Categories
News

Hackathon Winner DEX.AG Launches on Settle App Store, Giving Crypto Traders Best Available Price

The launch

The fervour surrounding non-custodial exchanges, or decentralized exchanges (DEXes) – as they are commonly referred to as – has eased dramatically in recent times, along with the price of bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and the cryptocurrency market in general. A project called DEX.AG, however, is out to rekindle the haemorrhaging DEX narrative. That journey started today with the launch of DEX.AG’s alpha version.

Introduced via an announcement from Settle – a web-native operating system for decentralized finance – DEX.AG represents an app that lets users “instantly compare prices across decentralized exchanges.” Regarding why this is important for crypto traders and investors, the announcement went on to state that:

Until now, there hasn’t been an easy way to compare prices on different DEXes. It’s cumbersome to navigate each DEX’s interface and remember each price, and by time you finish checking them all, your opportunity may have slipped away.”

You see, by aggregating pricing data (i.e., the reason for the “AG” in DEX.AG) from various DEXes, the need for the user to onerously navigate between multiple DEX interfaces in search for the best price is eliminated. In many ways, DEX.AG’s solution is similar to what the likes of Fetch and Totle are offering.

At launch, DEX.AG users can compare prices between the following seven DEXes: Uniswap, DDEX, LedgerDex, Kyber, IDEX, Paradex and Radar Relay. Notably, the latter two are the most heavily used relayers built on 0x (ZRX). At the time of writing, they account for a collective 96.6 percent of trading volume (USD) over the past 24 hours – Paradex (70.2%) and Radar Relay (26.4%) – according to data retrieved from 0x Tracker.

As for what can currently be traded on DEX.AG, users have the option to buy and/or sell 23 different crypto tokens, all of which are paired against ether (ETH). Most of these – such as Augur (REP), FunFair (FUN) and 0x (ZRX) – are crypto tokens native to Ethereum-enabled ecosystems, whilst others – like Dai (DAI) and True USD (TUSD) – are stablecoins.

Earlier in January, Settle declared DEX.AG the winner of Settle Virtual Hackathon 2 (SVH2), which ran from November 26 until December 10. For their efforts, DEX.AG’s creator Timur Badretdinov won $3,000 worth of ETH.

Categories
News

Zhao Speaks About Potential Of Blockchain With Gaming

There is little doubt that blockchain will change the way that human beings interact with each other and the way that industries operate. However, many blockchain proponents are constantly wondering and debating about which industry will help the most regards with mass adoption. Well, it appears as though Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, has offered his opinion about a sector.

Although he didn’t necessarily state that the industry would be single-handedly responsible for mass adoption, Zhao did seem to indicate that the gaming industry could be instrumental with regards to blockchain. This is quite significant, considering that Zhao is easily one of the most influential figures in the sector.

About The Comments

One of the reasons that Zhao even brought up gaming is because there is a new popular game that is accepting Binance (BNB) tokens. That game is the collectible trading game Steem Monsters, which involves six kingdoms and has various RPG elements, and is based on the Steem blockchain.

Zhao took to Twitter to express his excitement about the announcement. He not only spoke about the opportunity that the gaming industry presented, but also indicated that its tokenization was inevitable. Specifically, he stated: “Gaming is a not-so-small industry yet to be tokenized.  Fast or slow, it will happen.” He went on to add that his company was ready to help. You can find the tweet below:

https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1090082827293450241

Obvious Opportunity

Zhao does seem to have a point. After all, there are over 2 billion video gamers in the world, which indicates that a significant amount of the global population is a gamer. In addition, blockchain can help with regards to creating a secure ecosystem for gamers to trade digital assets, for example.

In addition, the industry is growing significantly. In the United States, for example, year after year, the video game industry sets records with regards to sales. In 2018, there were over $43 billion in video game sales in America alone.

Categories
News

Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) Goes Live on Ethereum Blockchain; Much-Needed Liquidity to DEX, DeFi Sectors

water

Well, they left it to the penultimate day of the month, but those behind the Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) project have made good on their promise of a January launch after today saw the ERC20-compliant version of the bitcoin (BTC) cryptocurrency go live on the Ethereum (ETH) mainnet.

For those that need reminding, the Wrapped Bitcoin project was unveiled late last October by its three founding projects – Kyber Network (KNC), BitGo and (the formerly named) Republic Protocol (REN). It was borne out of a desire to add much-needed liquidity to the Ethereum network; a problem that has negatively impacted the user-experience on various Ethereum-powered non-custodial exchanges (e.g. IDEX, ForkDelta, Ethfinex Trustless) and lending platforms (e.g. Dharma, Lendroid, Compound).

Looking to the orderbook – where all minting and burning of WBTC is recorded – the first day of WBTC’s existence on the Ethereum mainnet has seen the supply of the bitcoin-backed ERC20 token balloon to 65.42, at the time of writing – the equivalent of $223,169 (USD).

Notably 50 of this 65.42 WTBC – or, 76.4 percent – was minted by Kyber early on Monday morning. Together with crypto liquidity firm Prycto – who has minted 12.18 WBTC – the two projects account for a whopping 95 percent of all WBTC in existence.

Whilst there is an impressive total of 24 launch partners for the WBTC project, just seven of these are so-called ‘merchants’, that is, the projects responsible for interacting with custodians so as to mint and burn WBTC and provide KYC/AML for users.

With Kyber and Prycto being two of these seven, the remaining five are as follows: AirSwap (AST), Dharma, Ethfinex, GOPAX, Ren (formerly Republic Protocol), and Set Protocol. Once these projects begin minting, expect to see the WBTC network total increase significantly. Currently, the only destination available for these seven projects to go to create wrapped tokens is WBTC co-founding corporation, BitGo.

It will be interesting to note the rate of adoption WBTC sees moving forward. Certainly, it appears a godsend for the nascent open finance space running on Ethereum, not to mention the numerous non-custodial exchanges that, due primarily to debilitated liquidity, are seeing all-time lows in terms of USD traded value – according to the most recent issue (i.e., v3.3) of Diar.

Categories
News

An Economist Recognizes Massive Crypto Opportunity

There is no doubt that there are many economists that have dismissed the cryptocurrency markets for years. There are those that believed that Bitcoin was going to be nothing more than a fad, and that it would never reach the prices that it has reached, even if it currently is continuing to consolidate under $4,000.

Of course, there is something to be said for perspectives and biases. Our own experiences might account for our own attitudes, which is something that an economist has recently highlighted. Specifically, Anya Nova is a crypto economist with Perth-based Power Ledger, and points out that her own childhood is what helps her truly believe in the potential of the cryptocurrency markets.

Childhood Woes

Nova grew up in 1990s Russia, which experienced hyperinflation, so one might see why she gravitated towards cryptocurrency. She recalls the extreme volatility that occurred during this time period, and the direct effect that it had on her family. She stated: “I remember my mom sent me to buy a loaf of bread from a local store. The day before, one loaf was the equivalent of 60 cents, today it was $3.40. This was not an immaterial change for my single mother and me.”

While others might be hesitant about Bitcoin because it is a digital asset and isn’t used for everyday purchases – Nova views things a little differently. She points out that just because you can physically hold money, it doesn’t guarantee anything, and references her childhood as proof of this. She elaborated: “If you’ve ever held a large bundle of worthless cash in your hand, you’d know the feeling.”

Massive Opportunity

Nova isn’t shy about the potential of blockchain and cryptocurrency, and she believes that there is simply so many sectors that can benefit from tokenization. She specifically mentions these sectors: “$217 trillion dollars in real estate, $55 trillion dollars in equities, $6 trillion dollars in gold.”

She also stressed that she was very optimistic about security tokens, as well. Nova works for Power Ledger, a blockchain energy project, which wants to power communities with reliable and low-cost electricity.

Categories
Betting

Crypto Casinos And Regulation

hand holding bitcoin and pile of casino chips on white background

The gambling industry has been through some radical changes over the last decade, especially with everything seeming to have shifted from desktop over to mobile and tablet. The online gambling market is predicted to be worth just under $60 billion USD by 2020, and with mobile gaming still booming, it has allowed other types of gaming to prosper too. One of those is crypto casinos, so what does the future hold for these?

There’s still unquestionably a lack of platforms that have been developed and licensed by reputable companies to enable cryptocurrency-based iGaming to take off and be truly recognised. Industry leaders such as mFortune Mobile Casino and Mr Green are still yet to accept crypto wagering across any of their services. This could be put down to the technological restraints applied due to their platforms being designed to deal exclusively with fiat currency, or a reluctance to spearhead the movement and undergo the necessary changes when it comes to incorporating blockchain-based requirements.

One of the stand out issues with crypto casinos is that they are unregulated as they have been since their earliest roots in the provably fair crypto dice gambling sites initially popular with players. Many of these operators will suggest that as they’re provably fair, there’s no requirement for regulation in the first place. Furthermore, many are also hinting at the fact that a need for regulation would see barriers in place if they wanted to break into the mainstream market. However, regulation is there to protect the players at these online and mobile casinos, especially those who may go on to develop a gambling problem. The consumer trusts regulated markets more, hence the lack of popularity where crypto-based iGaming is concerned.

It can be a win win situation for all involved if crypto casinos look to embrace a more transparent and ethical approach. By crypto-based casinos complying with regulations, players will immediately be protected from cyber crime such as fraud and identity theft, and in turn the operator would see more players using their service making them ultimately more profitable.

If a crypto casino operator was to work hand in hand with the authorities and regulators it would see them benefit in numerous ways. They’d have access to the full gambling market, they would no doubt be more credible, and this is vital within the industry. In addition, these crypto operators could secure partnerships with various exchanges, whilst having access to banking services and payment providers as well as partnerships with affiliate and media networks too.

Edgeless were the first blockchain based casino to receive a casino license after being approved by the relevant authorities and it’s been imperative for their growth. It was a big step for blockchain based operators and an indication that this is indeed the path to follow. It will be interesting to see if any of the industry’s more established names are willing to adopt cryptocurrency as a payment method, embracing blockchain technology in the process. It will certainly be a sign that things are set to change once again, in an industry which is constantly evolving.

Categories
News

Iran Plans State-Backed Cryptocurrency

Often times, when cryptocurrency enthusiasts and proponents think about cryptocurrency and decentralization, we think about the fact that we can provide a way for those who do not have access to traditional financial institutions to have a way to exchange money. We also think about free speech, and the fact that central authorities cannot manipulate currencies.

However, there’s a drawback. There’s the idea that a country that is isolated financially for a reason can still develop a cryptocurrency to galvanize themselves economically. That appears to be becoming a reality, as there are reports that Iran will be developing a state-backed cryptocurrency to circumvent global sanctions.

Announcement Soon

The announcement is expected to be made very soon. In fact, on January 29, at the Electronic Banking and Payments System conference, in Tehran, Iran, the announcement is expected to be made. The year’s theme even seems to hint at the announcement, as it is “blockchain revolution”.

The reason for the announcement is the fact that U.S. president Donald Trump had announced the reinstatement of sanctions against the country last year. They aim to target various sectors of Iran’s economy, including its oil sales, shipping industry, banking industry, and more.

Rollout/Context

One of the more urgent reasons for the cryptocurrency is the fact that the United States has even turned the Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) against the country. Many were surprised at the move, and others pointed to the influence of the United States as the main reason, considering the organization is supposed to be an independent organization.

The new announcement certainly proves that the sanctions are affecting Iran’s economy significantly, considering its own government issues an official ban against cryptocurrencies in April of last year. Many attributed this to the fact that the rial, Iran’s currency, had hit an all-time-low around the same time.

Categories
News

Crypto Winter Hasn’t Hit Zug Yet

There is one undeniable fact about markets and business – there are ups and downs, and times of growth and prosperity, and times where companies have to figure out how to cut costs as quickly as possible. While more people than ever are aware of blockchain and cryptocurrency, the markets still aren’t off to the best start, as it appears as though Bitcoin still cannot break past the $4000 resistance level (as of press time).

However, that isn’t stopping one area of the world from betting on blockchain in the long-term. That area is none other than Zug, Switzerland, which has been described as the “Silicon Valley” of crypto, and also as “Crypto Valley”. Interestingly enough, there are more companies than ever in the cryptocurrency space, even if their valuations have been adjusted, thanks to the markets.

About Zug

For those who have never heard of Zug – it is a city of about 30,000 residents an hour outside of Zurich, which is the largest city in Switzerland. One of the reasons that it has been able to attract so many blockchain and crypto companies is because it boasts a low corporate tax rate.

Interestingly enough, the city is an affluent one, but is so small that it doesn’t even have its own airport. However, that hasn’t stopped many companies from clustering in the area, eager to come up with the next innovative company as it relates to blockchain technology.

About The Study

While many have called this period of time a “crypto winter”, where cryptocurrency companies are either experiencing layoffs or actually folding – Zug has actually experienced an uptick in terms of entrepreneurs creating cryptocurrency-related companies. Specifically, just in the last quarter (Q4 2018), the region has expanded by 20%, rising from 629 business entities in the sector to 750.

This certainly is curious, considering that the markets still haven’t recovered from 2017, which featured some incredibly bearish price action. For some context, the average cryptocurrency business has a valuation of 27 million. For those wondering about the larger businesses; the average valuation of the top 50 companies hovered at around $400 million.

Categories
News

Cryptocurrency Discussed On Joe Rogan Podcast

The Joe Rogan Experience is one of the most popular podcasts in the world, and Joe Rogan is widely considered to be a pioneer of the space. Rogan used to host the popular show Fear Factor, but is also widely known as a UFC commentator and comedian, and he has a wide variety of individuals on his guests, from comedians, to conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones, to some of the most well-known CEOs in the world, such as Elon Musk.

The 51 year-old now has an audience that rivals most TV networks, and has garnered a loyal fanbase of millions. He most recently had Killer Mike on his platform, and they discussed cryptocurrency.

About Killer Mike

For those who are unaware, Killer Mike has been an active rapper for about two decades now, featuring on the iconic duo Outkast’s album Stankonia in 2002. He recently has reached a new level of fame as one-half of Run The Jewels, one of the most critically-acclaimed hip-hop groups in recent years.

 

He is also quite the activist, and is well-known for supporting Bernie Sanders as a presidential candidate, as seen above. He came on Rogan’s podcast to promote a new show titled Trigger Warning, a Netflix documentary series.

About The Conversation

Rogan initiated the conversation, asking Killer Mike if he was paying attention to cryptocurrency. The rapper admitted that he wasn’t too familiar with the space, and had just gotten into stocks.

Rogan then spoke about how he fascinated about the idea of a “decentralized economy”. He elaborated that it was interesting to think about currency that was outside of the control of banks, and how a currency could exist that wasn’t affected by local exchange rates. He concluded that if true decentralization was achieved, “it would be a really different world.”

Categories
News

Leading Crypto Projects, dApp Devs Flock to San Francisco to Talk Ethereum, Web3 at The Graph’s Graph Day

Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco

Some of the most innovative minds in the crypto industry are uniting at Graph Day today, where the future of the emerging Web3 movement will be explored from a range of perspectives such as that of software developers, investors, and community members.

Located at the Grand Theater in the heart of San Francisco, Graph Day, which is organized by The Graph, an indexing and query protocol for Web3 using GraphQL, has been in the making for several months.

Speaking at the one-day event are members from various San Francisco-headquartered projects, including Josh Fraser (Co-Founder & CTO, Origin Protocol), Alex Skidanov (CEO, Near Protocol), Robert Leshner (CEO, Compound).

Many others are flying in from all over the United States to present at Graph Day, too. Specifically, these people are: Lane Rettig (Independent Core Developer, eWASM), Eric Tang (Co-Founder & CTO, Livepeer), Esteban Ordano (Co-Founder & CTO, Decentraland), Tara Tan* (Venture Studio Lead, IDEO CoLab) and Josh Nussbaum (Founding Partner, Compound VC).

Of course, it couldn’t be Graph Day without some representation from The Graph team. The following three members from the team are presenting: Yani Tal (Project Lead), Brandon Ramirez (Research Lead) and Rodrigo Coelho (Community Lead). Additionally, Jannis Pohlmann (Tech Lead) will feature alongside Tal and Ramirez in will be a 30-minute-long, Q&A-style panel.

In his keynote presentation earlier in the day, Yaniv Tal unveiled The Graph’s new explorer user-interface and hosted service, according to the below tweet from Ramirez.

The explorer – which lets users discover so-called subgraphs – has been released in collaboration with the following seven Web3- and Ethereum-oriented projects: Dharma, Compound, Uniswap, Ethereum Name Service (ENS), Origin Protocol, Decentraland (MANA), and Livepeer (LPT). The page for each of the seven subgraphs contains a playground that lets you query that subgraph’s data with GraphQL, a query language for APIs and a runtime for fulfilling those queries with your existing data.

*According to her LinkedIn profile, Tan is in fact based out of San Francisco. IDEO CoLab, however, is headquartered in Massachusetts.

Categories
News

Italy Might Pass First Blockchain Law

While there are countries that are still arguing about how exactly to classify or regulate cryptocurrency – it appears as though Italy is busy trying to figure out how to use blockchain technology in ways that could make the world more efficiently.

Specifically, Italy’s Senate is exploring exactly how to allow for “timestamping” with respect to blockchain and validate documents using blockchain. For example, this would allow for there to be a legal precedent for data and documents of all kinds, and the distributed ledger technology would make the verification that much more secure, for example.

Italy Open To Change

While two committees – the committee of Constitutional Affairs, and the committee of Public Works – have approved the amendment – Italian parliament would have to actually turn the regulation into law. There are two important aspects to the amendment, in that it actually defines “smart contract” and “distributed ledger technology”.

While other countries are still ambivalent on how to deal with the sector – Italy, last month, published a list of 30 different experts to come up with a “blockchain strategy” for the nation. The list includes individuals involved in business, law, research, science, and more.

Banks Already Involved

In a growing trend, Italy’s banks are already exploring how to utilize blockchain for increased efficiency. The platform that they decided to use was developed by the startup R3, and is known as “Corda Enterprise”, which has made headway globally. In fact, Italy’s second-largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, and thirteen other banks, were involved.

The idea was to improve interbank transactions, and took place over ten months. This also involved over 1.2 million transactions over this period of time, as well. The tests were also conducted in partnership with ABI Lab, which is backed by the Italian Banking Association. The banks also plan on moving forward to utilizing blockchain for everyday transactions in general, during the trial’s next phase, being conducted now.