Tag: Cryptocurrency markets

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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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WSJ Finds Around 15% Of ICO Projects Examined “Questionable”

One of the main criticisms about the cryptocurrency markets is the fact that the initial coin offering (ICO) market has been wrought with issues. Of course, the fact that 2018 has been bearish plays a large role in the ICO markets, but on top of that, there has been rampant fraud in the sector, which many believe has prevented overall institutional money flow into the cryptocurrency sector.

There have been various studies, with different results, regarding ICOs and the amount of fraud/exit scams/manipulation involved in the sector. A recent investigation by the Wall Street Journal delved into the ICO sector and studied which projects might be questionable.

About The Investigation

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) chose to investigate projects that have been evaluated on three of the top ICO websites. These websites are ICOBench.com, TokenData.io, and ICOrating.com. The investigation involved studying the whitepapers of the projects to identify potential plagiarism issues, and examining details about the team members and project, as well.

The study found that a significant portion of the projects were deemed questionable. In fact, out of over 3,300 projects – over 500 were considered “questionable”. Over half of the “questionable” projects don’t even have websites, and many are not even able to be contacted. In fact, out of the 513 projects that were deemed questionable by reporters, almost all of them offered no response.

Going Forward

Of course, countries all around the world have been trying to figure out how to regulate the cryptocurrency market so that it is not restricting innovation while simultaneously protecting the consumer. In both the United States and the UK, lawmakers have been fighting for more regulation, rather than more crackdowns.

Lawmakers in the UK called the entire sector a “Wild West”, suggesting that the sector was wildly unregulated. There are many lawmakers in the UK who want this to end immediately, in part because London could potentially become an innovative hub for blockchains startups, given the fact that it is already a global financial center.

There have been small steps forward in the United States. Most notably, two United States representatives introduced a bill that categorized cryptocurrencies as separate from “securities”. In addition, Ohio also recently announced that they were accepting tax payments in cryptocurrency, as well.

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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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John Mcafee Talks SkyCoin, Urges People To Use Crypto

There’s no question that John Mcafee, the cybersecurity pioneer and cryptocurrency enthusiast, is one of the most controversial figures in cryptocurrency, whether it’s his controversial tweets or the fact that he seems to advocate for drug use. He recently gave an interview with the “Larry and Joe Show” where he spoke about “all things crypto”. The interview was streamed live less than 4 hours ago (as of press time), and can be found below:

About Skycoin

John Mcafee seemed to be in a positive mood at the outset of the interview. He stated, “Christmas is in a couple of days, what could be better?” and spoke about how he had been “watching movies, getting high, and having fun”. Of course, the conversation eventually turned towards Mcafee’s cryptocurrency endeavors in general.

Mcafee spoke about how “things are going great” with his Skycoin association. Mcafee recently made headlines for getting a Skycoin tattoo, which actually led to a momentary price increase. He stated that he believes “Skycoin is going to be the major winner in the next couple of years.” Skycoin has marketed itself as a “complete ecosystem” with its own consensus algorithm, and it aims to leverage blockchain technology to become a new kind of internet.

He spoke on these ambitions as well, stating: “It’s not a replacement to the internet, necessarily, it is an alternative. If you are using cryptocurrency, for example, and get connected to the Skycoin network, which is worldwide, then basically you have a distributed network of users, of crypto, that can transact things, completely outside of anyone, other than us, the crypto community.”

Mcafee also offered a last egotistical statement about the project, stating: “If it does not flourish, I will have failed…and I never fail.”

About The Market

Of course, the hosts, Mcafee was asked about his thoughts on the market. He pointed out first and foremost that the markets are not always necessarily right. Specifically, he said: “Markets do not always track the success of companies. A company could actually be making a fortune and the market might not reflect that, maybe not for a year. I’m not concerned about the markets.”

“Markets go up more, and come down a little, and that’s what Bitcoin is doing now.” Overall, he appeared to be optimistic, saying: “I think the bull market is just around the corner, if it isn’t here already.”

Mcafee then talked about the fact that not enough cryptocurrency enthusiasts were using cryptocurrency, and that this would be the real catalyst for the markets.

He said: “Here’s the thing – start using the freaking coins, people. If you don’t use the coins and tokens that you have, for their intended purpose. We can’t succeed.”

He continued: “Use these coins. Buy s–t with Bitcoin, buy it with Ethereum, with Monero, with whatever you f–king have. Please. We need to do this.”

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Consensys To Lay Off Half Its Staff Or More

In the wake of cryptocurrencies losing hundreds of billions in market capitalization – it’s been tough for cryptocurrency companies and blockchain startups of all kinds. Of course, to some – this means that it is perfect time to invest in companies, while the sector is quiet, and before more institutional money comes in.

Consensys apparently will be laying off a significant percentage of its staff, a further sign that the cryptocurrency markets are not conducive to blockchain startups thriving at this time.

About Consensys

However, one blockchain startup that is clearly having issues is Consensys. Consensys is one of the most discussed blockchain startups, because it is founded by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, and is one of the few high-profile blockchains startups in New York City (Consensys is based in Brooklyn).

For those who are unaware, Consensys was founded earlier than many other blockchain startups, in 2014. The startup is ambitious, and aims to develop various blockchain-based services, platforms, and infrastructural projects in various sectors.

Layoffs

To Lubin’s credit, he appears to have seen this problem coming for a while. He recently addressed the urgency to remain “lean” during this bearish phase, writing in a letter to his staff: “We must retain, and in some cases regain, the lean and gritty startup mindset that made us who we are. We now find ourselves occupying a very competitive universe…we must recognize that what got us here will probably not get us there, wherever ‘there’ is.”

 

It is clear that Consensys will be doing more than simply restructuring, but instead will be laying off more employees. It’s important to note that many believed the company had already trimmed costs by laying off 13% of its staff not too long ago, but apparently, it wasn’t enough.

The company plans on spinning out startups and laying off up to 50-60% of its staff, according to an unnamed source. A representative for Consensys apparently did not deny this assertion.

A source pointed out that the environment at the company is more tense than ever, stating: “The office is empty, people are only finding out who’s getting fired because you try to to send Slack messages and they’re not there,” a source says. “ConsenSys won’t create a list [of the projects that are being spun out] or send out anything in writing because they’re afraid of everything going to the press.”

 

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Ethereum (ETH) Reaches 50 Million Unique Addresses

Many cryptocurrency media outlets and investors have described this season as “The Crypto Winter”, especially in comparison to the fact that last year, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other altcoins were rising to their all-time-high during late 2017. This is because Bitcoin (BTC) has broken support levels at both $6,000, and $5,000 – and is currently trading at well below $4,000.

Key Milestone

However, that doesn’t mean that people aren’t interested in the cryptocurrency world more than ever. Ethereum has actually reached a key milestone. Specifically, Ethereum has reached 50 million unique addresses. This means that since May 2018, there have been about 100,000 Ethereum new unique addresses added daily.

Ethereum Enthusiasts

There are some individuals who appear to believe that Etherum might even have more long-term potential than Bitcoin. Two individuals that have publicly praised Ethereum are involved with Apple and Google, two of the most well-known and influential technology companies in the world.

Steve Wozniak has been clear that he has no interest in investing or keeping up with cryptocurrency markets, but he does keep some cryptocurrency so that he can pay for things. Specifically, he believes that Ethereum has potential, stating: “Ethereum interests me because it can do things and because it’s a platform.

Another influential tech figure is ex-CEO Eric Schmidt, and he has also gone on record to praise Ethereum. At a recent event, Schmidt stated: “I think the most interesting stuff that’s going on are the beginning of execution on top of blockchain, the most obvious example being the capability of Ethereum. And if Ethereum can manage to figure out a way to do global synchronization of that activity, that’s a pretty powerful platform. That’s a really new invention,” he said.

Of course, even with this key milestone reached, it is important to note that Ethereum is currently trading at $85, as of press time. When one considers that Ethereum’s all time high is over $1400, the third largest cryptocurrency (by market capitalization) is trading at less than 10% of its “all-time high” price.

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Charlie Lee, Creator of Litecoin (LTC), and Justin Sun, Founder of Tron (TRX), To Speak At Token 2049

There is no doubt that one of the most well-known figures in cryptocurrency is Charlie Lee, the founder of Litecoin. Unlike Bitcoin – Litecoin actually does have a founder that is visible, and who actively tweets about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Lee has a significant following on Twitter, for example, boasting over 800,000 followers.

Justin Sun is also considered one of the most important figures in the space, as he is the CEO of Tron. Tron (TRX) has been gaining traction in the markets, and recently broke back into the top 10 cryptocurrency projects in the world (by market capitalization).

The two will be speaking at Token 2049, which will apparently be the “flagship event” of Asia Crypto Week, which will take place from March 11 to March 17 in Hong Kong, China.

Previous Twitter Feud

When Tron (TRX) was gaining more interest earlier this year – many Twitter users obviously asked Charlie Lee for his thoughts on the project. Instead of saluting the progress of the project, Lee decided to pretend that he had never heard of it, and instead referenced the movie Tron in a tweet. Lee then included a GIF of Tron: Legacy, the 2010 sequel to the 1982 science fiction film Tron.

https://twitter.com/SatoshiLite/status/948820253034758144

Many felt that this was essentially an insult to Tron. When a Twitter user pointed out that Lee should refrain from the insults, because some of the same individuals who invested in Litecoin also invested in Tron, Lee didn’t seem to care. He responded: “What’s TRX? Never heard of it.”

https://twitter.com/SatoshiLite/status/949223088587067393

One of the most controversial moves made with regards to cryptocurrency involves the fact that Charlie Lee chose to sell all of his Litecoin holdings. There were many long-term Litecoin investors that questioned why he would sell Litecoin, considering that he consistently boasts about its long-term potential. They felt as though this was a betrayal, of sorts – and that even if it was his right to sell his own Litecoin, that he could have kept that information private.

Justin Sun referenced the fact that Lee had done this when he chose to fire back on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/justinsuntron/status/948966939245797376

Lee felt that Sun was misrepresenting the facts, and responded yet again:

https://twitter.com/SatoshiLite/status/948984352620232704

Resolution

The two seem to have resolved their differences since then. Although many believe that Charlie Lee had acted childishly, and Justin Sun had simply responded in kind – Lee tried to paint the picture differently.

Charlie Lee pointed out that if investors really believed in the project, some fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is “only a speed bump”. He added, “When you are a top 10 coin, you need to be able to survive some FUD.”

https://twitter.com/SatoshiLite/status/950270076053159936

Justin Sun seemed to agree with this sentiment, and seemed to imply that the two could have a positive effect on the cryptocurrency world if they wanted to.

https://twitter.com/justinsuntron/status/950374626089091073

 

Interestingly enough, Litecoin and Tron are the #9 and #10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization currently. The market capitalizations of Litecoin and Tron, respectively, are around $1.46 billion and $891 million, as of press time.

About the Event

Asia Crypto Week is described as such: “Asia Crypto Week is a week of various independently organized educational and developer-focused events that aim to nurture mass adoption by providing first-hand information about the industry. Blockchain enthusiasts and industry veterans will come to Hong Kong to share their knowledge and stories during Asia Crypto Week, providing exceptional insights into the ever-larger growing ecosystem.”

Token 2049 in particular will take place from March 13th to March 14th, and has announced its first 40 speakers. In addition to Charlie Lee and Justin Sun – there are other speakers that are extremely well-respected in the blockchain/cryptocurrency space that will be speaking, as well. This includes individuals such as Max Kordek, the president of Lisk, Will Peets, the Chief Investment Officer of Passport Digital Holdings, and Bill Barhydt, the founder and CEO of Abra. An account associated with the event tweeted about the speaker list, which Charlie Lee retweeted:

https://twitter.com/token2049/status/1072581543883874305

 

You can find more information about Token 2049 here: https://www.token2049.com.