Author: José Oramas

José is a journalist and translator with a keen interest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

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Australia Bitcoin

Aussie Analysts Discuss Bitcoin: Can It Reach USD145,000?

Mark Rodda, a market analyst from Melbourne who runs IG trading, recently addressed JP morgan’s comments on a possible $145,000 (188,000 AUD) price target for Bitcoin. 

The investment bank recently called Bitcoin the “digital gold for Millenials” as price reached $35k, marking a new all-time high and possibly reaching $145,000 by the end of 2021, according to their market analysts from Wall Street. But Rodda thinks BTC still has a “few years” to meet that price:

“This price target is one that would be met in the longer-term, over the next few years, rather than something that might occur at some stage in 2021.”

Stated Rodda for News.com.au

Bitcoin was recently traded as high as $35,737, a 26% gain after falling to $27,700 on January 4. The recent upward rally called the attention of JP Morgan and other institutional analysts, who now think BTC could replace gold as the best store of value, and that the “Bitcoin versus Gold” race has started.

Although Rodda thinks that Bitcoin increased its market cap with a strong bullish sentiment, it doesn’t have to replace gold necessarily, as both assets can become better stores of values against declining fiat and inflation.

2021, a “Great Year” for Cryptocurrencies

Rodda also shared his thoughts on other digital assets, stating that “2021 should be a great year” for cryptocurrencies, after Ethereum, the second currency with the largest market cap made an outstanding upward rally with a 600 % Return Of Investments (ROI).

Byron Goldberg, director of Australia-based crypto company Luno, made similar statements to Rodda’s, adding that institutions are also seeking better stores of value — the reason behind the massive hoard of Bitcoin by the end of 2020, raising concerns about BTC’s liquidity.

“At present, gold has a market cap of roughly US$10 trillion. If 30 per cent of value transfers from gold to Bitcoin over the next few years, the price of a Bitcoin would be worth around US$140,000 – a similar figure to JPMorgan’s price target, which is 300 per cent away from here”

It appears that 2021 could be the year where cryptocurrencies could take a broader audience, thanks to the massive bullish sentiment they had in 2020. On top of that, the director of Binance Australia stated that cryptocurrencies could play a major role in digital economies:

We can confidently say that the increased positive sentiment over the past 12 months from the retail and institutional crowd will not disappear anytime soon. I believe a post-pandemic world will see digital economies mature across many industries, which could garner support to push digital assets to a new level of adoption.”

stated Jeff Yew, CEO of Binance Australia for News.com.au
Categories
Institutions Ripple

It Just Got Worse For Ripple: Tetragon Is Suing The Company To Compensate Series C Funds

Tetragon Financial Group Limited, a closed-ended investment company and a top stakeholder of Ripple, is now suing the company as a response for selling XRP as a security, following the SEC’s legal claim.

Tetragon is a top investor of Ripple with almost $200 million in Series C Funds. Now the company seeks answers, as Ripple sold nearly $2B worth of XRP as a currency.

“This lawsuit has no merit” stated Ripple as a response to Tetragon for yesterday’s lawsuit. According to the company, Tetragon is taking advantage of the situation:

In Ripple’s Series C investment agreement, there is a provision that if XRP is deemed to be a security on a go-forward basis, then Tetragon has the option of having Ripple redeem their Ripple equity. Since there has been no such determination, this lawsuit has no merit. We are disappointed that Tetragon is seeking to unfairly take advantage of the lack of regulatory clarity here in the U.S. The courts will provide this clarity and we are very confident in our position.

Ripple must compensate the Series C stocks owned by Tetragon due to its contractual rights with the investment company. Besides, Tetragon filed a petition to the Delaware Chancery Court to issue a restraining order to block all of Ripple’s liquid assets until they compensate the U.K-based company.

Grayscale Sells XRP Fund, Buys Bitcoin Instead

Recently, Grayscale decided to sell its XRP fund and bought several cryptos instead, after updating its Fund Component in its quarterly review:

The Fund has removed XRP and used cash proceeds to purchase the remaining Fund Components: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash

The scenario is getting darker for the Ripple. The company lost its ranks as the third “currency” with most market cap followed by massive price dumps — more than -50% — and several crypto exchanges dropping XRP.

Categories
Bitcoin Institutions

Concerns Of Bitcoin Illiquidity as Institutions Rack up Bitcoin With only 20% of Available Supply

Recently, Grayscale released its total Assets Under Management (AUD), with a total of $20B worth of Bitcoin, surpassing the total amount of BTC mined throughout 2020.

With more details, Grayscale amassed a total of 72,950 BTC, almost 3X mined last year, according to Coin98 Analytics:

Data shown by Coin98

The recent data heated the topic in the crypto community on how financial institutions are squeezing the Bitcoin supply. Credit card companies like PayPal and Visa embraced cryptocurrencies noticing the increasing general demand for better stores of value. But BTC has a limited supply, a key aspect of this scenario.

Net assets under management of Grayscale. Source: Twitter


Not surprisingly, when institutions decided to hoard Bitcoin, the bull run escalated, and BTC and crypto were achieving a broader space on social networks. However, this recent massive accumulation of BTC has raised concerns about it.

How Much BTC Is Left For Retail Traders Then?

According to data from Glassnode, Bitcoin is on a stage where the illiquid supply is greater than the liquid supply, which is what is driving the current bull run on BTC. Out of the total 70 % Bitcoin supply, only 20% is available for trading on exchanges. Likewise, another reason behind the current decrease is the shortage of ASIC miners.

Our analysis shows that currently 78% of the circulating Bitcoin supply (14.5 million BTC) can be classified as being illiquid. A trend that has been increasing over the course of 2020 and paints a potential bullish picture for Bitcoin in the upcoming months, as less BTC are available in the network to be bought.

Stated the company
Source: Glassnode

The massive adoption of crypto by institutions sets the bullish scenario, as miners are producing and selling less – plus the lost BTCs and the holders make the BTC supply small, driving the price up.

Another topic discussed in crypto forums is —ironically— a possible fully centralized scenario for Bitcoin, as institutions hoard massive amounts of BTC, drying the supply and changing the original decentralized concept.

Categories
Institutions Ripple

The End Of Ripple? More Exchanges Delisting XRP — Price Falls %10 More

Following the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple, more exchanges are delisting XRP from their trading list.

XRP — the second most preferred currency by Australians after Bitcoin – has plunged another 10 % after the U.S.-based exchange, Coinbase, decided to delist XRP from its platform following the lawsuit.

The exchange announced that the customer’s XRP wallets will remain intact, without removing the institutional custody — but will suspend the trading pair on January 19, 2021.

OkCoin And BC2C Delisting XRP

Other recent exchanges that decided to remove XRP from their trading list were Chinese-based OkCoin and B2C2 USA.

OkCoin announced today the suspension of XRP trading with tighter rules. Users who borrowed XRP/USD margins are required to return the funds till Jan 3, 2021, or face automatic liquidations in case of any delay.

Another exchanges delisting XRP are:

  • OSL
  • CrossTower
  • Beaxy
  • Bitstamp
  • Galaxy Digital
  • Jump Trading

Grayscale XRP Trust Closed

Not only exchanges are turning away from XRP as the trust firm Grayscale closed the XRP Trust private placement.

Source: Grayscale

Likewise, a user from Twitter posted a message that appears to be an employee from Grayscale, stating that the company is ending all XRP subscriptions.

Many people in social media argue that it may be a matter of time before other exchanges join the movement by delisting XRP from their platforms.

It should come as no surprise that XRP fell 10% following the announcement of Coinbase, now trading at 0.25 $. The price has fallen -43 % since the SEC filed a lawsuit against two Ripple executives: Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, for making profits with XRP as an “unregistered license”.

Categories
Crypto News Institutions Ripple

Ripple’s CEO Says The Company Is getting Sued By The Securities And Exchange Commission

According to a new report, the Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC), a federal agency in the United States that regulates securities markets — plans to sue Ripple, one of the most famous crypto companies in the world.

Ripple announced the event this Monday, accusing the SEC of “attacking crypto” with Jay Clayton, SEC Chairman, trying to “limit innovation” on the crypto industry in the United States.

XRP As “Unlicensed Security”

Allegedly, the company would have sold XRP, Ripple’s official cryptocurrency, as unlicensed security instead of a digital asset in 2012, when it was launch. This means a violation of the SEC’s investor-protection laws.

Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse told Fortune that the firm will file the case in 2021. Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, a co-founder, will also act as defendants for this case.

Both Larsen and Garlinghouse have expressed their discontent with the U.S. jurisdiction on crypto-assets, and regulations under the Trump administration. On October 6, the company stated its intention to leave the U.S., seeking a favorable climate for cryptocurrencies.

Price Drop And “Constant Disputes”

The negative legal climate could turn against Ripple if the SEC moves forward with the lawsuit. According to Fortune, “years of debate” could follow on whether XRP was issued as a digital currency like Bitcoin or Ethereum, instead of a security, which should have been under SEC’s license:

“The action will follow years of debate between the company and the agency about whether XRP, a digital currency associated with Ripple, is a security, like a share of stock—which must be registered with the agency—or is instead a currency and thus beyond the SEC’s purview.”

Following the announcement of the lawsuit, the XRP, which has a market cap of $23B, fell -13,50% at press time, according to Coinmarketcap.

Categories
Crypto Wallets Hackers Scams

Death Threats And Fake Emails: Ledger Users In Danger As Hackers Start Massive Attacks Following The Database Leak


The Sim Swap attacks have begun following Ledger’s database leak, now that hackers have all the personal information of at least 270,000 users. Now scammers are sending apology messages on Ledger’s behalf, tricking users into installing the “latest version”.

Hackers are sending malicious links into tricking users to “Download the latest version” with a convincing letter. One of Ledger’s user fell into the trap and reported losing $4,000 thanks to a modified metatask extension.

Below is a screenshot uploaded by a Twitter user who received the message from the hackers. People on Twitter are alarmed by how compelling and convincing the message is, despite a minor spell error at the end.

But the outrage is even greater since the affected users have reported that Ledger has not commented nor provided assistance of any kind on these messages.

A user from Reddit that goes by the name u/goldcakes reported receiving several death threats over his ledger:

Taken from: Reddit

At least 1 million users were exposed on Raidforum since the attacks on Ledger began. According to the staff, the attack only leaked the personal data of 9,000 users. The company downplayed the issue, saying it was “old data.”

Now it turns out that those 9,000 users became 270,000 people which have all their personal info in hands of cyber-thieves, and are exposed to these types of messages. Likewise, Ledger could be in serious trouble if affected users take legal action, which might start soon.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Cryptocurrencies Melbourne Trading

Blockchain Australia Solutions To Expand Crypto-trading By Partnering With FinTech Startup Mudrex

Blockchain Australia Solutions, a leading agency in blockchain application in Melbourne, recently announced its partnership with Mudrex — a trading strategy builder in an attempt to expand cryptocurrency trading to a larger audience.

Automated Trading System

According to a press release, Mudrex will implement automated trading programs for people with less knowledge on the topic. The plan is to bring more people to crypto-trading is by allowing experienced traders to build their trading algorithms and adding them into Mudrex Invest. Likewise, traders can test their algorithms based on historical data, then integrate them into crypto exchanges.

This way, people will only need to pay a monthly subscription for a strategy already developed. Traders can exchange directly without having to expend money through an API key-based integration with Bitmex and Binance.

“There are millions of traders who are trading manually just because, for individual traders or small prop shops it is super difficult to build the whole automated trading infrastructure as it requires coding skills in multiple programming languages, a good understanding of databases and building scalable systems as it is computational heavy. This itself can cost an individual trader or prop shops up to $100,000 and 6 months of efforts to build the system from scratch.”

Stated Rohit Goyal, CEO of Mudrex.

Blockchain Australia Solution has developed its blockchain services and covering several aspects in the fintech area, like smart contracts, automated billing systems, and blockchain POC (proof of concept) systems.

Now the Melbourne-based blockchain agency aims to bring a broader audience to the crypto-trading space by simplifying many of the aspects seen as complex for non-programmers.

Using cryptocurrencies has been requiring too much knowledge about the coding that goes behind it, making it unavailable for the common masses who are not programmers. Moreover, building a reliable infrastructure for trading has also been extremely expensive and time-consuming, which cannot be afforded by everybody. 

Stated the company in a press release.

Both companies expect greater growth with this new alliance. Mudrex has several partners in the fintech area — and has more than 5000 investors who have traded over $200 Million.

This is the main motivation for Blockchain Australia Solutions is partnering with this trading platform, Mudrex. With its various partners in other fintech and software firms, the company will bring a unique value to the trading platform, which will only help both of them to grow further.

Categories
DeFi Hackers

DeFi Platform Warp Finance Recovers 75 % Of $5.85M Stolen Funds

Warp Finance announced the recovery of $5.85M, 75% of funds stolen on December 17 — when an attacker withdrew a $7.76m through a flash loan exploit.

The DeFi platform said the distribution and compensation of the stolen funds for the affected users will begin on December 21. The compensation is proportional to the number of W-DAI (DAI stablecoin) and W-USD (U.S. Dollar) held at the moment of the snapshot.

While the hacker got away with nearly $8M, the DeFi firm managed to retrieve the loan collateral. White Hat hackers, which is slang for ethical hackers — helped to locate and secure the funds. Approximately 75% of users will get a reimbursement.

The attacker managed to hack Warp Finance by using several flash attacks, like multiple flash loans through dYdX protocols, flash swaps via Uniswap, and flash liquidity.

IOU Tokens For Compensation

Warp Finance plans to compensate for the remaining 25% loss with IOU tokens. According to the firm, the Portal IOU tokens will refund users in a near future, and even giving them a profit on their initial deposits.

While we are relieved that lost funds have been partially recovered, we see this only as a first step to making Warp Finance users whole. For this reason, we will issue Portal IOU tokens to every affected user. The end goal of the IOU token is to fully refund users and potentially even giving them a profit on what they initially deposited. 

Stated the firm .

Cyber-crimes have seen a surge in 2020, with more than $100M stolen including recently 8M stolen from DeFi insurer CEO Ciphertrace,  a cryptocurrency forensics and blockchain threat intelligence firm, reported on November 11 that 45% of all thefts in the first six months of 2020 were Defi hacks, equating to about $51.5M — 40% of volume for that period.

Categories
Australia Bitcoin ChainLink Cryptocurrencies Ethereum Investing Litecoin

New Report Reveals The Six Coins Aussie’s Are Holding In Their Crypto Portfolios

A recent report shows what cryptocurrencies Australians are holding in their portfolios. Over 1,000 Australians were interviewed, interesting revealed that the northern territory is the largest holder of digital assets compared to the other states.

What Coins Are Aussies Hodling?

Not surprisingly, the most popular asset held is Bitcoin (BTC). One surprise though was although Ethereum (ETH) is the second most popular crypto by market cap, more Australians are holding Ripple (XRP).

  1. Bitcoin: 74%.
  2. XRP (Ripple): 28%
  3. Ethereum: 27%.
  4. Bitcoin Cash: 17%
  5. Litecoin: 15%
  6. Chainlink: 5.2%
  7. Others 8.5%

While these are currently the most popular in the average Aussie portfolio, other tokens amounted to a total of 8.5%. Interestingly, the crypto held by Australians mostly resembled the actual order by market cap, similar to that of a “crypto index”.

Millennials Are Making The Most Out Of Crypto

The report also suggests, adults between the ages of 25 and 45 consider cryptocurrencies as savings for their future. At least 18 % of Australians own some token, and 2 out of 5 consider it a good investment.

About 42.7% of those interviewed said they increased their capital by making successful investments in the cryptocurrency market. In contrast, only 20% have lost money. Last year, only 35% of those surveyed increased their wealth.

Cryptocurrencies in Australia are more popular among the youth. However, Australians who have increased their wealth the most are adults between 45 to 50 years old.

From: Independent Reserve

Australians Are More Positive About Crypto in 2020

Above all, the survey has reflected a more positive attitude towards digital assets in Australia for 2020. Bitcoin has gained more attention in these last few months, breaking all time highs. This marks a milestone in the history of BTC — which could attract more people looking for more diversity in their financial investment portfolios.

Categories
Australia Bitcoin Cryptocurrencies

One In Five Australians Now Own Bitcoin — BTC Makes AU$ 1M In Returns Compared To Super Funds

The Australia-based Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI), an Exchange and yearly survey panel published a new report today on how Australians are embracing cryptocurrencies and digital assets. According to the survey, one in five Australians owns crypto, with Bitcoin being the favorite cryptocurrency among all.

The data shows that while Bitcoin remains the leader among digital currencies — with a market capitalization 5x greater than its nearest competitor, Ethereum — in Australia, XRP is the second most popular crypto, only surpassed 3x by BTC.

Aussies Viewing Crypto As A Store Of Value

Back in 2016, the IRCI opened an account for Self-Managed Super Funds, with a total of AUD 41,000 invested into Bitcoin — making more than AUD 1M, a return of 90%.

But the super funds Prime Super and Unisuper could barely make it to 9.9% in returns over a five year period.

“I chose to invest in crypto as I believe in the future and direction of this asset class. I’ve enjoyed taking control of my financial future and have watched my portfolio grow (especially of late). I believe that thanks to my investments in crypto I will be able to retire earlier and live a comfortable life in retirement.”

Stated a respondent named Tony, 46, South Australia.

Likewise, respondents under 45 years old confessed they would like their industry super fund to invest in crypto such as Bitcoin. But no retail or industry superannuation promotes cryptocurrency investment currently.

Source: Indepent Reserve

Currently, Australians owning crypto are holding Bitcoin: 74%, XRP (28%), Ethereum (27%), Bitcoin Cash (17%), Litecoin (15%), other tokens: (8.5%).

Awareness And Adoption Of Crypto

This year, the awareness and adoption of crypto-assets have grown considerably. By 2020, 91.4% of Australians have heard of at least one cryptocurrency, an increase of 90.3% compared to 2019’s survey.

Likewise, almost one in five Australians have adopted crypto as a better store of funds than gold or any other asset. The ownership by age is led by 25 – 40 years old. This age group was more likely to trade more than $500 per month.

Victoria is the leader among crypto-ownership on the eastern side with 20 %. New South Wales is behind with 19.50 %, and Queensland at 16%. But the highest ownership percentage in Australia is on the northern territory, with 22% owning some crypto.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is priced at 30,592 AUD (USD 23,255). Payment companies such as Paypal, financial institutions like Grayscale, and famous millionaires like the Winklevoss brothers have propelled the value of Bitcoin, whilst increasing its popularity among the mainstream media.