Tag: Crypto

Visa Doubles Down on Its Plans for Crypto

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The crypto market has certainly come a long way since the first digital currency was launched and it is now more mature than ever before. Lots of things have changed and perhaps the most exciting development is the widespread interest that major financial and payment institutions have shown.

Global financial and payment service provide Visa is one of the most notable companies that are making a huge play for the crypto market. Already the company has ties with some popular crypto platforms such as Fold, BlockFi, and Crypto.com. However, according to Visa CEO Alfred Kelly, there is so much more in the pipeline.

Crypto Could Be Coming to Visa’s Payment Network

Last Thursday during the company’s Q1 earnings call, the chairman ad CEO reaffirmed Visa’s commitment to crypto which is likely to culminate in digital currencies directly on the Visa network. Kelly firmly believes that the company is well-positioned to add “differentiated value to the ecosystem.” This will essentially involve making crypto safe, useful, and more applicable for global payments.

“..it goes without saying, to the extent a specific digital currency becomes a recognized means of exchange, there’s no reason why we cannot add it to our network, which already supports over 160 currencies today.”

Visa chairman and CEO Alfred Kelly

The strategy is firmly anchored on working with wallets and exchanges to allow users to purchase crypto using their Visa credentials. Similarly, it will also mean that users can cash out their crypto onto Visa credentials.

The Favorites

Well, even though Visa has previously claimed that it does not want to play favorites when it comes to the digital currencies that it will allow on its network, the recent announcement seems to be pointing at something quite different. The company seems to be handling the cryptocurrencies differently based on which category they fall on.

The two categories that the company is using to group blockchain assets are based on whether they are a store of value or are stable coins. Visa intends to angle crypto assets that serve as a store-of-value such as Bitcoin to serve as fiat on-ramp.

However, when it comes to stable coins, the company has been rather bullish. These sentiments may be quite disappointing since they seem to overlook all of the amazing milestones that Decentralized Finance (DeFi) made in 2020. Even JP Morgan Chase which has been showing interest in digital assets has shared the same sentiments.

Crypto Market Booms as World Ushers in A New Year

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2020 was, without a doubt, one of the worst years of the past decade. The coronavirus pandemic dealt a huge blow to societies, businesses, and industries all around the world – most of these are, in fact, yet to recover.

Even so, thanks to all of the efforts that were meant to help the world return to normal, things began to get better as the end of 2020 drew nearer. The stock market, for instance, was slowly approaching record highs and the same applied to crypto which is considered to be an alternative to the existing financial system.

Bitcoin Breaks Records

This digital currency is widely considered to be the mother of all crypto and has been known to break several records throughout the time that it has existed. As of December 31, Bitcoin was trading for a little over $29,000 per coin. The previous record for the digital currency was $20,000 and experts believe that the cryptocurrency will probably hit the $30,000 mark pretty soon.

Over the last six months, interest in Bitcoin and crypto, in general, has increased significantly. So, while Bitcoin might be well ahead of the pack, it is not the only one that has been breaking records. Alt-coins like Litecoin and Ether have also seen their prices go up significantly, something that has boosted the overall crypto markets. Several other digital currencies have also been on the rise.

What Does 2021 Hold?

Needless to say, the latest price surges for digital currencies have continued to fuel discussions about the readiness of crypto to go to even greater heights in terms of mainstream adoption. In the case of Bitcoin which is now being likened to gold, there are lots of people who already see it as a great hedge against dollar weakness and inflation risk. At that same time, some people are still questioning its validity as an asset class especially considering its rather volatile nature.

Still, if the past few months are anything to go by, 2021 could turn out to be an even more memorable year for crypto and related technologies as well as their applications. Most notably, the rapidly growing acceptance of these alternative currencies will pave way for even more developments such as a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

This will not only open the doors for new investors but also create new opportunities or uncover untapped spaces that disruptive companies can exploit. As always, we will be keeping you updated every step of the way. Happy New Year!

DAOGroup Sets Sights on The Growing Sports Betting Sector

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The growth of the mainstream sports betting industry has caught the attention of renowned online gambling digital currency and blockchain solutions provider, DAOGroup. Now, the company is doubling down on its efforts in the hopes of getting even more out of the growing sector.

The first move that DAOGroup is pursuing in its quest to capitalize on sports betting is strengthening its business development team. This came in the form of two new hires – Yelena Kensborn is the group’s new Sales and Marketing Director, while Adam Lee will be taking up the role of the Business Development Manager.

According to the DAOGroup CCO Glen Bullen, the decision to strengthen the company’s commercial team further could not have come at a better time. With such a robust team, they will now be able to effectively tailor their decisions to boost brand presence and cater to the needs of their customers. Many gaming operators are ramping up efforts to integrate crypto-gaming products in anticipation of the return of sports-related gambling activities.

“We’re here to help the industry benefit without the compliance headache, and I’m thrilled to be welcoming Yelena and Lee aboard. Both are strong individuals with proven credentials who will no doubt be key in helping our partners appeal to an even broader player base as mainstream betting returns,” Glen Bullen commented.

DAOGroup already has quite a neat portfolio of crypto-based products. Earlier this year, it launched DAOWallet, its flagship product. Gaming operators have shown a great deal of interest in the product owing to the fact that it does not require them to conform to addition AML and compliance procedures. The solutions provider has integrated all necessary features to ensure it is safe to use for both gamblers and operators.

Crypto and The Rise in Online Gambling

Needless to say, the rise of online gambling was inevitable. However, it is safe to say that the coronavirus pandemic may have catalyzed the process and now some crypto betting sites are experiencing an unprecedented surge in player traffic.

Many of these new-age and futuristic online gambling platforms now have to deal with issues related to transaction processing while at the same time tailoring newer and more competitive products. This is, of course, a good thing especially because it will hasten the growth of the crypto betting sector as well as the mainstream adoption of digital currencies.

Thankfully, a lot of improvements are already being put in place. Moreover, even traditional iGaming businesses are beginning to take crypto very seriously.

Number of Daily Bitcoin Transactions Drops Significantly

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The month of March has been tough for several industries across the globe and one of the areas that have been affected is the cryptocurrency market. A price drop that occurred earlier within the month was quite significant. Fortunately, the market has been slowly recovering from that drop and it should be back on track sometime this month.

Despite the impressive recovery of the crypto market, there have been some rather unusual reports regarding the decline in Bitcoin network activity. Daily Bitcoin transactions have been on a steady decline leading experts in the field to look into the matter.

As it turns out, there are several changes that have been noted concerning how Bitcoin, which is arguably the most popular and most widely used digital currency, is being used. While it may seem like a temporary anomaly that will blow over after a while, the plunge in network activity may be a reflection of a greater long-term trend. So, what is going on?

How It Started

Well, since the year rolled around, daily transaction activity grew at a pretty impressive pace and this was partly attributed to the increase in the price of Bitcoin. Both trading and mining picked up pace adding to the number of daily transactions.

However, an abrupt turn in the global economy earlier last month as the coronavirus pandemic spread across more countries affected the crypto market. Crypto prices fell and transactions began to dwindle. Daily transactions fell from over 350k to less than 275k and the number Is expected to fall even further going forward.

Bitcoin Holders Are Hodling

People who own or hold Bitcoin have since pulled thousands of their currency from exchanges and are now trading way less than they used to. Many of them are now only interested in keeping their crypto safe in personal wallets.

The decline in trading and network activity is not the only proof of this fact. There has been a recent uptick in the number of Bitcoin wallets and address diversity. As it stands, there are over a hundred thousand additional addresses compared to what was the case at the beginning of March.

A Win for Bitcoin?

While the decline in network activity is definitely something that people need to be concerned about, it might actually be a win for the crypto industry especially Bitcoin, in this case. The fact that people are keeping or holding their currencies is proof that the digital currency has matured enough to be considered as a health and safe store of value.

The global pandemic is wreaking havoc on the world’s economy and this makes Bitcoin a safe haven for lots of people. Its value is also now bound to go up as there will be very little supply.

Trends That Will Define the Crypto Space in 2020

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Now, 2019 was indeed a great year for digital currencies thanks mostly to the huge developments that were made. Most of these were meant to remedy existing problems within the space but all the same, they played a huge role in helping to achieve the industry’s current state. Moreover, it also marked the tenth anniversary of the bitcoin mining craze – not much of this still happens especially on a small scale but it is certainly something worth noting.

Even though 2019 saw a number of great developments in the blockchain and crypto sectors, it also had some lows. There were several price drops and a number of businesses that relied on the technologies felt the pinch. However, the dynamics of the crypto world are very interesting which implies that despite the undeniable problems that existed in the past, new trends are already beginning to take shape. In 2020, there are a few of these that will certainly not go unnoticed.

More Experimentation and Implementation

This trend began earlier on but it is still going to be huge in 2020. It is perhaps the best way that crypto enthusiasts and futurists can push the crypto agenda. The gambling sector has been one of the industries that have been at the forefront of experimentation. It has seen to the unveiling of a number of casino-specific cryptocurrencies as well as the integration of existing ones.

Decentralization of Finance

It is not just gambling though. In 2019, financial institutions including several central banks started experimenting with digital currencies. This year might be the year when we finally got to see the full rollout of state-backed digital currencies.

There is a truly unique opportunity for them to leverage new technologies in order to revolutionize both lending and margin trading services.

Tougher Regulation

Needless to say, there are still certain parties who view crypto as a threat to the existing financial system as well as a potential risk due to the association of the sector with crimes. As mentioned earlier, governments in places like China hope to reduce the risks by having their central banks produce their own digital currencies. In places where there have been no such considerations, the most viable solution seems to be tougher regulations. This will apply to both security and risk factors as well as to the issue of taxation. The taxation of crypto is set to be one of the highlights of 2020.

All in all, cryptocurrencies and blockchain have already proven that they are here to stay. 2020 is set to offer more proof of that. Happy new year!

Germany To Become a Crypto Haven Thanks to New Law

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On November 29, the German parliament passed a bill that will allow banks in the country to sell and store digital currencies and crypto-assets. This will be effective from January 1, 2020, and only custody providers and cryptocurrency exchanges with licenses will be allowed to operate.

As such, these companies have the whole of December to apply for the necessary licenses in order to be able to legally operate in the country’s new crypto regime. To be eligible for the licenses, the companies will have to be registered as legal German entities with no less than two directors operating in the country by the end of the year.

Now, all that remains is for the bill which implements the “fourth EU Money Laundering Directive” amendment to be signed off by the 16 German states. It is expected that most, if not all, of the states will sign in favor of the bill.

The bill is a pretty huge step forward for crypto especially with regards to the quest for mainstream adoption of crypto. Before the German parliament passed the bill, banks in the country were prohibited from offering any sort of direct access to cryptocurrencies and related assets. Instead, the banks could only rely on external custodians or dedicated subsidiaries.

The Feedback

According to a number of experts in the financial sector, the move is definitely going to have a huge impact on the European crypto market. In fact, many of them have pointed out that it effectively paves the way for Germany’s ascension to crypto haven in the continent and possibly the rest of the world.

Since financial institutions already enjoy a tremendous amount of trust, they are probably the best options for the safekeeping of digital currencies and assets. Moreover, they will play a huge role in the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing which are by far some of the biggest concerns when it comes to digital currencies.

Is A Crypto Migration Possible?

Well, considering how unconducive certain jurisdictions have become for crypto investors, a shift to friendlier places such as Germany is possible. For instance, China has been cracking down on a number of crypto-related currencies. This is perhaps in preparation for the state-sanctioned cryptocurrency that the country has been pursuing. Still, domestic users are definitely going to find workarounds.

Similarly, Russia also seems to be leaning towards a possible crypto ban – the country’s central bank has recently backed a potential ban on crypto payments. The reason this is a consideration is the large number of concerns that are associated with the sector. For now, nothing has been decided yet but given the recent history of crypto regulation, anything could happen.

Tether Gains Popularity as Payment Method

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There have been lots of debates regarding the legitimacy of Tether (USDT) as a stable means of payments as well as its speculated involvement in the manipulation of the prices of digital currencies. Despite this, the digital currency has been growing with a decent number of merchants now accepting it as a preferred means of stability. This is largely because of its unmatched stability.

As it stands, Tether occupies the fourth spot in the United States’ crypto market. This means that it is already highly regarded as a stablecoin and therefore its rise to the top should not be as much of a surprise. Over the past year, merchants who are using the digital currency have recorded a significant increase in Tether volumes over the past year.

According to CoinPayments.net, one of the world’s largest digital currency payment processors, Tether currently accounts for up to 30 percent of the volume of transactions it processes. In comparison, a year ago the volume of Tether transactions was 30 times less than what has been recently reported. The consistency in Tether’s meteoric rise has been quite consistent across a number of other cryptocurrency payment processors as well.

Why Now?

Well, unlike other digital currencies, Tether burst into the scene with the promise of living up to the stablecoin objective. The digital currency avoided fluctuations and instead opted for at least a one-to-one ratio with the US dollar by managing a reserve.

This feature made it quite popular and many merchants would often accept payments in other digital currencies such as Bitcoin and convert it to Tether in order to “hedge against the volatility” of other cryptocurrencies. The over 265 companies that accept payments in Tether has since switched and are now taking Tether payments directly.

What It Means for Other Digital Currencies

While Tether’s use in commerce is definitely a positive development for the crypto community, its growth has had a rather negative impact on other digital currencies especially the ones considered to be market leaders such as Ether and Bitcoin. Owing to several factors, Bitcoin and Ether have lost their appeal among many investors and due to the rapidly shifting dynamics of the crypto industry, a lot of focus is being given to alternative crypto solutions.

Moreover, there is a need for more accessible digital currency solutions in such areas as gambling and other adult product like cannabis and sex dolls. Tether has caught up and its stability is making many other digital currencies seem like raw deals for many customers. Perhaps this is the beginning of its ascension to the top of the crypto market.

BLUEBET Emerges as World’s Top Crypto Betting Site

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According to blockchain user analysis website DappRadar, BLUEBET is the world’s leading cryptocurrency betting platform. Further analysis of the gaming website suggested that it is set to consolidate the positions for even longer thanks to its longer-term strategic focus on the so-called cross-chain crypto gambling – this will definitely be a revolutionary step forward for the recently launched gambling website.

On the DappRadar website, BLUEBET which has been in operation for just a little over seven months is described as a “multi-person online entertainment platform that is based on blockchain.” The online gaming platform supports a number of popular gaming titles including Texas, multiplayer Blackjack, Baccarat, PowerBall Lottery, Caribbean Poker, Sports, and multiplayer Three Card among many others. Its goal is to create a professional, safe and transparent gaming environment for their customers who are from all around the world. Furthermore, the company leverages the power of blockchain technology to build “a user autonomous community, and create a platform that belongs to poker enthusiasts and sports enthusiasts.”

The EOS-based project also currently ranks as the most popular blockchain projects with more than three thousand customers using it on a daily basis. However, there have been speculations that the traffic may not be quite as impressive as portrayed.

“There is a very high level of bot traffic on gambling dApps. We’re currently doing some research on this subject at DappRadar, but my personal gut feeling is +50% of traffic for some gambling dApps comes from bots,” Jon Jordan, a spokesperson for DappRadar website.

The presence of bot traffic might be a result of deliberate manipulation in order to fake user adoption numbers. Another possibility is that the bot interaction may be the result of algorithmic interactions which are completely legitimate in the context of online gambling.

Still, this might just be mere speculation as stated above especially considering the fact that BLUEBET was primarily designed and built with the Chinese gaming market in mind. Chinese gamblers have been switching to blockchain-based casinos particularly because of the anonymity they offer – this is a very important factor since gambling is still illegal in the country.

Cross-Chain Functionality

BLUEBET plans to eventually accommodate many other digital currencies including Ethereum and bitcoin. This is directly in line with the platform’s plans to build cross-chain functionality. This will allow for peer-to-peer betting by users using different cryptocurrencies. Needless to say, the functionality is almost unheard of in the crypto gambling sector and therefore it will set BLUEBET apart from all other gaming platform and give it an upper hand in the very competitive market.

 

Crypto Gaming Platform Helping Physical Casinos Move Online

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Pbet, a brand new crypto-powered gambling platform has recently launched an initiative that is set to help land-based or physical casinos to move online. The initiative not only promises to see the casino operators incur much lower costs but also intends to afford them with the assurance of more savings. In addition to that, the platform is also meant to ensure better credibility for casino players thanks to its blockchain crypto-based Unified Gaming Platform.

Pbet is already considered to be a next-gen gaming platform and its crypto token that is referred to as “PBET” is also beginning to take off. In fact, the platform has already had its Initial Exchange Offering (IOE) in a number of popular cryptocurrency exchanges including the renowned P2PB2B. Furthermore, Pbet has gone ahead to further its participation through IEO sessions in a good number of other leading exchanges like ExMarkets. Now, after the Initial Exchange Offering (IEO), the platform’s token will now be officially listed on host exchanges where its holders will be able to trade it.

Revolutionary Casino Management System

Pbet has been around for over two years now and in that time, it has been able to penetrate the gaming market thanks to “Genuina”, its casino management system. Genuina is the brainchild of some hospitality and gaming industry veteran. Now, as mentioned earlier, Pbet has plans to create a smooth convergence of physical casinos and online casinos while at the same time integrating crypto-based payments.

The platform’s blockchain technology is set to help in ensuring that there is a trust factor for players through the delivery of transparency information among other things. This mission is based on the company’s vision to combine all the three pillars of physical casinos, that is, the players, the physical casinos themselves as well as Pbet.

One of the most notable but rather overlooked features is the fact that, with the adoption of blockchain technology, Pbet will now be able to offer the players crypto payment solutions that are not only more affordable but also assure the customers of much faster withdrawal speeds.

“We will enable physical casinos to beat the high cost of penetrating into online space with our blockchain crypto-based turn-key, zero fix fees, revenue sharing system. Pbet also assures almost ‘0’ transaction fees and super-fast withdrawals for players,” stated a Pbet spokesperson.

The convergence between crypto or blockchain and the gambling industry has been a long time coming but it is certainly refreshing to see companies such as Pbet take the leap forward by actualizing it. As such, it will not be long before even more companies begin to adopt the new model

Facebook’s Libra and How Its Redefines Enterprise Blockchain

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In mid-June 2018, globally renowned tech company Facebook finally revealed Facebook Libra following several long months of preparation and development. As expected, the launch represents a plethora of possibilities for the crypto and blockchain space which is definitely not going to be the same again.

What It Does

Facebook Libra will deliver on one of the most notable features of other digital currencies, that is, it will allow its users to make purchases and send money to other people with close to zero fees. Users will also be able to pseudonymously cash out the digital currency online or at local exchanges points such as grocery stores. They will then be able to spend the Libra using interoperable third-party wallets apps or the company’s Calibra wallet which will not only have a standalone app but will also be built into Messenger and even WhatsApp.

During the announcement, Facebook released its whitepaper explaining the digital currency and its testnet in order to get everyone up to speed with everything before its public launch early next year. From what we have been able to gather so far, so many things about the digital currency already look very promising.

How It Will Work

Facebook will not have full control over Libra and instead, it will only have a single vote on the governance of the cryptocurrency and so will other founding members of the Libra Association who include Uber, Visa as well as Andreessen Horowitz. Each of these companies has reportedly invested no less than $10 million on various aspects of the Libra project.

Going forward, the Libra Association will be promoting the open-source Libra Blockchain and developer platform with its Move programming language. In addition to that, it will also be signing up various businesses to the platform.

Furthermore, Facebook is also set to launch a subsidiary company that will be responsible for handling crypto dealings and protecting the privacy of the users – this will be achieved by ensuring that Facebook user data never mingles with the Libra payments. In essence, your real identity will not be tied to your Libra payments with the goal being to ensure that the information is used for targeted advertising.

Why Is It Such A Big Deal?

Well, why wouldn’t it be? Facebook is one of the leading tech companies on the planet and the fact that it is embracing crypto and blockchain technology was definitely bound to generate some buzz. That aside, the company did not just announce another blockchain protocol – these have become commonplace these days. The company has instead chosen to focus on banking its unbanked users (close to 1.7 billion people). This is certainly not an easy task but if there is anyone that can do it, it’s Facebook thanks largely to the resources it has. Besides, it is going to be a very rewarding venture for the company down the line.