Boxmining

Author: Ben Chan

  • Konomi Network ($KONO): bringing money markets to Polkadot

    Konomi Network ($KONO): bringing money markets to Polkadot

    Utilizing Substrate as a development blueprint, Konomi Network aims to develop a fully interoperable service product that allows users to trade cryptocurrencies, manage their holdings, and make a profit out of decentralized money market options for the Polkadot ecosystem.

    Background

    The problem that has since limited the use of cryptocurrencies and hindered its mass adoption is the lack of interoperability. Holders of a particular token belonging to a different blockchain cannot easily make cross-chain transactions. This also means that all other digital asset providers cannot simply work together to provide financial services due to network restrictions.

    Konomi Network is designed to solve that issue. Built on top of the Polkadot blockchain, the project addresses the problem with gas fees on Ethereum. This is to improve transaction speed and network scalability.

    As of now, the protocol already supports a decentralized liquidity swap and money market. The team behind Konomi is currently working on the launch of the bridge to Polkadotā€™s parachains, wallets, and the open virtual machine to support smart contracts. Before the end of the year, the team is planning to launch the Konomi mainnet on the Polkadot ecosystem, link with other assets through a cross-chain bridge, as well as introduce fiat payments.

    What is the Konomi Network?

    Konomi Network is an independent blockchain project that features a comprehensive asset management platform on top of the Polkadot ecosystem. It provides cross-chain products and services such as trading, lending, and deposits. Since the platform is supported by parachains and Ethereum bridges, it can facilitate blockchain-agnostic services.

    One of the strongest suits of the platform is its liquidity. Any trader can access liquidity from other exchanges through the platform in performing their trades and it relies on automated market makers (AMM) to supply buy and sell orders without the need for order books.

    For further decentralization, the platform implements the same consensus model as Polkadot, the Nominated Proof of Stake (NPoS). In this system, network security is maintained by the validators selected by the protocolā€™s stakers. They can freely choose how much they want to delegate to a validator and earn rewards in proportion to the amount of their stake.

    In the beta phase of the platform, it can be accessed as a web application. But in the next upgrades, the team will introduce a mobile version with the objective of making it easier for users to open the application.

    Konomi Network platform
    Konomi Network platform

    Konomi Wallet

    Konomi Wallet features a decentralized asset storage function. Users can freely deposit their cryptocurrencies on the wallet while still being able to monitor their holdings across different protocols. Through this application, users can also access either Konomi Trade or Lend easily.

    Konomi Trade

    Konomi Trade allows users to conduct their trades with the supply of liquidity coming from different markets in the Polkadot network. Supported by its AMM implementation, traders enjoy immediate on-chain transaction execution without the need for any third-party facilitator.

    Konomi Lend

    Konomi Lend is a decentralized money market protocol designed to allow users to borrow and lend their digital assets to other interested users. This product features the collateralized debt position model. This is where borrowers are required to lock at least the minimum amount specified for collateralization before they are allowed to make loans. For now, Konomi supports Polkadotā€™s native token (DOT) for collateralization.

    Decentralized Trading Protocol

    Konomi is designed to implement AMMs that are similarly deployed in most Ethereum-based exchanges. Its architecture is patterned after the DODO exchange, allowing it to effectively mitigate the risks of impermanent loss on the part of the traders.

    Decentralized Money Market

    Konomiā€™s money market protocol backs its borrowing and lending services for assets based on the Polkadot ecosystem. The interest rates imposed on borrowing depend on the total supply and demand in the platformā€™s liquidity pool. Patterned after the Compound protocol, these rates will be computed on a per-block basis.

    For those who would like to supply assets to the protocolā€™s existing liquidity pools, they can lock their holdings in smart contracts as collateral to earn lending interest. This also lets them access borrowing services.

    Cross-Chain Messaging Passing Feature

    Konomi will implement the Cross-Chain Messaging Passing (XCMP) function in order to achieve interoperability. XCMP is designed to link parachains together for the purposes of relaying transactions from one network to the other.

    What this does is it allows transactions made in different parachains to work despite their independence with each other. This allows users to tap other markets on the Polkadot ecosystem even if their assets are only on the Konomi protocol.

    KONO Token

    KONO is Konomiā€™s native utility token that is used to pay for the platformā€™s minimal transaction fees, trade between other market participants, collateral for loans in the network, staking, and protocol governance. The supply of KONO is limited and fixed to 100 million tokens.

    KONO token uses
    KONO token uses

    KONO holders are given the right to cast their votes on network proposals concerning different protocol parameters such as staking fee, transaction fee burn, liquidity mining ratio, and others. Participants to the governance mechanism are also given rewards for joining.

    The reward system for the protocol is also powered by KONO tokens. Those who stake their tokens and supply liquidity to the protocol are entitled to a reward proportional to the amount of token they locked in the network.

    Conclusion

    Konomi is an up-and-coming addition to the array of decentralized finance (DeFi) products in the space today. Since its infrastructure is supported by the Polkadot blockchain, it can stand to be a valuable competitor of other decentralized money markets and asset management services in the near future. Furthermore, its products can potentially entice a lot of users looking to make additional profit out of their holdings through staking. Its outlook for future adoption is positive.

    However, until the platform is fully operational, we cannot absolutely compare it with the initiatives that were first launched in the market. While Konomi is built on a high-performing blockchain with cross-chain functionality, its applicationā€™s capacity to support the needs of its users is still going to be the best metric for its growth and success.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Deriswap: Another Andre Cronje success story?

    Deriswap: Another Andre Cronje success story?

    Deriswap is the latest and unreleased project by Andre Cronje, announced for the first time in a Medium post on 23rd November 2020. Andre is a well known developer in the Defi space (ā€œthe Father of Defiā€ as many define him) and famous is his interest in trying to simplify usersā€™ lives when approaching protocols. For example Yearn Finance ($YFI), launched in July 2020, automatically distributes usersā€™ funds to various swap-based DeFi protocols based on their returns, risks, and other factors. Keep3r Network (which came in October) on the other hand, is a platform for projects that need or wish to outsource their ā€œjobsā€ (operations) to third parties.

    How has Defi improved over time?

    Only a year ago, decentralized finance (DeFi) sounded so foreign, attracting just a handful of die-hard crypto enthusiasts and supporters. Fast-forward to 2020, and the space has become some sort of a sub-sector of crypto, leading to the creation of networks which address various sectors. Most of these platforms concentrate on yield farming through swaps. Other options and futures-focused systems also came on board.

    Unfortunately, while these systems brought solutions, they also complicated the space. For instance, new questions had arisen such as which one is the easiest to use, which one has the best yields, etc.

    Luckily, yield aggregator platforms such as Yearn Finance, as we said, came to the rescue of liquidity providers (LPs).

    However, the segmentation problem still isnā€™t solved. This is where Deriswap comes in. The protocol ensures capital efficiency by aggregating services offered by other platforms such as Uniswap, Bancor, Deribit, Primitive, Compound, and Aave.

    What is Deriswap? What problems is it trying to solve?

    Andre Cronje
    Andre Cronje

    Deriswap is a decentralized platform combining swaps, options, futures, and loans into a single product.

    Cronje wanted to, among other things, guard DeFi users against the high costs incurred when moving away from the money market, as is the case with options-focused networks such as Hegic. Additionally, Cronjeā€™s vision is to shift from segregated to consolidated liquidity.

    Some advantages of pooled liquidity include less price slippage and fees. Also, he wanted to strengthen asset-settled instead of cash-settled options.

    Under the microscope, Deriswap is inspired by Uniswap. In an interview, Cronje noted that the platform was born after adding roughly 150-lines of code to the Uniswap protocol. However, things like math functions had to be developed from scratch to address unique computations on the new system.

    What products will Deriswap offer?

    • Swaps make use of Uniswapā€™s Automated Market Maker (AMM) formula ā€œx * y = kā€ and allow LPs to provide liquidity as pairs of two coins such as Bitcoin (BTC)-Ethereum (ETH). Their incentives originate from trading costs.
    • Options ā€“ Options tap into swaps to hedge against volatility. For example, positive trading costs cancel losses from settled options. Deriswap makes use of TWAP (Time-Weighted Average Price) oracles to implement American-styled options that have no hard-coded settlement time.
    Deriswap Interface
    Deriswap Interface

    Since settlement occurs in pairs, call and put functions have to exhaust assets from either side. That is, a call request buys the entire amount while a sell order auctions the absolute value.

    Deriswap options allow users to maximize fees whether the market moves sideways or is too volatile. In case it moves sideways, for example, there are fewer trading fees but high options fees. When itā€™s unstable, vice versa, the trading costs increase while the options charges are reduced.

    • Futures ā€“ Futures ride on the time element found on swaps. This, vice versa, is ā€œjust a normal tradeā€ in Cronjeā€™s words. It allows one party in a contract to pay a premium as well as the base asset.
    • Loans ā€“ Loans are a natural evolution from futures. Interestingly, the deposited currencies pair back each other. For example, assuming you deposited BTC-ETH and want an ETH loan, BTC serves as collateral. This then determines the amount of ETH eligible for borrowing.

    Once the ETH is returned, BTC is given back. Otherwise, BTC is forfeited. It is important to note that loans can be settled before their due date.

    What are Deriswapā€™s advantages?

    We could think of the platform as a Yearn replica which doesn’t only interact with swaps like Uniswap and Bancor. It deploys capitals to the entire ecosystem of options, loans, and futures. Therefore we can outline key points such as:

    • users can deploy funds on selected platforms from a single interface. For instance, they could allocate 30 percent to Aave to power decentralized borrowing, 30 percent to Deribit for options, and 40 percent to Uniswap for trading.
    • distributing capital to various unrelated platforms allows Liquidity Providers to use the same amount of money for different things.
    • with different spheres of Deriswap complementing each other, LPs guarantee returns even when one market is dormant or unfavorable. For example, when the market has low volatility, they can quickly turn to options and loans. This while a highly-volatile market provides an opportunity to make a killing from trading and futures.
    • Deriswap makes existing DeFi products functional and cheaper
    • ā€¦ and accommodates what Cronje calls ā€œlazy liquidityā€. This is liquidity from LPs who donā€™t have time to be active on a platform. Instead, they provide liquidity and come back after six months to check for yields.

    When is Deriswap launching?

    As of today, there is no official release date and not much info has been disclosed. Through a series of tweets, articles and community posts announcing Yearn Financeā€™s last collaborations, we came to know that Deriswap will be completed and launched together with the Sushiswap team. The partnership should biuld the next Sushiswap trading platform on top of Deriswap.

    In this post, we can also read that the two teams will cooperate “in a stealth project following Deriswap releaseā€.

    To confirm this ā€œaura of mysteryā€ behind Deriswap and last Cronjeā€™s announcements in general, ā€œcryptomaniacsā€ are welcome to bet on what this fourth notorious project in his last tweet could be

    https://twitter.com/AndreCronjeTech/status/1335846595858980867

    Is there a Deriswap token?

    Cronje is considered by the cryptocurrency community as having the ā€œMidas touchā€, where every project he touches turns into gold. Therefore, people are anxious to know if and when Deriswap will launch a token so that they can dive in early and buy it for a cheap price and sell it later. Most DeFi protocols have their own limited supply token, so it is expected that Deriswap will eventually also have a token. However, the Deriswap protocol is currently undergoing audit so there is no official Deriswap token yet. There is also no news on whether there will even be a token at all.

    However, this has not stopped some people from issuing fake Deriswap tokens for unsuspecting crypto enthusiasts to buy. In one such scam, people deposited over 150 ETH in less than 15 minutes, which the scammer promptly took and absconded.  

    Conclusion

    In an ecosystem where liquidity is thinly spread across multiple platforms, Deriswap acts as a consolidator in order to increase capital efficiency. As such, a DeFi enthusiast can deploy his capital into loans, options, swaps, and futures platforms. Consequently, they can receive incentives, even when one industry is stagnant. Moreover, the use of the TWAP oracles eliminate the risk of widespread price variance.

    Since Deriswap is developed by a seasoned programmer, the platform is likely to turn out as another success, just like Yearn.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • WAX ($WAXP): The King of NFTs?

    WAX ($WAXP): The King of NFTs?

    WAX Protocol ($WAXP) stands for Worldwide Asset eXchange. They are one of the safest and most convenient ways to create, buy, sell and trade virtual items i.e. non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through an integrated DPoS blockchain platform designed to work hand-in-hand with a microservice layer to improve the digital goods marketā€™s infrastructure. Obtaining WAX knowledge has enabled innovators to develop a highly-connected and sophisticated marketplace that has brought a lot of value in digital goods projects.

    This information here will help you learn how to incorporate the WAX Protocol within the WAX Platform and how the two tools complement each other. Itā€™s worth noting that the WAX Platform is composed of the WAX Protocol and a microservice layer.

    Learn more about WAX with our interview with Evan Vandenberg, Director of Business Development at WAX.

    Profitable digital collectibles and blockchain gaming (with WAX blockchain)

    Background

    The WAX platform was founded by William Quigley and Jonathan Yantis, together they have vast experience in blockchain technology. Quigley is also the Managing Director of Cashel Enterprises, a cryptocurrency-focused investment vehicle which has incubated and invested in over 40 blockchain and cryptocurrency projects. Meanwhile, Yantis also works as WAX’s CEO.

    The global growth of the digital goods marketplace has experienced enormous challenges for the past decade, but WAX technology has helped in finding solutions that spur the development of the sector. Although some users think that the technology has arrived late when challenges are already overwhelming, itā€™s actually the perfect time since blockchain has matured enough to satisfy the requirements for the WAX system to succeed.

    As the digital goods market continues to expand, itā€™s essential to acknowledge that tokenized consumer products and virtual items have played an instrumental role in blockchain growth. Virtual items like in video games alone have generated more than USD$140 billion for the market. On the other hand, tokenized consumer products have realized over USD$1.8 trillion.

    Considering that WAX attempts to offer remedies for a marketplace with a combined market value of over USD$2 trillion, itā€™s easy to realize the magnitude of the problem. The first year of incorporating WAX Protocol operations on major players like VGO and dApps has realized over USD$150 million worth of trading volume.

    What is WAX?

    Wax is a marketplace for digital assets, serving more than 400 million online players that sell, buy, and collect in-game items. Their suite of blockchain-based tools allows people to trade digital or physical items instantly and securely to anyone in the world. WAX’s platform brings together a community of collectors and traders, buyers and sellers, creators and gamers, merchants, creators of dApps and even game developers.

    Examples of what WAX can do include buying and selling gift cards to people across the globe, or building your own online store using the B2B tools created by WAX. WAX also allows people to create NFTs and send them to others.

    WAX Blockchain

    The WAX network works on a consensus model that relies on various WAX Guilds to enhance blockchain production. WAX utilizes Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS), which depends heavily on WAX Guilds to ensure success in blockchain generation.

    The WAX ecosystem has witnessed considerable growth due to the incorporation of the WAX Token Model, which is designed to ensure success in various aspects such as voting, staking, and rewards. The Wax Staking Reward is a feature that has encouraged community participation because it allows users to vote and access rewards.

    With WAX tokens, users have immense options to explore. For instance, if staked WAX tokens havenā€™t been placed, a token holder will require platforms such as Scatter and Lynx to automate the process.

    WAX Tokens ($WAXP)

    WAX tokens ($WAXP) power the entire WAX ecosystem. They are used to reward participants in the chain and enable contributors to receive ten times the number of tokens purchased. This strategy makes it easier to calculate all microtransactions on the platform.

    One benefit of owning WAX tokens is that you get to earn even more tokens by voting for WAX guilds. This is called the WAX staking reward. This process is hassle-free and takes just a minute or two to join. Furthermore, you can unstake your tokens at any time.

    WAX and DeFi? WAX’s new tokenomic model explained

    In a recent announcement, WAX mentioned they will have a new tokenomic model hoping to capitalise on the rapid growth and popularity of NFTs and decentralised finance (DeFi). Their plan is to link the value generated from creating, selling and trading NFTs to Ethereum. WAX considers it different from other DeFi platforms because they consider these activities to be able to provide a sustainable source of value to stakers.

    How the new WAX inter-blockchain tokenomic model would work is that the operational functions of NFTs would still be done on the WAX blockchain, whilst Ethereum will become, “…the capital vault of the WAX NFT empire”. There are 4 components to this new tokenomic model, namely:

    • WAXP to Ethereum bridge: this new bridge will enable WAXP token holders to convert their tokens into WAXE.
    • WAXE: WAXE is a new Ethereum ERC20 utility token. Participants of the WAX tokenomics will need to burn their WAXP tokens to get WAXE tokens via the Ethereum bridge. They would then stake the WAXE in the Ethereum Distribution Contract.
    • WAXG: WAXG is a new Ethereum ERC20 governance token which will be distributed to WAXE stakers based on a set timetable and proportionate to their percentage of the WAX Economic Activity Pool. Token holders will be able to govern the allocation and distribution of economic value on the platform.
    • WAX Economic Activity Pool: This is a smart contract which will accumulate a percentage of generated WAX fees to be converted to ETH for distribution to WAXE stakers or given to WAXG token holders that decide to burn their tokens.
    WAX tokenomic process
    WAX tokenomic process (Image credit: Medium)

    For full details of WAX’s new tokenomic model, check out their article on Medium.

    WAX Guilds and Rewards

    A WAX blockchain contains 21 WAX Guilds that qualify to earn a reward. Remember, blocks can only be produced after the chain meets the threshold to earn rewards. The rewards are awarded depending on the number of blocks that every WAX Guild can produce. Standby Guilds are considered as backup operators that help to generate a chain on request.

    WAX Performance Metrics

    WAX has been configured in such a way that it releases two blocks per second. Itā€™s worth noting that each WAX Guild can only produce one block at a time. If a block fails to come out at a specific time, other blocks will jump the queue to ensure a continuous process.

    A block that has been skipped will contend for a space in the memory pool to compete for guildsā€™ inclusion in the next turn. More than 3000 blockchains are usually transacted each second in the WAX system. The transaction rate is two times swifter than the VISA system can procure in the same period.

    The Future of WAX technology

    WAX Platform doesnā€™t only work to offer remedy for the current problems but also offers a roadmap for future operations. WAX Developer Hive is tasked with the duty of technical service provision, tutorials, and other simulations. Besides, WAX developers equally provide vital resources that make implementations successful.

    The technology has also incorporated features that will make it convenient to evaluate whether the system passes the transparency test among communities.

    Also, thereā€™s room to allow interoperation with other chains to enhance performance. NFTs are among the candidates that need microservices and can thrive with the WAX Platform.

    Conclusion

    Gamers from across the world can substantially benefit from its secure and decentralized digital items marketplace. As WAX Platform continues to provide more improvements, developers will find several ways to create features that would better serve gamers in terms of digital goods trading.

    The platform is also expected to play an instrumental role with digital media and is set to welcome over three billion users in the coming five years.  

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • LABS Group ($LABS): bringing real estate investments to the masses?

    LABS Group ($LABS): bringing real estate investments to the masses?

    LABS Group aims to realise everyoneā€™s dream of real estate ownership through fractionalising real estate investments.

    Traditionally, entry into the real estate industry requires a substantial investment due to the indivisibility of assets. Consequently, small investors find this asset class completely out of their reach.

    Among the few platforms trying a stab at bringing real estate to the masses is LABS Group. Through its ecosystem token and utilising decentralised finance (DeFi) and governance, its mission is to intelligently blend the centralized and the decentralized worlds of real estate to improve its liquidity.

    Check out our interview with Chairman Mahesh Harilela (or listen to the podcast).

    Tokenizing Real Estate Assets-LABS Group with Mahesh Harilela

    Background

    Mahesh Harilela, is the Companyā€™s Chairman. Mahesh comes from one of the most prominent families in Hong Kong, which owns 19 hotel properties worldwide through the Harilela Group. Mahesh himself has certainly inherited the familyā€™s entrepreneurial spirit and is involved in Trading, Brand Development, Renewable Energy Infrastructure, Agriculture and Education. He is also Chairman of the Board and CEO of M. Harilela Global Investments Ltd and Asia CBD Pte Ltd.

    What is Labs?

    LABS is a leading blockchain-based ecosystem for real estate investments. The platform seeks to bring more people into the space by fractionalizing investments. Compared with other legacy modes of investing in the real estate space like private equity funds, REITs, and direct investment, LABS emerges as the winner.

    For instance, it ticks crucial boxes such as low fees, governance, ownership, staking for profit, tradable, among others.

    Critical issues the protocol is trying to solve include:

    1. Costly entry and exit prices ā€“ Currently, the median entry price into the ecosystem is high. The cost rises as you enter into big cities. Apart from entry points, exit costs are driven through the roof by third parties such as agencies.
    2. Eradicate reliance on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) ā€“ Although they allow pooled investments, they are majorly open to deep-pocketed individuals.
    3. Complicated access to a global network ā€“ International property ownership is a nightmare in the current state of the real estate industry.
    4. Low Liquidity ā€“ The traditional real estate market restricts investors from selling to the local market due to low liquidity.
    5. High fees ā€“ The fees range from taxes, agent fees, and transaction fees that introduce inefficiencies in the conventional market.
    LABS Ecosystem (Image credit: LABS Group)

    How Labs Tackles the Above Problems

    Labs uses different approaches to solve key issues plaguing the traditional real estate industry permanently. These are:

    Crowdfunding

    The project believes in fractionalizing real estate assets, making it possible for multiple investors to put their money in the same assets by reducing the entry costs. Additionally, it minimizes the need for investors to stretch their cash reserves unnecessarily. In doing so, it reduces the risks of losing a lot of money.

    Powering a Global Portfolio

    With digitization, the project removes the global barrier. Consequently, it provides investors with a chance to have a global portfolio of real estate assets. (contentbeta) This lowers the risks for investors. Apart from enabling them to build a global portfolio, the digitization process enables investors to mimic traditional asset features like a store of value.

    Caters to Investors Diverse Appetites

    Labs enables investors to choose between different types of assets in the industry. For example, they can select residential, commercial, industrial, or hybrid and still choose their preferred location, risk levels, and ROI.

    It Brings Blockchain and Digitization Together

    By digitizing real-world assets, the project opens them up to trading on virtual exchanges that have no geographical limitations nor opening/closing times.

    Extra benefits

    Other benefits birthed by the project are:

    1. Interaction with the DeFi scene and enabling decentralized governance.
    2. Ability to trade real estate securities.
    3. Faster and direct dividends payments
    4. Reduced and enhanced transactions.

    Liquidity Provision On the Labs Network

    1. Tokenization ā€“ This helps power an asset-backed token ecosystem that lives on the blockchain enabling other activities such as over-the-counter trading and token swapping.
    2. Trading on the secondary market ā€“ Trading of Labsā€™ securities leverages recognized exchanges. Note that when shares are tokenized, they are traded on a securities exchange. Such asset trading platforms enable enhanced non-stop trading, positively impacting investorsā€™ entry and exit points.
    3. Lending ā€“ Labs facilitates lending activities on the platform using two native assets; the Labs stable token, the Labs security token (more on these later). The protocol uses these tokens to address the liquidity problem by allowing their holders to engage in collateralized lending.

    Conclusion

    By fractionalizing real estate assets, Labs eases the entry of retail investors into the industry. Consequently, it increases liquidity. Another critical Labs undertaking is digitizing these assets, effectively connecting the real estate market to the DeFi world.

    In return, it opens up the space to more possibilities such as collateralized lending, over-the-counter trading, and swapping. Additionally, the inclusion of the LABS token drives community governance that is a crucial pillar in DeFi-focused protocols.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • YFI Yield Farming with yEarn Pool

    YFI Yield Farming with yEarn Pool

    Yield Farming is a popular method for cryptocurrency owners to gain passive income. It involves taking advantage of various incentives rewards for locking-up (aka staking) different cryptocurrencies. This article focuses on yield farming for the $YFI token which has become the highest performing yield farming pool.

    Check out our video on how to potentially earn 600% returns through YFI Yield Farming!

    The yEarn project has launched its own governance token – $YFI – this week, sending the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Yield Farming scene into a frenzy. As of this article, staking stable coins (USDT, USDC, DAI, or TUSD) into the Y pool will yield an astronomical 896% Annual Percentage Yield (APY). This is due to the incentive token $YFI being distributed to staked token holders, making this the single best yield farming pool right now. This has sparked a huge amount of interest in both searches for the $YFI governance token (trending right now on coingecko). Since the token launch, more than $60 Million of new capital has been deposited into the Y pool. Calculate yield using the community made yieldfarming tool.

    WARNING: Yield farming involves a high amount of risk due to the experimental nature of the Ethereum network with potentially undiscovered critical vulnerabilities. Never stake/farm more than you can afford to lose. This is not Financial Advice.

    What is the yEarn (iEarn) Pool

    The iEarn “Y” pool is a yield aggregator – it automatically invests its capital into different DeFi projects – selecting those with the highest yield and return on investment. As a DeFi protocol, a smart contract keeps the invested funds – which makes the project non-custodial. The pool itself is comprised of 4 different stable coins – USDT, USDC, DAI and TUSD – with a total of over $103 Million USD in currency reserves (Assets Under Management – AUM). These reserves are then lent out to different protocols that offer the best rates of return, including Compound, Aave, and dYdX. yPools are considered riskier than other DeFi products such as Compound because lend capital out to a series of protocols – which themselves could be vulnerable to critical vulnerabilities.

    How to Earn the YFI Token

    There are two pools that reward the YFI token for staking. The first and easiest pool to access is the Y Pool on Curve.Fi. This pool is a collection of stable coins that are automatically invested in different lending protocols. This type of pool is usually considered a higher risk due to possible vulnerabilities not just with its own smart contract, but with other smart contracts too.

    Deposit and stake option on Curve.Fi

    How to to earn YFI tokens

    Unfortunately “Yield Farming” for the YFI token has ended. When YFI first launched, all 30,000 tokens were distributed to stakers on the https://ygov.finance/staking platform. Although initially there were plans to distribute more tokens, attempts to come out with a plan to do so have all been voted down in the Y governance. This means it’s unlikely that new $YFI tokens will be distributed in the future. Other tokens such as YFII and YFV still have token distribution for yield farmers.

    What is YFI token

    Image
    Liquidity provider profit on Y Pool

    YFI is the governance token for yEarn (previously known as iEarn). Tokenholders are entitled to vote on upcoming governance decisions for the network – such as potentially stopping all-new distribution of the token. Creator of YFI, Andre Cronje (@AndreCronjeTech) has stated that the token has no intrinsic value.

    “We have released YFI, a completely valueless 0 supply token. We re-iterate, it has 0 financial value”

    Andre Cronje

    This being said, the current wave hype wave and token dynamics have driven up the value of the token. The token follows the “Governance” model where it’s value comes from voting on where the protocol will go next. On top of this, the incentivized Balancer pool (YFI 2%, DAI 98%) requires the staking of $YFI, which locks up further supply. Simply put, DeFi farmers are locking up YFI and DAI in order to receive BPT tokens which could be staked on ygov.finance to gain an additional $YFI. This type of cyclic farming create pseudo ponzinomics and could lead to potentially disastrous results.

    Balancer Warning & new coin minting risk

    One of risks that was mitigated by the team was with token issuance. Currently there is a max cap of only 30,000 YFI tokens. Earlier this week it was discovered that there was a master key which permitted YFI developer Andre Cronje to mint new coins and potentially flood the market with new coins. If he did this, it would of been possible for him to take the entirety of Pool#2 and Pool#3 on Balancer, with a total of more than $150 Million USD. Luckily this did not happen, as he quickly created a multisignature address which requires 6/9 key holders to agree to minting new tokens. The purpose of this is to remove single party risk as 6 of the 9 keyholders are required to agree to create new coins. On top of this, even if they do agree, the community will have 3 days notice before anything happens.

    Overall the long term objective of YFI is to leave control of the total supply of YFI and distribution up to the community to decide. The voting aspect of YFI will allow governance token stakers to decide who to do with the platform.

    YFI distribution stop

    Distribution of $YFI tokens will temporarily stop as new contracts are being prepared. Times for the pools stopping are as follows:

    Resources:

    yEarn documentation – http://docs.yearn.finance
    yGovernance and staking – https://ygov.finance
    Pool Information / Calculator: https://yieldfarming.info/
    Curve Guide on Pools – https://guides.curve.fi/how-to-choose-the-right-curve-pool-for-you/
    Coindesk Report: https://www.coindesk.com/troll-token-why-defi-yield-farmers-are-now-all-about-yfi

    Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more

    With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces

    The DeFi series on this website also covers topics not explored on YouTube. For an introduction on what is DeFi, check out Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Overview: A guide to the HOTTEST trend in cryptocurrency

    Tutorials and guides for the ESSENTIAL DEFI TOOLS:

    More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Exeedme (XED): allowing every gamer to earn with blockchain and NFTs?

    Exeedme (XED): allowing every gamer to earn with blockchain and NFTs?

    Exeedme (XED) is a blockchain-powered gaming tournament platform designed to finally give professional gamers the income and recognition they deserve.

    There are over 2.5 billion gamers worldwide, making the gaming industry twice the size of the music and movie industries combined.

    But while producers and developers in the entertainment industry are able to rake in millions, the same cannot be said for gamers who find it almost impossible to earn a living playing video games.

    Although we do have cases of professional gamers generating substantial income through livestreaming, their numbers are considerably low as it requires a very high amount of creativity, skill, and time to build a big-enough audience and thrive. This challenge is what Exeedme is trying to solve.

    Background

    Francisco Varela and Nuno Fernandes teamed up to come up with this innovative idea of rewarding gamers for their devotion and skills to playing the game they love.

    To truly ensure the project caters to the professional gamer, their Head of Engineering- Arlindo Torres, is himself a game analyst and professional CS:GO player. Exeedme also has Ricardo “FOX” Pacheco Miguel, a professional CG:GO player and world champion as their Ambassador

    What is Exeedme?

    Exeedme is looking to revolutionize the gaming industry by providing Play2Earn platform for gamers, developers, and organizers a place to monetize their skills through blockchain-based gaming tournaments.

    The tournament platform is built on Polkadot, a next-generation multi-chain protocol that has grown exponentially in the last few months.

    Exeedme chose to build its system on top of Polkadot in order to benefit from its decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) innovations. This would allow it to move fungible and non-fungible assets across multiple chains seamlessly, which could expand its horizons to larger communities.

    The Exeedme team recognizes the fact that the current game monetization models leave a lot to be desired since current models favor a few privileged gamers but do not provide an avenue for an average player to earn an income through gaming.

    Hence, Exeedme has come to give gamers a place to exercise a real sense of ownership and earn money as they play.

    Exeedme Gaming Solutions

    The central idea behind Exeedme is to provide a platform where gamers can be able to earn money from doing what they love. The platform seeks to reward gamers of all skill levels without any discrimination, which means you donā€™t need to become a top professional gamer in order to earn an income.

    And in this ecosystem, the biggest winners would be the game developers, as well as players.

    Virtual Assets

    Many games today have systems where they allow gamers to earn or buy virtual assets. The downside to this is that these assets cannot be monetized or transferred outside of the gaming system.

    Exeedme is looking to change all that through its XED native token, plus the use of NFTs. Gamers would be allowed to transfer their gameā€™s ā€œvirtual assetsā€ to different game universes, even if they are on different blockchains, which would result in an interoperable digital multiverse.

    Since DeFi and NFTs would be pre-built into the gaming platform, peer-to-peer gaming economy platforms could readily grow. These growing economies would be geared towards rewarding gamers instead of the side chain advertising industries.

    How Gamers Earn on the Platform

    Gamers can earn on the Exeedme platform in 3 ways: winning, participating, and progressing.

    To earn through winning, a gamer has to pick his favorite game to play, then stake it via funding with crypto assets. The player then selects his opponent or lets the system match him with similarly skilled players. The gamer could bet on himself to win and if he succeeds, he can take his earnings.

    Gamers can also win simply by participating and progressing in any game or tournament they play.

    In addition to the 3 methods mentioned above, Exeedme also allows players to earn NFTs when they progress such as trophies, collectibles and in-game assets. These an be used across different games, traded or monetized.

    Advantages of Exeedme

    Exeedme holds a number of advantages over the old gaming models, some of them are:

    • Exeedmeā€™s XED tokens are far better than participation trophies that some of the other games reward. Regardless of the outcome of a game, a gamer can be assured of earning a token that can be spent. This is because every time there is a bet on the gamer winning, XED tokens are being mined.
    • Newly-minted XED and crafted NFTs can also be earned just by progressing in a gameā€™s tournament or winning it. They are also won when a gamer reaches a milestone, completes a new mission, or achieves a higher ranking.
    • Earned XED and NFT tokens can be traded or monetized, making it a very fun way of earning.

    XED Token

    Exeedme’s $XED is their native token. Players are rewarded with XED tokens through winning or progressing in a game.

    Earn XED tokens
    Earn XED tokens (Image credit: Exeedme)

    The project has designed its platform in such a way that its governance system is led by gamers who would also be major participants on the blockchain. Accordingly, the best way to help improve the platform and push it into success would be to stake XED tokens.

    Gamers who stake the token would enjoy certain privileges like lower fees, a cut of the match fees, access to free and special tournaments, access to exclusive NFT launches, exclusive badges, and other perks.

    Exeedme would also be deploying community pools in its bid to fund general improvements to the protocol. Developers can also obtain funding through various methods depending on their project.

    XED token uses
    XED token uses (Image creditļ¼šExeedme whitepaper)

    XED token metrics and tokenomics

    The XED token was listed on Uniswap and released as a Polkastater Initial DEX Offering on 30th December 2020. Details on the XED token are as follows.

    Total Circulating Supply: 100,000,000 $XED

    Initial Market Cap: $875,000 USD

    Seed/Private/Pre-Public Sale Fundraising: $900,000 USD

    Distribution and release

    Seed: $0.0125 USD, 20% released on TGE, then 10% monthly over 8 months

    Private sale price: $0.025 USD, 25% relased on TGE, then 25% monthly over 3 months

    Pre-Public: $0.03 USD, 25% released on TGE, then 25% monthly over 3 months

    Uniswap listing price: $0.05 USD

    XED token distribution
    XED token distribution (Image credit: Exeedme)

    Exeedme Use of Funds Raised

    • 45% of the funds raised will help support the product development team;
    • 30% will be for growing the ecosystem;
    • 15% will be for providing liquidity to Uniswap and other exchanges;
    • 5% will be for Legal, Regulatory and Security; and
    • 5% will be for general and administrative expenses.

    Exeedme Staking Pool

    The gaming platform would deploy community pools to fund general improvements to the protocol. Developers on the protocol would have access to various funding methods which would be determined by their project.

    For instance, XED rewards and NFT rewards pools would have access to fees garnered from tournaments. They would also be able to receive mints and melts of NFTs and fungible tokens.

    Conclusion

    Exeedme is a uniqueue blockchain gaming platform designed in a way to create a playing field for any skill leveled gamera chance to earn from doing what they love. And despite having other gaming-based blockchain protocols in the space, Exeedme is quite unique in its approach.

    While the previous gaming models do not give adequate room for gamers to earn from their skill, the innovative platform looks to correct that by providing an ample opportunity for gamers to earn from whatever skill levels they have.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Base Protocol ($BASE): a rebasing token to cover all cryptocurrencies?

    Base Protocol ($BASE): a rebasing token to cover all cryptocurrencies?

    Base Protocol ($BASE) created a token with a value pegged to the total market capitalization of every cryptocurrency available in the market. The purpose is to diversify a personā€™s investments and expand their exposure to a lot of cryptocurrencies that they would not have otherwise availed from existing traditional investment vehicles. 

    This has helped investors because trading on the cryptocurrency market has always been challenging. Especially when the performance of some coins varies a lot from each other. There are big gainers and big losers. In addition, choosing which digital currency to invest in can be truly difficult at times considering their inherent risks. Fortunately, Base Protocol’s token aims to solve this problem.

    Learn more about Base Protocol and how rebasing works in our debate with Nick Ravanbakhsh, co-founder of Base Protocol.

    EPIC Debate: Are “Rebases” Useful Financially? – With Base Protocol

    Background

    Nick Ravanbakhsh and Dylan Senter, founders of the Base Protocol, started the project to address the lack of a crypto index fund product for the cryptocurrency market. They came up with the idea to establish a basket of digital assets that track the market.

    Both of them are also co-founders of Spectiv, a digital token designed as a rewards system for content creators, aiming to do away with the advertising intermediaries like YouTube or Facebook.

    Base Protocolā€™s key team members also include Chris PeƱa (Head of Development), who has over 10 years of experience being a developer for systems that span multiple industries,and Based McGee (Head of Development ā€” Solidity), who has 10 years of experience being a software engineer.

    What is Base Protocol?

    Base Protocol is an Ethereum-based synthetic token that has its price derived from the value of all digital assets in the cryptocurrency market. You can think of it like a stock index. It functions as a trading vehicle where the price is dependent on the movement of all other stocks held in its particular market.

    Through Base, investors can participate in the cryptocurrency market with the Base Protocol index mitigating risk.

    Rather than simply speculating on the numerous cryptocurrencies that pop up almost daily, investors can spread their risk by simply investing in Base Protocol. This means that they can have a stake in every successful coin, at the same time, have a more balanced risk exposure.

    And for as long as the cryptocurrency market continues to grow, you cannot lose. Basically, this project is geared to those who believe in the nascent industryā€™s long-term potential.

    Features of Base Protocol

    Base Protocol as a Synthetic Asset

    A synthetic asset in finance is a tool designed to produce the same effects as investing in another asset (called the underlying asset). However, it also alters the key characteristics of the underlying asset.

    This is effectively the engineering mechanism behind the Base protocol, which is a synthetic asset that simulates the performance of the cryptocurrency market. To do this effectively, it is built with some important features in place.

    Elastic supply

    BASEā€™s value is designed to be the combined value of all cryptocurrencies in the market at a ratio of 1:1 trillion. Hence Base Protocol is built to always achieve equilibrium with the market cap of all cryptocurrencies (target price). This means that its supply could also change depending on the current state of the market. Through its rebasing method, BASE could ensure that it can reconcile the difference between the value of its coin and the total market cap for cryptocurrencies.

    Rebasing- how does it work?

    Rebasing is the term used for the process by which a synthetic asset’s price is restored in equilibrium to the underlying asset. BASEā€™s rebasing mechanism adjusts its total supply until the market price reaches the target price.

    While this protocol functions to ensure that the market price of BASE always correlates with the target price ā€“ it often only manages to influence the corrections. It is left to market actors to respond to rebases to correct prices.

    Rebase process
    Rebase process (Image credit: Base Protocol whitepaper)

    Example

    • t0 ā€” An investor buys 1 BASE with a market price $1
    • t1ā€” The market price of BASE goes up to $2 ā€“ out of sync with the target price of $1
    • t2 ā€” To restore the market price’s equilibrium to target price, BASE’s total supply is adjusted in proportion to the difference. This is a “rebase”, and the process is called a “rebase event”.
    • t3 ā€” Regardless of the rebase event, the investor’s net $ balance and his percent ownership of the total supply are always constant.

    BASE Token ($BASE)

    Baseā€™s token ($BASE) is the token associated with the Base Protocol index and is both itself a cryptocurrency and a measure of the cryptocurrency market as a whole. It serves as a trading instrument that enables individuals to make investments based on the whole cryptocurrency market, instead of just a single or few digital asset selections.

    BASEā€™s value follows the ratio of 1:1 trillion, based on the whole market cap for cryptocurrencies. For example, if the market cap is at $800 billion, the value of one BASE is $0.80.

    The protocol is based on the Ethereum blockchain and can be bought on Uniswap. The price feed uses Chainlinkā€™s decentralized oracle network.

    Base Protocol dashboard
    Base Protocol dashboard (Image credit: Base Protocol)

    While BASE is becoming more popular as an investment instrument, it can serve other specific purposes too. Here are some of the other features that the $BASE token can be used for.

    Uses for $BASE token

    Price Reference

    Traders trying to analyze the potential movement of a particular coin could track its price with the value of BASE to determine how they fare against the whole crypto market. This can even be better than just comparing altcoins with BTC because it shows an overview of the whole crypto economy. 

    Hence $BASE is intended to be a single token that allows an investor to speculate on all crypto assets simultaneously. This way, they don’t have to buy any specific coin or invest in a select few and can spread their stake across the entire industry.

    As long as the investor is optimistic about the industry’s future, they can invest in the market as a whole.

    Safe Haven

    According to the Team, purchasing BASE allows holders to make safe investments, instead of just selecting a single digital asset.

    This is because cherry-picking cryptocurrencies into a portfolio opens the investor to the risk of loss ā€” seeing how volatile the market can be. People might also miss out on the emergence of the rapid rise of any new currency.

    By investing in $BASE, however, the idea is that one can mitigate the risk of exposure of individual coins while enjoying the rest’s potential gains.

    Price Reference

    As a market tracker, BASEā€™s price is indicative of the total market cap of the crypto market. Crypto investors already track the performance of altcoins in relation to bitcoin instead of USD.

    The performance of any altcoin in relation to bitcoin is more a more important measure for the decentralized economy. But even better would be to use $BASE as the price reference. Instead of just BTC, the trader can see how well any altcoin performs against the entire crypto market.

    Lending Instrument

    BASE can be utilized as a hedge for leveraged crypto trading. It can be considered an alternative to borrowing in BTC since it is less volatile. For example, if the value of BASE drops and they have to repay the loan they made, they can suffer less in terms of losses since it depends on the overall drop in the market.

    Base Cascade

    BASE Cascade is a program on the platform designed to reward BASE holders. This is because it also serves as their contribution to the liquidity of Uniswapā€™s pool. In order to take part in the Cascade program, users have to lock their BASE and ETH on the Uniswap liquidity pool. They get a percentage of the transaction fees based on the volume of trading in the pool as a reward.

    After they have deposited their BASE and ETH on Uniswap, they are given LP tokens, which is the token that they can stake to claim their rewards on Cascade.

    At first, the rewards multiplier for Cascade participants is at 1x. 30 days after they are staked, it increase to 2x. 60 days after, the multiplier becomes 3x. The increase in the multiplier happens everyday until it reaches the ceiling point, which is at 3x.

    Participation in Cascade is merely optional. Only the user can decided how much liquidity they want to contribute. Furthermore, they can withdraw at any point in time.

    Conclusion

    Devising new ways to expand the investment opportunities for the cryptocurrency market serves the purposes of adoption and new use cases. Base Protocolā€™s initiative to create a product that expands the exposure of its users to the whole crypto market can be a convenient entry point for fresh investments.

    Some of the factors affecting the arrival of new entrants to the crypto space include the volatility of some coins and the difficulty in selecting the best-performing coin. With Base as one of their options, not only are investors given a much safer alternative to investing in single digital assets, they are also given the opportunity to speculate on the crypto market as a whole. Given that this project could potentially bring new interest to the space, we can expect a more vibrant community if the project becomes successful.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Stacks ($STX): Bringing Bitcoinā€™s security to decentralised apps

    Stacks ($STX): Bringing Bitcoin’s security to decentralised apps

    Stacks ($STX) (formerly Blockstack) is an open-source network that allows developers to easily build decentralised applications (such as decentralised finance DeFi applications) and smart contracts. It also relies on Bitcoin as a backbone by reusing its computing power and blockchain for settlement and security with a new mechanism known as proof of transfer (PoX). Below, we look into PoX and everything you need to know about Stacks.

    Background

    Stacks is handled by a globally-distributed team that includes scientists from leading universities such as MIT, Stanford, and Princeton. On top of that, The project is a public company with its headquarters in New York.

    Stacksā€™s place in the DeFi and broader crypto ecosystem is further cemented by being backed by notable names in the industry such as Y Combinator, Foundation Capital, Digital Currency Group, Winklevoss Capital, and LUX.

    What is Stacks?

    Stacks is a decentralized platform that leverages the Bitcoin platformā€™s security to power the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (Dapps). Interestingly, the network does not have to recreate the systemā€™s PoW mechanism to connect to it. The project has four major layers; application, protocol, Stacks blockchain, and the Bitcoin system.

    Blockstack's 4 layers
    Stack’s 4 layers (Image credit: Blockstack.org)

    What is Proof of Transfer (PoX)?

    Proof of Transfer (PoX) and the earliest Proof of Work (PoW) are requirements to define what a miner needs to do in order to create blocks on the blockchain. The purpose of mining is to verify a transactions’ legitimacy and in return miners are rewarded with cryptocurrencies. Proof of Work is the mechanism used for Bitcoin whereby miners compete to solve a puzzle using their computer’s processing power in order to add each block to the chain.

    Learn more about what REAL cryptocurrency mining looks like.

    However, Bitcoin has its fair share of drawbacks. It has a very low transaction speed and is not smart contract-friendly. Therefore, second-layer solutions like the Lightning Network have tried to provide fast Bitcoin transactions but failed to power smart contracts.

    As such, it has lost in the competition to Ethereum who now powers most decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. Yet, with Ethereum witnessing increased congestion, new projects are shifting from Bitcoin and Ethereumā€™s proof of work (PoW) to platforms using proof of stake (PoS) and other energy-friendly consensus mechanisms such as proof of burn (PoB). Now Stacks wants to take this a step further with their proof of transfer (PoX).

    NameWhat miner needs to do to mint new cryptocurrencies
    Proof of work (PoW)Use electricity towards computations i.e. solving complex problems.
    Proof of stake (PoS)Dedicate an economic stake in a base cryptocurrency
    Proof of burn (PoB)Destroy a base cryptocurrency
    Proof of transfer (PoX)Transfer a base cryptocurrency
    Proof of work and other mechanisms

    Stacks Blockchain

    As mentioned earlier, Stacks has four major layers; application, protocol, Stacks blockchain, and the Bitcoin system.

    Stacks blockchain is the solid rock that holds the ecosystem together. It is a distributed layer by itself and allows users to create smart contracts and virtual assets. Whatā€™s interesting with this layer is that itā€™s not a layer two chain but connects to the BTC-powered network with a 1:1 block ratio.

    This implies that whatever happens on the Stacks platform is easily verifiable on the Bitcoin platform.

    How Do the Two Platforms Connect?

    To interface the two independent distributed networks, the Stacks blockchain uses PoX instead of PoW. Generally, the mechanism enables miners to mine a new digital currency by transferring a base currency. In the case of Stacks, transferring BTC results in a new coin being minted on the Stacks protocol.

    Apart from fronting a new consensus mechanism i.e. PoX, the decentralized platform allows its users to easily create virtual assets that are transferable, and ownership can be assigned. The assets can represent a wide range of use cases such as business models, funding, and governance.

    However, to effectively cater to each of these use cases, Stacks, through the Stacks blockchain, supports different asset types such as fungible and non-fungible tokens.

    Learn more about the differences between fungible and non-fungible tokens.

    To power smart contracts, the Stacks blockchain uses a smart contract-centric programming language called Clarity, which provides enhanced security. Notably, the programming language is employed by leading decentralized platforms such as Algorand.

    Protocol Layer

    The protocol layer has the storage, authentication, financial, and naming service. Stacks’ storage system is called Gaia. It stores app data without the need for a third-party service provider.

    It utilizes off-chain cloud systems such as a DigitalOcean or Azure to power super-fast data access by applications. Fortunately, the data is secured by its creatorā€™s private key.

    On the other hand, Stacks uses a decentralized feature to provide authentication. Authentication powers access to the networkā€™s apps using a username and details on Gaia.

    The financial aspect of the system supports DeFi platforms such as those providing decentralized exchanges and lending. The financial pillar is further strengthened by the protocolā€™s use of Clarity to drive smart contracts.

    For instance, the smart contract-programming language can interface directly with the Bitcoin blockchain. Additionally, itā€™s reinforced to prevent security breaches and anticipate possible vulnerabilities.

    Stacks has a unique naming feature called BNS (Blockstack Naming Service). Despite being decentralized, the service enables the platformā€™s users to give assets human-readable names. The names are secured with a combination of public and private keys.

    $STX Token: What is is and tokenomics?

    Activities on the Stacks blockchain are powered by a native currency known as Stacks token ($STX). It is used up as “fuel” when making transactions, interacting with smart contracts and using the BNS feature. It is also distributed as a reward to STX miners (see below).

    The genesis block minted 1.3 billion Stacks tokens. Minted coins were shared among the founders, treasury, equity investors, employees, two token sales, and app mining.

    Stacks token distribution
    Stacks token distribution (Image credit: Stacks Whitepaper)

    App mining is Stacks’ way to reward developers for building high-quality applications on the Stacks network.

    Stacks is available on Binance, HashKey, Crypto.com, and Kucoin. Unfortunately, its availability has been set for non-US persons only.

    Stack Networkā€™s Use Cases

    From the start, the platform is built to enable privacy and allow users to control how their data is used in a world where user data is treated as a commodity for sale. And with Stacks’ use of PoX, Clarity, and other qualities, developers can ensure data privacy when creating apps, eliminate central authorities in financial products, and build fair games.

    Stacks 2.0 and use cases

    Stacks 2.0 blockchain is a layer-1 blockchain utilising the Bitcoin blockchain as a secure base-layer to bring apps and smart contracts to Bitcoin. Stacks 2.0 is currently in the testnet phase. The team have confirmed they are on track to reach code completion for the Stacks 2.0 blockchain by 15th December 2020 and have set a launch date for 14th January 2021.

    Stacks implements proof of transfer (PoX) as a consensus mechanism and natively connects to Bitcoin. Therefore developers can ensure data privacy when creating apps, eliminate central authorities in financial products, and build fair games without the need to modify Bitcoin.

    There will be 2 types of participants on Stacks

    STX miners

    They can spend BTC to elect leaders by sending transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain, where a Verifiable Random Function (VRF) will randomly select the leader of each round. The leader then writes the new block on the Stacks chain.

    As a reward, STX miners get STX tokens, transaction fees, and the Clarity contract execution fees of each block.

    STX holders

    Holders can participate in consensus by locking up their STX for a cycle, running a full node, and sending useful information on the Stacks network as transactions.

    As a reward, STX holders can earn Bitcoin rewards and unlike in the proof of stake mechanism, there is no risk of slashing for STX holders.

    Conclusion

    With an increasing number of security breaches on smart contracts and blockchain platforms, leveraging Bitcoinā€™s security when building smart contracts puts Stacks at the top of the game. Using Clarity at the base of every smart contract keeps hackers at bay, especially in the DeFi scene where malicious actors are always on the prowl for vulnerabilities in protocols.

    Additionally, Chainlink oracles provide a trusted source of off-chain data for developers, while PoX allows for a one-on-one connection to the BTC-powered blockchain.

    We are certainly curious to see what the team come up with in Stacks 2.0 and whether they can live up to their aims.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Persistence ($XPRT): Bringing DeFi to institutions?

    Persistence ($XPRT): Bringing DeFi to institutions?

    Persistence ($XPRT) is an asset-based lending/borrowing and debt issuance/management hybrid protocol, bringing the power of real-world assets to DeFi. It does so by facilitating crypto-assets borrowing, using real-world assets as invoiced NFTs, and then using them as wrapped financial products.

    Persistence One is designed to enhance the transfer of value between the two worlds of finance by enabling value transfer through seamless interoperability via on-off ramps. It was developed to promote open and inclusive finance in addition to solving inefficiencies in payments and financing.

    Check out our interview with CEO and Co-founder Tushar Aggarwal

    https://youtu.be/rGNtrNUyTEY
    Bridging DeFi and traditional finance- Persistence w/ Tushar Aggarwal

    What is Persistence?

    Persistence is an asset-based lending/borrowing and debt issuance/management hybrid protocol, bringing the power of real-world assets to DeFi. It does so by facilitating crypto-assets borrowing, using real-world assets as invoiced NFTs, and then using them as wrapped financial products.

    Persistence One is designed to enhance the transfer of value between the two worlds of finance by enabling value transfer through seamless interoperability via on-off ramps. It was developed to promote open and inclusive finance in addition to solving inefficiencies in payments and financing.

    Background And History

    The project was launched in January 2020. The Persistence team is multicultural and consists of experienced members with sound technical backgrounds. They come from various traditional finance and blockchain companies. As such, they are familiar with the limitations of the current DeFi and centralised finance (CeFi) systems and are aware of what needs to be improved.

    Persistence protocol is led by CEO Tushar Aggarwal and CTO Deepanshu Tripathi, both with legacy finance applications development experience. The team believes that three core elements namely Capital, Technology, and Media are crucial for the success of a project and work to establish a balance between them.

    How does Persistence work?

    Their mode of operation lies in four steps of (1) tokenization; (2) trading; (3) the origination of debt and (4) its securitization. The process begins with tokenizing real-world assetsā€™ invoices as NFTs. This is done so that the assets can be represented adequately on the blockchain.

    Next, comes the trading of such NFTs against stablecoins.

    Stablecoins are then borrowed by putting real-world assets representing NFTs as collateral, the birth of loans. The fourth and last step is the packaging of the loans into different pools to create fixed income investable products – a process known as securitization of debt. 

    Why use blockchain?

    A key question at this point relates to the reason and advantages of using blockchain for such activities. The mission of Persistence is to increase the speed and efficiency of value transfer, as well as make it more secure. As it happens, blockchains specialize in such matters.

    Some advantages for Persistence to use blockchain for their operations includes:

    1. It allows for capital movement in a trustless, borderless, and ā€œfree from time constraintsā€ manner.
    2. Blockchains permit invoices, letters of credit and bills of lading, etc. to be tokenized and turned into divisible assets as NFTs.
    3. Introduces the decentralized exchange for uncensorable and secure trading of real-world assets against stablecoins.
    4. Results in the creation of debt marketplaces for lending/borrowing.

    Persistence’s approach

    Persistence has applied a dual-focus approach for the successful execution of the project. The institutional focus utilizes the asset-based lending use case for physical commodity traders and financiers. Secondly, is the crypto focus, which allows blockchain-based assets to integrate with real-world yield-bearing assets.

    Persistence blockchain system

    As a Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain system, the protocol has three layers of Persistence chains (app-chains deriving security from the main-chain and its validators), Persistence SDK (a plug and play module system powering functionality on the network), and Persistence dApps (finance-based applications).

    Its design principles are chain sovereignty (independent secure blockchain operation), liquidity, and usability for business purposes. The Persistence protocol blockchain system is privacy-preserving by default yet legal and regulatory-compliant, is integrated with FIAT on and off-ramps, and allows for simplification of processes.

    Persistence SDK is by far the platformā€™s most important implementation of the blockchain. The Software Development Kit is a system of highly effective modules that enable the creation of marketplaces, yielding to a fast and comprehensive exchange of value.

    Overall, the SDK protocol is characterized by four key features, being accessibility, liquidity, innovation, and sustainability. These factors power the protocol and allow the Persistence One platform to elevate physical commodities on-chain as NFTs. 

    Additionally, through the SDK factors, the platform can efficiently implement crypto with real-world use cases ensuring a continuous stream of sustainable income. By doing so, it unlocks a huge potential for MSME businesses in the DeFi sphere through untapped liquidity; thereby providing tremendous opportunities within the crypto space.

    Persistence’s asset-based lending platform Comdex

    The protocol has developed the Comdex decentralized commodities trading and financing platform that connects commodities traders, while also providing financing facility to sellers. It is commodity agnostic and can allow for trading diverse groups of commodities, ranging from metal to food products.

    Comdex, for regulatory compliance, would require Anti Money Laundering (AML) / Know Your Customer (KYC) checks before on-boarding. It would also feature a traderā€™s right access system to determine access to particular commodities, opening trade, executable trade size, etc. On top of everything, all activities will be recorded on the open blockchain.

    Comdex is the result of a partnership between the Persistence One dynamic team and trading entrepreneurs in Singapore that rely on the platformā€™s ecosystem to bring forward blockchain integration. As per recent developments, the Comdex protocol has been gaining traction within the blockchain. 

    Comdex has already managed more than $55 million in transaction volume, far ahead of its competitors in terms of assets on-chain.

    What is pLend, Persistence’s lending platform?

    Backed by real-world assets, Persistence Lend or pLend is a stable coin lending platform that facilitates the supply of liquidity to pools for all Comdex transactions and dealings. pLend empowers stablecoin holders and enables them to supply liquidity, generating huge returns from real-world income and assets.

    So far, pLendā€™s unique implementation has bridged the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and DeFi. The lending platform will allow users to engage in the $65B global trade within the financing sector.

    Overall, pLend guarantees participants huge returns on their assets without the need of often unsure mainstream DeFi solutions.

    AUDIT.one

    Described as a subsidiary to Persistence One, AUDIT ensures top-tier validation services for leading PoS networks through secured Tier 3 and 4 data centers across the globe equipped with a multi-cloud architecture.

    Presently, a total of nine networks has entrusted AUDIT.one with approximately $120M worth of assets, including Cosmos, Terra, Matic Network, and NEAR. Additionally, well-known networks like Polkadot and Ethereum 2.0 have shown interest in the Persistence-based protocol.

    Persistence token ($XPRT)

    Persistence has a native token known as $XPRT built as an ERC-20 based token (for now) and has a 100M supply). Its main uses are staking (for participation in network security), community governance (allowing holders to vote on important matters), rewards (for contributing to the network), and work token (deriving value from the activities on the network).

    XPRT StakeDrop

    The StakeDrop campaign is made possible through the pStake protocol that guarantees the issuance of representative tokens (stk Tokens) on Ethereum which are backed by the staked assets. 

    In the case of ATOM; illiquid staked ATOM tokens can be converted to liquid representative ER-20 tokens that can be utilized within the immense and growing DeFi space, backed by the Ethereum blockchain. This means that newly staked ATOMS will now be able for use as collateral when borrowing different stablecoins.

    Through this system, participants are provided with the opportunity to implement differential strategies in accordance with their needs within the blockchain. 

    pStake offers a unique way to stake PoS tokens and in the near future, a percentage of all tokens staked via pStake will also be staked through the AUDIT.one validator, thus ensuring the growth of both protocols within the blockchain.

    Benefits of staking Persistence token ($XPRT) (Image Credit: Persistence)

    Can Persistence successfully appeal to institutional clients and companies?

    The current DeFi infrastructure isnā€™t conducive to institutional clients and companies. This is mostly because current DeFi projects have institutional red-flags such as pseudo-anonymity, open transaction and activity details, having no legal compliance, having only crypto-based settlements, and having complexities transferred to the users (gas payments, security, key management, risk management, etc.)

    However, the Persistence protocol offers verifiable anonymity, hidden transaction details and records, is legally compliant, has FIAT-based settlement guarantees and simplified process – gas payments, security and key management run by the platform. It also provides an institutional-grade infrastructure that these clients are used to.

    Conclusion

    Persistence is a strong contender for overcoming the obstacle to DeFi being widely used by institutional clients, companies and enterprises. It does this by offering anonymity, hidden transaction records and most importantly, be legally compliant. In these respects, Persistence can help blockchain move from a speculative phase to being used in the real world, including traditional finance.

    Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more

    With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces

    The DeFi series on this website also covers topics not explored on YouTube. For an introduction on what is DeFi, check out Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Overview: A guide to the HOTTEST trend in cryptocurrency

    Tutorials and guides for the ESSENTIAL DEFI TOOLS:

    More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Yobit Exchange Review and Guide 2020

    Yobit Exchange Review and Guide 2020

    YoBit is a cryptocurrency exchange launched in 2014 and is one of the oldest in the market. YoBit’s philosophy is to keep things simple. The Exchange only offers spot trading on its relatively intuitive and uncomplicated platform. The exchange is popular around the world, with an especially large community in Russia and Europe. However, YoBit does offer some unique non-trading related features such as investment plans, a dice game, and ongoing opportunities for users to earn free cryptocurrencies.

    Registered in Panama as YoBiCrypto Corp, the Exchange was the creation of a group of European developers with a passion for cryptocurrencies. According to CoinMarketCap Yobit has a trading volume of more than USD$50 million every 24 hour

    In this review, we look at the various features of YoBit exchange and give users a guide on how to get started. We also look at whether YoBit is a reliable and safe choice for cryptocurrency traders in 2020.

    Key Features

    • No frills approach: YoBit distinguishes itself from its competitors by being simple. This notion of simplicity can also be seen in its interface. Once you log in all the necessary features and information is displayed clearly and is easily accessible in 1 click.
    • No KYC required: No KYC procedures are required for registering an account and they do not collect any data from users. The Exchange’s aim is to protect users’ anonymity and respect their privacy and confidentiality. New users can register with their email and start trading within minutes.
    • Unique features: In addition to spot trading, the Exchange has unique features such as InvestBox, a dice game, FreeCoins, ā€œYoPonyā€ and collaboration with CryptoTalk forums, etc.

    Let’s take a look at their major unique features in turn.

    InvestBox- a simple how-to guide

    According to YoBit, InvestBox allows users to grow their portfolio and potentially earn from 0.1% up to 7% per day. The purpose of InvestBox is to bridge the gap between cryptocurrency traders and developers by helping the latter popularise their coin, and so traders can benefit from its popularity. The Exchange claims that payments from these plans are from a special fund which is replenished from commissions earned by the Exchange. Users can withdraw their funds from the plans at any time and withdrawals are not subject to any commissions payable to the Exchange.

    Plans differ in terms of what coin you can earn, the minimum investment amount and time required, and the actions required to obtain the payments. As seen in the below image, each InvestBox plan has its own “rules” as follows:

    • Coin: The type of cryptocurrency to be invested
    • Percent: The percentage you will get
    • Period: When you will get your payments e.g. daily, weekly etc.
    • MinInvest: Miniumum investment required
    • MaxInvest: The maximum you can invest
    • Action: What actions are required to get the payments. Taking YOMI in the below image as an example “YOMI/BTC: 10 buy trades + no YOMI sells + BTC: 10 ds” means that users: (1) must buy YOMI tokens 10 times on the YOMI/BTC market; (2) cannot sell their YOMI tokens until payment is received; and (3) play the DICE game 10 times (though it doesn’t matter if you win or lose).
    • Status: Whether the plan is active or not.
    InvestBox
    Users can choose from various plans in the Exchange’s InvestBox

    Dice game and YoPony

    A popular feature on the Exchange is their dice game where users guess if an upcoming dice roll is going to be less than 48 or more than 52. As mentioned in the InvestBox section, some plans may require users to play this game for a specified number of times. YoPony is a crypto racing game, where you guess which horse will win a race.

    FreeCoins- how to earn cryptocurrencies on YoBit

    To encourage more people to trade on YoBit, the Exchange gives out free coins for users who share the Exchange on social media. All users need to do is to choose which free coin they would like to get and click “Get free coins”.

    FreeCoins
    FreeCoins allows users to earn cryptocurrencies

    Then in the pop-up window choose whether you want to make your post on Twitter, Facebook or Vkontakte. You will then automatically be directed to your social media website to put up the post. Afterwards you will need to paste the link of your post into the address bar and press “Check” so that YoBit can verify you have posted.

    Pop-up window
    Pop-up window will prompt you to post and insert the address of the post for checking

    YoBit CryptoTalk campaign- another way to earn free cryptocurrencies

    Yobit also has reward campaign with CryptoTalk.org, a cryptocurrency forum where people can earn Bitcoin by engaging in discussions. YoBit will reward users with 0.00001 BTC per post, for up to 30 posts per day. Once you have posted, you will need to enter your CryptoTalk UID into the CryptoTalk campaign page for your posts to be verified. After verification by the moderators on the CryptoTalk forum, rewards will be given to eligible posts and you will be able to send this directly to your BTC balance on the Exchange.

    CryptoTalk campaign page
    CryptoTalk campaign page

    Supported cryptocurrencies

    YoBit offers trading for over 442 cryptocurrencies, more than twice as many as competitors such as Binance exchange. These include some altcoins which are relatively unknown, potentially making it one of the only options available for serious altcoin traders.

    What also makes YoBit exchange stand out is its number of trading pairs available. It has more than 4,600 trading pairs making it the most trading pairs of any exchange in the market according to CoinGecko.

    Supported currencies and payment methods

    YoBit accepts both USD and RUB (Russian Ruble). As for payment methods, the Exchange accepts Visa/Mastercard, AdvCash, Payeer, Perfect Money, Capitalist, Yandex and cryptocurrency deposits.

    YoBit Fees

    Deposit and withdrawal fees

    Deposits onto the Exchange are free of charge for most major payment methods such as Visa/Mastercard or cryptocurrency deposits. For withdrawals however the fees can range from 0.0005 for cryptocurrencies, to 7% (USD) using Payeer or USD $6 and 5% using credit cards.

    Here’s a list of YoBit’s deposit and withdrawal fees.

    Trading fees

    YoBit charges 0.20% for every buy and sell order on the Exchange. Compared with its competitors, this is generally average. Some exchanges such as KuCoin or OKEx charge a bit less at 0.10%, whilst other exchanges such as Coinbase Pro charge a lot more at 0.50% plus other fees.

    Supported countries

    The Exchange is available to users from all around the globe, including the USA. To cater for its international clientele, the Exchange supports English, Russian and Chinese languages. One of their unique features is its live chat in the sidebar where you can chat with other traders in real time. The live chat is available in English, German, Arabic, Chinese and Russian.

    Live chat
    Live chat

    Security- Is YoBit safe?

    YoBit has a good track record of no hacks in the 6 years it was launched. The Exchange has the following features to protect its users.

    Email login confirmation: After logging into the Exchange, they will send you an email letting you know you have successfully logged in together with details of your login such as your IP address, location and login time. This means you will be notified if someone else has wrongfully logged into your account.

    2-Factor Authentication (2FA): Users can set up the Google Authenticator app on their phones to be used with the Exchange. So when a user makes a deposit or withdrawal, they would also be required to type in a one-time password to complete the request.

    Freeze withdrawals: A unique feature, the freeze withdrawals function can prove to be very useful if you suspect your account has been hacked. In the Settings page, you can select “Freeze withdrawals from my account (I suspect hacking)”. Upon selecting this option, any withdrawals from the Exchange would be frozen and users can only enable withdrawals again by going through customer support.

    Freeze withdrawals
    Freeze withdrawals

    Insurance fund: In the Support page, there is an option to request compensation from an insurance fund.

    Insurance fund
    Insurance fund

    Not many details are known about the insurance fund. But from our research, the Exchange did suffer a 51% attack in January 2019 and according to YoBit, the losses suffered were covered by the Exchange’s insurance fund.

    User Experience

    The Exchange really takes it to the next step with its simplicity. So much so that there are virtually no tutorials or instructions available on the Exchange or elsewhere. So if users are confused about the Exchange’s features and functions, they will have to look up external websites, figure it out themselves or ask the active and helpful YoBit community. However since the interface is very simple very self-explanatory, most experienced traders should be able to master using YoBit fairly easily and maybe come to appreciate its no-frills approach.

    How to register for a YoBit account

    Registration is staightforward. On YoBit’s main page, simply click “Registration”, fill in the form and click “Register”.

    YoBit registration
    YoBit registration

    Afterwards you will receive an email asking you to click on their link to activate your account. On the webpage, select “Activate” and you are all set!

    The registration process was very simple and we were able to register for an account in less than 10 minutes.

    How to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrencies on YoBit

    Deposits

    On the top bar, click “Wallets” to view your balances. Choose which coin to deposit and click “+”. A popup window will appear showing your cryptocurrency address and a QR code. From there either enter the address or scan the QR code with the wallet you want to send from.

    Depositing cryptocurrencies
    Depositing cryptocurrencies

    Withdrawals

    Withdrawals on YoBit are just as simple. Click on the “Wallets” page on the top bar, choose which coin to withdraw and click “-“. A popup window will appear for you to fill in your withdrawal address and the quantity you wish to withdraw. YoBit will automatically calculate the withdrawal fees payable and show the amount that the recipient will actually get. Then click “withdrawal request”.

    Withdrawing cryptocurrencies
    Withdrawing cryptocurrencies

    Customer support

    YoBit has encountered some controversy with users complaining that the Exchange is slow to respond to requests on their support page. From using the Exchange we can see that they have taken this comment on board and tried to make improvements. YoBit customers can get support through the following means:

    • Send a customer support ticket on their Support page;
    • Ask the community on the live chat on the Exchange’s sidebar;
    • On their telegram chat, PM an admin or ask in the main page; and
    • Contact their official support account @YbtSP on Telegram (currently in test mode).

    To test out their customer service, we tried asking for help using all the methods mentioned above. We got a response from the Support page in under 10 minutes, which is quite impressive. We also got replies from other YoBit users on the Telegram community and the live chat who were all very helpful.

    YoBit customer support
    YoBit customer support

    Conclusion: Is YoBit a safe and legit exchange?

    YoBit certainly does live up to its repuation of keeping things simple. Here’s some pros and cons of the Exchange based on our research and user experience.

    Pros

    • Compared with other exchanges, they have a long history and a track record of no hacks.
    • Signup is simple and can be done in 10 minutes.
    • Clean and relatively intuitive interface.
    • Huge number of trading pairs making it a good option for serious altcoin enthusiasts.
    • Very responsive customer support.

    Cons

    • Only offers spot trading and other non-trading related functions such as InvestBox or FreeCoins.
    • Virtually no information about themselves or tutorials on their website. We had to find information about the Exchange from external sources, or figure it ourselves.

    All in all, YoBit is suited for users who have at least some experience with cryptocurrency trading or serious altcoin enthusiasts. YoBit does have a good security record with the usual security features expected of any legitimate exchange. YoBit is certainly an exchange worth looking into.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Where can I find YoBit on social media?

    YoBit can be found on Twitter and Telegram, where they have one of the largest communities with over 77,000 members on their English channel. The Exchange also has a Russian Telegram channel.

    Can I find any other reviews on YoBit exchange?

    Websites such as Trustpilot, Blocknomi and Cryptocompare have also written detailed reviews on YoBit’s features and functions.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Stone DeFi ($STN): DeFi with rock solid yields?

    Stone DeFi ($STN): DeFi with rock solid yields?

    StoneDefi ($STN) considers itself the only yield management protocol which is focused on creating “Rock Solid Yield” for users of the decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem.

    Background

    StoneDefi was founded in September 2020 by Alex Lam. Previously, Lam had worked with government-affiliated Institutions before taking up a keen interest in cryptocurrency. He has so far become actively involved in the crypto world, building platforms to support investment pools, notably RockX.

    Rockx provides some degree of support to StoneDeFi thanks to Lam’s influence. However, StoneDefi is currently run by a team of about 7 people scattered across South-east Asia.

    In the later months of 2020, StoneDefiā€™s project caught the attention of Singapore-based Venture Capital, Signum Capital. The project then received early-stage funding from the VC of undisclosed value. Signum Capital exclusively deals with blockchain startups and innovations.

    Together with his team of finance and cryptocurrency experts, Lam guides StoneDefi as the project leads to becoming the only rock-solid yield management protocol for crypto assets.

    What is StoneDefi?

    StoneDefi, commonly referred to as Stone, is a yield management protocol that functions to ensure maximum returns for liquidity providers. It also secures capitals in asset pools and yield farms to safeguard investorā€™s interests in the DeFi sector.

    StoneDeFi was designed to create a “rock-solid” yield for DeFi investors. Stone differs from other yield aggregator platforms in the priority it gives to the credibility of investments. The protocol focuses on the viability and integrity of all digital assets over just the potential yield. 

    After all, the name ā€œstoneā€ comes from the idea of a rock-solid yield aggregator. 

    Most yield aggregators are notorious for their risky strategies endangering investor funds in high-risk pools. StoneDeFiā€™s developers see a far bigger future for DeFi and understand the role of investors in it. Therefore, their enduring emphasis on “rock-solid” yield to transform funding in the DeFi space from just speculations and get-rich-quick schemes into a credible institution.

    They are able to achieve this by carrying out thorough assessments of the sustainability and integrity of different investment pools. The protocol also carries out regular audits of active pools and yield farms to keep up with changes and safeguard investor funds. 

    By hedging single assets through indexes, the protocol is able to venture into more volatile pools while mitigating investorsā€™ risk. Consequently, investors can enjoy a reliable and consistent passive income from liquidity pools through Stone’s protocol.

    Earn yield on Stone DeFi
    How to earn yield on Stone DeFi (Image credit: Stone DeFi)

    Liquid Staked Assets

    To ensure stable and maximum yield to users, StoneDefi has explored a number of alternative farming strategies. One of Stone’s more progressive strategies is staking in liquid assets. 

    Stone, in collaboration with platforms that generate staking derivatives (notably StaFi), has developed a way to use LP funds to create a flexible redemption for rigid PoS stakes. Stakers can redeem locked tokens for rTokens which can be subsequently traded on platforms like Uniswap while still accruing yield on their locked stakes.

    For the liquidity of staked assets to be viable, there must be a system by which the credibility of user funds is ascertained. Stone’s extensive assessment protocol plays a vital role in this phase. This flexibility would see tokens in sufficient circulation without inflation while accelerating its price discovery on DEX. 

    Users can also use staked tokens for other purposes, especially trading where they have access to their profits without the restrictions of the unbounding that can sometimes take up to 28 days.

    STN Token and The Stone DAO

    Just like other yield aggregators, StoneDefi has its own native token which is tied to most activities carried out on its platform. The Stone token or “STN” has a variety of functions that ensure smooth participation and exchange on StoneDefi. 

    STN’s most important function is to ensure effective protocol governance through its Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). Individuals who stake STN tokens are granted voting rights and the ability to propose adjustments in the way the protocol is run.

    This DAO approach seeks to ensure open and transparent governance of investor funds to counteract closed and centralized regulation, which is a common problem for yield aggregators.

    Stoneā€™s token is also used to reward participation in investment pools. When Liquidity providers participate in different recommended pools, they are given different quantities of STN as acknowledgement and reward.

    However, not all pools attract the same number of STN tokens. Token rewards are distributed to encourage participation in less populated pools. This system of incentivizing smaller pools would ensure portfolio rebalancing. 

    Distribution of STN

    STN is also used for paying transfer fees in cross-chain executions, as well as standing as the security deposit in liquid staked assets. To prevent the devaluation of STN, a system where some percentage of STN tokens in the market are bought back to be burned is put in place. A percentage of the Stone platformā€™s fee income is used to fund the purchase of the STN tokens to be burnt.

    Conclusion

    While several yield management platforms have been successful in generating a consistent return for investors, one thing that they often get wrong is risking their user’s funds at the expense of high yields. This is symbolic of short-term thinking that could have dire consequences on the DeFi sector and possibly the entire crypto industry if asset pools are not given adequate risk assessments. 

    But with an innovative approach to yield management, StoneDefi is able to ensure maximum yield for users without having to risk user fund without cause. Their open and transparent method of governance through a DAO is also promising, giving investors the authority to contribute to the administration of their funds. 

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. (https://www.stocktargetadvisor.com/) Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • Wootrade ($WOO): Boosting the power of cryptocurrency trading?

    Wootrade ($WOO): Boosting the power of cryptocurrency trading?

    Wootrade ($WOO) is a digital asset liquidity pool that partners with cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets and over the counter trading desks (OTCs). They also have a darkpool trading platform which claims to offer zero (or even negative) trading fees and above average liquidity for spot and futures trading.

    Check out our interview with Jack Tan, CEO of Wootrade!

    Better trading (no strings attached)?-Wootrade

    Background

    While both automated market makers (AMMs) and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) belong to the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, they are quite distinct from each other.

    There is no limit order functionality for AMM providers such as Uniswap, whilest the trading role of DEXs is more complete and closer to that of a common cryptocurrency exchange. At present, AMMs are extremely popular. They draw more consumers and have rates of exchange that outweigh those of DEXs. 

    Wootrade collaborates with DEXs as they solve their liquidity challenges using Wootrade. Exchanges would find it easy to draw even more customers by providing more liquidity and delivering more full features. In DeFi cryptocurrencies, standard exchanges have smaller trading rates than Uniswap, and even losing customers, owing to the popularity of the DeFi sector.

    Although supporting both centralized and decentralized exchanges to improve their AMM competition, Wootrade has already listed DeFi coins and intends to consistently list more.

    Team

    It is worth noting that Mark Pimentel, Wootrade’s Co-founder, worked at Citadel and Knight Capital (acquired by Virtu in 2017), respectively. Pimentel initially operated in the high-frequency trading department at Citadel, and then went to Knight Capital’s electronic marketing group in the United States. There, he was in charge of operating the substantial dark pool.

    When Pimentel stepped into the crypto ecosystem, he came across a common problem between quantitative funds and exchanges i.e. the market liquidity is fragmented. He aimed to add his trading skills and familiarity with the dark pool to Wootrade. The inclusion of Wootrade’s token economy was intended to make this model more robust, fairer, and more efficient.

    What is Wootrade?

    Built by industry-leading proprietary trading company Kronos Research, Wootrade provides dramatically enhanced liquidity, spreads, and fees. Wootrade is regarded as the next evolution of crypto trading.

    Wootrade features specialized market-making skills based on alpha through collaborations with the world’s top proprietary trading teams. A self-reinforcing and mutually-advantageous dynamic between traders, exchanges, market-makers, and investors all connected by the WOO token has been created by this innovative framework.

    Mark Pimentel and Jack Tan, Founders of Kronos Research, had invented the Wootrade concept to address the big pain points for more challenging crypto traders. Kronos Research has evolved from a team of 2 to more than 60 persons now and trades over a billion dollars on a daily basis.

    How does Wootrade achieve high liquidity and zero fees?

    Wootrade claims to have above average liquidity and zero trading fees, but how do they achieve this?

    Taking BTC as an example, at a depth of 100 BTC, Wootrade will sustain a spread of 0.2%. In addition, it does not charge any handling costs or operating costs to users. Kronos Research, a quantitative market research institution, has incubated Wootrade. The fact that Kronos excels in a number of trading techniques is popularly known.

    In various market conditions, Kronos has a daily trading volume of more than $1 billion and can guarantee substantial returns. Although Wootrade implements zero-fee trading, retail-oriented exchanges do not generally compete with it. In fact, exchanges or DEXs, wallets, brokers, and trading institutions are mostly Wootrade customers.

    Currently, over 10 exchanges and institutional customers are linked to the platform. In addition, through the exchanges that collaborate with Wootrade, a total of more than 65,000 end users have used their trading profile. New exchanges were queuing up for entry after releasing Wootrade 1.0, as market demand surpassed the expectations of the team.

    Open governance on Wootrade

    The aim is for the group to have more and more autonomy to grow the project as it sees fit. Voting power grows exponentially in relation to the amount of time involved, but anyone who buys tokens only to vote would not have any control over decisions.

    Instead, those who have carried for the right length of time will be able to control with the greater weight the choices made. Additionally, the incentive scheme is aimed to enable those with the right combination of talent and expertise to engage more effectively in the governance and decision-making process.

    The aim of Wootrade is to reach 40% of the cryptocurrency market’s liquidity. This includes a significant number of exchange customers and market makers to be on board. There is a big market for wealth management businesses on both exchange investors and AMMs on the platform.

    Since it’s not easy to check and trust the trading staff, investors sometimes skip good opportunities. Wootrade can, therefore, be fitted with an oracle computer to solve this. This helps market makers to submit their NAVs and results to the blockchain. For its retail customers, exchanges may then verify and pick outstanding items.

    WOO token ($WOO)

    Wootrade has its own native token that will act as a value and rewards carrier generated by the system. The WOO token will be used to vote on governance decisions concerning the platform. WOO can also be used in staking/mining reward systems, retail users can stake WOO and ETH or USDT into an asset managment product and receive rewards.

    For those who are interested in spot/futures trading, WOO can be used as collateral on the Wootrade platform.

    Customers can also get a discount when using WOO to pay for say management fees for asset management items. For Wootrade’s clients or partners that do not have their native token, they can also choose to adopt WOO as their platform token. Thereby giving consumers another place to use WOO.

    Prime Nodes on Wootrade

    For B2B clients they are different tiers to stake the WOO tokens on the exchange or platform for eligibility to become a Prime node. In addition to the staking requirement, they also need to demonstrate a unique marketing plan and business proposition.

    Wootrade Staking Program: Fee Structure

    Once they become a Prime node, every dollar of flow they route to the network gives them a reward of a certain number of WOO tokens. The concept behind this is that after a while of doing this, they would not need to charge their users and fees and simply scale off the rebates provided by Wootrade.

    Essentially, Wootrade’s rationale is that they do not think businesses would try and rely on market makers (which require a huge fee for their services). Especially when the alternative provided by Woodtrade is that they would get access to a zero fee trading network with proven liquidity, AND get paid to trade there.

    WOO tokenomics

    WOO tokenomics
    WOO tokenomics
    • Ticker: WOO
    • ICO Token Price: 1 WOO = 0.03 USD
    • Fundraising Goal: $650,000
    • Total Tokens: 3,000,000,000

    WOO is available for spot trading on Uniswap, Huobi, MXC and Gate.io

    Conclusion

    Wootrade sees the potential for conventional and decentralized finance to incorporate concepts. The crypto industry will increasingly be affected by this new technology. The conventional business of asset management will now pay attention to the optimized use of blockchain technologies and token architecture.

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.