with more than ten points from the previous close. 

Australian Stocks Reached Nine-month High

According to the information today from the Sydney Morning Herald, the S&P/ASX 200 peaked by 12.7 points or approximately 0.2 percent, to close at 6687.7 points on Tuesday. The record today accounts for a new nine-month high – a closing point, which was last seen on February 26, according to the report. Notably, the stock market has been garnering some points for the past few days. 

The ASX reportedly has added six-day straight gains since December. This comes as consumers’ confidence figures are currently at the highest level all year. Meanwhile, the report opined that the hopes for COVID-19 vaccines are driving up the market, especially as some vaccines have been dispatched to countries like the United Kingdom (UK). 

“On the global side, it would seem that markets are certainly quiet today, but over the last month or so the biggest theme has been one of optimism over the rollout of vaccine programs, said Andrew Ticehurst at Nomura Australia. “That is certainly buoying the market, and after a very tough year, I think the prevailing sentiment is that there are better days ahead.”

The Crypto Market Dips

Arguably, there hasn’t been any notable increase in the cryptocurrency market after the leading digital currency, Bitcoin, briefly surpassed the previous all-time high (ATH), at over US$19,900. The global cryptocurrency market capitalization is down by 1.27 percent in a 24 hours count at US$557.13 billion, according to the information provided by Coinmarketcap, a digital currency price tracking platform.

Serially, the number one to ten top digital currencies were down in the last 24 hours and seven-day chart. At the time of writing, Bitcoin, Ether, and Ripple were trading at US$18,853, US$574, and US$0.585, respectively. The current volatility in the market was well predicted by a few industry analysts, who added that there would be another significant increase in the market after it survives this condition.

Categories
Crypto News

Bitcoin Whale Moves $165 Million Bitcoin with Just $1.20

Bitcoin Whale Moves $165 Million Bitcoin with Just $1.20

Another significant advantage with the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC), is the fact that many deep-pocketed investors can be able to transfer a large amount of money with a negligible transaction fee. Recently, a whale address was spotted moving millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin with fee banks and other traditional payment platforms won’t be willing to offer. Not just for Bitcoin, cheap transactions are inherent qualities with cryptocurrencies.

Millions transferred in Bitcoin with cheap fees

As CoinBeast shared earlier today, an unknown Bitcoin investor moved about US$165 million in a single transaction with the cryptocurrency. Besides the quick transaction, the user only paid a fee of 0.00006520BTC, which equaled US$1.20 following the crypto’s price at the time of the transaction. 

Although Bitcoin may not be the faster cryptocurrency, the fact that it can handle such a single huge transaction at a cheap fee turned to be a winning point for it, especially when compared with other payment methods.

Bitcoin vs Traditional payment method

It’s worth noting that there are many traditional payment networks that can process more transactions [faster] than Bitcoin within a particular time. The number of transactions in Bitcoin is limited – about 4.6 transactions per second. When it calls for the fee structure, however, the cryptocurrency is a lot better compared to other traditional payment networks, as seen in the development today.

Aside from the fee structure, Bitcoin users have full access and control of their funds anytime, anywhere. They can conveniently travel and spend their Bitcoin, unlike holding fiat currency that will require a fiat-to-fiat currency conversion, which would attract exchange fees. Also, there is literally no limit to how much a Bitcoin investor can transfer daily, weekly, or monthly – except if fixed by exchanges, or wallet providers.

Bitcoin price update

The leading cryptocurrency has been changing hands below and slightly above the US$19,000 level. Per Coinmarkecap, Bitcoin is trading at $18,964 at the time of writing. It saw a -1.4 percent price change on a 24 hours chart, and a 2.58 percent increase within the past seven days. Bitcoin market valuation is US$351 billion.

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Bitcoin Institutions

MicroStrategy Adds More 2,574 Bitcoin to its Crypto Reserve

MicroStrategy Adds More 2,574 Bitcoin to its Crypto Reserve

Publicly-traded business intelligence company MicroStrategy has purchased an additional US$50 million Bitcoin (BTC), according to the CEO, Michael Saylor. The recent purchase further strengthens the company’s stand as the largest company holding the cryptocurrency as a reserve asset. By investing in Bitcoin, the company sees it as a better inflation-hedge asset against cash, including Gold. 

Many other companies like Square have joined the train, adding a massive amount of Bitcoin to their reserve.

MicroStrategy now Holds Over 40,000 Bitcoin

The US$50 million Bitcoin purchase was also confirmed in the company’s recent filing with the United States Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). At such an amount, MicroStrategy could buy 2,574 Bitcoin at the average price of $19,427 yesterday. This is the third time MicroStrategy is acquiring Bitcoin. In August, the business intelligence firm purchased the first whopping amount of 21,454 BTC for US$250 million at the average price of $11,635.

About one month later, MicroStrategy announced an additional 16,796 BTC for $175 million. Overall, the company now has about 40,824 Bitcoin as cryptocurrency reserve. At today’s price of US$18,866 on Coinmarketcap, MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin treasury is worth over US770 million. Such a massive number of Bitcoin indicates the level of confidence the company and its board members have in the leading cryptocurrency. While giving reasons for the crypto treasury, MicroStrategy explained that:

“If you have large dollar values and you’re hoping for any kind of return on them, that’s faded. Gold, silver, and bitcoin are showing strength. […] Hence, if we look at assets, gold, silver, bitcoin, and equities have all been accreting as the dollar has been weakening.”

Corporate Bitcoin Investors

MicroStrategy’s move into Bitcoin had caused many companies to rethink allocating a portion of their reserve in the cryptocurrency. On this train is Square Inc., which purchased about US$50 million worth of Bitcoin. Among others, Galaxy Digital Holdings also has about US$130 million worth of Bitcoin in its reserve.

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Australia TimeX Exchange

Aussie Bitcoin Exchange, TimeX Joins Top 100 Trading Platforms

Bitcoin Futures Perpetual Funding Rate Rises

TimeX, a Bitcoin exchange based in Australia, is now ranked as one of the top 100 largest global exchanges on Coinmarketcap, a digital currency tracking platform. This is quite a milestone giving that the crypto exchange barely launched over a year ago. It currently sees more millions of dollars in 24hrs trading volume than other long-running Aussie trading platforms such as CoinJar and Independent Reserve. 

TimeX is Growing to Prominence in Australian Crypto Market

Launched in July 2019, TimeX is a hybrid Bitcoin exchange running on the Ethereum Plasma technology. It supports the trading of Bitcoin, alongside other popular cryptos like Ether (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC), and others. Although the exchange has only lived for about a year and five months, it is garnering more trading volume in the Australian market daily than other older exchanges.

Per Coinmarketcap, TimeX sees a 24 hours trading volume of US$11.2 million from an 11 coin market. The estimated average liquidity is 77. A further glance at Coinpare shows that TimeX has a seven-day trading volume of US$24,999,918 and a 30-day volume of US$106,643,306. On these stats, the exchange ranks as the 98 largest trading platform on Coinpare and 97th on Coinmarkcap.

In terms of the 24hrs volume, TimeX surpassed Independent Reserve and CoinJar as they gained only US$5,187,835 and US$5,327,697, respectively. However, the exchanges still have a higher seven and 30 days trading volume than TimeX. 

Aussie Market Growth

The Australian crypto market has been thriving since the start of the year. Especially due to the Coronavirus pandemic, many exchanges witnessed more trading activities as many retail and institutional investors in the country considered investing in cryptocurrencies. Aside from the increasing volume on the exchanges, the number of Bitcoin automated teller machines (ATMs) in the country has also increased to 148, according to Coin ATM Radar.