Tag: Binance

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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.

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Binance Launches Binance Jersey In European Expansion

When it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges that have been able to expand despite the bearish markets of 2018, many point to Binance as an example. The exchange, which is the world’s largest by daily volume, is continuing its expansion plans in the Europe launching a “fiat-to-crypto” trading platform entitled “Binance Jersey”.

The platform will not only allow for traders and investors to invest in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) using the euro, but will also allow them to invest using the British pound (GBP). This is interesting timing, considering that many UK politicians are uncertain about “Brexit” and the prime minister, Theresa May, is facing more resistance than ever.

About The Area

For those that are unaware, Jersey is an island in the English channel that is a British self-governing dependency, and is often utilized as an offshore tax haven. It also displayed a remarkable amount of foresight with regards to cryptocurrency markets, as it was the first jurisdiction in the world to greenlight a fully regulated Bitcoin fund five years ago.

It is clear that Binance is viewing the economic controversy around Brexit as an opportunity for more UK citizens to begin adopting and using cryptocurrency instead of the British pound or euro. The CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of Binance, Wei Zhao, also believes in the way that Jersey seems to embrace cryptocurrency, stating: “Jersey is an undisputed pioneer in blockchain development leveraged by this strong framework and talent pool.”

Uncertainty and Context

Zhao was not shy about the fact that there was an opportunity with cryptocurrency, considering that there is so much controversy about fiat currency in the area as of right now. He mentioned “economic opportunities for Europeans as well as freedom from looming Brexit uncertainty where the pound and euro are also in concern.”

Interestingly enough, Binance Jersey will operate independently of its parent company, Binance.com. Binance Jersey is working directly with the government to create jobs for locals, and partnered with its economic development agency back in June 2018.

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Thailand Allows Four Crypto Exchanges To Operate

There is one region of the world that has not been too open to cryptocurrency, and it’s a very important one. Specifically, Asia includes the two most populous countries in the world, China and India, one of which is already considered a superpower, while the other is considered an “emerging superpower”.

However, China has cracked down on cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings (ICOs), while India has not been receptive to the space either. However, it appears that Thailand is taking a different route.

Thailand Greenlights Exchanges

One way of determining whether a country is open to cryptocurrency is to find out about whether there are cryptocurrency exchanges are operating there. For example, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily volume, had to focus outside of China when the country started cracking down on the sector. In fact, many believe that it was this adaptability that led to its immense success.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the country has granted four operating licenses to various cryptocurrency exchanges. These cryptocurrency businesses include Bitcoin Co, Bitkub Online Co Ltd, and Satang Corporation Co Ltd, which were given licenses to operate as cryptocurrency exchanges. Another business, Coins TH Co Ltd – was given a license as a cryptocurrency broker/dealer.

Companies Turned Down

Of course, this does not mean that every company who applied was allowed a license. Two other exchanges by the name of Cash2Coins Ltd and SouthEast Asia Ltd were denied, and their applications were determined to be inadequate.

The Finance Ministry will still allow these two companies to operate until January 14th, giving the company enough time to notify its customers. However, by the 14th, they are expected to terminate all cryptocurrency business. Another exchange by the name of Coin Asset Co is still awaiting approval, but can continue operating.

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Binance CEO Named Top Crypto Influencer

There are many in the cryptocurrency community that often criticize year-end lists, but Coindesk recently named the Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, as the #1 cryptocurrency influencer in the world. While there will always be those who disagree, one could definitely argue that the position is well-deserved.

Zhao is the CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily volume, and he has also aggressively expanded in 2018, a year where many cryptocurrency and blockchain startups were forced to shutter. Coindesk also took the opportunity to sit down with Zhao and discuss the markets and his thoughts in general.

Persistent And Innovative

One of the points that the article makes is that Zhao was not always considered a top cryptocurrency influencer by any means. In fact, he was associated with OkCoin, a China-based cryptocurrency exchange, and actually spent his time afterwards in a kind of exile before founding Binance.

One interesting quote came from Jehan Chu of Kenetic Capital, which actually passed on the massive opportunity to invest in Binance early. She admitted that this was the wrong decision, stating: “What’s worked really well is his ability to adapt to the changing market and come up with the type of innovations that the market didn’t even know that they want it. They were the first to come up with an exchange token. I think that’s what’s most impressive about CZ: his vision to just try different things, iterate and then execute.”

Current Thoughts

Much of the interview was discussing Zhao’s thoughts outside of the cryptocurrency markets. For example, he pointed out that he believed simultaneously that laws were necessary but that he also believed in freedom. For example, he stated: “I do think we need rules for society to function well. But at the same time, I’m also very freedom driven. I believe we can increase the level of freedom.”

Zhao’s appeal is now globally known, and he is amicably referred to by the entire cryptocurrency global community now as “CZ”. Many have stated that his appeal is beyond the traditional financial sector, but also stems to those that are still skeptical about cryptocurrencies in general. He also seems to be full of surprises, even getting a tattoo recently to represent his dedication to Binance.

Ultimately, the interview seemed to hint that “CZ” is just getting started. He says: “I hope someday I can be as influential as Elon Musk.”

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Binance Offers Competition/Prizes To Start Off 2019

Binance is starting the year off with a bang, offering a competition that is offering lucrative prizes to users. The competition was announced 7 hours ago (as of press time), on Binance’s official website.

The competition will end on January 15, 2018 at 0:00 UTC, for those interested. The winners will be announced and broadcast live on “multiple social media platforms”, although the date has not yet been announced.

About The Competition

The total prizes include 33,000 Binance tokens (BNB) and 10 iPhone XS Max’s (256 GB), and anyone worldwide can compete in the competition. Users will be ranked based on total BNB volume, and this includes trading volume across these pairs: BNB/BTC, BNB/ETC, BNB/USDT, and BNB/PAX. For those who are not aware, “trading volume” includes both buys and sells.

It’s important to note that Binance does include the caveat that it “reserves the right to disqualify trades that are deemed unfair or display attributes of market manipulation.” Also, participants “will not be eligible to win multiple prizes in a single competition.”

Prize Details

The total prize pool is 33,000 BNB, which will be split as follows: the first prize will receive 10,000 BNB, the second prize will receive 6,000 BNB, and the third prize will receive 2,000 BNB. In addition, the 4th to 10th place will split 8,000 evenly amongst the users, and the 11th to 20th places will split 7,000 evenly.

For those wondering about the value of the prizes, it comes out to over $200,000, as of press time. Specifically, the BNB token (as of press time) has a price of $6.10. This means that 33,000 BNB tokens have a value of $201,300, at that price. In addition, there will be a lucky draw for the 10 iPhones. For eligibility, all one has to do is have a total trading volume of 1,000 BNB during the competition period.

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Changpeng Zhao Writes Letter About Binance’s 2018

There’s no doubt that the end of the year offers time for individuals of all kinds to reflect on the past 365 days. Thanksgiving urges us all to be grateful, and the holiday season also allows us to spend time with our family, friends, and loved ones. Similarly, it appears as though Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao has taken the time to write a reflective letter regarding the past year.

Zhao recognized that it was a hard year for many, given the fact that cryptocurrency markets lost hundreds of billions of dollars in market capitalization. However, he struck an optimistic tone, as he noted that overall, the cryptocurrency market looks good entering into 2019.

List Of Thoughts

Zhao titled the letter the “2018 Binance Year End Review”, and the official Binance account tweeted a link to the letter:

The Binance CEO summarized some disappointments of 2018. First and foremost, he acknowledged that the cryptocurrency bull market of late 2017 caused some unrealistic expectations. In addition, he added that the ICO market in 2018 “didn’t deliver.”

Specifically, he stated, in a “short list off the top of my head”:

“– Price overswung on the up side in 2017.

– Many ICO projects from 2017 were expected to deliver in 2018, but didn’t.

– There were a number of security incidents at various exchanges.

– Regulatory uncertainty in many locations around the world stalled industry advancement.

– We, as a young industry, were not very united. There were fights between projects, between people, and stupid forks that triggered further drops in price.”

He ended this portion of the letter by stating “I guess with freedom comes a bit of chaos.”

Progress In Other Areas

However, it has been an incredible year for Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily volume. Even if the cryptocurrency markets were disappointing, Binance certainly has made its presence more known in more parts of the world than ever, in addition to making progress in other areas.

Some of the achievements that Zhao listed were the fact that Binance had made progress with its philanthropic arm, Binance Charity Foundation, and also with its Binance Labs, which aims to be an incubator for blockchain startups, as well. The company also launched the Binance Academy, which is an education portal to help the general public learn more about cryptocurrency.

The letter makes clear clear that Zhao is looking forward to more developments in 2019 regarding cryptocurrency and Binance.

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Chainalysis Study Determines Many Bitcoin (BTC) Addresses “Irrelevant”

It’s not hard to tell that there are all sorts of varying attitudes when it comes to cryptocurrency and blockchain. There are individuals who are simply concerned with using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as an investment vehicle to trade, or hold, for wealth, for example. There are other individuals that truly believe in principles such as decentralization and transparency and believe that blockchain technology will help to create a fairer world, as well. There are also others who are interested to see how blockchain changes specific sectors, such as retail, infrastructure, manufacturing, and logistics.

A recent study proved that there is certainly a significant amount of the population that are actually serious about holding Bitcoin. Specifically, a Chainalysis study pointed out that even though there are 460 million Bitcoin (BTC) addresses, many of them hold no economic value, or even hold Bitcoin at all.

Study Details

 

Chainalysis found that out of a staggering 288 Bitcoin addresses, 93% of them were used only once, which might surprise some cryptocurrency enthusiasts. These addresses currently hold no actual balances.

In essence, it appears as though these wallets were created to facilitate a certain amount of payments for a certain period of time, between two individuals, or for certain services, and are not used continuously.

More Information

This certainly doesn’t spell doom for the cryptocurrency sector, especially considering how bearish the cryptocurrency markets were this year. The researchers are simply finding out specific information and how and when individuals are buying and holding cryptocurrency. For example, they stated: “We estimate that on average only 20 percent of the bitcoin transaction value is economic, in that it is a final transfer between different people via economically relevant addresses. The remaining 80 percent is returned as change.”

For those that are unaware, Chainalysis is a blockchain surveillance company that has gained traction in the industry. It raised millions earlier this year, and the company even recently announced a high-profile partnership with Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume.

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Binance Labs Launching Blockchain Startups

There is no denying the fact that Binance is one of the most important companies in the cryptocurrency sector. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering it is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily volume, and is steadily expanding worldwide, in countries all around the world.

Binance Labs has also apparently been focusing on incubation, as it has officially announced the launch of eight projects that the company has been incubating for months. Specifically, the company has not only provided mentorship for these projects, but resources, as well.

Expansion Plans

Several months ago, Binance announced a joint partnership with the Lichtenstein Cryptoassets Exchange (LXC) in order to launch a fiat-to-crypto exchange. The Prime Minister of Lichtenstein even commented on the venture, stating: “We are confident that Liechtenstein’s existing and future legal framework and practice provide a robust foundation for the Binance LXC and other blockchain companies to provide exceptional services here in Liechtenstein.

That isn’t the only place that Binance is expanding, however. The company recently made headway in Uganda, signing up 40,000 users in its first week, which seemed to confirm the idea that Africa’s demand for cryptocurrency is legitimate. This is significant, considering that many consider Africa’s unbanked population to be a massive opportunity for the fintech sector.

Project Launches

Ella Zhang, the head of Binance Labs, elaborated that Binance was dedicated to building a blockchain ecosystem worldwide. She stated: In the long run, we aim to build up a strong blockchain ecosystem and network of BUIDLers around the world. Our first incubation program in San Francisco was an amazing experience and we are grateful to the mentors, advisers and friends who helped our BUIDLers during the 10 weeks. We are very excited to expand our program next season and meet with blockchain projects across five different continents — scaling quickly, that is Binance speed.

 

The program was selective, with over 500 projects applying. However, only eight startups will launch. They include projects such as SafePal, which markets itself as the “best hardware wallet ever”, and Torus, which aims to help ease the process of logging into decentralized apps.

 

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Iran Turning To Blockchain?

While there are many individuals in the traditional finance world that still attempt to downplay the cryptocurrency markets, more politicians and businessman are praising the fact that blockchain technology can improve our world in ways that we simply cannot imagine. Interestingly enough, an official from Iran has recently pointed out that cryptocurrencies and blockchain could actually revitalize Iran’s economy.

Iran Official Interested

His name is Alireza Daliri, and he is a Deputy for Management Development and Resources at the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology. He was quick to point out that other countries were already benefiting from blockchain, stating: “Over 140 countries are now benefiting from blockchain technology around the world.”

While he acknowledged that there was risk involved, he declared that while some governments are concerned about blockchain technology, “its benefits are more than its damages”, while also pointing out that blockchain could “decrease bureaucratic procedures”, as well.

Iran and Crypto

Iran seems to view cryptocurrency as a positive way to spur innovation. Daliri was supposedly behind the scenes with regards to laying groundwork for possibly creating a new national cryptocurrency in order to circumvent U.S. sanctions. The national cryptocurrency would be backed by the official currency of Iran, the rial.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani

The plans were supposedly even approved by Hassan Rouhani, the current president of Iran. An individual by the name of Saeed Mahdiyoun, the deputy director of the Supreme Cyberspace Council, confirmed these plans months ago, but did not elaborate.

While Iran might utilize blockchain technology in various ways – the investor/trader climate in Iran is not looking so great in Iran since Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily volume, recently warned its users to withdraw their capital.

This is a result of U.S. sanctions, which activated on November 5. Iranian Binance users received an email, stating: “If you have an account with Binance and fall into that [sanctions] category, please withdraw your assets from Binance as soon as possible,” reads an email received in recent days by Iranian users, according to several local sources.