CRYPTO HIDDEN GEMS Page 26
BITCOIN WILL REACH $100,000 BY 2022
Merry Christmas
Economists say Bitcoin won't last much Longer Page 02
Bitcoin will drop below $40K in 2022, crypto CEO says
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WEEKLY $2 cryptoweeklymag.com December 2021 | Volume 07
Twitter introduces crypto payments Page 10
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In Crypto Winter Fakers Leave and Builders Work Page 14
Metaverse was her Instagram handle Page 18
Crypto Hackers Rob Trading Platforms for a Living Page 22
BKEX A Global New First-Tier Crypto Exchange Page 12
Understanding The Altcoin Landscape Page 30
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EDITOR’S LETTER
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Crypto Weekly
Welcome to Crypto Weekly W
elcome to the 7th issue of Crypto Weekly. I think the most important deductions I have come to using observation and a multi-level construction of my thought platform is the degree to which we are all being directed by certain interested parties. We are daily being marketed to hold specific thoughts and feelings about the world. You see I am a practiced expert of objective awareness. I think that is what helps me the most in my job as editor of this publication. Certain trends, ideas, or facts are hidden in all the things that bombard us from the environments of our everyday life. They are quite obvious to me. The way emotions are specifically swayed in order to accomplish a directed end. I see clearly we have made an impact with our company because of how our team is able to grasp important things and carry a passion that drives us. We are using what may most appropriately be described as the force to accomplish this mission. I just want to give all of you the idea that together we are unstoppable in our quest to bring news of the blockchain revolution to our readers and we are all exceptionally gifted and unfettered when it comes purveying it to the world, each in our own way, these passions we hold within. We know that when we use “the force”, the force will set us free.
The way emotions are specifically swayed in order to accomplish a directed end. I see clearly we have made an impact with our company because of how our team is able to grasp important things and carry a passion that drives us.
Crypto Weekly will answer all of your questions. Whether you're new to crypto or have some experience, we're here to help. I hope you all have fun. Now that we have reached the end, it is time to turn the page, but let us know your thoughts. If you would like to see something featured, please get in touch with me. I feel I have finally found a home. editor@cryptoweeklymag.com
editor@cryptoweeklymag.com
cryptoweeklymag.com
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Robert Stone Editor
December 2021 | Volume 07
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NEWS Crypto Weekly
Economists say Bitcoin won't last much Longer
A
s a professor of trade policy at Cornell University, Eswar Prasad is more cautious about Bitcoin than most investors. According to him, Bitcoin itself isn't going to last much longer. "Given that Bitcoin is not serving well as a medium of exchange, I don't think it will have any fundamental value other than whatever investors' faith leads it to have," Eswar Prasad said. Its critics argue that Bitcoin is primarily used for speculation rather than legal goods and services transactions.
December 2021 | Volume 07
Government cryptocurrencies may also pose a threat to private cryptocurrencies. Prasad noted that digital currencies had prompted central banks to consider issuing digital versions of their own currencies. The Federal Reserve has already begun investigating this subject. Since its inception 12 years ago, Bitcoin has surged in value, but trading has been very volatile. Bitcoin recently stood at $47,029, down 2%. It has jumped 47% year to date but has dropped 22% in the last month.
Another problem for Bitcoin is that its use of blockchain technology "isn't very efficient," Prasad said. The cryptocurrency "uses a validation mechanism for environmentally destructive transactions" and "doesn't scale up very well," he said. Bitcoin's carbon footprint exceeds that of New Zealand. Bitcoin advocates say the currency can act as a hedge against inflation and declines in other assets, such as stocks and the dollar. But that hasn't been proven as of yet.
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NEWS
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Crypto Weekly
A new generation of luxury consumers is emerging in the US due to cryptocurrency wealth, Jefferies reports I
n midtown Manhattan, a young man in a suit walks past a luxury watch shop on Fifth Avenue. According to Jefferies, Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images, crypto prices surge, driving young people to buy luxury goods. People under 35 buy artwork, luxury brands, and more with their crypto winnings. In 2021, the cryptocurrency market briefly surpassed $3 trillion. Jefferies reports that cryptocurrency prices have attracted a new generation of young, American buyers of luxury goods, causing sales in the luxury market to rise beyond pre-pandemic levels. The Chinese remain the world's largest consumers of luxury goods. Nevertheless, a "surprise package" was year-over-year growth in the US since the first quarter, the bank said in a research note. In the note, findings were gathered from 48 stores in New York and Florida where
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shoppers can buy high-end brands such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel. Equity analysts Flavio Cereda and Kathryn Parker noted a significant surge in asset values (from stocks to real estate to contemporary art), as well as a significant increase in cryptocurrency wealth. In conversations with store assistants and managers, they noted that people under 35 seem to be using cryptocurrency profits to buy art including in the form of non-fungible tokens - expensive jewelry, apparel, and accessories. According to the analysts, this phenomenon may have accounted for 20-25% of sales over the last year. As more institutional and retail investors poured money into digital assets such as coins and NFT art, 2021 saw the crypto market exceed a $3 trillion valuation for the first time. As of mid-Wednesday,
Bitcoin's price is above $47,000, with the most traded cryptocurrency up by 62% this year. The crypto market's market cap has declined to $2.3 trillion despite its violent price swings. According to Jefferies, the channel checks coincided with the Miami Art Basel fair as well as a number of important crypto-trading events "which enabled us to converse with almost everyone." In fiscal year 2021, US luxury spending has returned to levels logged in 2019, before the Coronavirus pandemic. The report predicted that such spending could be 45% higher by fiscal year 2023 than in the same period in 2019. "The market relies heavily on the resilience of the underlying assets, which are monetisable, and is therefore implicitly volatile but is not subject to growing government pressure as is the case in China," the report said.
December 2021 | Volume 07
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NEWS Crypto Weekly
Bitcoin will drop below $40K in 2022, crypto CEO says
A
ccording to Kraken's CEO, Bitcoin's price will plummet dramatically in 2022. Jesse Powell this week encouraged investors to pay for healthcare and tuition in advance and take on more debt. "It might be a good idea to stop making predictions. I predict the dollar will go to zero. You might want to start stocking up on milk and gasoline. Prepay your healthcare and tuition bills as soon as possible," said Powell in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "On Thursday, the dollar index fell 0.28%, while sterling rose 0.40% to $1.3316 and the euro rose 0.19% to $1.1307. Don't hold your currency in dollars because interest rates are going negative," Powell said. Powell added, "I think there is no end in sight to inflation, and I'm paying more
December 2021 | Volume 07
"I bought when we hit the $30,000 level, which was a few months ago. A lot of people are waiting for rock-bottom prices to get in at the moment, attention to the U.S. dollar these days." Powell also predicted Bitcoin's price could drop to below $40,000 this winter and urged investors "to buy on the drop. Some people see anything under $40,000 as a buying opportunity," said Powell. "I bought when we hit the $30,000 level, which was a few months ago. A lot of people are waiting for rock-bottom prices to get in at the moment," he said. According to CoinGecko, a crypto asset price tracking website, the Bitcoin price is down 0.9% in the last 24 hours. The Bitcoin price was trading 2.81% lower at $47,838 on Thursday. The price of some
of the most popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana dropped sharply last month. The Bitcoin price has dropped almost 26% over the past month, falling over 6% in the last week. "This is not a trade you should make on a short-term basis, but rather a long-term investment," Powell continued. "It's more of a buy and hold investment." Powell had earlier predicted that Bitcoin could touch over $100,000 by late 2021 and early next year.Over 90 cryptocurrencies are supported by Bitcoin operator Kraken in 70 assets. Investors will have access to this asset as part of Kraken's NFT platform. In June of this year, Bloomberg reported that Kraken could go public within 12 to 18 months.
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NEWS Crypto Weekly
Global warming, COVID, and crypto exacerbate financial instability worldwide A
ccording to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, global financial stability is currently at risk due to rising debt levels, climate risks, and the uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite continued volatility and uneven growth across countries and sectors, the outlook for global growth remains uncertain, the council said in its annual report to Congress, released Friday. As a result of the 2008 financial crisis, the Financial Stability Oversight Council was formed to identify risks to financial stability in the United States and to promote market discipline. Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary, chairs the group of heads of major U.S. financial regulators. Climate change, elevated corporate debt levels, vulnerabilities in shortterm debt markets, and the increasing popularity of Bitcoin BTCUSD, +2.15%
December 2021 | Volume 07
and Ether ETHUSD, +1.13%, as well as meme stocks like GameStop Corp GME, +7.64%, are identified by the report as key threats to the financial system. Meanwhile, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. rose 19.1%. According to the report, digital assets are a prominent example of financial innovation that may present both benefits and risks. Given the rapid evolution of this market, regulatory attention and coordination are critical. At the time, speculation appears to drive the majority of digital asset activity, resulting in highly volatile prices. FSOC also emphasized the dangers posed by climate change to financial stability, as a changing climate causes more frequent storms, droughts, floods, and other natural disasters that could destabilize the market. The report on financial stability follows another published in October, which
Digital assets are a prominent example of financial innovation that may present both benefits and risks. Given the rapid evolution of this market, regulatory attention and coordination are critical called on financial firms to create and collect risk data and on governments to establish policies to reduce carbon emissions. The World Bank said the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic also threatens the global financial system, labeling the stock market crash in March 2020 as an "acute financial crisis." U.S. economic recovery was sped up by the Federal Reserve's extraordinary measures in support of financial markets and institutions, the report said.
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NEWS
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Crypto Weekly
Fed meeting fuels BTC market panic as Bitcoin falls below $47,000 A
s Fed officials announce further changes to financial policy, analysts prepare for an upheaval. As Bitcoin (BTC) sought cues from the Federal Reserve on Dec. 14, markets eagerly anticipated the Fed's announcement. As Wall Street opened on Dec. 15, BTC/USD traded in the $47,000 range according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView. As of the time of writing, the pair was down 3% ahead of a key Fed meeting. Overnight, the pair hit a high of $48,785 on Bitstamp. During the FOMC meeting, which begins at 2 pm Eastern Time, the focus will be on interest rates, inflation and tapering of asset purchases. The Fed's approach may become less liberal in the short term if analysts see the Fed as having a hawkish stance. The fact that no one controls crypto makes it even more forward-looking.
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"The Fed is still adding to its balance sheet at a diminished rate," prominent cryptocurrency trader Pentoshi concluded in a Twitter discussion. Smart money was prepared last month. "Slow money this week." Traditional markets were similarly directionless, with the S&P 500 down 0.22%. With Bitcoin underperforming Q4 2021, according to Cointelegraph, the consensus is building that 2022 will mark the market cycle peak for BTC and altcoins alike. Another trader and analyst, Rekt Capital, pointed out that BTC is currently experiencing extreme panic and bearish sentiment. There is nothing extreme about this -38% retracement. Historically, BTC has retraced 30-40% many times during bull markets. In fact, $BTC retraced 53% this past May. "A -38% retrace isn't extreme." Rekt
Capital previously noted that a close above $42,300 still represents a higher low formation for BTC/USD.
There is fear everywhere A downward skew was more prevalent on altcoin markets. All but Solana (SOL) were slightly down on daily timeframes in the top ten cryptocurrencies by market cap. A few days after the Tesla publicity, Dogecoin (DOGE) secured about half of its 25% gains. "As of right now, people are quick to sell their bags because they are convinced an overnight drop will happen," Cointelegraph contributor Michael van de Poppe argued. Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 28/100 on Wednesday, up from 21/100 on Tuesday, to reflect a transition from "extreme fear" to "fear" within its own range in light of Bitcoin's recent moves.
December 2021 | Volume 07
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NEWS Crypto Weekly
Crypto exchange Kraken CEO says it could go public in 12-18 months K
raken Exchange CEO Jesse Powell said Bitcoin is "a whole lot greener than people give it credit for, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's criticism of the digital currency." In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Powell said Thursday, "I don't know how long Elon has studied this subject, but I think he has more work to do." According to Kraken's chief executive officer, the exchange may go public in 12 to 18 months, becoming the largest exchange in the world for trading cryptocurrencies. Berkeley-based exchange founder Jesse Powell said the company is "doing all the preparations" to become a public company, though he declined to provide a valuation target. In an interview, he said, "We're here to bring crypto to the world, and our valuation will hopefully reflect the success of that mission." According to people familiar with the matter, Kraken is seriously considering raising capital valued at over $10 billion and possibly exceeding $20 billion. Recently, Arjun Sethi, co-founder and partner of Tribe Capital, joined Kraken's
December 2021 | Volume 07
With more than 6 million clients in nearly 190 countries, Coinmarketcap.com ranks Kraken as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Coinbase Global Inc., Kraken's larger rival, went public via a direct listing earlier this year, citing explosive revenue growth.
board of directors, signaling the company's ambitions. With more than 6 million clients in nearly 190 countries, Coinmarketcap.com ranks Kraken as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Coinbase Global Inc., Kraken's larger rival, went public via a direct listing earlier this year, citing explosive revenue growth. According to Powell, Kraken has seen more signups in the first two months of 2019 than it did the entire year of 2020. Since the selloff of Bitcoin in May, trading volume has slowed, but he accuses 'swing traders,' or those new to the market who trade on momentum, of exacerbating the decline. One company that has been holding for a long time and is steadily accumulating is MicroStrategy Inc., which recently issued junk bonds to fund Bitcoin purchases. According to Powell, Bitcoin will reach a new high this year. However, he said we are still looking at very lofty price targets, referring to Lamborghini sports cars popular with crypto investors. It may be a Lamborghini with fewer options or a smaller engine.
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NEWS
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Crypto Weekly
Public opinion polls predict that Bitcoin will reach $100,000 by 2022.
I
n a survey conducted by Bitcoin IRA, about half of Americans report that Bitcoin's price stood at roughly $47,000 on Friday morning, down from $69,000 on Nov. 9. According to a new survey by Bitcoin IRA, a third of Americans believe the current price will double by the end of 2022, and nearly half think it will rise further. One in three survey respondents predicted Bitcoin's price will surpass $100,000 by the end of 2022, and a seventh said it will exceed $150,000 by then. Bitcoin opened in 2021 at $29,388; that puts it up 62% in 2021. Almost half (49%) of survey respondents added digital assets to their IRAs because they expected crypto prices to rise in the future. Moreover, 25% of the respondents said inflation is driving them to invest in cryptocurrencies as a
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hedge against rising prices. The survey was conducted on "an unbiased group of clients, account holders, and potential customers." This is a group of people who have either purchased Bitcoin through the Bitcoin IRA, which allows people to hold the cryptocurrency in their retirement accounts, or have expressed an interest in doing so. Over half of respondents said they do not plan to buy any crypto over the next year. Twenty-two percent also said they would invest in cryptocurrencies within the next 30 days, while one-quarter said they would in the next year. Bitcoin IRA customers can buy more than Bitcoin for their retirement accounts. Among the favorites were: Solana ("altcoin"), an ethereal rival, was the most requested
alternative coin (outside of Bitcoin and Ethereum) for investments, with 54% of respondents selecting it. Bitcoin IRA chief operating officer Chris Kline says inflation, a crypto boom, and significant advancements in the digital asset world all force people to consider cryptocurrencies as we enter the new year. America wants to participate in a significant shift occurring in our economy since key countries, institutions, and organizations across the globe have adopted digital assets in some form. Cryptocurrencies' resilience and relevance in 2022 will be underpinned by runaway spending in Washington and an unstable dollar, as these coins offer an alternative to traditional fiat currencies run amok.
December 2021 | Volume 07
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C
FEATURE Crypto Weekly
Twitter introduces crypto payments for the first time as China's Bitcoin ban fails to crush the market
hina's central bank's move to make all cryptocurrency trading illegal has failed to have any impact on the price of Bitcoin, the world's leading digital asset. A day earlier, Twitter announced that its 330m active users will soon be able to send Bitcoin instantly and almost for free, utilizing the Lightning network built on top of Bitcoin's primary layer, and believed to propel cryptocurrencies into the mainstream. On the Bitstamp exchange, one Bitcoin was worth $42,666 at 16:00 EST Saturday, exceeding its value at the beginning of August and holding above its long-term moving averages. The digital currency briefly dipped below $40,700 on Friday after the Chinese central bank declared that all crypto-
December 2021 | Volume 07
related activities in the country were "strictly prohibited." China accused the cryptocurrency industry of "disrupting economic and financial order" and "threatening people's property." The cryptocurrency industry was founded in 2009 to create a form of digital money that is free from central banks' control. The Chinese initially accepted the technology, but their opposition has grown in recent months. Earlier this year, the authoritarian government banned local banks from processing cryptocurrency transactions and outlawed the energy-intensive practice of bitcoin mining, in which computers are put to work solving complex problems in a race to earn Bitcoins.
Bitcoin's price crashed by 20% following that clampdown, but the latest, more draconian measure has moved the needle by less than 5%. Bitcoin was almost completely unchanged on Saturday, having found strong support at its 200-day exponential moving average. The BBC, Sky News, The Times, and The Guardian all ran stories about the negative developments in China, but coverage of the positive adoption by Twitter TWTR -0.1% was almost entirely confined to financial outlets like Bloomberg and CNBC. Twitter started integrating the Bitcoin Lightning wallet earlier this week, enabling users to send and receive
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FEATURE
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Crypto Weekly
Twitter started integrating the Bitcoin Lightning wallet earlier this week, enabling users to send and receive Bitcoins with the tweet of a button. While the media largely ignored the launch, its significance cannot be underestimated. Cryptocurrency critics have long claimed that Bitcoin's high costs and long processing times prevent it from being widely adopted Bitcoins with the tweet of a button. While the media largely ignored the launch, its significance cannot be underestimated. Cryptocurrency critics have long claimed that Bitcoin's high costs and long processing times prevent it from being widely adopted. Bitcoin's primary layer charges an average transaction fee of $8, and transactions can be validated in about 20 minutes, though both fees and times vary based on network demand. Through a secondary layer that processes transactions off-chain, Lighting will be able to process millions of payments per second (Visa processes
approximately second).
1,700
payments
per
Lightning network users interact with the Lightning network via mobile wallets such as Strike and Muun. With El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender, citizens are already using the national Lightning wallet, Chivo, to make micropayments for coffees and newspapers. Strike's founder and CEO Jack Mallers announced the Twitter launch in a video: "We just made a free remittance payment from Chicago, Illinois, USA to
"We just made a free remittance payment from Chicago, Illinois, USA to San Salvador, El Salvador over Twitter." Ever thought of using Western Union again? As Twitter integrates with the world's best open monetary network, it becomes one of the best remittance networks." Jack Mallers
Strike's founder and CEO
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San Salvador, El Salvador over Twitter." Ever thought of using Western Union again? As Twitter integrates with the world's best open monetary network, it becomes one of the best remittance networks. Given the lack of media coverage, it's no surprise Lightning makes up a tiny fraction of the Bitcoin network today: less than 3,000BTC is locked in the Lightning protocol. But its capacity has steadily increased this year and will surge as Twitter completes the integration for all users over the coming weeks. Bitcoin is undoubtedly a concern for China - but not because of money laundering, phishing scams, or economic instability. Beijing is worried because Bitcoin enables its citizens to teleport their wealth around the world instantly with the click of a button - side-stepping the shortsighted, arbitrary capital controls Beijing undoubtedly plans in response to the Evergrande fiasco. If recent price action is any indication, they are wellfounded. Bitcoin was attacked by a global superpower... without anyone noticing.
December 2021 | Volume 07
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FEATURE Crypto Weekly
BKEX A Global New First-Tier Crypto Exchange B
KEX Exchange is a DeFi platform quickly becoming a superior force as a global new first-tier professional exchange for crypto, allowing content creators to build and run their own fan hub while securely earning for their content. Buyers and sellers can trade crypto on the exchange. The exchange has over 400 trading pairs and was founded in 2018 by Lion Ji. Located in the British Virgin Islands, BKEX was developed by a team of Chinese developers. Visit the BKEX Exchange here: https:// www.bkex.com/ In addition to offering a large market share, BKEX is advertised as the first 'sunshine trading' platform. Third-party organizations monitor their exchange, and financial transactions are audited. Users will first have to register and sign up for an account on the BKEX exchange and fund their accounts. BKEX does not accept fiat money deposits. Traders can fund their BKEX accounts by transferring cryptos from a digital wallet. The BKEX
December 2021 | Volume 07
Here are some of the key features of the BKEX sunshine trading platform. They use coldstorage wallets that require multi-signature authentication. BKEX is also highly stable with a high-speed matching engine
account is now ready to buy, sell, or exchange supported cryptocurrencies. The BKEX exchange trading view is designed for ease of use, and an order book lets users search the buy rate and sell price of different cryptocurrencies. Here are some of the key features of the BKEX sunshine trading platform. They use cold-storage wallets that require multi-signature authentication. BKEX is also highly stable with a high-speed matching engine. BKEX is said to have a professional technical support team with years of experience. The exchange also has mobile apps available on both Android and iOS. In order to register on BKEX, users first have to submit their email, id, or phone number and then create a password. Users are requested never to share this password with any untrustworthy persons. They will then receive a confirmation code on their phone/ email address that they will have to enter. Customers can log in at any time, fund their accounts, and start trading.
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FEATURE
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Crypto Weekly
The withdrawal fees on BKEX vary from one crypto to the others. For BTC (Bitcoin), the withdrawal fee for a single transaction is 0.0008, and for BCH (Bitcoin Cash), it is 0.0001. The only accepted deposit method on BKEX is through cryptocurrency
The trading fees or the handling fees charged by BKEX are usually low and as per industry standards. Maker fee is generally 0.15%, and taker fee is 0.05% For perpetual contracts, the maker fee is 0.02%, and the taker fee is 0.05%. BKEX does not charge deposit fees The withdrawal fees on BKEX vary
from one crypto to the others. For BTC (Bitcoin), the withdrawal fee for a single transaction is 0.0008, and for BCH (Bitcoin Cash), it is 0.0001. The only accepted deposit method on BKEX is through cryptocurrency. Investors cannot fund their BKEX account with any fiat money. The withdrawal method
is also in cryptocurrencies, and there is a withdrawal fee charged on different crypto withdrawals. BKEX exchange supports a wide range of crypto tokens, including all the popular digital coins and tokens. BKEX is also supported in markets of a large number of countries globally and is also available in multiple languages, including English. BKEX has its own digital token called BKK that traders can purchase and trade. BKEX also offers mobile applications on iOS and Android so users can use it anywhere, anytime! This can help customers use this platform at their convenient time and preference. BKEX’s customers facing any problems while trading and completing their transactions can raise a support request on its customer service page. Information is also available on different social media platforms like Twitter, Telegram, Reddit, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and many more. BKEX is not a regulated exchange, and so KYC is not needed.
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December 2021 | Volume 07
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NEWS Crypto Weekly
InFakersCrypto Winter Leave and Builders Work A
top Coinbase executive said OGs love crypto winters to avoid excess hype. Chief Coinbase executive Emilie Choi says a "crypto winter" identifies true crypto believers because it filters out the skeptics. "Everyone who benefits disproportionately from crypto tends to ride it out," Emilie Choi said. Despite its 30 percent decline from its peak of nearly $69,000 a month ago, Bitcoin is up 67% year-to-date. The price of digital assets has plummeted after a recent bullish run. The OGs in the crypto space love winter. "Brian Armstrong loves winter," Choi told Bloomberg in an interview Wednesday, referring to the CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase, where she is a top executive. "Winter is an excellent time for builders because the fakers leave and keep working. They can concentrate without all the crazy attention the fakers attract," she said.
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"It's just one of those things that you need to believe in the long term." Rather than expecting immediate returns, Choi advises cryptocurrency investors to be patient. Bitcoin beneficiaries tend to hold their coins throughout the ups and downs and ride out the downs for the long term. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, has more than doubled since July to reach a record high of almost $69,000 in November. Since then, the crypto has fallen nearly 30%, trading at around $48,520. Meanwhile, Ether, which is currently ranked second, has lost about 20% in the last three months to $4,064. Nevertheless, the coin has increased by 455% for 2021. Investors grappled with the prospect of faster stimulus cuts and earlier interest rate hikes in the days leading up to Wednesday's monetary policy announcement,
which led to a decline in crypto prices. The Fed is trying to combat inflation by using Bitcoin to hedge against inflation. Kraken CEO Jesse Powell believes a crypto winter is "possible," but it will also provide investors with an opportunity. Coinbase's astronomically high prices can be attributed to Choi's Tuesday interview with Bloomberg. Many users mistakenly believed they had made enormous gains when CoinMarketCap began displaying incorrect prices. According to Choi, "a glitch occurred because we are dependent on another provider, CoinMarketCap, for data. It didn't affect the pricing except for the superficial aspect." He says such an incident is "indicative of a young industry," and Coinbase is "still building out infrastructure to make sure that it scales properly."
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The first freelancer marketplace for cryptocurrency services. We are the bridge connecting crypto project managers with professional crypto freelancers of all kinds.
timerr.io
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FEATURE Crypto Weekly
India's Explosive Growth in Trading Crypto
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his year, WazirX, India's largest cryptocurrency exchange, witnessed record-breaking activity after investors from smaller cities in the South Asian country jumped onto the digital-asset bandwagon despite lingering regulatory uncertainty and market volatility. The Mumbai-based exchange, an affiliate of the giant crypto exchange Binance, reported a stunning 1,735% increase in annual trading volume over 2020 in a report shared with CoinDesk on Thursday. According to the report, titled "Highlights and Observations from 2021 The Year of Crypto," we saw a 700% increase in signups from smaller cities like Guwahati, Karnal, Bareilly, among others. Growing numbers of semiurban and rural Indians are embracing crypto. Apart from the new market pairs, Bitcoin remained the most traded currency, followed by stablecoins tether and DOGE, WazirX token (WRX), and Polygon's MATIC. Investors showed exceptionally high interest in these coins in the weeks leading up to the Diwali festival. A pattern observed worldwide,
December 2021 | Volume 07
including inflation-ridden Turkey, has Indian retail investors snapping up cheap and volatile coins like DOGE and SHIB to make big money on relatively small investments.
WazirX has seen a massive surge in user signups as more people learn about crypto and begin to invest in this emerging asset class, the report said. "This uncertain time [of the Coronavirus pandemic] has not only enabled people to earn money online, but it has also helped fight the pandemic through the Indian crypto community," WazirX said.
According to the report, male investors dominated the volatile meme tokens, while women mainly traded Bitcoin. The number of female users increased 1,009%, outpacing the 829 % increase in male signups. Crypto is becoming more popular among the young generation due to a demographic shift. WazirX noted that only 11% of respondents in the age group of 51 years and older allocated more than 50% of their total portfolio to crypto, compared to 29% in the age group of 18-24 years. In India and worldwide, cryptocurrency has emerged as an alternative asset class following the coronavirusinduced crash in 2020, with central banks flooding the global economy with fiat currency. WazirX has seen a massive surge in user signups as more people learn about crypto and begin to invest in this emerging asset class, the report said. "This uncertain time [of the Coronavirus pandemic] has not only enabled people to earn money online, but it has also helped fight the pandemic through the Indian crypto community," WazirX said. Crypto adoption has boomed in India despite a lack of clarity on regulatory fronts. According to local reports, the Indian government has been sitting on a crypto regulation bill for a year and is unlikely to introduce it during the Parliament's ongoing winter session. However, the Reserve Bank of India's governor remains anti-crypto, asserting that blockchain technology can thrive without digital tokens, despite the government's softening stance on crypto in recent months. It is WazirX's opinion that the government will regulate cryptocurrency rather than ban it, and Indian institutions will follow the lead of their American counterparts by adopting it. A regulated approach by the government would put India on the world map with other developed countries dealing in crypto. "This, combined with strong institutional participation in crypto, would aid in paving the future of this popular asset class in India and helping it become Atmanirbhar Bharat [self-reliant India]." WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty said.
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agromatic
agromatic
agromatic
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FEATURE Crypto Weekly
Metaverse was her Instagram handle. It disappeared last month. T
hea-Mai Baumann, an Australian artist and technology expert, found herself on prime internet real estate in October. A name she used for her creative work, @metaverse, is the handle of her Instagram account. She documented her time in Brisbane, where she studied fine art, and in Shanghai, where she founded Metaverse Makeovers, an augmented reality company. As of Oct. 28, when Facebook, the company behind Instagram, announced it was changing its name, she had fewer than 1,000 followers. Meta will now be the name of Facebook, a reflection of the company's focus on a virtual world it regards as the future of the internet, the metaverse.
December 2021 | Volume 07
"A company's control over individual accounts is also governed by opaque policies and algorithms. Facebook has essentially unrestrained discretion in appropriating people's Instagram usernames"
Rebecca Giblin, director of the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia
Before the scandal broke, Baumann began receiving offers from strangers to purchase her Instagram handle. Someone commented on her Facebook page, "You're now a millionaire." Someone else warned, "Facebook isn't going to buy it, they'll take it.". Nov. 2 was the day when it happened. In the early morning of that day, she discovered that her Instagram account had been deactivated. A message appeared on the screen: "Your account has been blocked for impersonating someone else." Whom, she wondered, was she now supposed to impersonate after nine years? Despite her attempts to verify her identity with Instagram, she has not received a response for weeks, she said. Her only option was to
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FEATURE
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Crypto Weekly
review Instagram's terms of service after speaking with an intellectual property lawyer. "I have lived and worked for the past ten years. I didn't want to see my contribution to the metaverse erased from the internet," she said. "That happens all the time to women in technology, to women of color in technology," Baumann, who is Vietnamese, acknowledged. Since 2012, Baumann has been running Metaverse Makeovers. Using her app, a phone was held over a fingernail design created by her team, and holograms appeared as if they were "popping out of the nails ." Our lives were different before Pokémon Go, before Snapchat and Instagram filters became commonplace. The technology could be applied to clothing, accessories, and beyond, but in 2017, her investment money ran out, and she returned to the art world. Zuckerberg was also heavily investing in his own vision of the metaverse - an "embodied internet" in which you are a participant, not just a spectator. A range of creators and developers will create the metaverse, Zuckerberg said. Instead, it will be made up of "interoperable" offerings. Activist and tech blogger Cory Doctorow said there were big caveats attached to this professed openness. "Facebook was
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built by creating a platform where other businesses could meet their customers, but it also “structured” the overall market, reserving to itself the right to destroy those businesses through carelessness, malice, or incompetence,” said Doctorow. A company's control over individual accounts is also governed by opaque policies and algorithms. Facebook has essentially unrestrained discretion in appropriating people's Instagram usernames, says Rebecca Giblin, director of the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia. "That can be justified if they are offensive or if their actions cause confusion." The @metaverse example illustrates the broad scope of this power, she said, adding that under Facebook's policies users "essentially have no rights." The New York Times contacted Meta a month after Baumann contacted Instagram to restore her account to find out why Meta had been shut down. It was "incorrectly removed for impersonation," an Instagram spokesman said, and it would be restored. An apology was issued. The account was restored two days later. The reason for flagging it for impersonation or the identity of the impostor was not explained. Further questions about whether the blocking was related to Facebook's rebranding
"Facebook was built by creating a platform where other businesses could meet their customers, but it also “structured” the overall market, reserving to itself the right to destroy those businesses through carelessness, malice, or incompetence.” Cory Doctorow Activist and tech blogger
were not answered by the company. Baumann intends to incorporate the saga into a project she started last year, P∞st_Lyfe, which is about death in the metaverse. Additionally, she is examining what she can do to ensure that the metaverse becomes the inclusive place she said she had tried to create. “Because I have been working in the metaverse space for so long, 10 years, I just feel worried,” she said. She fears, she added, that its culture could be “corrupted by the kind of Silicon Valley tech bros who I feel lack vision and integrity.”
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Crypto Weekly
of the
week
NFT
Watch Crypto expert explain the Blockchain to Congress
December 2021 | Volume 07
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FEATURE Crypto Weekly
Crypto Hackers Rob Trading Platforms for a Living B
itcoin investors aren't the only ones getting rich. Hackers this year have stolen billions of dollars in virtual assets by hacking into some of the cryptocurrency exchanges created during the Bitcoin boom. More than 20 hacks have taken at least $10 million in digital currencies from crypto exchanges or projects this year. According to NBC News, at least six hacker attacks resulted in the theft of more than $100 million. Last year, bank robberies netted perpetrators less than $5,000 on average. Although these thefts involve large amounts of money, they are often not as dramatic or attention-grabbing as traditional bank robberies. Exchanges are now a lucrative target for hackers, crypto experts warn. Today, hackers could take usernames and passwords from Fortune 500 companies, said Esteban Castro, CEO and co-founder
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of TRM Labs, which builds tools to help companies manage their digital assets. You can get millions of dollars in cryptocurrency if you hack into a cryptocurrency exchange. Hacking a crypto exchange is quite similar to robbing a bank. In recent years, the internet oddity that required a certain level of technical skills has become a mainstream investment and speculation tool. More than 300 companies enable users to buy and sell everything from Bitcoin to fringe "alternative coins" such as Dogecoin. Cryptocurrency exchanges operate like traditional money exchanges, setting prices for different currencies and taking a small commission on transactions. Although some countries have strict regulations, most tech entrepreneurs can establish their dialogue almost anywhere globally and run it how they wish.
Despite their names, cryptocurrencies usually offer a certain level of security - derived in part from encryption. However, the exchanges that manage them, especially new ones developing their businesses from scratch, often have a tiny staff, resulting in few full-time cybersecurity professionals. As their developers work frantically to make the code work, they may accidentally leave flaws that give hackers an entry point. Because a volatile market can suddenly leave them with a fortune, exchanges make attractive targets for criminals. Some exchanges store cryptocurrency in cold wallets, which are offline and safe. The majority of the rest is stored in "hot wallets," which are liquid and can be sent to users. Employee account hacking - a common security breach on the internet - could result in a major heist, said Dave Jevans, founder of CipherTrace, which tracks theft and fraud in cryptocurrency.
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There are, however, some happy endings to hacks. In one bizarre, public case, a hacker stole $600 million from Poly Network, a cryptocurrency platform. Instead of blaming the thief, the company appealed to his better nature, calling him "Mr. White Hat," a cybersecurity term for a researcher working to improve security
"Theft of private keys from a hot wallet is different from stealing the names and Social Security numbers of individuals," Jevans said. When an exchange is wealthy enough and plans ahead to maintain an emergency fund, it can compensate its customers in the event of a hack. Otherwise, the exchange goes out of business. Some conversations simply go, pop, "We're out of business." He told them all they were screwed. In early December, hackers hacked Bitmart's account and stole almost $200 million from it. Before allowing customers to trade again, all transactions were frozen for three days.
More than 300 companies enable users to buy and sell everything from Bitcoin to fringe "alternative coins" such as Dogecoin. Cryptocurrency exchanges operate like traditional money exchanges, setting prices for different currencies and taking a small commission on transactions
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In order to avoid government regulation, many cryptocurrency projects operate in countries where law enforcement agencies lack the resources to deal with transnational hackers. In an interview, Beth Bisbee, head of U.S. investigations at Chainalysis, a company that tracks cryptocurrency transactions for private companies and government agencies, said those who are hacked are less likely to demand government assistance based on ideology. Several developers, according to Bisbee, are anti-bank and anti-oversight. Therefore, when something like that happens, they don't necessarily want to work with law enforcement, even though they would be considered to be victims and it would be beneficial for them to do so. "There are some similarities between exchange
hacks and bank heists of old, but they don't bear the same hallmarks that once made the news. Despite the large amounts of money involved, these hacks usually go unnoticed by the public. Few exchange hackers are caught, leaving consumers with little recourse. Physical evidence or real-life aftermath are rare: there are no traumatized bank tellers or perp walks. There are, however, some happy endings to hacks." In one bizarre, public case, a hacker stole $600 million from Poly Network, a cryptocurrency platform. Instead of blaming the thief, the company appealed to his better nature, calling him "Mr. White Hat," a cybersecurity term for a researcher working to improve security. He was thanked for exposing a flaw in its code and asked for a refund. The hacker eventually relented and returned everything. But those instances are rare. Usually, when major law enforcement agencies tackle a major cryptocurrency hack, they try to follow every lead, an exhausting process that moves far slower than the criminals they're chasing. Claire Georges, the deputy spokesperson for Europol, the European Union's international law enforcement agency, said the agency is aware of several cases against hackers who steal digital assets. But she said building a solid case is a long, slow process that doesn't keep up with the pace of attacks. "We have a number of investigations going as we speak," Georges said. "They take a long time because we also want to take down the whole criminal network," she said. "These cases often feed into other cases. They could go on forever, several of these investigations usually take time."
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FEATURE Crypto Weekly
There is a big question
facing the metaverse: What is it for?
U
ltimately, the answer to this question will determine the direction and potential profitability of the metaverse. There is a possibility that the metaverse will be worth $10 trillion to $30 trillion by the end of the next decade. There are many ways to invest in virtual and augmented reality, but one is still a mystery. It will be the end of another
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banner year for Wall Street in 17 days. This past weekend, the broad-based S&P 500 rose 25%, and investors have only seen a 5% decline since the peak in 2021. Whenever the finish line approaches, investors look to the future and pick out the trends that will shape the year ahead. Wall Street and investors are focused on the metaverse in 2022.
An opportunity worth $30 trillion is at investors' fingertips Metaverses can be considered the next evolution of the internet. It is a 3D virtual environment where people can interact with their surroundings. A virtual world has a significant dollar figure associated with it and all the entertainment it offers.
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Bloomberg News last month interviewed Matthew Ball, CEO of Venture Capital firm Epyllion, about the future value of the metaverse, which may have surprised some viewers. Due to Ball's launch of a metaverse exchange-traded fund earlier this year, he has an inherent bias toward its long-term success. Even if you have modest expectations, precedents from the digital economy, the internet, and mobile internet suggest $10 trillion to $30 trillion in opportunity that will arrive in a decade or a half. Investors might consider buying shares of virtual and augmented reality device makers, such as Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB). Facebook's parent company, Meta, has seen impressive growth from its Oculus devices, though its revenue accounts for a small percentage of companywide sales. Metaverse money can work in multiple growth channels, which is its most appealing feature. Virtual worlds will require a physical product and technology and services to be accessed by users. These include the semiconductor chips needed to power a virtual world (e.g., Nvidia and AMD), the networks that can support a rapidly growing virtual environment, and the software required to develop virtual content in real-time (e.g., Unity).
Metaverse's future depends on one question However, buried beneath the hype of this potential $30 trillion economy lies a question with massive implications for the metaverse: Is the metaverse decentralized or centralized? The metaverse is a massive priority for Meta Platforms, and its desire for big spending is no secret. Facebook changed its name to Meta in late October to emphasize its new focus. During Meta's third-quarter conference call, Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would invest $10 billion in the metaverse in 2021 and the following years. Given its net cash position of nearly $45 billion and operating cash flow of $53.6 billion over the past year, it certainly has the cash to spend.
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Meta may well be developing a virtual currency or payment platform in addition to physical products required to access the metaverse. This could generate additional revenue for Meta. Under a centralized system, companies like Meta would control most development and reap most of the rewards. Decentralizing the metaverse would change everything.
What would a decentralized metaverse look like? Due to their prominence in the metaverse, two top-performing cryptocurrencies have seen their prices rise this year. The Sandbox has helped Decentraland (CRYPTO: MANA) gain nearly 4,000% since December 10, 2017. On a year-to-date basis, (CRYPTO: SAND) has surged even faster at 13,300%. Most of these gains have occurred since Meta announced its name change on October 28. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, the Decentraland platform is a virtual reality. A blockchain is a digital, decentralized ledger that records immutable transactions. Decentraland's virtual world allows users to purchase and develop digital land and interact with other users. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the digital assets users buy, which can be sold (or bought) on the market. In the virtual world, the protocol token MANA can also pay for goods and services. Similarly, the Sandbox is built on the Ethereum blockchain and follows a play-to-earn model. Land plots can be purchased and developed however the user desires. Often, this involves creating a unique experience for others. You can buy land and interact with other users' content using the protocol SAND token. Meta differs from Decentraland and The Sandbox in its focus on ownership and monetization. The latter allows virtual users to own and monetize their creations. Using the former, creations could be deliberately limited by the most prominent players in the metaverse.
Facebook's parent company, Meta, has seen impressive growth from its Oculus devices, though its revenue accounts for a small percentage of companywide sales. Metaverse money can work in multiple growth channels, which is its most appealing feature I think we have a winner... Is there a clear winner? Metaverse is too early in its development process to determine whether a few major players will dominate most augmented and virtual reality projects or if blockchainbased projects will allow users to build and control their worlds. An investor who has been investing for a long time will never be able to say those three hardest words: I don't know. Cash isn't everything. There is no doubt that many of the largest companies involved in metaverse development have large cash reserves. However, cash is not everything. We have seen companies with massive cash hoards waste their capital on share buybacks and acquisitions that ended up failing. Even so, with companies like Meta investing $10 billion or more annually and with excellent brand recognition, it isn't going to be easy for relatively obscure blockchain projects to keep up. As for whether virtual worlds need blockchain, there is no definitive answer. Although blockchain has shown plenty of promise in expediting the validation and settlement of payments (especially cross-border payments), the technology has not yet been extensively tested. Without a doubt, I'm curious to see which way the pendulum swings. If you want to win big in the metaverse, you don't have to invest on the ground floor. Waiting until the metaverse matures and we answer the most important question may be the best course of action.
December 2021 | Volume 07
26
HIDDEN GEMS Crypto Weekly
PROJECT 1
frogchain
Frogchain
frogchain
Frogchain is a cryptocurrency community built on a trustless “develop, don’t promise” principles currently building play-to-win blockchain games, smart-contract & crypto-project auditing tech, and an accessible reduced-fee project launchpad. To avoid the risk of overpromising and underdelivering on Frogchain, the team has committed to producing substantial technical framework prior
PROJECT 2
shitcoin69
frogchain
to the launch of their coin. You can find out more about the Frogchain project, including how to win some free $Frog tokens by following the link above. As a bonus to readers of Crypto Weekly Magazine, any person who joins the Frogchain telegram channel and posts “Crypto Weekly Mag sent me!” will be entered into a $200 USD prize draw.
Shitcoin
shitcoin69
shitcoin69
Shitcoin is an honest and confident attempt at a solution heavily influenced and driven by the community. The only way Shitcoin will succeed and peak the charts in the most ironic way possible, is if everyone is on the same page on how we get to this stage. And, as stated by everyone’s beloved businessman: “The most ironic outcome is often the most likely”- Elon Musk. Basically Shitcoin is a community of degenerates who’ve been through some shitty times on the Binance Smartchain and promises not to rug by having liquidity locked and contract revoked.
December 2021 | Volume 07
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FEATURE Crypto Weekly
Manifest Performance indicators, balance sheets and regulator guidelines are not the most appealing things to hear about in crypto, but it's necessary for us to operate correctly. Bouncing off of that, there is a certain appeal to a crypto that has its ducks in a row. Countless projects are removing general quality and value from their project and replacing it with marketing and high spirits. We are happy to get people pumped up about crypto, but it has to be done the correct way. For example, you want to tell people key things of what to look for when considering their vote of confidence in that particular crypto. Who is the team? Previous quality projects completed? Are they purely marketing? Is the use case frantically thought of or flimsy? Does the team have a vision of expansion in the future? Does the project rely on people's addiction?
Of course, this isn’t financial advice, but we feel you should have a checklist that you are checking off when you inspect a project. This can be as vast as you want it to be and ultimately can be tuned to your liking. This can be personal auditing procedures or standardized trading strategies. These steps take time to curate correctly and can benefit the user greatly. A simple checklist. Of course you can bend your own rules, but these rules protect you from overvalued and hollow projects. The goal of most of the projects we currently see is short term, under established and widely false. Crypto is fast, this doesn't mean you can forget the key factors of a trade and fundamentals of crypto. Never mistake a tax on a taxation token as a use case or utility.
All that brewing has ultimately led to the market's sour taste and low level mentality. The key to leveling the playing field is a short and sweet one, actually educating people on crypto. A lot of projects will detest what we have to say about them in a formal audit. We have decided to audit any project or firm that audits us, to help people better understand the process. As we pay for more intense auditing services, we can perform even deeper audits of these projects. Meaning, we will bring you the truth. This is going to make us naturally unpopular, we are crypto veterans, we will be alright. We buy the dip!
In summary, don't trust us, or anyone else until you know their tokenomics and team. This is the most basic level of understanding the project. Please make efforts to learn more about the cryptocurrency space overall. We will be in the telegram often to answer people's questions. We don't allow posting of other projects in the group, but if you bring your checklist to us, we can help refine that with you.
Redutoken.com Redutoken.com December 2021 | Volume 07
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BEGINNERS GUIDE Crypto Weekly
But how are altcoins different? It's always helpful to know the basics of blockchain technology, which is the foundation of all cryptocurrencies. We have covered blockchain technology in a previous issue of Crypto Weekly. All cryptos are built upon the same concept; transactions are written to the blockchain ledger after many high computing-powered machines determine legitimate transactions. From there, many altcoins have sought to improve and expand the uses of the blockchain.
Understanding The Altcoin Landscape A
ltcoin is just a fancy term for anything that is not Bitcoin. While all coins not named Bitcoin might be considered altcoins, all altcoins are not the same. We'll go through some of the differences across the altcoin landscape.
what's already great about Bitcoin (its successes). At the same time, other projects want to improve upon their perceived weaknesses.
Ethereum, for example, thought they could improve upon Bitcoin's stellar financial transaction ledger mechanism. Smart contracts are digital contracts written to the blockchain and have extended the use cases for crypto. When certain conditions are met, these smart contracts are automatically executed. Smart contracts could someday replace costly institutions that are slow and expensive, like banks and insurance companies. The bottom line? Alternative cryptocurrencies are coming out of the woodwork that promise to be faster, more decentralized, more scalable, more secure, or a mix of core crypto principles.
At last count, there are over 11,000 cryptocurrencies, according to CoinGecko! While the current market has seen the price of Bitcoin fall, it still maintains over 40% of the total cryptocurrency market cap! That leaves a lot of value to be split amongst the remaining altcoins. While Bitcoin is king, not all altcoins are created equal. The diversity of cryptocurrencies is astounding. Some coins cost less than a penny, while others can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars! There are many different kinds with different purposes and goals - some focus on improving
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What are some of the types of Altcoins? Memecoins Memecoins are altcoins named after social media jokes and puns, and they gain most of their value from community participation. Memecoin's value is not tied to fundamentals such as scarcity or market capitalization, as with Bitcoin. It is common for memecoins to hit the crypto ecosystem in large quantities and be purchased by eager trend followers, prominent crypto influencers, and retail investors seeking short-term gains.
Utility Tokens Utility tokens are a kind of cryptocurrency that may be used to pay transaction costs or redeemed for rewards on the blockchain. Investors can utilize them to pay fees associated with creating art, minting new coins, and more. For example, Ether allows users to cover gas fees on the Ethereum network. Filecoin is another example where users may buy file storage capacity on the Filecoin blockchain network. It's worth noting that utility tokens do not provide share dividends or give investors an ownership stake. Security Tokens are a digitized fractional version of a tangible asset with value
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like securities or shares traded in the stock market. Whether it be a real estate holding, intellectual property, or a business venture, security tokens are a way to record ownership stake in them. The records are immutable (cannot be altered or erased).
Mining-based Mining is how mining-based cryptocurrencies come to exist, similar to how diamonds are mined. In most mining-based altcoins, Proof-ofWork or PoW are used to create new coins as a result of solving complex problems, which results in new blocks. The best-known type of mining-based cryptocurrency is, of course, Bitcoin. Other mining-based cryptocurrencies include Litecoin and Monero. A premined coin, on the other hand, is not created by solving complex problems, but rather by being distributed before it is put on the market. Ripple's XRP is one example of a pre-mined coin.
Stablecoins Stablecoins came about to reduce overall cryptocurrency volatility by pegging their value to another less volatile asset like fiat currencies (the dollar), precious metals (gold), or other cryptocurrencies. The price fluctuations of stablecoins are limited to a narrow
range. Notable stablecoins include Tether's USDT and USD Coin (USDC). Despite the fact that holding stablecoins alone won't offer additional profits from price increases, many investors choose stablecoins to convert them easily into another cryptocurrency rather than converting from U.S. dollars. Stablecoins may also be used to send and receive funds quickly and globally. If you are looking to earn off your stablecoins, you should look into decentralized finance or DeFi. A DeFi platform enables users to lend stablecoins to each other, earning interest in return, without the involvement of third parties such as banks. Moreover, some platforms offer tokens in addition to the interest they receive from the platform.
As always, DYOR! The use of altcoins may be a good option for market investors looking to diversify their portfolios. While many altcoins might be inexpensive, that does not mean they are without risk. Not all altcoin projects will succeed, and so before investing, it is essential to do your own research and understand what the organization behind them is trying to accomplish. While there is a risk that some (or many!) altcoins will fail, there is also potential for significant returns. In the end, altcoins are proof of cryptocurrency's potential to revolutionize financial systems.
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FEATURE Crypto Weekly
Crypto Price Prediction: Exchange CEO Warns Bitcoin Crash In 2022 With Huge Ethereum, BNB, Solana, Cardano, And XRP Sell-Offs B
itcoin and other cryptocurrencies fell sharply this week, with the combined value of the crypto market losing almost $1 trillion since its peak in November, a 1,000% gain. The Bitcoin price has fallen to lows of just over $45,000 per Bitcoin, a more than 30% decline from an all-time high of almost $70,000 last month. Meanwhile, other major cryptocurrencies, including Ehereum, Binance's BNB, Solana, Cardano, and Ripple's XRP have also struggled—all dropping double-digit percentages from their highs.
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The CEO of the US-based Kraken crypto exchange has warned that Bitcoin prices will fall dramatically in 2022 due to tighter global central bank policy along with global stock markets. This week, Kraken CEO Jesse Powell said that many buyers view anything under $40,000 as a bargain in an interview with Bloomberg. He added that Bitcoin's price may drop below $40,000 this winter. "I bought it when we dipped back close to $30k, a few months ago." Powell predicted that Bitcoin would reach $100,000 by
2021. "It's hard to predict where [the Bitcoin price] goes," Powell said. "But when you look at a long-term trendline of Bitcoin and it's just up consistently." "If you're thinking of investing in Bitcoin, consider it for at least five years." Earlier this month, other Bitcoin and crypto market watchers began calling out some of the more ambitious Bitcoin price predictions. "$100,000 by the end of the year is a difficult prediction to make. I think $100,000 could be in target in 2022 but this year, I'm not so
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The CEO of the US-based Kraken crypto exchange has warned that Bitcoin prices will fall dramatically in 2022 due to tighter global central bank policy along with global stock markets sure," Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan said in an interview. Others are taking a watch-and-see approach to the Bitcoin price as the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world move to taper their Covid-19 pandemic stimulus measures. "Downward trajectory pertaining to Bitcoin currently remains intact as market participants continue to price in fundamentals," Tammy Da Costa, an analyst at DailyFX, wrote in emailed comments. "For much of this year, rising inflation has supported Bitcoin prices allowing it to climb to yet another all-time high just last month. However, with global policymakers now expressing a more hawkish tone, Bitcoin prices have stabilized above $45,000 which continues to provide support for the imminent move." This week, the Federal Reserve said it's expecting to raise interest rates three times in 2022 and will accelerate the winding down of its huge bond-buying policy in the face of soaring inflation that's hit a 40-year high. "Much like gold and other safe-haven assets, investors have used Bitcoin against rising inflation," added Da Costa. "With higher interest rates and a faster pace of tapering now expected to proceed, further rate hikes may pose as an additional catalyst for price action over the longer term. From a technical aspect, the fact that prices have retraced by over 20% since the November high confirms that Bitcoin has entered into a bear market. Although price action is currently trading within a well-defined range, bulls may struggle to regain control over the systemic, prominent trend, at least for now."
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"$100,000 by the end of the year is a difficult prediction to make. I think $100,000 could be in target in 2022 but this year, I'm not so sure," Matt Hougan Bitwise chief investment officer
December 2021 | Volume 07
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