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Category: News

News and updates related to digital assets and Fintech

  • ArcadeLand – The Ultimate Gaming Metaverse

    ArcadeLand – The Ultimate Gaming Metaverse

    ArcadeLand is placing back control in the users’ hands – the gamers, the builders, the visionaries – with the Ultimate Gaming Metaverse. Hundreds of top-quality games, advanced cross-platform avatars with NFT wearables, and a blockchain-optional UI to make ArcadeLand’s platform easy to use. Welcome to the Ultimate Gaming Metaverse!

    ArcadeLand is Coming, Why Do You Need It?

    ArcadeLand sees the Metaverse as the natural evolution of the web experience in terms of socializing, gaming, exploring, and learning. While it took nearly a decade to catch on, the world-wide-web quickly gained significant market share while antiquated competitors in the areas of postal, television, newspapers, education, entertainment, and gaming either adapted or were left behind by the new companies that embraced this technology. 

    For example, what happened to Blockbuster when Netflix came along, and this trend is expected to repeat as the newest generation of Web 3.0 technologies emerge. While P2E games and Metaverse platforms are relatively new to the market, there are still significant barriers to overcome before mainstream audiences can fully embrace them. 

    Blockchain remains a double-edged sword, in the sense that, although it grants the benefits of ownership, security, and the ability to earn great rewards from playing games; it also represents a significant learning curve. This comes with a number of dangers for new users, and it’s largely seen in a detrimental way due to the many negative media headlines of bad actors within the industry. 

    Many P2E games in development, and currently on the market, require players to be knowledgeable about blockchain technology. This limits their total addressable from the billions worldwide, down to around roughly 400,000 to 500,000 players, the “niche within a niche” of savvy crypto users who still find time to play such games. User acquisition becomes a battle for these games, as they struggle to compete for adequate DAU numbers within a narrow audience.

    While the definition of the Metaverse, according to Wikipedia, is: “a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection” the current offerings fall short of this important network aspect. Leading Metaverse platforms suffer from a lack of compatibility and interconnectivity, which are hallmarks of a “true Metaverse”. They create a restrictive environment where games of high quality cannot exist, as developers are forced to build within them using only the tools provided by the platform. Avatars and their accessories are only compatible with their own platform, and users cannot show off their costumes or treasured digital wearables elsewhere. By all measures of what a fun, interconnected Metaverse should be, they simply come up short.

    ArcadeLand is creating a platform that will serve game developers, gamers, and the entire community that supports the future of P2E gaming. Arcadeland is connecting games, guilds, studios, and publishers with players from within and beyond the crypto community accelerating this future and removing the obstacles to mass adoption. Increasing the reach of this rapidly growing industry.

    ArcadeLand Will Push the Boundaries of Gaming

    A Metaverse must be complete in its offering and for its intended purpose, as it is by nature a platform to host many applications. A true Metaverse is an environment for exploration, socialization, and play. Compatibility and interoperability with a total array of ecosystem products and services are paramount, as the sandbox-style of exclusivity limits the variety, replayability, and quality of the games within. ArcadeLand understands this and has shaped the platform accordingly.

    ArcadeLand will:

    • Feature hundreds of top-quality games
    • Integrate both mainstream and crypto games via SDK
    • Provide virtual land and a No-Code Builder with UNLIMITED potential
    • Offer avatars with NFT accessories compatible with thousands of other games
    • Deliver a holistic and complete gaming ecosystem for users of all types


    To address the issue of game quality, ArcadeLand is onboarding top-quality game partners with successful titles from both the mainstream space as well as crypto. The objective is to make the developer’s jobs as easy as possible by providing a comprehensive suite of tools to allow for rapid integration with little labor required. 

    ArcadeLand can apply its dual-tokenomics model to mainstream games with dynamic rewards and tournament payouts. This allows game owners and users to benefit from an easy to deploy and use P2E model that can be adopted by any type of game.

    On the crypto gaming side, ArcadeLand can support the seamless integration of games along with the important token features to allow players to take full advantage of the games and their earning potential. 

    ArcadeLand provides a safe environment and tools for newcomers with no crypto knowledge to acquire, manage, and sell their NFTs with their built-in wallet and native marketplace. ArcadeLand provides native and easy-to-use interfaces to share updates on social media channels.

    Land within ArcadeLand can be developed in over a dozen ways. Builders can create their own shops, entertainment venues, or virtual headquarters for almost any type of business or service. Assets generated via ArcadeLand’s No-Code Builder tools can even be listed and sold on the platform’s marketplace to allow players to monetize their designs and speed up the building process. Games can import all popular file formats of their 3D objects without the need to recreate their designs to use them in their virtual spaces. This expands compatibility and creativity in those who wish to thrive with their plots in the Metaverse.

    People love to display their achievements, express their individuality and creative style in real life and virtually. So, what good is clothing you can only wear to one place? ArcadeLand has taken a unique approach by comparison to other existing Metaverses and chose to incorporate one of the most advanced avatar systems on the market. 

    The tokenized avatar accessories issued are already compatible with 1,750+ other games and that number is increasing weekly. Any costume or wearable created, earned, or purchased in ArcadeLand’s Metaverse will be the players’ to show off in hundreds or thousands of other games on all platforms including AR/VR. 

    ArcadeLand is taking an inclusive and cooperative approach to bringing in all the best games, partners, and ecosystem-related services needed to create the Ultimate Gaming Metaverse. Whether you’re a gamer, creator, developer, business owner, social butterfly, eSport champion, or some combination of these, you’ll find everything you’re looking for in ArcadeLand.

    Start Getting Pump!

    To sum up, ArcadeLand is addressing three of the most critical issues halting the widespread adoption of play-to-earn gaming:

    1. High-Quality Games – They have nearly 200 games available and are actively onboarding more weekly
    2. Ease of Use – Their platform is designed for gamers of all walks of life, not just the crypto-savvy.
    3. Broad Compatibility – Arcadeland prioritizes compatibility, from their avatar system to their various ecosystem partners.

    Join ArcadeLand’s social media channels below to stay abreast of developments. There’s much more to reveal about how it all works.

    About ArcadeLand

    ArcadeLand is building the ultimate gaming Metaverse. Its mission is to deliver the most rewarding experiences with the best selection of high-quality games and an ecosystem designed to serve gamers, developers, and the community, to propel the future of gaming.

    Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram | Reddit

  • Boxmining Newsletter #1

    Boxmining Newsletter #1

    Boxmining Newsletter #1

    Congratulations Everyone – You’re officially a founding member of this Newsletter! We’ve already doubled our subscriptions in the past week due to increased interest (WOOT). At the same time, crypto is moving at light speed – with new projects getting created, traded, and listed on top exchanges in the space of 2-3 days. Here’s a rundown of all that’s happening:

    Post-Bitcoin Rally 

    Bitcoin made some major moves on Monday, shooting up all the way to $11,000 after a long dormant period. Initially, this shocked many traders, with many scrambling and selling their altcoins to jump on the Bitcoin train. FOMO is the name of the game these days, and many were hoping Bitcoin would shoot as high up as $14,000 / $17,000. However, Bitcoin didn’t go there – instead she seemed to settle down at $11,000 without much volatility. With the big cat sleeping, the mice (altcoins) are out to play. We’ve seen some insane rallies for YFI (+225%), Elrond(+65%), and UMA (+60%) this week. 

    Yield Farming 
    After $YFI blew up last week, yield farming is front and center on everyone’s discussion table. We covered YFI both on our website https://boxmining.com/yfi-yield-farming/ and in a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoz9CnX-52s. In a quick summary, liquidity mining is essentially saving money in different liquidity pools. Miners will then be rewarded with token distributions (such as YFI) that can yield up to 1000% APR. Obviously, with such rewards, it’s highly risky and experimental. We definitely recommend that you check out the video and Do Your Own Research (DYOR). Currently, YFI yield farming is taking a pause as a new contract is being deployed. 

    YFII Launches
    Nope, that’s not a typo. A new project called YFII has launched – forking the YFI project and allowing yield farmers to earn the YFII token. What’s unique about this project is that it distributes YFII tokens with a weekly “halving”, similar to Bitcoin. The release of this project comes at a very convenient time as $YFI mining is currently taking a break, so farmers are left with yCurve tokens wondering what to do. YFII allows the staking of yCurve tokens in a similar fashion and UI to $YFI (it is a fork after all) This is highly controversial due to it’s rushed nature of its release, with metamask, balancer, and etherscan users quickly flagging the project as a “Scam”. This is due to two reasons, as there was an initial “owner key” for YFII which allowed the owner to create infinite tokens. However, recently this key has been destroyed. This means it’s not really a “scam”, and the community for YFII is currently building up. 

    Zeus Capital Vs Linkchain
    Recently Zeus Capital has taken up a major campaign against Chainlink (LINK) calling it a “scam” and giving a valuation of $0.07 (1% of its current value). Not only have they released a long report, but recently they have been caught paying influencers to make negative price charts on LINK. It’s clear they have taken up a massive short position and will benefit from LINK’s price going down. I find this a more mature version of the FUD and HYPE cycles we experience in crypto –  and highlights the importance of DYOR – you need to be prepared for both hype and FUD. 

    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. (https://www.adarsus.com/) 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.

  • How to Earn a Bitcoin Living While Stuck in Quarantine

    How to Earn a Bitcoin Living While Stuck in Quarantine

    With a third of the global population in lockdown following the rampant transmission of SARS-COV-2, people of finding new ways to generate passive income. This article will teach you how to earn a Bitcoin Living whilst stuck in Quarantine.

    The virus that causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that can prove fatal to some populations. Terms like “self-isolation”, “quarantine”, and “shelter-in-place” have been used to describe the newly placed government sanctions and guidelines, but the term people seem to be using is ‘lockdown’.

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Bitcoin-Passive-Income-1024x576.jpg
    If shelter-in-place guidelines have you twiddling thumbs- put them to better use by earning some crypto.

    It should come as no wonder why, as ‘lockdown’ possibly sums up feelings of being stuck at home with little to do but consume depressing media and too many calories. Italians are feeling the brunt of it, having started theirs over 9 weeks ago on March 10, quickly followed by the UK who started March 23. The US, while not the longest by far, with most states, only entering lockdown towards the end of March, have still been feeling the burn a little over a month in.

    So what are you to do? Some while away their free hours by getting into new fitness routines, baking bread, or focusing on their children’s education. While others are stuck staring at other bitcoin exchanges wondering what it is they might be able to do to secure their holdings. Good news for everyone- even if you’ve never owned bitcoin before, now may be your time to jump in. With little to no cost and effort. Always remembering that after checking out these ideas, you can always go to exchange platforms, like Bitvavo, to help you with trading and maintaining your presence in the cryptocurrency market. Which is always a good idea.

    Mining

    Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining has been a way to passively gain income for those who have the gear. When it comes to Bitcoin mining, you’re regular computer simply won’t do. You’ll need specialized hardware, called ASIC (applications specific integrated circuits) that will be able to mine Bitcoin on a consistent basis. The main benefit of ASICs is that they are extremely efficient at mining Bitcoin – but at the trade-off that they are algorithm-specific. This means that Bitcoin mining rigs will only mine coins with SHA-256 algorithm (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin SV).

    What it Will Cost

    Outside of purchasing the necessary hardware, and paying for any increase in electricity demand- not much. Mining is done purely by your machine, with little user requirements following set up. So all you have to do is kick back and watch your wallet cash in.

    Trading

    While effectively trading bitcoin takes a decent amount of knowledge, there’s no need to be a seasoned trader. In fact, being a dab hand in traditional markets may actually serve you up more problems than it’s capable of solving. The cost of buying into digital assets and currencies doesn’t need to be high, especially if you start with the one that isn’t as well known as bitcoin. There are thousands of cryptocurrencies worth investing in, where you can make small-time gains. Then take those gains and eventually build up to bigger investments like bitcoin.

    What it Will Cost

    Time and initial investment. Perhaps the most taxing of the two will be time. Learning how to trade bitcoin isn’t necessarily easy- but it’s very possible. You’ll need to read up on the behavior of whatever digital assets you’ll plan on using, as well as keep an eagle eye on the way that markets behave- both presently and historically.

    Writing

    There is a long and varied list of different freelance jobs that will happily pay you for your good efforts in bitcoin. Specifically those related to content writing or blogging. Some gigs only require that you help share and market their content. Certain markets, particularly newer ones that need to get the word out, will pay in their own crypto tokens just for registering with their site, following or retweeting their content, or otherwise sharing it across your social media platforms.

    What it Will Cost

    Next to nothing as long as you’ve got some spare time on your hands. Even less if you’re already a bit of a wordsmith or influencer. These types of jobs are available by the hundreds, but may not be easy to come by ideal positions immediately. It could take a fair bit of internet browsing, or some time spent building a solid Upwork or Freelancing profile, but once your foot is in the door- the bitcoins come cheap.

    Watching

    Bitcoin faucets are another solid way to collect bitcoin while in quarantine. Akin to writing and collecting airdrop content, some advertisers, firms, or crypto networks will pay you just to watch their content and fill out surveys. There are also a number of giveaways or drawings held across many social media platforms that are simple to get in on, providing your friend’s list doesn’t mind the occasional spam.

    What it Will Cost

    Again, more time and possibly a friend or two. Many of the watch programs require you to share or like their content, making your feed a bit haphazard for any of your followers. But past that, you can get by and earn bitcoin just by having a computer and reliable internet connection.

    Selling

    If you already have a business, particularly one that got shut down along with many of the rest of the mom and pop shops during this time, get online. Uploading any goods or services that you offer onto a personal website, or a sellers hub that will allow crypto payments is one way to start earning bitcoin while doing next to nothing. This works in your favor in a number of ways, as it provides better payment options to customers, helps to ensure their privacy, and keeps everyone away from any of the germs that paper money happily harbors. (https://www.kaizenautocare.com/)

    What it Will Cost

    If you don’t already have a website, paying someone to set you up with one can cost money, but it’s generally not extortionate. Assign a digital currency payment platform to your existing site is incredibly easy, and google is overflowing with excellent resources that explain just how to do it.

  • Bitcoin Mining will make a HUGE comeback in 2020

    Bitcoin Mining will make a HUGE comeback in 2020

    2020 is a huge year for Bitcoin mining. Huge changes to the mining ecosystem – changes that will spark another “gold rush” for mining. This will be spearheaded by two factors – the release of new more efficient mining hardware known as ASICs and Bitcoin halvening. The release of new hardware will give new players a bigger advantage in mining due to the efficiency factor – new ASICs generate more hashpower with less power. (https://www.sliderrevolution.com) We’re already seeing large funds like Fidelity Investments building large mega-watt mining facilities in North America and other continents. You can hare about the North America mining explosion in this podcast. This marks the return of mining as a major investment opportunity this year.

    Cryptocurrency Mining is a $6 Billion+ USD per year industry

    Sizes of Exchange, Mining, DeFi and ICO industries respectively

    One well-kept secret of the mining industry is the huge profits being generated by cryptocurrency miners (Bitcoin, Ethereum, DASH and Monero mining). Let’s start off with an industry Fact – every day $19,000,000+ USD dollars worth of cryptocurrencies are being produced by miners across the world. This means a total of $6.8 Billion dollars will be mined in 2020 alone. The biggest currency being mined is Bitcoin – with a 1,800 bitcoin being produced per day totalling to a value of $15,833,340 USD. To put everything into perspective, the ICOs only raised a total of $371 Million in 2019 according to icodata.io. Mining is currently the second largest industry behind exchanges (source: Bloomberg).

    Miners upgrading and replacing older hardware (often confused with “miner capitulation”)

    Ironically the miners have perpetuated myths such
    as “mining is not profitable” or “the bitcoin mining death spiral” to deter
    new players coming into this profitable space    . Many reports in 2019 have
    featured erroneous calculations that Bitcoin mining is not profitable. This is
    because researchers have incorrectly assumed that miners are getting
    expensive commercial electricity costs     of $0.07-12 cents per kilo-watt
    hour. This is far from the truth – mining operations receive considerable
    discounts as they purchase low priority power (meaning they will get cut off
    grid in the event of a surge in power usage). The actual figure is in the range
    of $0.01 – $0.03 per kw/h. This means miners are generating large amounts of
    profit. It is the biggest industry in the blockchain space, and yet it is
    surrounded by both mystery and false information.

    New
    Hardware (ASICs) is game changing

    New high efficiency Bitcoin mining hardware is coming in 2020 will be a huge game changer. Bitmain will be releasing the new Antminer s19 based on the 7nm manufacturing process. Competing ASIC manufactures are also making new chips, with Innosilicon and Canaan hot on the heels. This die shrink increase the hashpower of chips whilst reducing power consumption at the same time. These two factors mean these new units will be more efficient – the biggest factor contributing to Bitcoin mining profitability.

    Hashr8 – New MiningOS

    New Hashr8 OS

    New operating systems dedicated for mining cryptocurrencies such as Hashr8 are also being launched this year. These OSes will make it easier for commercial, enthusiast and retail miners to improve mining efficiency and management. This is a huge positive trend for the industry as a whole as it makes professional tools mainstream and accessible to the general public. This will level the playing field and reduce the gap between large-scale miners.

    Sources

    Size of Defi Industry: https://defirate.com/defi-growth/
    Cryptocurrency Exchanges: https://hackernoon.com/where-the-multi-billion-dollar-cryptocurrency-exchange-industry-is-headed-f697af6fd7c0
    MinerUpdate: https://minerupdate.com

  • Live Planet VR Review: Camera from the Future?

    Live Planet VR Review: Camera from the Future?

    LivePlanet VR Review

    Live Planet VR is a camera from the future – it records using 16 individual lenses for a full Virtual Reality experience. It’s an all-in-one camera solution that directly records 360° stereoscopic Virtual Reality video. The device itself looks crazy – it has 16 cameras directly on the rig, it almost feels excessive. What’s special about the device is that the video directly records to a stereoscopic VR video file that’s ready to upload – without the need to manually “stitch” the files together. This is a huge contrast to other 360° camera systems such as the insta360 one that requires lengthy post-rendering to create usable files. In this review we’ll look at the functionality, quality and publishing platform LivePlanet.

    VR Camera Review

    Live Planet VR camera closeup

    The VR camera consists of the main camera module (housing 16 cameras) and external battery. The camera directly records to the desired 360° view or to 180° with selectable angle. Video recorded is stereoscopic – separate video data corresponding two what our 2 eyes would see. Having stereoscopic video is what makes Live Planet VR different other systems, as only this type of video will give a true VR experience.

    Camera Setup

    The VR camera can be directly mounted onto tripods via the 1/4″ screw on the bottom of the device. The external battery (Juicebox V-Mount Battery) can be mounted using a V-clamp which comes with the set. Whilst I found having an external battery to be quite a hassle (especially if you really need to capture something fast!), this type of setup is standard in professional filmography. Access to the camera is over wifi on a smartphone with the LivePlanet VR app. The app has a live preview of the two angles the camera sees along with recording settings (4K or 6K video, video profile).

    As control of the camera relies heavily on the smartphone, we found that some occasional connection issues that caused minor nuisance when recording. Sometimes the app doesn’t find the camera even after connection to the camera’s wifi-hotspot. We found that manually disconnecting the phone’s mobile data connection improves connection reliability.

    USB - OTG is needed for external audio input. There is no on-board audio
    USB – OTG is needed for external audio input. There is no on-board audio

    Audio needs to be connected separately via USB type-A connection. This is the weakest part of the system. I was recommended a Zoom H5 over an USB connection, adapted with an USB OTG cable. (https://theownerbuildernetwork.co/)

    Setup: 3.5/5

    Camera Quality

    Camera performs well in well-lit conditions, such as outdoors filming or in brightly lit studios. This makes sense as the 16 on-board cameras are a-kin to camera modules found on most smartphones. The onboard computer makes reasonable determinations of the lighting condition – with light, medium and dark options for exposure. Color temperature can be manually adjusted (which is great for filming long events). In terms of quality, we found the 4K video to be soft in some situations, with occasional video artefacts.

    Low-light is when the camera starts showing weaknesses. Images start getting soft and grainy.

    Camera Quality: 4.5/5

    Live Planet Video Platform

    LivePlant VR Studio Dashboard
    LivePlant VR Studio Dashboard

    LivePlanet VR offers direct VR publishing and viewing, fully catering to the camera’s capabilities. Camera content can be uploaded directly from the camera and even streamed lived for major events. We found that upload times are reasonable and equivalent to other major content platforms like YouTube.

    Live Planet offers both VR viewing (via the app) or browser based mono-scopic videos. We found this to be a huge plus as many of our viewers don’t have VR headsets. One problem we found was that the playback quality can be choppy at times, depending on where the video is viewed from. This could improve with time.

    Publishing Platform: 4/5

    Verdict: Huge leaps for VR video creation

    Live Planet VR camera marks a huge leap for VR content creation. It allows for the easy creation of stereoscopic VR, sometime that is normally hard to access. Publishing is streamlined with the Live Planet VR platform.

    We found that sometimes the video quality could be soft and lacking in sharpness, especially in low light scenarios. The lack of 3.5mm or XLR inputs makes audio on this camera hard to setup. We found the USB OTC dongle + Zoom H5 combo the longest to setup (especially if the cable connection isn’t stable).

    Review Score: 4 /5

    Reviewed by Michael Gu

    Links:

    Boxmining Live Planet Channel: https://liveplanet.live/shared/channel/25408/home

    DP Review: https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/review-live-planet-vr-live-streaming-system

  • FIX Ledger Nano Compatibility problems with latest Windows 10 1903

    FIX Ledger Nano Compatibility problems with latest Windows 10 1903

    Update: Official Ledger response to this issue.

    The new Windows 10 May 2019 update adds new security features that break certain browser (Chrome, Brave and Edge) based dapps for Ledger Nano S (and Nano X). This is the latest “big” update that is part of Microsoft’s plan to add additional functionality and security to Windows 10. Currently the update has already been scheduled for public release, although it is not mandatory. A new pop-up will display when connecting to the hardware wallet labeled “Windows Security“.

    New Windows Security Prompt to interact with Ledger Nano S

    This prompt is not present in previous versions of Windows 10 and is a new feature that is meant to prove hardware security. Unfortunately some websites like MyEtherWallet, MyCrypto and IDEX will have certain delay issues when unlocking the wallet.

    Unlock Device error: UNKNOWN_ERROR (0x6804)

    Fixing Ledger Nano issues on Windows 10 1903 Update:

    To fix comparability issues between Ledger Nano (S or X) and Windows 10, try the following:

    • Install Latest Ledger Live
    • Update to the Latest Ledger Nano Firmware
    • Do not click or interact with the pop-window.

    This is not an issue with hardware wallet itself but rather an interaction issue with various websites. These websites need to be updated to reflect changes with hardware security in Windows 10. As of now, there are no known methods to disable new security features in Windows 10. Please refer to the official response from Ledger on this compatibility issue.

    Ledger Live is Unaffected

    Ledger Live App’s operation is not affected by the new security changes. Currently asset management and Leger Manager operations are fully functional as of this update. It seems that the new security changes only affect the web based applications.

  • Secrets of “Darkpools” and unreported trade volume and Bitcoin OTC

    Secrets of “Darkpools” and unreported trade volume and Bitcoin OTC

    In Crypto, not all trade volumes are visible – in fact “Darkpools” account for a huge amount of crypto trading and has an enormous impact on cryptocurrency prices. Darkpools include peer-to-peer trading, such as on sites like localbitcoins.com and also Over the Counter (OTC) desks. The reason why it’s unreported is because deals are done privately, for example Peer-to-peer trading can be done in person and with cash, leaving virtually no trace of the transaction ever happening. Large volumes are also traded OTC – this is more organised as private buyers and sellers are matched, with some form of escrow to allow the transaction to take place. OTC desk sometimes even require minimum volumes, like $100,000+ USD to up to 1 Million.

    First things first. What’s an Over the Counter (OTC) desk?

    Traditionally, OTC desks facilitate trading of securities that are not listed on formal exchanges, e.g. the New York Stock Exchange.

    The trading of cryptocurrencies on OTC desks is similar to those in traditional markets.

    OTC desks have a network of buyers and sellers. The trades themselves are facilitated by OTC broker-dealer who will locate and negotiate directly with prospective buyers and sellers over computer networks or by phone.

    This is contrasted from trading over exchanges where the prices and order books are publicly available. For OTC desks, their broker-dealers will negotiate the trade price for you. Trades are also not publicly listed giving the parties privacy.

    Therefore, to fully understand what is going on in the cryptocurrency markets it is important to consider what is also happening at OTC desks. This is because large transactions happen on them on a daily basis.

    What does a trader at an OTC desk do?

    Traders at OTC desks are the broker-dealers mentioned above. Their role is to locate and match buyers and sellers, and negotiate the best deal for all the parties involved.

    Part 1: Crypto trading/ Market Manipulation/ OTC Markets

    Therefore, it is important for traders at OTC desks to have a keen eye on the cryptocurrency markets and be knowledgable of the market trends.

    I had the opportunity to interview Charles Yang, Head Trader at Genesis Block Hong Kong, an OTC desk. In my interviews we discuss what’s really happening at OTC desks away from the public eye. We also discuss his thoughts on the market sentiment.


    Is Tether Safe? Will Bitcoin & Ethereum Recover? 

    Secrets and Insights from an OTC Trader

    Here’s a summary of the key points from the interviews with Charles.

    There is still interest in cryptocurrencies

    Charles observes there is revived interest in cryptocurrencies despite this bear market.

    He notes that a lot of the customers from the OTC desk who were previously dormant have recently contacted them wanting to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

    The risk of Tether is exaggerated

    Firstly, what is Tether? Refresh your memory with our Tether Explained guide below:

    We’ve seen in recent news that USDT is not fully backed by cash. Instead, Tether is around 75% backed by cash, and the remaining 25% by other securities or loans.

    Confused with what’s happening in this Tether scandal? Check out our video below which explains what is happening and the latest legal action surrounding Bitfinex.

    Despite this, there is still demand for USDT in Asian countries such as China, where they are buying USDT at a premium.

    This is because China bans cryptocurrency exchanges, so retail investors cannot buy cryptocurrencies such as BTC. What they do instead is they first buy USDT through peer to peer merchants, and then enter the cryptocurrency market at a later time when conditions are right. 

    Right now, Bitfinex who is being accused of “losing” customers funds is more at risk. Bitfinex will have to go bust first before people question USDT.

    Charles believes that fundamentally short trading would have less losses because if USDT is at 97% and your prediction is wrong, then your loss would only be 3%. Whereas the opposite would be to bet that it goes to 0.

    Mining is still profitable

    The recent “official news” in China was that cryptocurrency mining has been banned.

    Despite this ban, Bitmain is coming up with new models and generally summer is big for mining because electric costs falls.

    There may be miners who start accumulating and building to maximize their margins 

    Charles notes there is news that big players are scrambling to get cheap damaged mining rigs. They are not the newest models but there are still returns from using them to mine cryptocurrencies.

    So despite the official news about China banning mining the word on the street is that people are buying rigs and locking in contracts for the summer months.

    Simple guide to the aftermath of the Chinese Bitcoin mining ban

    Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) are risky, but need not be avoided completely

    If you participate and get allocation you would benefit. But ultimately it is the exchanges that benefit because you need to buy their token to participate.

    For example Binance requires you to buy into IEOs with their BNB token. Of course it’ll be great for you in the short term if you get allocation and the coin pumps. However your risk is that you would be left with the exchange token if you don’t manage to get any allocation after the lottery.

    IEOs are also highly volatile, especially immediately after listing

    It may be better to trade with OTC desks than exchanges

    Charles notices that there is quieter trade flow, so big players looking to buy or sell cryptocurrencies need to offer better prices. Therefore the margin between the buy and sell price is much less. Bigger players also can offer better quotes because of volume. Therefore it may be cheaper to trade with OTCs who deal exclusively with larger orders than exchanges.

    And whilst exchanges require you to have the funds ready at the time of transaction, OTC desks allow you to lock in the prices and settle later. This gives people more flexibility .

    However, depending on who you are, one upside or downside of OTCs is that they are not transparent. So while you can try to gauge whether there is a lot of trade flow through an OTC desk by reading their reports (if any), there is no way you can verify if they are being truthful. On the other hand you can conduct trades privately compared to on exchanges.

    What coins to hold? Bitcoin Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC)

    Unlike other coins, Bitcoin (BTC) has a 10 year history. There is no founding team or leader. For this reason it is not affected by company politics and is the most decentralised.

    We can see the prices for a lot of tokens crash during the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) crash. Some may be due to the project running out of funds, failing to deliver on its promises or in worse cases the founders and key personnel leaving the project altogether. Studies were shown that over 80% of ICOs in 2017 were scams.

    I was standing in the same spot glued to my phone for 2 hours when this all went down.

    We also see that the ICO game was not fair, some people were able to purchase tokens for a more favourable rate or terms even before the token was listed to the public. This however would never happen with BTC.

    Is day trading profitable? No (sorry)

    For retail investors, day trading is not profitable even for traditional markets.

    This is because retail investors would be bogged down by trading fees, but not all trades are profitable.

    Retail investors are also unprotected from market manipulation. This is especially true for cryptocurrency investing, which is generally an unregulated space.

    Don’t do this

    Conclusion

    Ultimately, trading cryptocurrencies requires exercising caution and doing your own research. One can look at OTC desk reports to have a good grasp of what may be quietly happening with some big players, but at the end of the day, question everything. Also, whilst you may stand to gain several times your initial investment by going into highly volatile IEOs, bear in mind it is designed so that exchanges ultimately win. The most prudent thing to do is to never invest more than you can lose.

    Links

    Buy Bitcoin in Hong Kong – https://buybitcoinhongkong.com/