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  • Fat Pig Signals Review– A Crypto Signals Group Going Strong Since 2017

    Fat Pig Signals Review– A Crypto Signals Group Going Strong Since 2017

    There’s multiple ways that one can approach investing in cryptocurrency. Some investors prefer a more passive approach, buying cryptocurrencies and simply holding them for long periods of time. Others want to engage in the market more actively, and grow their crypto stack through trading. The second strategy comes with a higher degree of risk, but can also be much more lucrative than passive holding.

    However, trading is not easy to get into – not only do you have to understand the complexities of technical analysis, you also need to have a solid risk management and stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the cryptocurrency industry. Monitoring trades and looking for new opportunities is very time-consuming, and not everyone can afford to spend multiple hours of their day looking at price charts, let alone acquiring the knowledge necessary to trade successfully.

    For those that would like to trade the cryptocurrency markets, crypto signals groups can provide a major boost to profitability. In these groups, experienced cryptocurrency traders provide trading ideas based on technical analysis, and include key price levels where traders should look to either secure their profits or sell to avoid further losses. In this article, we will be checking out Fat Pig Signals, a crypto signals group established in 2017. Fat Pig Signals offers a public Telegram group that can be accessed by anyone, as well as a  paid VIP service for traders that are after the best crypto signals. The group provides general market updates and occasionally also features analysis that is originally published in the VIP group.

    What does a signal from Fat Pig Signals look like?

    A signal sent through the Fat Pig Signals VIP Service contains all the information necessary for a trader to enter a position, as well as technical analysis of the chart in question that that explains the logic behind the signal.

    A signal first describes the type of trade (margin scalp, spot market trade etc.) and the trading pair. It also includes the recommended entry point, stop loss levels, as well as targets. Each signal will include multiple targets, which allows traders to execute the trade according to their risk tolerance. For example, some traders might be happy to collect their profits when the first target or second target is reached, while others might want to continue holding their position in hopes of maximizing gains.

    The signals also evaluated in terms of R/R (risk/return), which helps traders choose the signals they think are worth following. Signals designed for margin trading include the recommended leverage.

    Fat Pig Signals publishes signals for a huge variety of different crypto assets. You can find signals for major pairs like BTC/USD or ETH/USD, DeFi tokens such as LINK, UNI, BAL, UMA, as well as low-market cap altcoins. So, it doesn’t matter if you prefer to stick with more established cryptocurrencies or if you’re also comfortable with holding the more volatile low-caps – Fat Pig Signals has you covered. The Fat Pig Signals service provides signals for pairs listed on the Binance exchange, which has one of the most extensive selections of listed cryptocurrencies in the entire industry.

    Performance

    Fat Pig Signals most commonly publishes signals for various cryptocurrencies that are traded against BTC. An archive of their signals can be found in this regularly updated spreadsheet, which showcases the results of over 550 signals. Unsurprisingly, the results have been strong recently as we are currently in the midst of a bull market for cryptocurrencies. However, the signals also performed very well in 2018, a year that most cryptocurrency enthusiasts remember as »crypto winter« due to the vast majority of cryptocurrencies suffering massive crashes from their all-time highs.

    In addition to the results spreadsheet, you can also get some information about how their signals have performed at the Fat Pig Signals website.

    As an example, here we can see how various DeFi tokens have performed after they were recommended by Fat Pig Signals. Obviously, the figures in the image represent the best possible scenario – buying at the entry point and selling at the very top. In real-life scenarios, traders will see lower gains, but it does show that the entry prices suggested by Fat Pig Signals provided very strong opportunities for making profitable trades.

    Aditional features

    While trading signals will definitely be the most attractive part of the Fat Pig Signals offering for most users, joining the group also comes with some additional perks. Users receive updates about the most relevant news for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, get access to a private Facebook group, special reports about specific opportunities in crypto (for example DeFi),

    Pricing

    Fat Pig Signals offers 3 different packages for its VIP service. As of the time of writing, here are the prices:

    • 3 months: 0.5 ETH (translates to 0.166 ETH per month)
    • 6 months: 0.75 ETH (translates to 0.125 ETH per month)
    • 12 months: 1.25 ETH (translates to 0.104 ETH per month)

    The 12-month option is obviously the most cost-efficient, but not everyone might be willing to spend 1.25 ETH right away, so there are also shorter subscriptions with less of an upfront cost.

    Traders who are undecided on whether they want to go for the paid subscription can still get some valuable information from the public Fat Pig Signals group, which is completely free of charge.

    The Fat Pig Signals VIP Service has managed to attract more than 8,000 subscribers, which is an indication that many traders view the group as a reliable source of cryptocurrency trading signals. Regardless of the group’s considerable size, admins will usually respond to user questions within a 24-hour window, so any potential issues should be cleared up relatively quickly.

    The bottom line

    Fat Pig Signals has been going strong since 2017, and has a well-rounded offering that has something for every type of cryptocurrency trader. The signals cover all types of different cryptocurrencies, and provide all the necessary information to perform successful trades, even though it’s ultimately on the users themselves to stick to the plan. Since the public Telegram channel can be accessed for free, users can get a taste of what Fat Pig Signals is all about before deciding if they want to opt for the paid subscription service.

    Of course, Fat Pig Signals isn’t for everyone – some crypto investors prefer to simply HODL, and don’t want to put their crypto holdings at risk by trading. But for those that do want to take a more active approach to their cryptocurrency investing, Fat Pig Signals is definitely a service worth considering.

  • Ethernity Chain Partners with Kenetic to Continue Trailblazing NFT Ecosystem

    Ethernity Chain Partners with Kenetic to Continue Trailblazing NFT Ecosystem

    Los Angeles, California, 1st April, 2021,

    Ethernity Chain, the creator of unique NFTs designed by popular artists and authenticated by icons like basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, baseball superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. and licensors like Authentic Brands Group, has partnered with Kenetic, a world-class blockchain firm committed to expanding the development and adoption of blockchain platforms through investments, advisory services, community and technology. The collaboration brings another powerful player into the Ethernity Chain ecosystem. 

    Jehan Chu, blockchain and crypto investor/evangelist, is the founder of Kenetic Capital and a co-founder of the Social Alpha Foundation. He most recently led the pioneering effort to purchase the .nft extension and is now supporting the new sector’s growth on a number of fronts. Jehan is a partner at Jen Advisors, a Hong Kong based early-stage Blockchain VC firm, has been a Blockchain evangelist since 2013, is the founder of the Ethereum HK meetup, Hyperledger HK meetup, and a founding member of the Bitcoin Association of Hong Kong. 

    “Ethernity is leading the way for next-generation NFT platforms by providing fans access to some of the most legendary figures and brands in history while solving critical UX issues for collectors. I believe NFTs are the true missing link between online and offline objects, and will transform not only art, but also business, finance, society and culture. We are excited to support Ethernity in defining the future of digital collectibles,” said Jehan Chu, Managing Partner, Kenetic.

    “Having Jehan on board is a big win for the Ethernity Community and the NFT arena as a whole. His expertise and NFT initiatives have inspired us so far and we’re very optimistic about the vision he brings moving forward. We’ve been working in parallel in the blockchain space for nearly a decade now – it’s about time we work more closely. NFTs are the catalyst that drew both our attention and ultimately brought us together.” Nick Rose, Founder, Ethernity Chain. ” Nick Rose, Founder, Ethernity Chain

    This partnership marks an exciting milestone for the NFT space. Until now, it seems that every stone that’s turned over brings more good news for NFTs. Ethernity and Kenetic have both been deeply rooted in the success of NFTs and are well equipped to lead the space moving forward. 

    What is Ethernity Chain? 

    Ethernity is the groundbreaking authenticated NFT project which auctions verified artwork featuring the top artists and stars from music, film, sports and entertainment. Each of these digital artworks is represented as a non-fungible token (NFT). The pieces feature well-known public figures and a portion of all funds raised from the endeavor will be donated to charitable causes. Ethernity Chain combines the utility of DeFi and merges it with NFTs to create an exclusive pipeline to rare, collectible content from notable figures and well-established digital artists.

    What is Kinetec? 

    Kenetic brings a wealth of blockchain knowledge from dozens of professionals in a world that’s still learning about the space. They have a track record of successful Venture Capital investments of series A / B blockchain companies. The team at Kenetic is led by Jehan Chu, who is also known for the infamous “Ethereum Hong KongMeetup” with a community he helped build of 1000+ members. 

    Contacts
    • Press
    • Info@marketacross.com
  • Playza Launches A Fully Decentralized Casino on TRON

    Playza Launches A Fully Decentralized Casino on TRON

    Limassol, Cyprus, 1st April, 2021, Chainwire

    Blockchain-based casino Playza has launched on the TRON network. Playza offers a fair and transparent online gaming experience for crypto users in eligible jurisdictions, with a range of traditional casino games available. There will be no sign-ups, withdrawals or deposits and no forms to fill out.

    At launch, Playza will exclusively support TRON and TRX tokens for deposits, though plans are in place to support further digital assets – including ETH and EOS – in the months ahead. 

    Users are free to play slots, roulette, and a selection of other popular betting games by connecting to the platform via TRONLink, the most popular crypto wallet for TRON users.

    By interacting with Playza, players can cut the middleman out of the equation and act as their very own custodian. The launch of a comprehensive decentralized gambling platform eliminates the need for users to complete invasive forms or verify their identity: all they need to do is connect TRONLink, fund an account, and start gaming. 

    Although there is no native Playza token, the platform intends to distribute dividends to the most active players for 10% of the total revenue accrued. The casino does not have minimum/maximum deposit limits for any of its featured games, and all deposits and withdrawals are processed instantaneously.

    “We at Playza are excited to provide the gambling and crypto communities the most restriction free experience ever imagined! Using cutting edge TRONLink technology, we put the user in the driver’s seat, controlling every aspect of their balance and play from their personal wallets to our games” said Billy Nguyen, chief operating officer at Playza.

    TRON has garnered a reputation as “Las Vegas on the blockchain” due to the number of gambling dApps under its umbrella. Applications such as TronVegas, Limitless, and Rocket Game give users the opportunity to place wagers in cryptocurrency, and to withdraw funds directly to their digital wallet.

    The launch of Playza on TRON feeds into the latter’s goal of constructing a global digital content entertainment system on its highly scalable network. Playza’s team intends to realize the full potential of decentralized gaming and continue to make the platform fair, decentralized and robust to everyone.

    About Tron

    TRON is dedicated to accelerating and the decentralization of the internet via blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps). Founded in September 2017 by Justin Sun, the company launched its mainnet and Virtual Machine the following year and has since acquired BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized services boasting approximately 100 million monthly active users.

    About Playza

    Playza is a TRON based blockchain platform with no middle, fees or sign up functions. The platform supports transparent odds and betting protocols and caters to everyones. Users can play directly from their own wallet as there are no deposits or withdrawals to any entity, but rather users act as their own custodian and focus on the actual games.

    Contacts
    • Billy Nguyen
    • Playza
    • Billy.n@playza.com
    • +1-888-858-8528
  • Phemex to auction community driven QaRT NFT

    Phemex to auction community driven QaRT NFT

    Phemex crypto exchange and futures trading platform is proceeding on creating their first NFT, a piece of QaRT artwork that is to be auctioned on open OpenSea starting with April 12nd.

    Phemex is driving its community in order to gather thousands of QR codes that will form an impressive NFT art piece. The QR codes represent each participant’s ETH deposit addresses, which will be put together to represent the enormous data held on the blockchain.

    How to participate?

    As Non-Fungible Tokens start gaining the popularity they deserve, Phemex is taking the initiative in creating an NFT that will ultimately bring profit to the community. In this context, bringing the profit to the community is not an abstract idea as Phemex is dead set to give all those who contribute to creating this artwork a chance at sharing a portion of the winning bid.

    The participation process is as simple as it can be. Those who want to participate in the creation of the QaRT NFT only have to:

    1. Upload the Phemex’s ETH deposit wallet QR code image to the Gleam campaign.
    2. Provide the Phemex UID.
    3. Provide the ETH deposit address.
    4. Follow Phemex on Twitter.
    5. And Complete any additional steps for more entries.

    It’s essential to keep in mind that the ETH Qr code and Eth wallet addresses submitted for creating the NFT must belong to a Phemex account. If they are not, those registrations will be ignored and disqualified from the event.

    Also, the Phemex users are allowed to participate with only one account. The participants that register to the event with accounts associated with the same IP addresses or GUIDs will get disqualified.

    How will it progress?

    In order to participate in the creation of Phemex’ QaRT NFT, users have to go through all the required steps before April 2nd.

    After that, Phemex will combine the QR codes in one artwork until April 12nd. On the same day, the company will auction the NFT on OpenSea.

    The auction will receive bids for one week, until April 19th, and the starting bid will come from Jack Tao, Phemex’ CEO. 

    Depending on the number of participants, Jack Tao has offered to place an initial bid of up to $100,000. But as OpenSea is an auction-driven platform, the QaRT NFT will sell for more than Jack’s offer by the end of the auction period.

    After the auction is over, 10% of the contributors will be randomly chosen to share the earnings. They will receive the funds as ETH to their Phemex account, and the winners can either use them for trading or just withdraw.

    About Phemex

    Phemex is one of the fastest crypto exchange and futures trading platforms that provides both futures contract trading and spot trading services. 

    The platform was founded by several experienced Wall Street traders and investors that identified a regrettable lack of professionalism, trustworthiness, and customer support in the crypto industry. Therefore, Jack Tao and the other founding opened up Phemex in 2019, offering crypto traders a simple, efficient, and trusted cryptocurrency trading platform.

    Nowadays, the platform is able to provide a less 1Ms order response time, executing over 300K orders per second. That comes in the context of granting a daily average trading volume of $574,000,000 while keeping 30+ integrated liquidity providers.

    If you want to find more about the company, then follow Phemex on social media and be the first who finds the news:

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Phemex.official
Twitter: https://twitter.com/phemex_official
Telegram: https://t.me/Phemex_EN
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/phemex
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtPeiP4cn2K19fH3y7o2tOg

  • Top 3 Coins to Watch (Week 13)

    Top 3 Coins to Watch (Week 13)

    Which cryptocurrency will be the best performer in the recovering crypto market? Will it be the governance token of an established DeFi protocol, a privacy-focused coin implementing DeFi features, or some other asset that we have not included in our this week’s selection of the top 3 coins to watch? Time shall tell, but we think the three assets that you are about to read about have a good shot at posting significant gains.

    Outside of the crypto circles, a large amount of media attention was captured by the “Ever Given”, a container ship that ran aground on the bank of the Suez Canal, thereby blocking one of the busiest trading routes in the world. The attempt to refloat the ship finally succeeded on March 29, and the Canal is now open again. The 3rd project on this week’s list is in a way like the diggers and tugboats that participated in the vessel’s rescue operation – it tries to remove obstacles in the international shipping industry. The key difference is that it aims to do this by digitalizing the trade and transport documentation and not by physically removing the sand and pulling large vessels. Nevertheless, make sure to have a look.

    1. Uniswap (UNI)

    UNI is a governance token of Uniswap – an automated market maker (AMM) protocol. The platform, which facilitates quick swaps between different Ethereum-based tokens, has recently been struggling to keep its users and market share because of high fees on Ethereum. UNI tokens are ERC-20 tokens that allow holders to decide on the future of Uniswap by voting on proposals. The governance token holders also oversee the usage of funds from the community treasury, and the protocol’s fee switch.

    Buy/Sell UNI

    Uniswap v3 Ethereum Mainnet Launch target is May 5

    After much anticipation and even more speculation, the Uniswap team has finally revealed more details regarding the improved version of the popular DeFi protocol. According to the official blog post from March 23, the team is aiming to deploy Uniswap v3 on Ethereum mainnet on May 5, while layer 2 deployment on Optimism is going to follow shortly after. In fact, this makes UNI an interesting token to watch throughout the whole April and likely May 2021 as well.

    Uniswap v3 will feature several important improvements for liquidity providers (LPs), which could result in an up to 4,000x increase in capital efficiency. A new feature called “Concentrated liquidity” will allow LPs to provide liquidity just to a specific price range. Thus, savvy LPs will be able to earn the same amount of fees with just a fraction of the underlying capital, provided the asset pair trades in the range that they are providing liquidity to. The concentrated liquidity could also be used to mitigate the risk of one asset in the pool significantly dropping in value. In addition, LPs will be able to place multiple positions per pair composing their own AMM curve. 

    Furthermore, Uniswap v3 will also include support for flexible fee tiers and integrate advanced oracles. The Uniswap team also revealed that since liquidity positions are now unique for each LP, they are no longer represented by fungible tokens but rather non-fungible tokens (NFT). Uniswap expects that over time, more complex strategies including auto-rebalancing algorithms, fee-reinvestment and lending will be tokenized, allowing LPs passively copy the strategy of other more experienced LPs.

    A detailed technical description of the new features is available in the Uniswap v3 whitepaper. Developers are already able to test the Uniswap v3 smart contracts as they have been deployed to the Ropsten, Rinkeby, Kovan, and Görli testnets.

    2. Horizen (ZEN)

    Previously known as ZenCash, Horizen is a privacy-focused coin that enables encrypted messaging and utilizes supernodes and Zk-snarks technology. The project’s development is led by a decentralized governance community.

    Buy/Sell ZEN

    StakedZEN Set to Roll-out on Mainnet on March 30 

    Horizen team is looking to further boost the protocol’s utility and become more than just a pure privacy coin project. Therefore, the project is launching StakendZEN (stZEN), an ERC20 token representing ZEN, which will allow ZEN holders to take part in the Ethereum-based DeFi protocols while staking their ZEN coins to earn Horizen node staking rewards at the same time. The stZEN tokens will be issued and exchanged through StakeHound’s service at a 1:1 ratio compared to ZEN. The feature is scheduled to go live on Horizen mainnet on March 30. More information concerning the novel feature can be found here.

    3. CargoX (CXO)

    The CargoX Platform is an Ethereum-based blockchain document transfer platform. While the project’s main aim is to digitalize the logistics industry and improve its efficiency, the platform can also be used in financial, manufacturing, trading, energy, services companies, and even governmental agencies. This blockchain solutions enables a fast, secure, and auditable way to transfer original documents as well as ownership of these documents. In addition, it facilitates distributed teamwork even with assets that would normally have to be handled manually in the corporate office environment, which proved to be extremely useful during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    CargoX platform to be used by Egyptian Authorities from April 1

    The Bill of Lading (BL) is one of the most important documents in the international trade and transport. This hard-copy document is issued by a carrier, may it be shipping line or freight forwarder, and confirmed the receipt of goods, lists contract of carriage and ownership of the goods. Since the manual dealing with the Bill of Lading has already proved to be a bottleneck in the international trade, governments around the globe are looking for ways to digitalize the documentation (develop an electronic BL) and the workflow around it to facilitate even faster and frictionless import and export process. And this is where CargoX, which has developed a proof-of-concept solution that tackles exactly this problem, comes to play.

    Furthermore, CargoX’s Smart Bill of Lading platform is already a fully functional product. In fact, in just a few days, Egyptian Foreign Trade authority is launching the pilot phase of an Advance Cargo Information System, which utilizes CargoX’s solution. From July 1, 2021, all Egyptian importers and foreign companies exporting to Egypt will be obliged to use CargoX’s Smart Bill of Lading. In addition, the platform’s utility is not limited to maritime transport but can also be utilized for cargo aircrafts, as well as freight trains. In addition, Indian Port Association (IPA) is also testing CargoX’s platform. Reportedly, more than 60% of Indian ports are favouring integration of the smart Bill of Lading. Given the support of the Indian Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs CargoX will likely make a big breakthrough to the Asian market as well.

    Although the news has not been publicized a lot, the CXO is already up more than 40% in the past 7 days and around 140% in the past month. The fact that CargoX already has a fully functioning product addressing a real-world problem means that adoption should not be too big of a problem. In fact, the company has already secured invitations to collaborate from the World Economic Forum and the European Directorate Generale for Mobility and Transport Digitalisation of the Transport and Logistics Forum. To conclude, CargoX and its CXO token clearly have a huge potential to grow.

  • Thomas Wolf from Online.Casino: Five online casino stocks to keep an eye on

    Thomas Wolf from Online.Casino: Five online casino stocks to keep an eye on

    I’m Thomas Wolf and on a daily basis I’m the Head of Content at Online.Casino Australia, an online publication with a close eye on the iGaming market. The past years we have seen a lot of IPOs from gambling related companies and I’d love to give you some insight.

    Last March may have been a once-in-a-lifetime chance to purchase casino stocks, in retrospect. What is the explanation for this? As a result of the novel coronavirus and the subsequent lockdowns, gaming companies large and small saw their stock prices plummet to near-distressed levels.

    However, as the year progressed, this industry proved to be resilient, with casinos opening much earlier than predicted (albeit with social distancing). Given the megatrends of iGaming (online casino) and sports betting, investors had plenty of reason to bid up stocks in the market.

    Is this to say that it’s too late to make money from casino stocks? No, not at all. But, after their spectacular recovery in the second half of last year, further gains might not be as important.

    So, which casino stocks are worth considering? Consider taking a chance on one of these five big names:

    -Bally’s Corporation (Bally’s) (NYSE:BALY)

    -Caesars Entertainment (Caesars) (NASDAQ:CZR)

    -Online gaming at Golden Nugget (NASDAQ:GNOG)

    -MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM)

    -Penn National Gaming is a gaming company based in Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:PENN)

    With the travel economy still waiting for mass vaccination to return to “normal,” there’s still time for this still-struggling industry to recover. Investors with a healthy risk appetite can still see value in gaming stocks, given the growth opportunities in online gambling.

    1. Bally’s Entertainment Corporation (BALY)

    It’s fair to claim that BALY stock had a fantastic year in 2020. This operator of second-tier casino properties, formerly known as Twin River Worldwide, saw its stock plummet along with the rest of the industry during the March 2020 “coronavirus collapse.”

    However, as Seeking Alpha commentators noted in May, the company took advantage of the situation, purchasing many properties at bargain-basement rates. The company acquired Bally’s casino brand as part of its deal-making.

    However, this was not the catalyst for Bally’s stock to soar. That was the company’s fast foray into online sports betting. Overnight, the business was transformed into yet another medium for gaining exposure to the online sportsbook craze.

    2. Caesars Entertainment Corporation (CZR)

    When Covid-19 arrived in the United States, Caesars had its hands full. At the time, the company (then known as Eldorado Resorts) was nearing the completion of its highly publicized acquisition of Caesars Entertainment.

    However, because of the massive popularity of sports betting, investors were willing to give the newly merged business some leeway. And re-invested in CZR stock. Both the online gaming and casino revival catalysts seem to be well priced into shares at today’s rates.

    That isn’t to say its hot streak can’t continue. What do you mean by that? As the online gaming stock bubble continues to burst, investors may continue to bid up operators like this one as more states legalize both iGaming and mobile sports wagering. The recent talk in New York about legalizing online gambling has got a lot of attention. However, other large states such as California, Florida, and Texas will make significant announcements in 2021.

    3. Online gaming at Golden Nugget (GNOG)

    Golden Nugget Online Gaming, formerly known as Landcadia Holdings II, has been extensively covered. Some of my InvestorPlace colleagues, such as Mark Hake, are bullish on the stock, believing it is undervalued compared to online gaming behemoths like DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG).

    4. MGM Resorts International (MGM)

    MGM stock, like Caesars, provides exposure to both the brick-and-mortar casino recovery and the online gaming megatrend. Rather than sit on its hands, this gaming behemoth has made significant strides to expand its online reach through the BetMGM website.

    5. Penn National Gaming is number five on the list (PENN)

    Among the stocks in this hot market, Penn National had done the most “winning.” What is the explanation for this? Specifically, because of its well-timed purchase of Barstool Sports just before the pandemic.

    Not only did this agreement provide them with a great name and a potential customer base for their fledgling sportsbook operations, but it also provided them with a great brand and a potential customer base. Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool, was also brought in as part of the deal.

    The above casinos are the best that one can depend on. They are easy to move within all gambling areas. You can try any of them, and you will see the better side of them all.

  • Bank of America Criticizes Bitcoin for Its Supposed Shortcomings

    Bank of America Criticizes Bitcoin for Its Supposed Shortcomings

    Key highlights:

    • An analyst from Bank of America calls Bitcoin an inefficient system for storing value and processing payments.
    • The analyst declares that demand is the only factor that determines the price of Bitcoin. 
    • The analyst also thinks that Bitcoin has some risks for governments, including money laundering, fraud, and more.

    Bank of America analyst Francisco Blanch recently criticized some of of the negatives he sees with Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency. He believes Bitcoin cannot function as a haven against inflation, and isn’t a store of value.

    Bank of America analyst says Bitcoin has some significant problems 

    Blanch refers to the fact that Bitcoin is very appealing to retail traders, but he thinks the currency will lose its demand in the long run. He thinks Bitcoin has some significant issues, and these problems will be serious obstacles for BTC in the future. One of the major obstacles is the complicated nature of BTC mining which is the base for the settlement process of this cryptocurrency. Blanch also talked about scalability and noted that Bitcoin couldn`t process nearly as many transactions as services like Visa. 

    Blanch called Bitcoin a volatile asset that is not suitable for storing value or making payments. He says people put Bitcoin in their portfolio due to the expectations that the prices might surge in the future. 

    The analyst believes Bitcoin is not environment-friendly. He talks about the amount of CO2 that Bitcoin creates around the globe, and noted Bitcoin’s carbon footprint as one of its major problems.

    Blanch also talked about social and governmental aspects and says Bitcoin can be used for illegal activities. He declares the Bitcoin anonymity can facilitate criminal activities. Money laundering, bribery, fraud, and other crimes can be done via Bitcoin, in his opinion. 

    Blanch believes the future is for CBDCs 

    In Blanch`s opinion, CBDCs will replace Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the future due to the shortcomings of cryptocurrencies. He thinks CBDCs will utilize blockchain and adopt positive aspects of cryptocurrencies, but will also enjoy the backing of governments. 

    Critics think the main factor for Bitcoin`s recent surge was stimulus packages from the governments. In their opinion, although the Bitcoin supply is limited, it has no intrinsic value like stocks or real estate. Therefore, the changing nature of demand will play a key role in determining BTC prices in the future. 

    Even though it’s clear that Bitcoin is facing real problems, the Bitcoin ecosystem is continuously adapting to these challenges – for example, the Lightning Network can bring massive improvements in the area of scalability. And even if Bitcoin will ultimately succumb to its shortcomings, there’s plenty of other cryptocurrencies that have taken radically different approaches and are already addressing some of Bitcoin’s biggest downsides. Proof-of-stake blockchains, for example, consume considerably less energy than proof-of-work blockchains like Bitcoin.

  • Brian Armstrong Has Around $14 Billion in Coinbase Shares Ahead of Public Debut

    Brian Armstrong Has Around $14 Billion in Coinbase Shares Ahead of Public Debut

    Key highlights: 

    • Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, owns 39.6 million shares in the firm
    • According to the stock’s average price this year, his shares are worth $13.6 billion
    • Coinbase is preparing to go public on the NASDAQ stock exchange

    Coinbase CEO owns more than $10 billion worth of shares in the company

    Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2012 that has a particularly big presence in the western markets. Coinbase is a key player in the crypto space, and it offers various services including trading, custody, OTC, and more. Through its applications and website, Coinbase provides crypto services tailored for retail traders, while advanced traders can use its Coinbase Pro platform. Coinbase also has an offering for institutional clients called Coinbase Prime.

    The company’s CEO Brian Armstrong is one of the wealthiest people in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, and his net worth is poised to grow as his company becomes traded publicly.

    Armstrong owns 39.6 million shares in the company, and considering the average price of each share ($343.58) during the year, his wealth from the shares can easily reach $13.6 billion. His salary and perks reached more than $59 million last year.

    Coinbase’s business skyrocketed in the last year thanks to the major bull run in the cryptocurrency market which has attracted a wave of new customers to the platform. Bitcoin surged over 700% in the past year, and ETH had a stunning growth of more than 1,000%. 

    It was in September that Armstrong requested his employees to avoid political activism. At that time, there were protests around the United States country due to the pandemic and the presidential elections. He thinks activism and political divisions would have a negative impact on the company. He wants the employees to be focused on their job and avoid internal schisms. 

    A few months later, New York Times published a report about alleged discrimination of black employees at the company. Coinbase immediately responded to the report and denied it. 

    However, the aforementioned controversies didn’t stop the growth of Coinbase. As its direct listing approaches, Coinbase appears to be in a stronger position than ever.

  • Full Aggregator OpenOcean Confirms Successful Private Placement & Advisory Shares

    Full Aggregator OpenOcean Confirms Successful Private Placement & Advisory Shares

    Road Town, BVI, 26th March, 2021,

    Full market exchange aggregator OpenOcean has announced a private placement of its shares has been made to a selected group of investors. The news follows a recent successful strategic investment round led by Binance. 

    Investors include Altonomy and LD capital, both have participated in the Binance-led investment round, AU21, FBG, DAO Maker, Asymmetries Technologies, LIAN Group, TRON Foundation, MarketAcross, and Cao Zhen (partner of Republic.co).  They join the strategic investors Multicoin Capital, CMS, Kenetic, LD Capital, Altonomy and Binance that lead the previous $2M round.

    Since launching in Q3 2020, OpenOcean has already grown to reach the second-highest ranked exchange on dApp aggregator site DappRadar, ranking in the top ten for 30-day volumes. 

    OpenOcean was the first exchange aggregator to set up on Binance Smart Chain, offering full interoperability across multiple platforms. The protocol gives users full access to aggregated liquidity and best pricing from a comprehensive range of centralized and decentralized exchanges via a single user interface. It currently supports trading on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, TRON, and Ontology, with Solana, Layer 2, and Polkadot integrations coming soon. 

    The project is currently engaged in an airdrop of 1% of its OOE tokens to early users. It is also planning to distribute 34% of the total OOE supply through liquidity mining rewards over the next five years, with pools in various public chains aggregated on OpenOcean, including Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Ontology, and Tron. OOE will be paired in pools with several other major tokens, including DAI, ETH, USDT, BNB, and more. 

    Along with participation in protocol governance, the OOE token offers several other utilities. OOE holders can enjoy gas and slippage subsidies in future campaigns, significantly reducing trading costs. They also benefit from CEX VIP membership which includes benefits such as fee premiums and subsidies on trading fees and token withdrawals. OOE tokens can be deployed as margin in combined margin products to facilitate one-stop derivatives trading across exchanges and can also be used as collateral for lending. 

    As the cryptocurrency space is becoming more professionalized, there’s a clear need to overcome the fragmentation that exists within the markets, which OpenOcean aims to achieve. The recent successful financing initiatives will be a significant enabler for OpenOcean’s ambitious roadmap, which will see it introduce aggregation for derivatives, yield products, lending, insurance, and introduce Layer2 staking pools, combined margin products as well as intelligent wealth management services in the future. 

    Achieving these milestones will make OpenOcean the first of its kind to aggregate liquidity across a range of cryptocurrency products and instruments available on both centralized and decentralized exchanges. Ultimately, the project aims to become a single, user-friendly gateway for accessing the entire cryptocurrency markets, making them more accessible and attractive to all kinds of investors. 

    About OpenOcean

    OpenOcean is a full aggregator that offers crypto traders the best possible price with lower slippage. Its protocol utilizes an optimized version of the Dijkstra algorithm called D-star, which splits routing between different protocols for better rates. OpenOcean then compares the best prices on DEXs and CEXs before empowering users to have their order executed at the best possible rate. OpenOcean’s technical team comprises a group of experienced engineers and financial veterans from industry-leading exchanges and multinational IT companies like IBM, Intel, and HP.

    Contacts
    • Cindy Wu
    • cindywu@openocean.finance