Chart patterns are an integral aspect of Technical Analysis, but they require some getting used to before they can be used effectively. A chart pattern is a shape within a price chart that helps to suggest what prices might do next, based on what they have done in the past. Chart patterns tend to repeat themselves and can give you a real competitive advantage in the markets if you are able to learn to recognize them.
The market is constantly changing. In many cases, it does not matter how you feel about it, it only matters how the market is going to feel about it.
Market sentiment is a critical indicator to predict price movements and make investment decisions. An easy way to gauge market sentiment is by looking at chart patterns. They tend to repeat themselves, and once you are able to recognize them, it becomes easier to strategize your entries and exits.
However, it is important to note that they are NOT a guarantee that the market will move in that predicted direction. It should only serve as a frame of reference for you to feel how the market moves.
The most important thing to remember when using chart patterns as part of your technical analysis is that they are not a guarantee that a market will move in that predicted direction, they are merely an indication of what might happen to an asset’s price. Below are some of the most common chart patterns studied by technical analysts as they appear on the Bitcoin/USD chart:
1. Head and Shoulders
This is a bullish and bearish reversal pattern that has a large peak in the middle and smaller peaks on either side. The Head and shoulders pattern is considered to be one of the most reliable reversal chart patterns. This pattern is formed when the prices of the stock rise to a peak and fall down to the same level from where they had started rising. Again, the prices rise and form a peak higher than the last peak and again it declines to the original base. Prices again rise to form a third peak, which is lower than the second peak and from here it starts declining to the base level. When the prices break the baseline with volume then a bearish reversal takes place.
Head and shoulders is a chart pattern in which a large peak has a slightly smaller peak on either side of it. Traders look at head and shoulders patterns to predict a bullish-to-bearish reversal. Typically, the first and third peak will be smaller than the second, but they will all fall back to the same level of support, otherwise known as the ‘neckline’. Once the third peak has fallen back to the level of support, it is likely that it will break out into a bearish downtrend.
Head and Shoulders
2. Double Top
A double top is a bearish reversal pattern that traders use to highlight trend reversals. The price forms a peak and retrace back to a level of support. It will then climb up once again before reversing back more permanently against the prevailing trend. A double top is a bearish pattern as it signifies the end of an uptrend and a shift towards a downtrend.
Double Top
3. Double Bottom
A double bottom is a bullish reversal pattern that is opposite to the double top. Price forms a peak and then retrace back to a level of resistance. It then forms a peak once more before reversing back from the prevailing trend. A double bottom is a bullish reversal pattern, because it signifies the end of a downtrend and a shift towards an uptrend.
Double Bottom
4. Wedges
Wedges are bullish and bearish reversal as well as continuation patterns which are formed by joining two trend lines which converge. There are two types of the wedge, rising and falling. Both rising and falling wedges are reversal patterns, with rising wedges representing a bearish market and falling wedges being more typical of a bullish market.
A rising wedge is represented by a trend line caught between two upwardly slanted lines of support and resistance. This pattern generally signals that an asset’s price will eventually decline more permanently, which is demonstrated when it breaks through the support level.
A falling wedge occurs between two downwardly sloping levels. This pattern is usually indicative that an asset’s price will rise and break through the level of resistance.
Wedges
5. Cup and Handle
The cup and handle pattern is a bullish continuation pattern that is used to show a period of bearish market sentiment before the overall trend finally continues in a bullish motion. The cup appears similar to a rounding bottom chart pattern. Following the cup, the price of an asset will likely enter a temporary retracement, which is known as the handle because this retracement is confined to two parallel lines on the price graph. The asset will eventually reverse out of the handle and continue with the overall bullish trend.
Cup and Handle
6. Pennants
A pennant pattern or a flag pattern is created when there is a sharp movement in the price either upward or downward. This is followed by a period of consolidation that creates the pennant shape because of the converging lines. Then a breakout movement occurs in the same direction as the big stock move. At the initial stock movement there is a significant volume which is followed by weaker volume in the pennant section and then rise in the volume at the breakout. Pennants can be either bullish or bearish, and they can represent a continuation or a reversal.
Pennants
7. Triangles
Ascending Triangles
The ascending triangle is a bullish continuation pattern which signifies the continuation of an uptrend. It can be drawn onto charts by placing a horizontal line along the swing highs, which acts as the resistance, and then drawing an ascending trend line along the swing lows, the support. Eventually, the trend breaks through the resistance and the uptrend continues.
Ascending Triangles
Descending Triangles
Just like the ascending triangle, the descending triangle is also a continuation chart pattern. The only difference is that it is a bearish continuation pattern and it is created during the downtrend.They generally shift lower and break through the support because they are indicative of a market dominated by sellers. Descending triangles can be identified from a horizontal line of support and a downward-sloping line of resistance. Eventually, the trend breaks through the support and the downturn continues.
Descending Triangles
Symmetrical Triangles
Symmetrical Triangles are continuation chart patterns that are developed by two trend lines which converge. The symmetrical triangle pattern can be either bullish or bearish, depending on the market. In either case, it is normally a continuation pattern, which means the market will usually continue in the same direction as the overall trend once the pattern has formed. However, if there is no clear trend before the triangle pattern forms, the market could break out in either direction. This makes symmetrical triangles a bilateral pattern, meaning they are best used in volatile markets where there is no clear indication of which way an asset’s price might move.
Symmetrical Triangles
8.Chart Patterns to Identify Market Manipulation
The “Bart Simpson” Pattern
When we look at the Bitcoin chart in small time frames, one can identify sudden movements or ‘bump’ in one direction, followed by consolidation and a sudden ‘bump’ in the other direction that ends close to the base price. This phenomenon has given the name “Barts” because the asset’s price pattern looks like the head shape of the iconic Simpsons character, Bart Simpson.
It is a familiar occurrence for Bitcoin, one noticed by investors time and again during volatile trading stretches. It appears as a result of hundreds-of-Bitcoin orders in a matter of minutes. The reason for these sudden pumps and dumps is likely to liquidate crypto margin traders, whether short or long, by manipulating the market. While some believe that this is done by the exchanges themselves, which is entirely possible due to the lack of regulations, this might be related to large crypto traders, commonly known as ‘whales.’
Bart Simpson pattern
Wyckoff Pattern
The Wyckoff Pattern was first brought to light by Youtuber “Uncomplication” to unearth potential market manipulation by whales. The pattern was developed by Richard Demille Wyckoff, an early 20th-century pioneer in the technical approach to studying the stock market. The pioneering work of Richard D. Wyckoff was centered around the realization that stock price trends were driven primarily by institutional and other large operators who manipulate stock prices in their favor.
Wyckoff proposed a heuristic device to help understand price movements in individual stocks and the market, which he dubbed the “Composite Man.” Wyckoff advised retail traders to try to play the market game as the Composite Man played it. The Composite Man attracts the public to buy a stock in which he has already accumulated a sizeable amount. Wyckoff and his associates believed that if one could understand the market behavior of the Composite Man, one could identify many trading and investment opportunities early enough to profit from them. Using Wyckoff’s method, one can invest in stocks by capitalizing on the intentions of the large “smart money” interests, rather than being caught on the wrong side of the market.
The Bottom Line
Technical analysis can give cryptocurrency traders an insight into the past of crypto, facilitating future predictions. But sole reliance on technical analysis ignores sentiment or news. This is particularly problematic with cryptocurrency trading since factors like mining hash rates and governmental regulations can have significant impacts on the market.
What is technical analysis?
Technical analysis is a method of analyzing the price movements of a security or asset over time. It uses charts and other tools to identify patterns and trends in order to make predictions about future price movements.
How does technical analysis work?
Technical analysis works by looking at past price movements and using these to predict future price movements. This is done by looking at patterns in the data such as support and resistance levels, trend lines, and chart patterns.
What are the advantages of using technical analysis?
Technical analysis can be used to identify potential trading opportunities and to help traders make informed decisions. It can also help traders manage risk by identifying areas where they should exit their positions.
What is support and resistance?
Support and resistance are levels on a chart where the price of an asset has difficulty either breaking through or falling below. These levels can be used to identify potential entry and exit points for trades.
What is a chart pattern?
A chart pattern is a specific pattern that appears on a chart. Common chart patterns include head and shoulders, double tops and bottoms, and triangles. These patterns can help traders identify potential trading opportunities.
How can technical analysis be used in cryptocurrency trading?
Technical analysis can be used to identify potential trading opportunities in the cryptocurrency markets. By looking at past price movements, traders can identify patterns and trends that can be used to make predictions about future price movements.
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.
ERC-1155 is a digital token standard created by Enjin that can used to create both fungible (currencies) and non-fungible (digital cards, pets and in-game skins) assets on the Ethereum Network. By using the Ethereum network, ERC-1155 tokens are secure, tradable and immune to hacking. To find out more about the specifications of the ERC-1155 standard, check out EIP 1155.
ERC-1155 a new way of creating tokens that allow for more efficient trades and bundling of transactions – thus saving costs. This token standard allows for the creation of both utility tokens (such as $BNB or $BAT) and also Non-Fungible Tokens like CryptoKitties.
ERC-1155 includes optimizations that allow for more efficient and safer transactions. Transactions could be bundled together – thus reducing the cost of transferring tokens. ERC-1155 builds on previous work such as ERC-20 (utility tokens) and ERC-721 (rare one-time collectibles).
Summary
ERC-1155 tokens were developed by Enjin.
It is a way of creating both fungible (currencies) and non-fungible (digital cards, pets and in-game skins) assets.
They can be used to represent assets or items across Enjin’s ecosystem of blockchain games. So one asset can be used in multiple games.
Most Expensive ERC-1155 Assets in Existence. These are traded on Enjin’s marketplace
What are Fungible vs Non-Fungible vs Semi-Fungible Tokens?
Fungible tokens: ERC-1155 can be used for the creation of fungible tokens- utility coins that act as currency for various platforms. The advantage of ERC-1155 is that it allows the creation of many different tokens under the same contract (with ERC-20, a new contract needs to be deployed for every token). ERC-1155 is more suitable for multi-token economics, for example if a project has one token is designated as a security token (STO) and another Utility token.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): NFTs can take the from of digital collectible cats (such as crypto kitties) or video game weapons. What sets NFTs apart is that each token is unique.
Every Cryptokitty is unique – they cannot be exchange with each other (ie non-fungible)
For example, every cryptokitty is unique with different stripes and patterns. This means that cryptokitties are not “fungible”, and cannot be replaced with one another (imagine if someone swapped your pet cat with another – you’ll notice the difference immediately). When it comes to cryptocurrencies, this property of being unique and not swap-able is called “non-fungible“.
Non-Fungible Tokens Explained
With ERC-1155, NFTs hold unique metadata which can be modified with time. For example, this metadata can hold information about the lineage of a cryptokitty.
An Amazon Gift card could be a “semi-fungible” token
Semi-fungible tokens: This a new type of token that could “seat a concert” or a “$50 dollar Walmart coupon”. In the case of a Walmart coupon, each token is fungible (same as each other) until the token is redeemed or used in store. Once a coupon is redeemed, it no longer holds value and hence shouldn’t be traded as a normal token. In this example, the coupon is “fungible” until it is redeemed (“non-fungible”), hence the name semi-fungible token.
Superior Design
The superior design of ERC-1155 Crypto Items allows for a swap of any amount of tokens in only 2 simple steps (source: EnjinCoin Blog)
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.
China’s national digital currency DCEP (Digital Currency Electronic Payment, DC/EP) will be built with Blockchain and Cryptographic technology. This revolutionary cryptocurrency could become the world’s first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) as it is issued by the state bank People’s Bank of China (PBoC). The goal and objectives of the currency are to increase the circulation of the RMB and its international reach – with eventual hopes that the RMB will a global currency like the US Dollar. China has recently established an initiative to push forward Blockchain adoption, with the goal of beating competitors like Facebook Libra – a currency that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claims will become the next big FinTech innovation. China has made explicit that Facebook Libra poses a threat to the sovereignty of China, insisting that digital currencies should only be issued by governments and central banks. DCEP is not listed on cryptocurrency exchanges and will not be for speculation of value.
The significance of DCEP is that it’s designed as a replacement for the Reserve Money (M0) system, cutting back the cost and friction of bank transfers. It is suggested that DCEP will alleviate the risks of offline paper money transactions such as anonymous counterfeiting, money laundering and illegal financing. This is because regulators can better monitor digital currency transactions, which some consider will greatly improve financial and monetary supervision. DCEP can also reduce the costs involved in maintaining and recycling banknotes and coins.
Basically, DCEP is poised to become a digital version of the RMB.
Furthermore, the issuance of DCEP is conducive to promoting the internationalization of the RMB and reshaping the current cross-border payment system. This is because prior to the RMB Cross-Border Inter-Bank Payments System (CIPS) going live in early October 2015, RMB cross-border clearing and settlement was mainly done through CHIPS (Clearing House Interbank Payments System) or SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). However, some consider that both the CHIPS and SWIFT systems have fatal flaws. Firstly, CHIPS is a US company. Whilst SWIFT, in particular, is seen as a cause for concern to the Chinese because due to its foothold in the international banking system, it is almost essential to use SWIFT for inter-bank transfers across countries. Thus whoever controls SWIFT’s data center will have access to information on almost every cross-border remittance, which some in China posit is the US. This is because whilst SWIFT claims to be a neutral international organization, 12 of the 25 directors are either from the US and her allies. Also, its transactional data were found to have been supplied to the US. Hence it is thought that China is being held back by the US via the SWIFT system, and so, in internationalizing the RMB- China requires its own worldwide banking system- i.e. DCEP.
Hence the Chinese consider that it is a requirement to form a new currency clearing network.
According to Chinese media, DCEP is seen as the “3rd Wave” aimed at the US.
A mandate to adopt Blockchain
China has established a countrywide initiative to push forward Blockchain Adoption. President Xi Jinping has mandated that the ‘country’s development of blockchain technology should be sped up ‘ on Oct 24th in front of the Political Bureau. This speech has also been echoed by Li Wei, head of the People’s Bank of China. In April of 2020, China launched the Blockchain Service Network to unify all the Blockchain related projects in the Nation.
China has adopted the “Blockchain, not Cryptocurrency”, whereby the benefits of Blockchain is highlighted. On the other hand, cryptocurrencies that are native to Blockchain are suppressed as Cryptocurrency Exchanges and ICOs are banned in the country.
History and development of DCEP
Development of DCEP started in 2014 with the establishment of a research institute dedicated to digital currencies and looking at how to improve the Chinese Yuan system with blockchain technology. However during 2014 to 2018, the development process slowed down, probably because the decentralised nature of Bitcoin or blockchain is incompatible with the nature of the Renminbi as a legal national currency. Things rapidly picked up towards the end of 2019 however and this was directly attributable to Facebook preparing to launch Libra, particularly as partner members of the Libra Association and the currencies which Libra was to be backed by had consciously rejected China. Hence, feeling the heat of the competition, China’s central bank felt immense pressure to urgently speed up in the global competition towards a digital currency.
Former Vice-chair of the PBoC’s National Council for Social Security Fund announced on 22nd June 2020 that China had already completed the backend infrastructure of DCEP.
Uses for DCEP
DCEP will be the only legal digital currency in China
DCEP is a currency created and sanctioned by the Chinese Government. It is not a 3rd party stable coin such as Tether’s cryptocurrency token “CNHT” which is also pegged to the RMB in a 1:1 ratio. DCEP is the only legal digital currency in China (cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are not legal tender in China).
Huang Qifan (Chairman of the China International Economic Exchange Center) said they have been working on DCEP for five to six years now and is fully confident it can be introduced as the country’s financial system. It’s currently being rolled out, with the People’s Bank of China issuing the currency. According to a speech by Huang at the China Finance 40 Forum, “DCEP can achieve real-time collection of data related to money creation, bookkeeping, etc, providing useful reference for the provision of money and the implementation of monetary policies.”
DCEP is not for speculation
China has made it explicitly clear that its National Digital Currency is not for speculation. Mu Changchun, Head of the People’s Bank of China digital currency institute made it as “a digital form of the yuan” and that “The currency is not for speculation. It is different to Bitcoin or stable tokens”. This is to the disappointment of the online community in China, where some netizens commented “So there will be no fun in it” on Sina.com.
It is also not possible to mine DCEP or stake on the DCEP network.
Cross-border payments with m-CBDC Bridge
China has joined forces to explore cross-border payments for digital currencies alongside Hong Kong, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the Bank of International Settlements (BIS).
According to a joint statement in February 2021, the People’s Bank of China and the UAE’s central bank are taking part in the Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency (m-CBDC) Bridge project initiated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Bank of Thailand in 2019.
The m-CBDC Bridge project will explore the capabilities of distributed ledger technology, through the development of a proof-of-concept prototype. The project ultimately aims to facilitate cross-border, multi-currency, real-time transactions around the clock.
This move aligns with China’s long-term ambition to use DCEP to boost the use of RMB in international payments. While the project is currently an alliance between just Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Abu Dhabi, it is strongly supported by the BIS, an organisation owned by 63 central banks.
The announcement also comes mere weeks after China’s joint venture with SWIFT, the dominant network facilitating international payments between banks. The new entity, Finance Gateway Information Service, was registered in Beijing on January 16 with €10 million (US$12 million) as incorporation capital, according to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, the Chinese government’s enterprise credit information agency.
Special features of DCEP
DCEP is a Centralized Currency
DCEP is a digital currency that is run on a centralized private network – the Central Bank of China has complete access and control of the currency. This is a huge contrast to Bitcoin, which has an open decentralized network where there is no centralized leader. In the case with DCEP, the Central bank of China has the ability to create or destroy DCEP.
NFC Contact based payment
According to Official Sina Blockchain, DCEP will have NFC based payment options that don’t require devices to be online during the transfer. This will be poised as a direct replacement of paper money, as DCEP will be usable in areas without internet coverage. In addition, DCEP doesn’t require the mobile device to be bound to a bank account – meaning the unbanked population will also have access to the digital currency.
With DCEP’s tap payment feature people can transfer money simply by tapping two phones together, without the use of the Internet. So DCEP is not exactly like blockchain either, rather it is their own variant.
China Construction Bank launches DCEP wallet
On 29th August 2020, China Construction Bank (CCB) had a soft launch of the DCEP wallet. Users of one of China’s big four state-owned commercial banks found a DCEP wallet feature was available inside their mobile app. Users were even able to navigate to the digital yuan wallet and activate it through registering their mobile phone numbers.
Finally, users can send/receive digital currency to others by inputting their unique wallet ID or the phone number associated with the bank account.
CCB DCEP wallet
However, CCB has disabled the DCEP wallet feature from public access, but not before it gained huge attention. Users searching for this wallet now will only get an error message saying that the function is not yet officially available to the public.
Tencent to be a major partner of DCEP
Tencent’s Meituan Dianping has been in talks with the research wing of the PBoC on real-world uses for DCEP. Meituan Dianping boasts billions of dollars in daily transactions on their mobile app platform offering services such as food delivery (similar to UberEats), B&B bookings (similar to AirBnb), ride hailing services, bike sharing, grocery shopping and more. Basically for those in China, all your daily necessities can be met on the Meituan ecosystem.
The PBoC’s research wing is also in talks with another Tencent-backed company, Bilibili Inc. which provides video streaming services. So whilst the specifics of the partnership are yet to be finalised, it is likely that such cooperation is going to be huge for the mass use of DCEP in China.
According to Caijing magazine, the pilot institutions for DCEP will be the 4 major state-owned banks i.e. China Construction Bank, the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. This initial deployment will serve as an official production test for the currency system, where the network and security will be validated. In the second phase, DCEP will be distributed to large fintech companies such as Tencent and Alibaba to be used in WeChat Pay and AliPay respectively.
DCEP will operate on a two-tiered system
The issuance and distribution of DCEP will be based on a two-tiered system.
The first tier would be transactions between the PBoC and intermediaries. These intermediaries would be financial institutions (e.g. the 4 major state-owned banks i.e. China Construction Bank, the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) and non-financial institutions such as Alibaba, Tencent and UnionPay. Here, the PBoC would issue DCEP to the intermediaries.
The second tier would be between the above-mentioned intermediaries and participants in the retail market such as companies (e.g. retail stores) and individuals. In this tier, the intermediaries that have received DCEP will distribute it to retail participants so that it would circulate through the market e.g. through people purchasing items at stores etc.
The main difference in the issuance and distribution of DCEP compared to traditional cash however is the fact that DCEP would be transferred through electronic wallets, rather than bank accounts.
The central government has mandated that all merchants who accepted digital payments (such as Apple Pay, AliPay and WeChat) pay must accept DCEP. This will give DCEP a large nationwide acceptance in China, with every merchant obligated to participate or face a potential loss of their business license. This will make DCEP the most accepted digital currency in the world.
DCEP red packets to be launched for Chinese New Year
China’s DCEP app has launched a red packet gifting feature in time for the Chinese New Year on 22nd January 2023. The app will allow users to send the red packets i.e. “hongbao” containing DCEP to others. This is based on the Chinese New Year tradition of gifting lucky money during the annual festival. In fact, WeChat Pay and Alipay already have this feature for gifting CNY. However, it is the first time that e-CNY will be gifted in such a way, with hopes that this will further pave the way for the mass adoption of DCEP.
DCEP can be used to pay expressway tolls
On 28th December 2022, Chongqing Expressway Group announced it has completed the installation of equipment to accept DCEP for expressway tolls. From 30th December 2022, DCEP can be accepted as payment for tolls on the Chongqing Expressway. Users will need to download the e-CNY app and then simply present the payment QR code at the toll booth.
PBoC’s financial statistics reports now include DCEP/e-CNY
On 10th January 2023, the PBoC released its annual Financial Statistics Report for 2022. What is worth noting is that for the first time, the PBoC included statistics on DCEP/e-CNY. The Report states that as of the end of December 2022, the amount of digital currency in circulation was 13.61 billion yuan. This equates to around 0.13% of the total balance of yuan (13.61 trillion yuan) in circulation at the end of 2022.
Are people in China using DCEP?
According to a report on 28th December 2022, there has been over US$14 billion worth of DCEP transactions since its launch in 2020. Meanwhile, 261 million users have already set up an e-CNY wallet. However, this is considered low adoption since around 903.6 million people use mobile payments in China, according to a 2021 UnionPay report.
DCEP scams
Mere hours after DCEP has been announced, various (potentially scam) Chinese exchanges have listed IOUs or knock-offs clones of DCEP. It’s important to know that DCEP is currently only distributed to banks working with the PBoC and will not be available for the public. If you want to find out what are reputable exchanges, check out our top cryptocurrency exchanges guide. It is strongly recommended NOT to trade DCEP until it is officially released as there is no guarantee exchanges have access to the digital currency.
Knock-off clones of DCEP are already trading in (potentially) scam exchanges.
How to buy DCEP?
Currently, DCEP is only available to other banks working with the People’s Bank of China. This will eventually open up to the general public in 2020. There are currently no cryptocurrency exchanges that trade DCEP.
Implications of DCEP?
Is DCEP a challenge to the US monetary system?
The overwhelming view appears to be yes, both from the Chinese and the US perspective. According to statistics from the World Bank, 1.7 billion adults around the world use cash because they don’t have bank accounts. However, two-thirds of this population own a mobile phone, which can be used to make monetary transactions. This is what’s been happening in China, where mobile payments such as Alipay or WeChat Pay have more than 1.7 billion customers across China. Currently, the two online payment companies handle more payments monthly than Paypal did in the whole of 2017 (i.e. USD $451 billion). It’s very common in China to see street vendors accepting Alipay or WeChat pay.
Alipay and WeChat being accepted at an ATV rental shop
With the mobile wallet payment infrastructure in place, their cooperation with the PBoC could be the answer to distributing DCEP overseas. This would fit China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, the aim of which is to build a new trade route connecting Asia with Europe and Africa. The idea is that with DCEP being used by mobile wallets, populations along the Belt and Road can be connected, bypassing existing financial infrastructures completely and giving an opportunity for the unbanked to pay for online purchases and build their savings.
In the US, the government does not see a demand for digital currencies. In a letter from the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, he took the view that many of the challenges a digital currency intends to solve do not apply to the US. In his view, the US payments landscape is already highly competitive and innovative, with plenty of digital payments options for consumers. Powell also commented, echoing the sentiments of those US lawmakers opposing Libra, that a digital payment where you would know and be able to track each and every payment would be unattractive for the US.
Whilst the House Committee on Financial Services also sees Libra as potentially raising national security concerns, observers consider the challenge from China is not being taken seriously. Because on the other hand, China is worried that Libra will reinforce the dominance of the US Dollar and is therefore working on fast-tracking the launch of DCEP. And it is likely that China will outrun the threat from Libra.
From a wider perspective, some take the view that DCEP can be used as a weapon against the US in an economic war. This is because as DCEP becomes accepted across the Belt and Road, China will have the power of total surveillance and control over the economic activity of potentially half the world’s population. DCEP will allow China to track everyone’s spending and transactions, and can seize or lock customers’ digital assets in their mobile wallets. We’ve already seen this in China, where together with its “social credit system”, millions of individuals have already been barred from purchasing airline tickets using their mobile wallets.
Appearance on Chinese television debate show “Tiger Talk”
On 29th August 2020, I appeared on China’s Phoenix Television show “Tiger Talk” (一虎一席談). Tiger Talk is one of Phoenix TV’s longest-running shows, each week they feature a debate on a major societal issue or event, and would invite experts, academics and guests to participate in the discussion. I was invited by Phoenix Television as an overseas analyst to discuss the topic of the week, namely, “DC/EP: China’s release of digital currency, will it shake the US Dollar’s hegemony?”. You can watch the episode here.
Guest appearance on Tiger Talk
Implications of DCEP on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
In the first instance, it should always be borne in mind that DCEP and Bitcoin/cryptocurrencies are vastly different. Key differences are that DCEP does not necessarily use blockchain technology and that it is a centralised currency under the control of a centralised authority. Learn more about the differences between DCEP, Libra, Bitcoin and Cash.
However, the large scale promotion of DCEP on national television in August 2020 is certainly bracing and preparing Chinese citizens for a digital version of the RMB. The gradual rollout of DCEP will also get the average citizen accustomed to the actual usage of digital currencies.
As a result, many people are excitedly speculating on the possibility of a bridge between DCEP and various existing blockchain projects- with some projects proclaiming they will be the first project to launch on DCEP. However it must be borne in mind that we do not know the full technical details of DCEP, so we do not know how this bridge between blockchain and DCEP will work, if at all. Also, the fact is that China is currently very hostile towards cryptocurrencies, this is mostly due to a number of cryptocurrency scams- such as Plus Token. As a result, the Chinese government have closed several bank accounts found to be involved in cryptocurrency transfers and banned all ICOs, several major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and OKEx and some Over the Counter desks. Hence a lot of cryptocurrency circles and discussions occur underground, such as in private WeChat groups.
In a confusing twist, however, the CCP’s official media outlets 参考消息, Xinhua and CCTV have been pushing out headlines that crypto assets are the best-performing asset year to date. Dovey Wan, Founding Partner of Primitive Ventures has observed that the real intent behind this media push is difficult to interpret, but so far the Chinese cryptocurrency community see this as a signal that crypto has reached its top. Meanwhile, on the Western front on Twitter, people have been seeing this as a bull signal. Currently, without any further moves or news in China about DCEP or on the cryptocurrency front, we can only wait and see what China’s next move will be.
Hmm this is an interesting propaganda vibe from CCP’s official media outlets as “参考消息”, Xinhua and CCTV2
the headline “cryptoasset is the best performing asset YTD” was featured on all avenues, news paper, online media and TV
Will DeFi push governments to finally adopt CBDCs?
Decentralised Finance (DeFi) can be considered the cryptocurrency and blockchain star of 2020, having revived the cryptocurrency market and bringing some much-needed revival and positivity. But what is DeFi? In short, DeFi attempts to bring traditional banking to developing industries, but with a twist: it would be open-source, decentralised, cheap and will cut out the middlemen. (Xanax)
So what can central banks and government do to maintain their dominant status quo whilst benefitting from the technology that DeFi can bring? An answer could be to create a CBDC. In a Forbes article, the author suggests that CBDC would be a positive move for governments since it tokenises money whilst allowing users to enjoy the advantages of cheaper, faster transactions.
The article also touches upon our coverage of DCEP and discusses China’s progress in testing DCEP contrasted with the progress of introducing a CBDC in the US. It suggests that governments and institutions, however, will need to be quick to catch up as new DeFi solutions in payments, mortgage, insurance etc. are being created weekly, and this legion of fintech innovators are growing. These innovators challenge the status quo, and with the mounting advantages of DeFi, there may soon be a real contender vying for the attention of citizen-consumers.
FAQs
Is DCEP backed by Gold?
The simple answer is u0022Nou0022. On a recent episode of Kitco News, journalist Max Kaiser claimed that China will launch a gold-backed cryptocurrency, with the intention of destroying the USD as a reserve currency. He added that China has already amassed as much as 20,000 tons of gold. However this is mere speculation – China has no plans to return to the Gold Standard nor issue gold-backed cryptocurrencies.
Will DCEP be interoperable with other Cryptocurrencies
There are many plans to build gateways that allow the swapping of DCEP to other cryptocurrencies. Projects such as Algorand have stated they want to support DCEP and build possible bridges to swap these currencies. However, as the technical details of DCEP have not been fully revealed, such bridges have not been built yet.
Who can issue e-CNY?
There are 7 Chinese commercial banks that can provide e-CNY. They are: ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China China Construction Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, and China Merchant’s Bank. There are also 2 online banks that can provide e-CNY i.e. WeBank (WeChat Pay) and MyBank (Alipay).
Which Chinese Cities can sign up and use the e-CNY app?
Currently, there are 12 cities and areas in China which can sign up and use the e-CNY app. They are Shenzhen, Suzhou, Beijing Xiong’an, Chengdu, Shanghai, Hainan, Xi’an, Changsha, Dalian, Qingdao, and Zhangjiakou.
Can tourists or non- Chinese locals use DCEP?
No, DCEP is not fully rolled out yet and is only available in select cities in China.
Is China using DCEP?
According to a report on 28th December 2022, there have been over US$14 billion in transactions since the launch of DCEP in 2020 and October 2022. Meanwhile, 261 million users have already set up an e-CNY wallet. However, this is considered low adoption since, according to a 2021 UnionPay report, around 903.6 million people use mobile payments in China.
When will China officially launch DCEP e-CNY?
Whilst there is ongoing DCEP/e-CNY testing on in increasing scale, there is no official announcement as to when and how China will fully roll out DCEP/e-CNY.
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.
Do you want to hear the good news…or the bad news first? This has been an age old question which the Bitcoin markets had to grapple with this week. As we will see below, there IS a correct answer to this…but has Bitcoin chosen wisely?
Table of Contents
All I want for Christmas is a Ledger!
Ledger is doing a crypto starter bundle! Get a USD$25 voucher to buy crypto with every Ledger Nano X purchase! Limited to 5,000 vouchers and only available until 29th December 2020!
Gift yourself or your family a bundle they truly want! Say NO to hand cream gift sets and socks!
This week’s market price action wasn’t very exciting, with Bitcoin and Ethereum mostly going sideways. On 12th December 2020, we saw a reaction that is still continuing today and has brought $BTC back to the $19000 area and $ETH closer to $600.
Both coins are still at weekly resistances trying to build momentum around the 21 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) on the daily chart. We could expect another attempt to pass ATH in the next few days!
Key news this week
Big investors keep accumulating
Big funds/companies are buying and accumulating Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), has just bought $100M of $BTC through NYDIG, a fund management company in New York. This is reportedly their first Bitcoin purchase and is equivalent to less than 1% of their entire investment account worth around USD $235 billion.
Grayscale has also increased their holdings. Whilst they are not new to investing in crypto, they have just bought another 130000ETH, reaching a total of 3 million tokens in their accounts.
Microstrategy announced they had completed “a $650M offering of 0.75% Convertible Senior Notes Due 2025”, to invest in $BTC in accordance with their reserve policy. A few days earlier, the CEO Michael Saylor, tweeted that they hold approximately 40,824 Bitcoin.
MicroStrategy has purchased approximately 2,574 bitcoins for $50.0 million in cash in accordance with its Treasury Reserve Policy, at an average price of approximately $19,427 per bitcoin. We now hold approximately 40,824 bitcoins.https://t.co/nwZcM9zAXZ
The interest in crypto by financial giants points to increased demand from the wealthy as a form of diversification and are them betting on prices to increase in the future.
Mt. Gox’s reimbursement deadline approaching
15th December 2020 will mark the next deadline for Mt. Gox Exchanges’s creditors to hopefully get back what they lost on the platform. The Exchange, one of the most known at the time and launched in 2010, ceased to operate in February 2014 after filing for bankruptcy. A whopping 860,000 $BTC were “missing” of which 200,000 has been “recovered” (and this does not even include other cryptocurrencies which also went “missing”). In 2015 new evidence by Tokyo security company WizSec showed that “most or all of the missing bitcoins were stolen straight out of the Mt. Gox hot cryptocurrency wallet over time, beginning in late 2011.”
Users of the platform should expect to receive a total of 140,000 $BTC ($2.6 billion dollar worth) which are now in the hands of Nobuaki Kobayashi, the Japanese lawyer in charge of the process.
Nothing is certain however as the refund deadline had been already postponed several times in the past, the last of which was in October 2020. There is also a serious concern in the market as to the possible consequences of a large Bitcoin market sell-off by victims when they receive their funds after 6 years. Considering Bitcoin in 2014 was worth less than $1000, this would represent now a roughly 20x on their re-acquired funds!
Thoughts on the Mt. Gox refund
Singapore’s DBS to launch digital exchange with crypto
After rumors appeared a few months ago, it is now official: Singapore’s DBS will be the first bank to launch a digital currency exchange.
The platform will only be open to institutional and accredited retail investors. There will be 4 major tradable cryptocurrencies: $BTC, $ETH, $XRP and $BCH, paired with 4 FIAT currencies: USD, SGD, HKD AND JPY.
The Exchange will also offer Security Token Offerings (STO) and a platform for tokenized assets like bonds, private equity funds, real-estates and so on. DBS Chief Executive Piyush Gupta said:
“I believe that the time is right for this”, and added “We are on the cusp of a massive tokenization and therefore you’ll find tokenization of all kind of assets around the world and I think more and more exchanges will start dealing with the tokenized assets”.
U.S. Congressmen manifesting doubts on new self-hosted wallets regulations
A couple of weeks ago we mentioned that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was concerned regarding rumors that the U.S Treasury was planning to impose regulations on self-hosted cryptocurrency wallets.
Self-hosted wallets, whether online (hot) like Metamask or offline (cold) wallets like Ledger and Trezor, let you retain personal and total access to your funds, without any intermediary entities or third parties. The owner possesses their own private keys and takes full responsibility of their funds. Most importantly, wallets don’t usually need KYC procedures to set up. Learn more about hot and cold wallets, and their pros and cons.
Armstrong stated his thoughts (shared by many other prominent names in crypto space), among which the possibility that regulations could result in being more harmful than anything else. This is because it could essentially exclude those who cannot obtain the documents and proofs for regular KYCs, and those are usually the most disadvantaged groups who may already be excluded from the financial system. Furthermore, this proposal could be a step back in innovation by the US, leading companies and users to bypass them for other countries.
A few days ago Warren Davidson, U.S. Congressman serving Ohio’s 8th District, together with a few colleagues, embraced these opinions by sending a letter to U.S Treasury. The letter also points out that “multiple reports have shown that digital assets are not widely used by illicit actors”.
Meanwhile in Europe, the development of the digital Euro continues. However sources have indicated that the French Finance Ministry is preparing “to not only harden know-your-customer (KYC) rules for crypto firms but also regulate crypto-to-crypto transactions, according to Simon Polrot, president of French crypto association ADAN.”
This apparently comes as a response to recent terrorist attacks when 29 people were arrested for illegal terrorism funding via cryptocurrencies.
Other key news
Canada has become the first country to have an Ethereum-based Fund listed on a major stock exchange. The Ether Fund (TSX:QETH.U) is offered by 3iQ Corp, a digital asset manager based in Toronto. The Ether Fund is trading at around $11 per share today.
Steve Wozniak, Apple Co-Founder has just launchedEfforce, a project bridging virtual currencies and green Tech. Efforce serves as a “digital marketplace” where energy efficient projects can raise funds via its own currency, $WOZX. The project famously received overwhelming support from investors as its market cap reached $950 million within 13 minutes of its launch.
The second giveaway of DCEP (China’s National Digital Currency) has kicked-off on in Suzhou, China, on 12th December 2020 for 10,000 winners. Last week, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) also confirmed it is working with the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China on technical pilot testing of DCEP for cross-boarder payments between Mainland China and Hong Kong. You can read more in our article.
Messari, a leader crypto Research and Data company, has recently listed their take on the “top 10 people to watch in 2021”
After all the recent announced collaborations between the Yearn Finance team and many other big Defi projects, such as Cover Protocol ($COVER) or Sushiswap ($SUSHI), the Yearn Ecosystem Token Index, $YETI, has been created by Powerpool ($CVP).
The Index comprises of 8 tokens: $YFI, $SUSHI, $CREAM, $AKRO, $COVER, $K3PR, $CVP, $PICKLE with a proposed weighted distribution of 35% for $YFI, 17% for $SUSHI and 8% each for the rest. So investors now have the chance to invest in the entire Yearn ecosystem in one token, receiving “cash flows from Vault strategies applied to composite tokens, and vote on proposals in the Yearn ecosystem governance using PowerPool’s meta-governance approach.” It will also allow holders to save on gas fees which would be normally required to stake multiple tokens.
Speaking of $YFI, this week we have also witnessed the first gasless (for users) transaction vault deposit on Yearn.Finance.
DeTrade Fund, a supposed upcoming arbitraging and front-running Defi project has vanished with 1450ETH a few hours before listing.
The team appeared to be non-anonymous, with public Linkedin profiles, a publicly registered company, a Twitch profile and a video where the “CEO” Mark Jensen, spoke to the community. The video has quickly become famous on crypto Twitter with the community suspecting it was a deep-fake used by crypto hackers. Another theory circulating around the community is that the hackers hired an actor to impersonate the CEO.
Sadly.. Chinese would LOVE this. Handsome westerner with good looks and a strong affirmative voice. https://t.co/mdj3mRfglb
Through two rounds of presale investments, the DeTrade fund team managed to raise a remarkable amount of 1,450 $ETH in a few hours. Their contracts were audited by Solidity Finance which immediately raised a few concerns in their audit report, assessing that the team was in charge of too much power over users’ funds. It is likely that the team took advantage of this and stole the presale funds sometime between the second presale and the official listing which should have taken place a few hours after. (Tramadol)
As with any presale though, you’re giving your funds directly to the team.
This is why we always try to emphasize how important trust in the team is; especially in a presale phase. https://t.co/tUOrLZSMB8
— Solidity.finance – Audit Services (@SolidityFinance) December 11, 2020
Several hours later and probably because someone was able to trace the misappropriated funds, 70% of the stolen $ETH was sent back to investors via internal transactions.
This “partial return is becoming more and more common in DeFi attacks. For example, Eminence’s hacker sent back 50% while Harvest Finance users only received 10% of their amount back.
$12 million have been stolen by Compounder Finance
On 1st December 2020, Compounder.Finance ($CP3R), a clone of Harvest and Yearn Finance, has “pulled the rug”. It looks like the anonymous team behind the project is the one to blame.
Compounder had been audited by Solidity Finance. In chat logs between the two companies we can see that Solidity Finance pointed out that the project’s Treasury contract and updating of strategy pools is controlled by their team. Solidity Finance also pointed out that they felt this fact should be disclosed in their audit report. The exploit was exactly as pointed out by Solidity Finance. After the audit, the withdraw function was swapped with a malicious one which was later used to drain all the money in the contract to their deployer address. Nobody recognized the fraud in time so users were not able to withdraw their funds.
The attack is composed by 4 steps and is explained in details in this post-mortem by developer Vasaand Solidity Finance.
It is not the first time that an audited project suffered a hack and we all know quite well by now that Audits cannot guarantee 100% safety. This should always be reminded.
A known developer of the Defi space and owner of Defiyield.info was also a victim of the attack. He is also investigating the matter and working towards filing a case with the relevant enforcement authorities.
Malicious actors have recently created various fake Deriswap tokens to take advantage of the hype surrounding this latest experiment from Andre Cronje. The malicious actors would create tokens with similar names to Deriswap and approve it for trading on Uniswap to entice people to buy.
Let’s remember that Deriswap doesn’t have any official token at the moment!
Boxmining happenings
Libra is now Diem! Everything you need to know on Facebook’s cryptocurrency!
In case you missed it check out our podcast interview with Geralt of CyberFi where we discussed automated trading, Ethereum interactions such as unstaking and more.
Velo Protocol is building out the biggest payment network in South East Asia with its partnership with Lightnet and Visa. The end goal is to create payment solutions for the under-served micro, small and medium enterprise lending market in Asia.
The next XRP killer? Velo Protocol is making HUGE moves
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.
Value DeFi ($VALUE) vaults suffered $6 million flash loan exploit, similar to Harvest’s
If it wasn’t for the recent Bitcoin’s rally, this could have been known as the Hack Season. More and more projects, especially in decentralised finance (DeFi), are getting attacked and no smart contract seems to be safe anymore.
On Nov 14 at 10:45 AM EST, mere hours after the release of Vault Phase 2 which was celebrated on Twitter as the ”highest security, the best return and the greatest community“ in crypto, a complex “double” flash loan attack exploited the MultiStables vault of ValueDefi Protocol. In what was later defined as one of the most complex attacks seen in DeFi, the hacker used two flash loans, with Aave and Uniswap, to steal USD $6 million.
A Post-Mortem article by the Team explained what happened: the attack took 80k ETH through a flash loan on Aave, bought 116 million DAI and 31 million USDT, deposited 25 million DAI in the Vault, got back 24 million mvUSD and swapped 91 million DAI and 31 million USDT to USDC. The mvUSD were then withdrawn from DAI and the 80k ETH plus fees returned to Aave. Finally, 33 million DAI were bought back and 2 were sent back to the Deployer (as other times have happened lately). The culprit did this by taking advantage of vulnerabilities within Value DeFi vaults.
Origin Dollar ($OUSD) has lost millions in a flashloan attack
Three days later, it was Origin dollar ($OUSD)’s turn to be attacked.
The Yield-generating stablecoin project suffered a loss of funds of $7 million, $1 million of which were deposits by Origin’s founders, employees and the company itself. The team is still looking into exactly how the attack was carried out but they suspect it was a flash-loan transaction that seems to be the root of the attack.
Allegedly, following the attack, the hacker was able to sell some of the stolen OUSD, DAI and ETH on Uniswap and Sushiswap. the attacker is also washing the stolen funds using RenBTC.
You can read the detailed explanation of the exploit in this updated article by the Origin team.
This was the fifth flash loan attack for Defi in the last month, after Harvest Finance, Akropolis, CheeseBank and Value.
Overall, according to CipherTrace, Defi hacks are credited to around $100 million in 2020 so far.
Crypto Exchange Liquid Says User Data Possibly Exposed in Security Breach
As officially confirmed, crypto Exchange Liquid as been hacked on 13th November.
The attack consisted in one of the hosting providers incorrectly transferring the account control and domain to a malicious actor which gained access to some of the internal email accounts. This breach resulted in user data exposure. As they stated:
“We believe the malicious actor was able to obtain personal information from our user database. This may include data such as your email, name, address and encrypted password. We are continuing to investigate whether the malicious actor also obtained access to personal documents provided for KYC such as ID, selfie and proof of address, and will provide an update once the investigation has concluded.”
This could possibly lead to identity thefts, spam emails and phishing attempts. Even though the team doesn’t believe it would pose an immediate threat for its users, they suggest “that all Liquid customers change their password and 2FA credentials at the earliest convenience”.
UNI farming ends…what happens next?
As the $UNI farming was coming to its planned end on 17th November, speculations on the future price of $ETH and of the Uniswap token were emerging, and the first Uniswap Community Call didn’t succeed in establishing any definite decision on the platform’s future steps. More than USD $2 billion worth were locked in four pools that were giving $UNI rewards (ETH-DAI, ETH-USDC, ETH-USDT, ETH-WBTC); all money that were destined to flow back on the market. As $ETH price was in the mid $300 before the farming started in September, many were fearing for an imminent dump as people would swap it to stable coins or more investment-appealing altcoins. Price was not the only concern for Uniswap, as all that pooled money meant very slow slippage on the Dex as well.
To seize the moment, Sushiswap ($SUSHI)announced an increase in rewards for the same four pools on their platform. Exactly one hour later, Hayden Adams (inventor of Uniswap) advanced a new proposal to continue with the rewards for an additional 2 months at half the rate of the genesis distribution. The proposal is now awaiting the consensus check phase, before farming could restart on 4th December.
Sushiswap and Uniswap TVL (Image credit: DeFi Pulse)
In the meantime, as we can observe in the next image, the Uniswap TVL has significantly dropped at the expenses of Sushiswap’s, which increased reaching a similar net value to that of its main competitor.
Bitcoin continues its rally
In the aftermath of the US elections, even if the result is still controversial, $BTC continues its rally like it couldn’t care less. In the last days its Market Cap even reached an ATH of $350 billion, surpassing the Dec 16 2017’s previous high (due to $BTC inflation, even if the price is not at ATH there are more coins in circulation than 3 years ago, resulting in a higher market cap). The price is currently over $18k! Finally!
As $BTC was growing lately, one could bet that the media would start covering the news as well, and that is exactly what happened. We have seen BBC, CNBC’s Fast Money, CNN and many more interviewing “experts” and speculating about the next ATH, paired with a lot of old and new memes being shared everywhere. With wide coverage and more retailers getting onboard fearing of missing out (Paypal’s crypto service reached $25 million in trading volume in the first month since launch) could this mean that the (local) top is getting closer?
While all of this was happening, it looks like things for Chinese miners are not that good. Wu Blockchain reported that 75% of the surveyed miners are struggling to pay their electric bills. This is due to the restrictions the Chinese government is applying on crypto making it very difficult to buy and sell into $CNY. Many miners have seen their bank cards frozen or their machines shut down because they didn’t have cash to pay the electric bill.
Therefore, there is also speculation that this big rally has not only been driven by an increase in demand, but also because the dump activity by miners, that creates constant sell pressure, has slowed down.
What the fork Bitcoin cash?!
On 15th November Bitcoin Cash ($BCH) has undergone a protocol upgrade, as established by the roadmap.
This update contained a Hard Fork which has split the chain into two, BCHN and BCHA after block #661647. The reason why this is happening is because of a disagreement on the current state of the blockchain between the Bitcoin Cash Node and the Bitcoin Cash ABC communities after a proposed update by Amaury Sechet (ABC) had been rejected. It looks like $BCHN will be the dominant part as 80% of the miners showed support before the split and it is now 667 blocks ahead.
This is not the first fork for $BCH as it was, itself, the result of a Bitcoin fork in 2017.
How’s ETH2 staking race going?
Less than a week before the deadline, the ETH staked on the Ethereum 2 mainnet are less than half of what’s needed to trigger the start of the Beacon Phase 0. As anticipated by many sources, the community is expecting a decisive increase in deposits rate in the last days before the deadline. If the minimum requirements will be met by 24th November, ETH2 will launch on 1st December, otherwise it will automatically start 7 days after the threshold will be met.
In a recent AMA, Danny Ryan, Core Researcher at the Ethereum Foundation answered users’ concerns about the possibility of a failed launch. Ryan says the Foundation does have a solution, which is to adjust the threshold down to around 100k+ ETH which they consider to be sufficient. This will avoid leaving the staked ETH in limbo. Ryan also noted that for those who did stake, there will be high rewards for these early adopters. Their Github page also goes into more details on other alternatives.
Also, learn more about this staking race and its potential implications:
https://youtu.be/VqEP_c4jhvc
Will Ethereum 2.0 (ETH) launch successfully?
OKEx Exchange is finally resuming withdrawals!
More than one month after the Okex Exchange decided to suspend all cryptocurrency withdrawals, the team has just announced that operations will reopen on or before 27th November. They also reassure that 100% of users’ funds are safe.
The official announcement confirmed that one of Okex’s private key holders was cooperating with the authorities in a case that has nothing to do with the Exchange itself. They specified that although “OKEx has always used a backup mechanism for private key holders to ensure that each private key holder can trigger the activation of the backup private key in the event of long-term incapacitation, such as death or memory loss”, this particular scenario caught them off guard as no strategy had been prepared for.
Significant loyalty campaigns will be announced as a sign of gratitude to the community.
Why do we need privacy and scaling on the blockchain? Privacy is the next big leap for blockchain technology as can be used to allow anonymous data sharing, exchanges without front running, and the real fungibility of tokens. We spoke to Prof. Dawn Song about the need for privacy-preserving smart contracts and how this is implemented on Oasis Protocol ($ROSE): https://youtu.be/JQzKKOV_ycA
1st Dec: ETH 2.0 launch (provided minimum staking threshold is reached)
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.
XFai is a decentralized oracle service provider that aims to address liquidity and gas issues in decentralised exchanges (DEXs) through a so-called DEX Liquidity Oraclewhich will revolutionise cryptocurrency trading whilst reducing gas fees.
If you are a regular DEX trader, you might notice that there are times when you can’t complete trades. This happens often with small-cap tokens that do not have enough liquidity. In this case, traders have two options, either to wait it out until there’s enough liquidity or to increase price slippage tolerance. But either way, it can result in huge losses on the part of a small-cap token holder.
XFai wants to address this problem by empowering DEXs with liquidity that can be supplied to small-cap tokens. This equalizes the playing field for every single trader, allowing them to execute their strategy without having to shoulder massive costs just because a DEX might not have enough liquidity on any particular trading pair.
Check out our interview with XFai’s Chief Scientist, Taulant Ramabaja.
Background
The problem with many DEXs today is liquidity. While liquidity pools and profit-generating DeFi systems like yield farming have offered revolutionary solutions in the last year or so, DEXes still face this concern. This leaves many traders vulnerable to huge price slippages and losses. And if the issue persists, cryptocurrency traders might be discouraged and go back to trading mostly on centralized exchanges despite having less options.
This is what XFai worked is trying to solve.
XFai, which was co-founded by Geoffrey Khan, was developed in order to deal with the problems hounding DeFi markets today. It has gained a substantial amount of support, garnering investments from companies like AU21 Capital, LD Capital, and Roger Ver, one of the earliest adopters of blockchain technology and the CEO of Bitcoin.com. It is also worth mentioning that they were able to generate over $3.8 million within the first 12 hours of their private sale.
What is XFai?
XFai is a decentralized oracle service provider with the aim of addressing liquidity and gas issues in DEXs through a DEX Liquidity Oracle (DLO). This means that the protocol’s role is not only limited to supplying data to price feeds and engaging with smart contracts, but is also capable of actively providing and managing token liquidity in partner DEXs such as Uniswap.
The primary goal of the project is to support small cap tokens and token holders by establishing a system that helps them earn better rewards. In other words, the project seeks to help them gain as much in incentives as they can, just like how a holder of a large cap token does.
DEX Liquidity Oracle
XFai’s DLO is powered by the XFai smart contract, which allows users to stake small cap tokens that can later be supplied to Uniswap pools according to corresponding price ranges and existing orders. The biggest trades facilitated on Uniswap exchanges will be provided with the liquidity collected from the DLO.
This does not just benefit large volume trades for small cap tokens, but also those who supply liquidity on the same tokens. They receive rewards when they do so as well. The good thing about DLO is that it does not require liquidity providers to supply all the assets supported in a liquidity pool. They can choose to simply supply a single token in a pool, which also mitigates the risks of impermanent loss on their end.
What supports this function further is its real-time price feed from centralized exchanges. Furthermore, the liquidity from the DLO is easily accessible to DEXs, addressing the issue on price slippage. This is exactly the goal of the XFai team, to support the current DEXs in the market and not to present itself as a competitor.
How Does XFai Work?
First, the user has to add tokens on the DLO liquidity vault/pool. The DLO is governed by a smart contract that also sends the tokens to partner DEXes when liquidity is needed. Note that users do not need to supply multiple assets at a time anymore, thereby reducing their exposure.
Second, the DLO looks into the data from existing order books from other exchanges to determine existing prices and trading volume. Then, it comes up with a synthetic curve which they will use in order to pair DLO liquidity with partner DEXs.
Then, there is a smart contract that governs how and when liquidity is supplied to a DEX using the synthetic curve. The goal of the contract is to ensure that enough liquidity is met by AMMs in order to avoid price slippage while allowing small cap token holders to supply liquidity without incurring impermanent loss.
XFIT Token
XFIT token is XFai’s native, utility token, which can be used as a medium of exchange, store of value, and means of payment for transaction fees. But more than that, it also has governance and reward functions. Liquidity farming is accessible in XFIT and all other DLO pairs.
To start liquidity mining, holders can stake their tokens in select pools to earn proportional rewards. Each time the DLO profits from the trades conducted by its platform users, token holders earn additional XFIT. They can either redeem XFIT tokens to be later sold to the market, or they can decide to return their rewards back to liquidity pools in order to increase their stake position.
In addition, XFIT token holders are also entitled to discounts on transaction fees if they use XFIT. They can also make direct swaps from XFIT to any other token in the protocol as long as they are supported by the DLO.
XFai Liquidity Generation Event: How to stake XFIT
The XFai liquidity generation event is a way to allow users to become involved with XFai’s XFIT token early, and stake them in the liquidity pool in order to earn increased, sustained yield throughout the launch period.
To participate, users can go on the XFai website and click on “Farm”, then choose your preferred pool. Note that the APY is synced for all pools so they earn the same amount of APY as each other. Then click “Connect Wallet” to connect using MetaMask, once connected the dashboard will automatically calculate how much XFIT you can purchase with the amount in your wallet. Select the amount you want to stake and hit “Farm”.
Whilst farming, you have the option to either Add to Farm, which allows you to increase your stake or Harvest, which allows you to claim your XIFT rewards.
To claim your rewards, click “Harvest” and you would be presented with the option to Harvest XFIT or Harvest XFIT and unstake. Harvest XFIT allows you to claim the XFIT tokens gained into your wallet whilst keeping the staked amount in the liquidity pool to keep farming more XIFT rewards. On the other hand, Harvest XFIT and unstake means you can claim your XFIT rewards and unstake the staked amount (or any part of it) from the pool.
The XFai LGE will be from 16th April to 7 May 2021.
Perhaps one of the largest factors that stop people from completely shifting their cryptocurrency trading activities to DEXs is the liquidity problem, apart from the fees. It is difficult to execute trades with low liquidity and even if they often do, sometimes, it takes multiple slippage tolerance adjustments before a trade gets to be completed.
While this can look trivial for some people, this is something that can’t be neglected. If XFai takes off, the DeFi space might experience a better market situation. If traders do not have to be burdened by price slippages and if liquidity further improves through the same solutions the XFai team did, DEXs can be even more alluring to everyone, which would help speed up adoption.
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.
We’re taking into a deep dive into what’s happening with China’s Digital Currency, DCEP with Matthew Graham from Sino Global Capital. China has recently place DCEP as a key global objective this year, effectively digitizing China’s National Currency, the RMB. We’re going explore what has been announced so far with DCEP, including the new apps from Agriculture Bank of China, initial partners such as McDonalds and prototypes. We’ll also explore what DCEP means for the cryptocurrency community – after all DCEP borrows a lot from Bitcoin and Blockchain Technology.
Matthew is the CEO of Sino Global Capital. He has seven years of mainland China investment banking and four years of blockchain sector experience. As CEO of Sino Global Capital, Matthew focuses on the fintech sector including the Liquid Value “crypto hedge fund”. In his previous role he was a Managing Director at CBC, a Chinese private equity fund with limited partners that included TCL and the cities of Shenzhen and Chongqing.
FTX Japan is hoping to restart withdrawals for its customers in Japan, who were affected when the exchange had to suspend services on November 8th. This plan was approved by FTX Trading Ltd., the global enterprise of Sam Bankman-Fried, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy three days later. FTX Japan has started development work to allow customers to withdraw their funds, incorporating controls and security audits for a robust and secure process. The company plans to publish information about customer assets held in segregated wallets and in trust accounts each Monday and hopes to announce the resumption of withdrawals soon.
Quick Summary:
FTX Japan is looking to restart withdrawals after a plan to return deposits was approved by its bankrupt parent FTX
Withdrawals from FTX Japan were halted on Nov. 8 after local financial regulators ordered the exchange to suspend services
FTX Japan had been working on the plan to restart withdrawals for the last two weeks and says it was approved by the FTX Trading management team
FTX Japan is set to publish information about customer assets held in segregated wallets and in a trust account each Monday
FTX Japan aims to publish additional information regarding the resumption of withdrawals for FTX Japan users in short order
FTX Japan is looking to restart withdrawals after the approval of a plan to return deposits from its bankrupt parent FTX. The exchange was forced to suspend services on November 8th after local financial regulators ordered it to do so. FTX Trading Ltd., the global enterprise of Sam Bankman-Fried, then filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. three days later.
FTX Japan has been working on the plan to restart withdrawals for the last two weeks and it has now been approved by the FTX Trading management team. The subsidiary is set to publish information about customer assets held in segregated wallets and in a trust account each Monday. Additionally, they will be incorporating controls, security audit, reconciliations, and reviews to put in place a robust and secure process.
FTX Japan has stated that they aim to publish additional information regarding the resumption of withdrawals for FTX Japan users in short order. This is great news for customers of the exchange who may soon be able to get their money back. It is also a positive sign for the crypto industry as a whole, as it shows that exchanges are taking steps to ensure the security of customer funds and that the industry is becoming more regulated.
FAQ
1. When will FTX Japan restart withdrawals? 2. How will customer assets be held in segregated wallets? 3. Who approved the plan to restart withdrawals? 4. When will information about customer assets held in segregated wallets be published? 5. Will customers be some of the first to get their money back?
Bitcoin (BTC) is by far the best-known digital asset with the largest trade volume.
Bitcoin is both a currency and a technology. At its core, Bitcoin is peer to peer electronic money with one express objective. The objective is to replace the intermediation and trust vested on centralised financial institutions. It aims to be a replacement for traditional fiat currency and an innovative settlement layer for processing transactions without requiring a third party.
To learn more about Bitcoin and how to get started with cryptocurrencies, check out our beginner’s guide series.
Beginner’s guide to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin is Decentralized
Before Bitcoin was invented, the only way to use money digitally, it was through an intermediary, like a Bank or PayPal. Even then, the money used was still government issued and controlled currency. However, Bitcoin changed all that by creating a decentralized form of currency that individuals could trade directly without the need for an intermediary. Instead of trusting a centralized bank to process transactions, we would trust a Protocol that is run by different individuals all over the world.
Each Bitcoin transaction is validated and confirmed by the entire Bitcoin network. There is no single point of failure, so the system is virtually impossible to shut down, manipulate, or control.
Main Features of Bitcoin
Decentralized control: There is no authority that controls Bitcoin. All transactions are visible on a public ledger called the blockchain.
Bitcoin is a store of value: You can use Bitcoin to purchase goods and services.
Security: Bitcoin has never been hacked.
Open source: the Bitcoin source code is publicly available and community members can update it.
Public: All transactions are visible on the Bitcoin blockchain.
Pseudonymous: You can use a pseudonymous identity to make Bitcoin transactions. It is not truly anonymous because the transaction addresses are visible on the public chain.
Limited supply: Bitcoin has a limited and predictable supply.
How do Bitcoin transactions work? How do you earn Bitcoin?
The Bitcoin network is essentially a decentralized public ledger that relies on the combined computing power of its community. Bitcoin works as follows:
Bitcoin transactions are unconfirmed until they are updated on the bitcoin transaction ledger. This is called the blockchain. This is a decentralised public ledger, i.e. everyone can update it and no one person controls this ledger.
People can help update this ledger by using specialised computers. The computers will generate random numbers. The aim is to generate the correct answer to the mathematical problem generated by the system.
The computer that guesses the solution gets to decide which of the pending bitcoin transactions will be grouped together into a block.
The block and the answer to the mathematical problem is sent to the bitcoin network. This is a network of computers.
The bitcoin network will check if the answer is correct. If it is, they will update their copies of the bitcoin transaction ledger with the block you had created. The process is then repeated. Hence the name “Blockchain“.
The computer which guessed the correct number receives an award of Bitcoins and the transaction fees for the transactions in the block.
This process is called mining. This is because you mine (earn) Bitcoins by helping update the bitcoin transaction ledger.
Bitcoin mining farm
What is the halving in Bitcoin mining?
The Bitcoin halving is an important concept for Bitcoin miners. When Bitcoin was first mined, miners were rewarded 50 BTC for generating the correct answer to the mathematical problem. Every 210,000 blocks which occur around every 4 years, this reward is cut in half. (locals.md) This is known as the Bitcoin halving.
The last Bitcoin halving occurred on 11th May 2020 at around 3:00p.m. EST. Following this halving, the block reward was reduced to 6.25 BTC. The next halving is therefore expected to be in 2024 when the block rewards will be cut down to 3.125 BTC.
Bitcoin owners store their coins using wallets. You do not actually hold your Bitcoins, rather you hold a private key that allows you to access your Bitcoin address i.e. your public key.
Click here to learn more about private keys and public keys.
Online wallets: Run on a cloud server and so can be accessed by multiple computers. Most common online wallets are cryptocurrency exchanges. Check out our review of the top exchanges.
Paper wallets: A printout which contains your public and private keys. Though the most rudimentary, it is the safest method of keeping your cryptocurrencies safe.
Desktop wallets: They are downloaded and installed onto your computer.
Who is Satoshi Nakamoto
It is the invention of a “Satoshi Nakamoto” in 2008 as a decentralised virtual currency that runs on blockchain technology. We still do not know the true identity(ies) of Satoshi Nakamoto, though there are people who claim to be him.
What’s the future of Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is getting more adoption for payments across the world. At the moment, many stores and merchants accept payment in Bitcoin. The list of merchants are increasing by the day.
Bitcoin is even usable with some credit and debit cards.
However, Bitcoin is not as easily scalable as most other subsequent coins. Accordingly, a future where Bitcoin replaces traditional currency is highly unlikely.
However, Bitcoin will remain an excellent Store of Value (SOV). This is because of its immutability and periodic price appreciation. That said, the question of regulatory policies across the world may be the actual obstacle to Bitcoin’s long-term success.
Can Bitcoin disappear?
Despite what some naysayers will say about Bitcoin having no value or being a scam, Bitcoin cannot and will not disappear. Bitcoin is widely accepted as a value accept and can be converted into fiat currencies. There are also many places that accept Bitcoin as a form of payment such as Home Depot, Microsoft, and Virgin Airlines.
Bitcoin is also decentralized (i.e. not held by any central authority). This means that no single person or entity can confiscate your Bitcoins or shut Bitcoin down.
What will happen after all 21 million Bitcoins are mined?
The total supply of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million and it is expected that all 21 million Bitcoins will be mined in around 2140. When this happens, Bitcoin mining fees will disappear. Bitcoin miners instead will only earn income from transaction processing fees instead of both block rewards and transaction fees.
BTC price predictions once the last Bitcoin is mined?
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Mohamed El Masri, Founder of mining solutions provider PermianChain predicts that BTC would be worth US$430,500 once the last Bitcoin is mined.
El Masri also feels positive that Bitcoin miners will still be able to profit from Bitcoin mining despite all of them being mined. This is despite the fact that by then, Bitcoin miners can only earn transaction fees as a source of income. His positivity stems from the fact that transaction fees will still generate almost US$3 billion a year at his predicted BTC price. This is because Bitcoin miners will still be a necessary part of supporting the Bitcoin infrastructure operating at any cost.
Serum ($SRM) is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that offers cross-chain trading at a speed and efficiency that rivals centralized exchanges. It runs on the Solana blockchain but will be fully interoperable with Ethereum as well as Bitcoin.
Learn how to trade on Serum DEX with Aldrin and Raydium in this video:
There are several factors that make Serum unique. Serum is a protocol that is fully decentralized down to the core, unlike most decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms today. In fact, it does not utilize oracle price feeds at all. Instead of using the traditional automated market maker model, Serum DEX facilitates decentralized automated limit order books. Serum end-users can place orders with fully automated matching through an on-chain order book. This allows traders to have more control over their trades.
What is the difference between Bonfida, Aldrin, Raydium, and all these markets listed on Serum?
When you go onto the trading section on Serum, you are presented with all these markets such as Bonfida, Mango Markets, Aldrin and Raydium to name a few. But what is the difference between all these markets listed on Serum DEX? And are they the “real” Serum?
Well, it turns out all these markets are the “real” Serum. These markets are decentralized apps (dApps) available on Serum DEX because the DEX gives users the opportunity to create their own custom financial products and dApps. These dApps can be found by entering the Serum portal and are part of the Serum ecosystem with their own interface, each competing with the other to provide the best user experience.
In this article, we will explore the functions of two of the most popular dApps available on Serum: Aldrin and Raydium.
How to use Raydium on Serum DEX
What is Raydium?
Raydium is the first automated market maker (AMM) built on Solana, enabled with lightning-fast trades, shared liquidity, and yield earning. The swap function is the simplest function available and the most user-friendly for beginner traders.
How to trade on Raydium- Swap feature?
To access this feature, simply click on the ‘Swap’ tab and you will be redirected to the page below.
Step 1: Swap tab
Next, you will need to connect your wallet. Once your wallet is connected, you can expand each drop-down menu to select the tokens you would like to swap. ‘From’ is the token you will pay and ‘To” is the token you will buy during the trade.
After selecting the tokens, you can input the amount you would like to pay and receive an estimate of the amount you will receive.
Step 2: insert amount
Before confirming the trade, you will want to take note of the price impact. Price impact is the difference between the market price and estimated price due to trade size. Typically, you would want minimal price impact so if the amount is 1% or 2%, you might want to reconsider the trade. This is especially important for tokens with a smaller market cap.
To proceed with the trade, simply click on the Swap button and approve the transaction. The transaction will then be processed and completed.
Raydium’s swap feature is simple to use and the speed of the Solana blockchain allows transactions to complete almost instantly. However, the tokens you can swap are limited and because of its simplicity, more experienced traders do not have access to additional features such as limit orders.
To access these more advanced features, we like to use Aldrin.
How to use Aldrin on Serum DEX?
What is Aldrin?
Aldrin is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Solana that seeks to simplify the process of digital asset trading for both beginners and advanced traders alike. There are many token pairs that can be traded on the exchange. The dashboard for traders is also pretty comprehensive and informative, with an option for users to review important token data before they conduct their trades. Aldrin makes it easier for traders to find the website of a token, its trade analytics, and other pertinent data about it.
How to trade on Aldrin?
To trade on Aldrin, head over to their DEX and make sure you have the Trade tab selected.
Aldrin Step 1: trade tab
Connect your wallet and select the token pair you would like to trade. For this example, we will use SOL/USDC.
Adrin example SOL
Under the Order Book section, you can see all the current buy and sell activities by other traders.
Adrin Step 3: Book section
Aldrin’s order book allows both limit orders as well as market orders.
Aldrin Step 4: Select Limit Order or Market Order
Market orders are transactions meant to execute as quickly as possible at the current market price, which may fluctuate. Limit orders allow you to set the maximum or minimum price at which you are willing to buy or sell, and the transaction will only be executed when the target price is achieved.
How to place a market order on Aldrin?
To place a market order, select the ‘Market’ tab and input the amount you would like to buy or sell.
Aldrin Step 5: Input amount
Once you have entered an amount to buy or sell, you will see the amount you will receive for the trade. Then, you can click on the Buy or Sell button to submit the trade. Upon approving the transaction, the trade will be executed.
For first time users, it is important to note that after the trade has been executed, the funds will remain in your trading account and will not return to your wallet until you have settled your balances on the exchange.
Aldrin Final Step: Settle Balance
Simply click on Settle All and you will be able to see your funds in your wallet.
How to place a limit order on Aldrin?
To place a limit order, select the ‘Limit’ tab then input the amount you would like to buy or sell and the price you want to buy or sell it at.
Aldrin Limit Order Step 1
Once you have submitted the trade, you can go into the Open Orders tab to view all your orders.
Aldrin Limit Order Step 2: View Order
If you wish to cancel the order before it executes, you can do so by clicking on the Cancel button.
Staking on Aldrin
Staking is a passive way to grow your crypto holdings by securely locking up your selected crypto holding in return for tokenized rewards. The more tokens you stake, the more rewards you can earn. Aldrin allows you to stake RIN and mSOL tokens.
Head over to the Staking tab to access this feature. Make sure your wallet is connected.
Aldrin Staking Step 1
Click on View to select the token you would like to stake.
Aldrin Staking view order
You will be able to see the estimated staking rewards, in this case it is 35.66% APR (Annual Percentage Rate). Below it, you can see the APR amount is split into two. The first APR is calculated based on fixed treasury rewards and the second APR is calculated based on the current token price and the average AMM fees.
Enter the amount of tokens you would like to offer and click on Stake. The entered amount will show up in your Total Staked. Staking rewards are generated hourly and you can see the accumulation in the Rewards section.
Staking lockup lasts for one hour from the time of deposit. You will not be able to withdraw your tokens until the lock is lifted. You may click on Unstake All to enable termination.
Staking rewards are calculated hourly. These are then accumulated and paid out on the 27th of each month along with AMM fee revenue. You can add these new funds to your wallet by clicking the Claim button.
Conclusion: Main features and advantages of Serum DEX
Serum DEX is a very exciting project on the DeFi scene with a lot of promise. It has several advantages over other DeFi-based exchanges at the moment, which include:
Lightning fast speed
Low cost fees
Full decentralization
Cross-chain support
Fantastic user interface (UI) and user experience (UX)
It is also more scalable than almost any other DeFi platform in existence, made possible by the Solana blockchain. As more users join the Serum ecosystem, it will be interesting to see where this project can go and the innovations that will arise from it.
