Category: Crypto News

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Bitcoin Crypto News Payments

Bitcoin’s First Major Coding Upgrade in 4 Years “Taproot” Explained

The proposed Bitcoin protocol upgrade is the biggest in years and will include updates to Bitcoin smart contracts, scalability and privacy.

Why Is The Taproot Update Important?

Taproot is a Bitcoin softfork that will:

  • Upgrade Bitcoins core cryptography
  • Improve privacy and transaction fees
  • Reform Bitcoin’s scripting language

In order to complete a Bitcoin transaction, you need to prove that you know the private key connected to a public key. A digital signature is used to prove that you know the private key without revealing it. Some transactions could have multiple parties with specific conditions to pay out the Bitcoin.

A new signature system is going to be added, and simply put the introduction of Schnorr signatures allows for multiple signatures to be merged into a new one.

This makes the process more efficient and cheaper for transactions that require multiple signatures it. When the transaction processing capacity per second increases, it reduces the fees for each transaction. Another benefit is added privacy since you can’t see how many participants there were in the transaction.

In order to implement these new transactions, the update adds new commands in the underlying programming language. These new scripts are used to verify Taproot spends and Schnorr signatures, and they are collectively known as Tapscript. This implementation adds smart contract flexibility which can lead to the development of smart contracts on the Bitcoin protocol.

Upgrades Are A Community Process

The Bitcoin community is hoping to activate Taproot in the near future, although its activation path is still unclear.

If 90% of the blocks mined during this period include the Taproot signal bit (or any of the other roughly two week difficulty periods that occur between now and the August 11 timeout), then the upgrade is “locked in” for activation in November of this year.

This version is compatible with Bitcoin Core up to a point. If all miners signal, Taproot activates network-wide with no problems, but if they don’t, then there is a “flag day” for mandatory activation set in October of 2022. You can see the nodes that have signaled that they are running the Taproot softfork on taproot.watch.

For a more detailed explanation here is a video of Pieter Wuille, Bitcoin Core developer and Blockstream co-founder, speaking about Taproot, Schnorr, and SIGHASH_NOINPUT.

Categories
Crypto News NFTs Sports

Retired Chinese Basketballer Yao Ming Launches NFTs for Wines

Retired Chinese Basketballer Yao Ming Launches NFTs for Wines

Yao Family Wines has reportedly become the first winery to offer non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles for its wines at auction.

The Napa Valley-based winery was founded back in 2011 by the retired Chinese NBA star, Yao Ming. Yao Family Wines’ move to issuing NFTs is part of the direction to bring the cryptocurrency and winery space together, according to the president at Yao Family Wines, Jay Behmke.

The CHOP DROP NFTs

The Winery issued a limited edition of non-fungible token contents during the auction of its most exclusive wine dubbed “THE CHOP” last month. According to the announcement, THE CHOP is a limited 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon produced by Yao Family Wines. The NFTs paired with the auction of THE CHOP contained images of the retired basketballer, Yao Ming, and short info about the wine.

Pairing this exquisite wine with a limited edition NFT should appeal to wine collectors, sports memorabilia collectors, NFT collectors, early adopters, and anyone who appreciates the value of one-of-a-kind assets.

Jay Behmke, President of Yao Family Wines

The auction was held on April 19 “in the spirit of experimentation” and it attracted about 33 bidders.

Yao Family Wines to Donate Part of Proceeds

Yao Family Wines didn’t disclose the proceeds from the auction, but it planned to donate some of the proceeds from the auction to the Asian American community, which includes the Chinatown Community Development Center, The Museum of Chinese in America, Asian Health Services, Lucky Chow, and many others.

As a Napa Valley-based winery with a Chinese founder, we’re also pleased to dedicate a portion of proceeds from THE CHOP DROP to the Asian American community at this critical time.

Jay Behmke, President of Yao Family Wines
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Crypto News

Bitcoin is ‘Disgusting’, Says Billionaire Charlie Munger At Berkshire Hathaway Meeting

Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting 2021 – source

The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency is “disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization” says billionaire Charlie Munger, famed as Warren Buffet’s right hand man during Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting.

Charlie Munger, 97, is worth more than $2billion and has spent close to a century being a huge benificiary of the prevailing economic system.

But Munger, vice president of the holding company Berkshire Hathaway, does not appear to be very keen on the emerging global financial system being built around crypto.

Speaking during a Q&A session at an annual shareholder meeting that’s claimed to be the most watched business event of the year, the super-rich nonagenarian was asked if he still considered Bitcoin to be “worthless artificial gold”.

“Of course I hate the Bitcoin success. I don’t welcome a currency that’s so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth, nor do I like just shuffling out of your extra billions of billions of dollars to somebody who just invented a new financial product out of thin air.”

“I think I should say modestly that the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization.”

Charlie Munger
Charlie Munger speaking at the Berkshire Hathaway meeting

Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, dodged the question.

“I knew there’d be a question on Bitcoin” he said. “I thought to myself: ‘Well, I’ve watched these politicians dodge questions all the time.'”

“I always find it kind of disgusting when they do it. But the truth is, I’m going to dodge that question because we’ve probably got hundreds of thousands of people watching this that own Bitcoin, and we’ve got two people that are short. We’ve got a choice of making 400,000 people mad at us and unhappy and/or making two people happy. That’s just a dumb equation.”

Warren Buffet

Berkshire Hathaway is a corporate giant which owns many famous companies including Duracell and Fruit of The Loom.

Fool’s Gold Or The New Standard?

Munger has previously said that Bitcoin is “too volatile to serve well as a medium of exchange”.

Speaking at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Daily Journal Corporation in February, he said: “It’s really kind of an artificial substitute for gold. And since I never buy any gold, I never buy any bitcoin.”

“Bitcoin reminds me of what Oscar Wilde said about fox hunting. He said it was the pursuit of the uneatable by the unspeakable.”

Crypto investors don’t appear to share the billionaire’s feelings about Bitcoin.

The price of Bitcoin has now surged to well above $50,000 and Ethereum hit an all-time high as it soared to more than $3,000 per token.

In total, the total cryptocurrency market cap is over $2trillion – making it worth one thousand times more than Charlie Munger.

Warren Buffet himself is worth more than $100billion, so the total value of the cryptomarkets is roughly 20 times larger than his wealth.

Jasper Hamill – Crypto News Guest Author

Categories
Crypto News Market Analysis NFTs Trading

BakeryToken (BAKE) Breakout 500% In Just One Week As Binance Invited To Participate In NFT

BakeryToken (BAKE) is trading in an uptrend, like many other altcoins. This cryptocurrency just went up +500% in a week by breaking a rising wedge pattern with strong buying volume and surges over +700% in a month.

What is BakeryToken?

BakeryToken is a part of the BakerySwap ecosystem. Liquidity providers are rewarded with BAKE tokens which can be used to earn a share of BakerySwap’s trading fees and to participate in voting as part of BakerySwap’s governance process.

BAKE Price Analysis

At the time of writing, BAKE is ranked 85th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $9.58 AUD. This is a +532% increase since 27nd April 2021 (7 days ago) as shown in the chart below.

Source: TradingView

After looking at the above 1-day candle chart, we can clearly see that BAKE was trading sideways and brokeout from the rising wedge pattern on the BAKE/BUSD pair. The first resistance was on the $3.65 AUD price levels which BAKE broke with a strong bullish trend buying volume, and is now heading towards the next resistance. BAKE could continue the uptrend as many other altcoins are waking up bullish today.

A rising wedge is a technical indicator, suggesting a reversal pattern frequently seen in bear markets. This pattern shows up in charts when the price moves upward with pivot highs and lows converging toward a single point known as the apex. […] This pattern has a familiar look to a bear flag.

Larry Swing on Investopedia [source]
Source: TradingView

What do the Technical Indicators say?

The BAKE TradingView indicators (on the 1 day window) mainly indicate BAKE as a buy, except the Oscillators which indicate BAKE as a sell.

Why did BAKE Breakout?

General market sentiment seems to suggest cryptos are in the middle of the bull run season, which could have contributed to the recent breakout. Another reason for this sudden pump in price could be whales secretly buying BAKE for the next Altcoins rally. It could also have contributed to some of the recent news of BakeryToken invited to participate in Binance NFT Tuesdays!

Where to Buy or Trade Bake?

BAKE has the highest liquidity on the Binance exchange so that would help for trading BAKE/BNB or BAKE/BUSD pairs.

Categories
Crypto News Market Analysis Trading Verge

3 Coins that Might Breakout this Week: GVT, UNI, XVG – Altcoins Trading Analysis

In today’s trading news, we’re looking at three Altcoins that might breakout this week by showing bullish trends in the charts.

1. Genesis Vision (GVT)

Genesis Vision (GVT) is the platform for the private trust management market, built on Blockchain technology and Smart Contracts. Genesis Vision intends to create a service via which managers, brokers, traders, exchanges, and other financial instruments can access a diverse range of assets via one interface.

GVT Price Analysis

At the time of writing, GVT is ranked 585th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $15.24 AUD. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis.

Source: TradingView

GVT’s 71% decline during April created relatively equal lows near $6.98 AUD before bouncing over the local range’s midpoint near $11.60 AUD. A bullish altcoin market could help GVT bulls regain a stronger bullish trend, especially with May’s upcoming events.

Aggressive bulls could look for entries in the daily gap starting near $12.75 AUD. The May monthly open aligns with more probable support near $11.30 AUD.

A stop run below the monthly open near $10.59 AUD might give a more favorable entry. A more substantial bearish move – perhaps from a sharp drop in Bitcoin’s price – could challenge support near $8.67 AUD, just above the equal lows.

Resistance rests just above, with the zone from $13.97 AUD to $16.24 AUD likely to provide a short-term ceiling. A breakthrough at this level might target resistance just under the cluster of relatively equal highs near $19.85 AUD.

Beyond these highs, resistance near $23.46 AUD provides a final challenge before attacking an old daily swing high near $28.15 AUD.

2. UniSwap (UNI)

Uniswap (UNI) is a popular decentralized trading protocol, known for its role in facilitating automated trading of decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens. Uniswap aims to keep token trading automated and completely open to anyone who holds tokens while improving the efficiency of trading versus that on traditional exchanges.

UNI Price Analysis

At the time of writing, UNI is ranked 9th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $56.01 AUD. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis.

Source: TradingView

UNI continues to set new all-time highs in its chaotic upwards trend.

Support might be found in the daily gap above the May monthly open near $48.50 AUD. A deeper retracement is likely to target the relatively equal lows into support near $39.70 AUD.

The daily gap near $37.80 AUD could also provide support. However, another gap inside the down candles, around $33.80 AUD, seems to provide the highest chances of solid support while offering a high risk-reward entry.

There is currently no resistance overhead since the price is in discovery. Extensions hint at the areas around $68.22 AUD and $75.24 AUD as possible take-profit zones.

3. Verge (XVG)

Verge (XVG) is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency and blockchain that seeks to offer a fast, efficient, decentralized payments network that improves upon the original Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. It includes additional privacy features including integrating the anonymity network Tor into its wallet, called vergePay, and providing the option of sending transactions to stealth addresses.

XVG Price Analysis

At the time of writing, XVG is ranked 105th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is $0.0695 AUD. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis.

Source: TradingView

XVG holders endured a wild April as the price rallied over 116% before running the month’s lows. This stop run could set the stage for another rally. However, the recent volatility means bulls should be extra cautious with stop placement.

Bulls might find support around the current price near $0.0582 AUD. The next possible support rests near $0.0493 AUD, below the last two swing lows. A move this deep could sweep April’s low into an area near $0.0448 AUD.

The price is currently struggling with resistance near $0.0682 AUD at the May monthly open. A strong move into this resistance could target the swing high near $0.0793 AUD.

Above this swing high, April’s monthly high at $0.0881 AUD seems the next target, which also marks another wide resistance zone. Volatility inside this resistance could tag an old monthly high at $0.0972 AUD.

Where to Buy or Trade Altcoins?

These 3 Altcoins have the highest liquidity on Binance Exchange so that could help for trading on USDT or BTC pairs. Instead, if you’re looking at buying and HODLing cryptos, then Swyftx Exchange is a popular choice in Australia.

Categories
Bitcoin Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Trading

Crypto Trader Lost $185k By “Overtrading Shitcoins”

Stock and Crypto Market Values
Stock and Crypto Market Values https://unsplash.com/photos/fiXLQXAhCfk

Among many Twitter threads of investors showing their recent gains on the crypto market, a cautionary tale has recently stood out.

Although the growth of various cryptocurrencies since late 2020 has given many traders an unforeseen boost, a Twitter user has come forward to explain how unfortunate trades cost him no less than $185k.

Investments Gone Sour

For rgr_park (the Twitter user behind the tragic story), things seemed to go pretty well at the beginning of April 2020, “holding top projects with solid fundamentals” and reporting a crypto portfolio worth around $185k.

The desire for quick profits then led to different decisions.

Not taking profits and risking even more brought the story to its end.

Stories like this are a reminder of the risks involved in trading cryptocurrencies and their volatility, like recently demonstrated by DOGE and SAFEMOON dropping by 50% or TurtleDex pulling a $2.5 million exit scam.

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Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Investing

Aussie Crypto ETF Could Launch On The ASX in 2021

As reported by Business Insider Australia, the ASX could launch a cryptocurrency-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) as soon as this year.

Although they have not specified exactly when it will go live or which companies are applying as providers, they have confirmed that they have been “spending an enormous amount of time” focusing on the digital assets space.

Huge Demand for Crypto In Australia

According to Max Cunningham – Executive General Manager at ASX – recent developments in Canada, Europe and elsewhere have compelled the ASX to look into the creation of a local ETF for cryptos

I think there’s an inherent obligation for us and the regulator and other key decision-makers to ensure that, if these assets are broadly being sought by retail investors, that we not only have the safeguards in place but that we have good transparent and low-cost mechanisms for them to access it.

Max Cunningham, Executive General Manager at ASX
ASX General Manager of Listings Max Cunningham – source

Cunningham wouldn’t be drawn on the issue, but would say that the huge demand for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum meant that Australians were going to buy it one way or another.

Business Insider Australia

The ASX is Turning Pro Crypto

Mr Cunningham also stated that the commonly held opinion of the ASX having a negative view of cryptocurrencies is false.

Because we were turning down a number of spurious offerings five or six years ago, there’s a perception that we have banned this asset class, and we have categorically not got a ban on it.

Max Cunningham, Executive General Manager at ASX

Joke Coins Will Not Make the Cut

He also went on to say certain cryptocurrencies bring concerns for price manipulation. Certain “coins being established as jokes” that show great volatility “just by someone putting a tweet out” seem therefore unlikely to make the cut to get listed.

Despite the forms and spreadsheets to be filled before an Aussie crypto ETF can be established, it looks like investors might be able to buy cryptos from sources other than the usual exchanges in a not distant future.

What is a Crypto ETF?

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a type of investment fund. […] An ETF holds assets such as stocks, bonds, currencies, and/or commodities. […] Most ETFs are index funds, that is, they hold the same securities in the same proportions as a certain stock market index or bond market index.

What is an ETF? Wikipedia

Bitcoin ETFs are exchange-traded funds that track the value of Bitcoin and trade on traditional market exchanges rather than cryptocurrency exchanges. They allow investors to invest in bitcoin without having to go through the hassle of using a cryptocurrency exchange while providing leverage to its price.

Using pooled investment funds, the funds purchase the actual bitcoins and hold them in “cold storage” — an offline destination that can’t easily be hacked or breached. The ETFs then track the performance of bitcoin in US dollars (or such) on a specific index.

Further Benefits of buying Bitcoin through an ETF include:

  • Trading flexibility
  • Portfolio diversification and risk management
  • Lower costs
  • Tax benefits
  • Familiar investment structure
Categories
Australia Crypto News Cryptocurrency Tax

Tax Time is Approaching as ATO Targets Aussie Crypto Investors

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is sharpening its focus on cryptocurrency transactions as Tax deadlines are approaching. Attempting to stop “incorrect tax deductions and claims”, the agency will data-match transactions from different third parties such as crypto exchanges.

ATO assistant commissioner, Tim Loh, said cryptocurrencies are taxable when swapped in crypto exchanges, converted to fiat money or used to acquire goods and services. Bitcoin and other assets are included as capital gains next to sharemarkets and property prices — which have also seen an increase in price since last year.

Can’t Hide Your Crypto

According to Mark Chapman, H&R Block director of tax communications, the ATO will receive detailed records of crypto transactions from third parties such as state revenue offices, accommodation platforms, and crypto exchanges. The agency will then data match with the taxpayer’s tax returns.

You really do need to get it right because the chances are the ATO will know about it anyway through all these third parties

Mark Chapman, H&R Block director of tax communications [The Australian]

Chapman added that ATO’s data matching capabilities have “improved with time” and any crypto-enthusiast who gets caught cheating will face audits, fines, and penalty interest.

As previously reported, the ATO was looking to pressure Aussie crypto-investors since February as digital assets were booming in the country. The agency plans to target up to 1 million Australians who have invested in crypto through an enhanced data-matching program.

It seems so-called money-laundering schemes also sparked the ATO’s interest in scrutinising crypto investigation through cryptocurrencies. According to on-chain data, criminal activity represented only 0.34% of all cryptocurrency transaction volume in 2020.

Categories
Crypto Memes Crypto News Dogecoin

DOGE to the SAFEMOON as Meme Coin Reaches 1 Million Twitter Followers

Both Dogecoin (DOGE) and SafeMoon (SAFEMOON) have recently hit their all-time highs as social media and search volumes continue to soar.

These coins are considered “meme coins” because they currently have minimal intrinsic and utility value. Their value is purely speculative with people buying in expecting to sell at a higher price.

DOGE Reaches 1 Million Followers on Twitter

A massive milestone just achieved for Dogecoin reaching 1 Million followers on Twitter. While Safemoon’s following is also booming as it reaches over 450k followers on Twitter – growing on average +13,370 per day.

Safemoon, the next Dogecoin?

Hype coin Safemoon is a new project that has entered the space and is similarly using the power of popularity on social media to push their agenda online through word of mouth promotion. The very clever and deliberate choice of name alone shows Safemoon’s well thought out PR strategy, targeting the meme crypto culture perfectly and appealing directly to the specific type of investor they are trying to attract: Integrating the most popular emoji in cryptocurrency; the Rocket, so seamlessly, as if it was made just for them.

Safemoon’s Daily Twitter Growth – source

Safemoon positions themselves as the people’s crypto, adopting a deflationary model like the King of all Coins; Bitcoin, while also being cheap and accessible like Dogecoin. Safemoon encourages buyers to HODL by rewarding holders 5% of the cash earned from sellers; while discouraging sellers by penalising those who cash out 10%. Safemoon have carefully created their supply with built in marketing. Token burns, decrease the supply and ultimately shoot up the price, increasing the popularity and therefore the value of the coin. Safemoon is currently the #1 most searched cryptocurrency on CoinMarketCap, surpassing Dogecoin, which has been bumped to #2.

Elon Tweets DOGE Again

As news keeps coming and Elon keeps Tweeting, waves of people FOMO in hoping for a moonshot. People flock like sheep to buy more Dogecoin, as once again the coin gains momentum, turning the charts green as it heads back up towards it’s all time high.

On April 28 Elon Tweeted “The Dogefather SNL May 8”, referring to his upcoming hosting spot airing on “Saturday Night Live”. The tweet has already received over 330K Likes! As could be expected this has resulted in Dogecoin pumping as traders bet on a price surge of the meme-based crypto after mass television audience attention.

Caitlin Carey – Crypto News Guest Author

Categories
Australia Crypto News

Aussie Billionaire Alex Waislitz Makes 400% on Crypto Investments

Australian billionaire Alex Waislitz, touted as “Australia’s Warren Buffet”, has made tremendous profits over 400% by investing in cryptocurrency companies.

Waislitz was a pre-IPO investor at Banxa, an Australian crypto-payment firm where he made 400% of his investment through a pre-IPO (Initial Public Offering). The company reportedly processes over US$100 million in transactions every quarter.

On its debut, Banxa’s stocks went from $C1 to $C1.92, reaching over $C8 by mid-March. Waislitz’s appetite for cryptocurrencies is now bigger, as he recently doubled down on Apollo Capital, another Australian crypto firm.

Waislitz is a member of Australia’s Richest 250

Crypto as Potential Tool for Investors

Waislitz is the founder of Thorney Investment Group, which has invested in several unlisted companies through private sales along with its associates.

Thorney will invest in two private funds run by Apollo Management, which are Apollo Capital and its recently launched Opportunities Fund, a market-neutral fund that minimises volatility of the crypto market while capitalising on the inefficiencies of the crypto market.

According to Waislitz, the crypto market has proven to have a greater upside potential despite its high volatility. He added that more investors globally are considering adding crypto to their portfolios as they soar in popularity.

“Crypto assets are a foundational technology. They have the potential to disrupt a wide array of industries, likely starting with finance. We can already see the power Bitcoin brings, the ability for people to send value seamlessly around the world, almost instantly, without the need for an intermediary.”

— Alex Waislitz [The Australian]

eToro to go Public this Year

It seems Waislitz has also invested in the Israeli-based crypto exchange eToro, which was revealed this week it will go public via a merger, with special-purpose acquisitions company FinTech Acquisition Corp V —in a US$10.4 billion deal and list on the Nasdaq.