Crypto exchanges report uptick in trade volumes as coronavirus impacts the global economy
The coronavirus pandemic has pushed global markets into a state of shock – but major cryptocurrency exchanges appear to remain unaffected.
Seven crypto exchanges The Block spoke with – including centralized, decentralized and peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplaces – said they have witnessed increased user numbers and trading volumes since the pandemic started escalating.
"We've seen a significant uptick in sign-ups and a 300% increase in verified accounts," Dave Ripley, chief operating officer at Kraken, told The Block. Ripley did not disclose specific user numbers, but said Kraken currently serves "millions of clients around the world."
OKEx has also seen "steady" growth in its user base, CEO Jay Ho told The Block. "Especially during early-March, we recorded an estimated 1.7% boost globally."
Quick Take
- Major cryptocurrency exchanges appear to remain unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic impact
- At least seven exchanges The Block spoke they have seen an uptick in user sign-ups and trading volumes
- These include Kraken, Gemini, Bitfinex, OKEx, Bitstamp, Paxful, and KyberSwap.
Bitcoin making the payments world better
Bitcoin is the digital currency which is created and held electronically and is the first successful digital coin that can be transferred over the web. Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment network which in simple words means that it can be transferred from a person to another directly over the internet, taking out middlemen such as banks and credit agencies
The crypto crash of 2019 considerably changed the dynamics in the crypto market and ensured a clean-up of the crypto market. Cryptocurrency price changes are no longer dramatic and the Bitcoin has become significantly stable. The new crypto market is being driven by institutional money in combination with the new wave of innovation and adoption which will come from security tokens combined with stable coins. The crypto market is also becoming more regulated, and therefore more accessible to the public and efficient. The New York Stock Exchange’s operator is to start working with Bitcoin futures in 2020, while Nasdaq will follow their lead a year later. Bitcoin has matured as an investment vehicle, primarily with the introduction of Bitcoin futures, allowing for adoption, as investors short Bitcoin and settle contracts in real money, as well as trade-off Bitcoin even when they do not own bitcoin.
Bitcoin users can accept and send Bitcoin payments of any size from anywhere in the world in seconds instantly which allows users to minimize the amount of cash and plastic they need to carry around. People comfortable and conversant with bitcoin may travel solely with it as a means to an alternate source of income. An Australian beach town in Central Queensland became the first digital currency-friendly tourist town.
As bitcoin can be used to initiate global payments around the world at insignificant costs and in near real-time, it offers an opportunity for crowdfunding by anyone around the world to help support charities and any foundations. You can offer aid to any foundation from anywhere in the world to help a cause. You can also scan a QR code to make payment into a bitcoin wallet. This use of bitcoin is an initiate of Project 256.
If an woocommerce coupon company permits bitcoin to be used to complete purchases, it has advantages such as cutting out middlemen, cutting down transaction fees, increasing the speed of transaction and can boost trade in some developing countries. It is also very secure, and so can be used to encrypt keys of a digital wallet. Because Bitcoin is instantaneous, users have peace of mind that a transaction is completed for sure, and so reduces time where a payment remains pending for a period of time. The instantaneous nature of bitcoins, along with its security means that chargebacks are very unlikely to occur. You can accept Bitcoin through the use of payment buttons, invoices or custom integrations. Bitcoin is still very relatively new in the woocommerce smart coupons space, so if you are going to use it, ensure there are FAQs to guide the customer and make the UX as intuitive as possible.
Bitcoin may be used to integrate the unbanked. It can be used for digital micro-loans, on monetary exchanges and for cross border remittances.
As bitcoin is a digital asset, it can be moved automatically, allowing for programmable money and smart contracts. Escrow accounts are already used for transactions, such as real estate deals. Customers’ deposits can have held in the escrow accounts and only goes to the seller after what the buyer paid for has been delivered. In a digital age where trust can be crucial to people who want to transact with sellers or buyers they don’t know, this system can be used for varying amounts.
Researchers are working on ways to map bitcoin transactions in the ledger to IP addresses. Although this system is not perfect yet, this exploration into computer science, economics, and forensics will help nab criminals and can also serve as a guard against money laundering.
Bitcoins are not associated with a bank account or cash funds, and because they're only transferred electronically through blockchain ledger systems, they are likely to reduce fraud overall in the future.
National banks of countries that are subject to extreme conflict or financial mismanagement might begin supporting cryptocurrencies by supplementing the gold reserves with bitcoin as it is a trust-minimized cryptocurrency solution.
About the author:
Junaid Ali Qureshi is an ecommerce entrepreneur with a passion for emerging tech marketing and ecommerce development. Some of his current ventures include Progos Tech (an Woocommerce mix and match), Elabelz.com , Titan Tech and Smart Marketing.
Announcement: We've Integrated with LGO
When we built Mainbloq we did it with one thing in mind—bringing all of the technology that was available on Wall Street to cryptocurrency traders. Over the years, what it means to be a crypto trader has changed and we've seen more institutions adding crypto to their portfolios, which is why we're happy to announce that we're the first trading platform to integrate with LGO Group.
As the leading institutional bitcoin exchange in Europe, LGO is uniquely positioned to address this nascent, growing market. The fully electronic LGO platform allows over 40 institutions from all around the world to trade bitcoin with a level of transparency, security and client service which is uncompared in the space.
"We believe institutions will play an outsized role in the future of Cryptocurrency trading, and our partnership with LGO is an important step forward in that future," says Ryan Kuiken, CEO of Mainbloq.
Mainbloq is currently connected to 27 of the top cryptocurrency venues and with the addition of LGO now offers its clients one more place to source liquidity. Mainbloq offers WebSockets, REST and FIX 4.4 connectivity to all supported venues.
"We were impressed by Mainbloq's technology. Our visions for the future of cryptocurrency are aligned and we believe that this partnership will be mutually beneficial," said Hugo Renaudin, CEO of LGO.
Vitalik Buterin Cashed Out of ETH During the 2017 Cryptocurrency Bubble
Ethereum mastermind Vitalik Buterin, who holds 350,000 ETH in his main wallet address, allegedly cashed out $40 million worth of ETH between June 2017 and February 2018. The findings came to light by Alex Sunnarborg, a founding partner of the crypto hedge fund Tetra Capital, who dug into Vitalik’s historical account data.
The Breakdown of Vitalik’s ETH Movements
According to Etherscan, Buterin has converted 544,998 ETH to fiat currencies since 2015. This amount equals to almost $49 million, $40 million of which he moved during the period mentioned above.
5/ Vitalik likely cashed out ~ $40,000,000 worth of ETH between June 2017 – February 2018: pic.twitter.com/8RoMKU63ha
— Alex Sunnarborg (@alexsunnarborg) March 19, 2019
While today the balance of Vitalik’s main address is worth $50 million, its net worth reached $500 million when Ethereum exceeded $1,300 in December 2017.
4/ His net worth from this ETH balance alone exceeded $500,000,000 at the...
How Blockchain Can Democratize Artificial Intelligence Development
Data Access for AI: An Under-Explored Use for Blockchain
There is a vast amount of computing power around the world that is not used efficiently. There are an estimated 4 billion personal computers in the world and 90% of them have free capacities at any given moment. This is to say nothing of the idle capacities of other personal devices, like smartphones and tablets. In effect, this excess computing power is wasted.
Lots of startups are trying to use blockchain technology to take advantage of this inefficiency to meet different economic needs. The blockchain is exciting in this context because it provides an infrastructure for distributed computing power, while at the same time providing an incentive for individuals to link their idle devices to the network.
Many of the startups I’ve come across are focused on providing web hosting and/or data storage solutions via blockchain. However, the use case I think is the most exciting involves artificial intelligence or “AI”.
Democratizing AI
The idea of applying the blockchain to artificial intelligence is attracting a lot of attention. Similar to the goal of distributed data storage and web hosting, some experts argue the blockchain could encourage a broader distribution of the data and algorithms that will determine the future development of artificial intelligence.
However, many artificial intelligence experts are concerned that IBM, Facebook, Google and a few other big companies are monopolizing all the talent in the field. These giant corporations also control the massive silos of digital data necessary to create and refine the best machine learning programs. Many argue there is a need to democratize data if A.I. is to develop in a direction to benefit all of humanity.
This is where blockchain technology comes in.
At the most basic level, just as the blockchain allows...
Huobi Prime offers digital currency investors a new way to Trade
Tuesday, March 26 will see customers of the cryptocurrency exchange Huobi experience a whole new way of getting their fingers around cryptocurrencies. Known as Huobi Prime, the system is a coin-launch platform that ensures all currencies purchased by Huobi users are immediately deposited into their accounts and tradable against the Huobi Token (HT) with minimal delays, according to a company press release.
Customers will also have access to coins at below-market prices, as well as new projects and currencies not yet listed on major exchanges. Huobi’s executive team works with the project leaders of every coin or token listed, forming close partnerships and determining fair market values for users. Executives have also implemented tiered price limits to relieve customers of extreme volatility.
Speaking with CCN, Ross Zhang – head of marketing for Huobi Group – explains what inspired the new platform’s creation:
Low-quality coins and lack of access to ones with real potential are a perennial problem in the crypto space. While that is nothing new, I do think it’s taken on new importance in the ongoing bear market we find...
Ethereum Governance is Currently Underrated says Vitalik Buterin
In the most recent episode of Into the Ether, Vitalik Buterin appears to discuss all things Ethereum. One of the subjects that came up was the Ethereum governance model. Eric Conner asked Buterin about on-chain governance models, and his thoughts on how Ethereum’s governance stacks up against them.
Current Governance Model Underrated: Vitalik Buterin
Buterin says that the current Ethereum governance model works pretty well, considering the problems it has guided the protocol through.
I actually think that Ethereum governance is under-rated at this point. Because it’s not something that we can attach a cool name to and advertise. And honestly, moderation is a less exciting pitch for people than either on-chain votes, maximum coin holder engagement, or on the other hand immutability. We as a community have never tended to go for extremes. But in reality, on the one hand people complain about governance as a process. But on the other hand, in terms of concrete outcomes that Ethereum governance has achieved, it’s done really well.
It’s implemented the issuance reductions. The issuance reductions seem to be something that most people tend to agree with. […] When there was a crisis back in the year 2016 DOS attacks, it managed to implement, roll, stack out, test and roll out a hard fork all within a time span of 6 days. That’s not something we want to repeat but it’s clearly something we can do if we really wanted to.
When there was a Constantinople bug, it managed to delay the fork within a few hours. It is achieving the things that you might reasonably want a governance of a protocol to achieve, which is to make changes people want and not make changes people want. The one thing that it’s not achieving is dispute resolution or...
Insights from the "future of crypto trading" meetup with FRST in Chicago
What do you get when you add a bitter cold and windy city, over 50 cryptocurrency enthusiasts, and three informative presentations? The Chicago Ethereum Meetup of course!
As you may have read, we made a short presentation to the group about our smart order router and algorithms we’re developing. We talked to founders of a handful of digital asset traders and we’re humbled by the feedback we received about our technology.
If you weren’t lucky enough to be at the meetup, don’t despair, I’ve embedded a video of my presentation below. Take a look at let us know what you think!
FRST’s presentation was mind-opening, it’s unreal to see how much information is available at the wallet and transaction level and how it can be used to trade cryptocurrencies more intelligently. You can read more about FRST here
The final presentation was by Andrew Gordon, an accountant specializing in cryptocurrency tax law. Tax time for crypto traders can be a nightmare, but he shared some great information about how to streamline and simplify the process. You can learn more about him here.
If there was one main takeaway from the meetup it’s that there are so many areas of the digital assets ecosystem that are currently unexplored. It’s said that 99% of the ocean floor is currently unexplored and I believe we are currently in the same place with blockchain and digital assets.
LGO Markets, the New Industry Standard for a Safe, Secure & Transparent Digital Asset Exchange
LGO Group announced Monday the launch of LGO Markets, a digital asset trading platform dedicated to institutional clients. Trading on LGO will start on March 11th, 2019.
Institutional investors have been waiting for a reliable and suitable infrastructure to enter the cryptocurrency market. With this in mind, LGO Markets has been specifically designed to remove the main hurdles faced by institutions: risk and lack of transparency.
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The company is committed to providing a highly secure and trustworthy environment for its clients. Data and volume manipulation are prevented through the use of blockchain technology. Trading on LGO Markets also means no counterparty risk as clients hold their funds (non-custodial). LGO Markets aims to be fully compliant with regulations and is currently applying for a BitLicense and a FINRA broker-dealer license.
LGO Markets’ platform will initially offer a physically settled Bitcoin to USD spot market. Hugo Renaudin, CEO of LGO Markets added: “This could be considered as the simplest financial product, yet it does not exist in the cryptocurrency market. By bridging the processes of traditional financial exchanges and the benefits of blockchain transparency, LGO is built to be the reference venue for institutional digital asset trading .”
As for now, more than ten institutional clients have already joined the platform. They are mainly OTC trading desks, hedge funds, crypto businesses, and market makers.
The company is aspiring to bring innovative solutions to the financial markets, where all representations of value can be exchanged seamlessly, transparently and with less risk thanks to the blockchain technology. Frédéric Montagnon, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of LGO Markets, added: “This launch is only our first step towards achieving our long term mission. We see an opportunity to accompany the whole financial industry to transition to blockchain and distributed ledger technology. By rolling out our offer on the Bitcoin market, we position ourselves to become the leading exchange for blockchain-based assets - whether cryptocurrencies or tokenized traditional financial contracts .”
Why Every Portfolio On The Planet Should Be Holding Bitcoin
Editor’s Note: Art Jonak is an investment analyst with both a wide and deep synthesis approach to research data. His commentary threads on titans like Netflix, Amazon and Facebook are a minor legend for their insight, detail and clarity. He also navigates venture funding, and emerging sector data, in a narrative, often with striking visualization, that reveals trends in their formation long before they are visible. It should not need to be said for investment disclosure that Art is holding crypto assets himself. He is obviously making a case of why everyone should.
Here is Art’s 2019 message thread for investing in Bitcoin, in particular. In our eyes, it slams the case for why every single portfolio on the planet should be holding Bitcoin, and treated as a portfolio asset class.
Here's one case for why some should consider adding Bitcoin to their investment portfolio:
* Bitcoin is a non-correlated asset — This is the holy grail of any portfolio. Bitcoin’s current 180 day correlation to the S&P 500 is 0 and the correlation to the dollar index is near zero as well. Investing in non-correlated assets should reduce the risk and increase the returns of a portfolio according to modern portfolio theory.
* Bitcoin has an asymmetric return profile — There is much more upside than downside in owning the asset. The downside (loss of capital) is capped at the total amount of capital invested, yet the upside is ~100X+ (if Bitcoin only becomes gold equivalent).
The modern portfolio theory argument for investing in Bitcoin is quite strong. But how has theory played out in practice?
Bitcoin has been the best performing asset over the last 10 years. It has experienced a 1,300,000X+ increase in value from $0.003 to ~$4,000 today. It has beat the S&P 500 for the last 10 years, the last 5 years, and the last 2 years. As a fixed supply asset, I believe Bitcoin will continue to outperform traditional assets in the future as demand continues to increase too.
Although I believe in Bitcoin’s future outlook, most people should not put significant funds at risk in this investment opportunity. It is risky and speculative. They could lose 100% of the money that they invest. For that reason, each person needs to evaluate their current situation, their goals, and the amount of capital they would be willing to lose.
If the thesis plays out how many smart people anticipate though, an investment of 100 basis points or less would materially change the performance of your portfolio fund, which ultimately changes the quality of life you will live when you retire. Most institutions have permanent, long-term capital which allows them to stomach more volatility than most investors.
For example, an investment of 1% of assets at $4,000 BTC price would yield a 25% increase in your portfolio total assets if Bitcoin reached $100,000. If you decided to invest 0.1% of assets, the same price appreciation would increase total assets by 2.5%.
However, the exciting part is that many people believe Bitcoin will not only reach $100,000 one day, but rather be worth $1,000,000+. If that comes to fruition, a 0.1% investment today could lead to the same 25% increase in total assets for your portfolio. These types of trade-offs are the definition of an asymmetric return profile.
And still, most people's portfolios have 0% exposure to Bitcoin and crypto. Something to consider as we head into 2019.