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Cosmos Promotes Interoperability Between Its SDK Blockchain With Other Blockchain Protocols By Issuing Stargate Upgrade

By
Adam Barry
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Cosmos introduced a Stargate upgrade, ensuring its SDK blockchains’ interoperability with the blockchain protocols of other companies.

A series of enhancements

Cosmos Stargate upgrade, unveiled on Thursday, comprises a series of enhancements to its SDK (Software Development Kit) and Cosmos protocol. IBC (Inter block communication) protocol is an important feature in this upgrade to promote interoperability with other blockchain protocols.

IBC supports arbitrary data among the blockchains that are developed using Cosmos SDK and bridges the tokens. It also supports other blockchains but requires case-by-case implementation. The projects developed using Cosmos SDK are Secret, Terra, Kava, and Binance Chain.

In past, the individual projects needed to develop their bridges and connect with the blockchain ecosystem. CEO of Kava, Brian Kerr, said the projects took several years incurring several million dollars of investment and time for making custom bridges, which are in use today.

Addition of bridges

Kerr said the launch of IBC allows quick addition of bridges at Kava to connect with Cosmos SDK chains. Kava can provide its services seamlessly and pledge its assets as collateral.

IBC supports interoperability with the blockchains developed on Substrate. However, interoperability with Polkadot championed blockchains and other blockchains outside of this framework is still difficult for integration within the Cosmos.

Performance improvements

Stargate upgrade also offers a host of enhancements like the support for improved streaming data – Protobuf serialization format, automatic upgrades for blockchains developed using SDK, State Sync for synchronization of nodes with Comos blockchain. It also ensures client security.

The Cosmos hub, which currently hosts live IBC, is a vital part of its ecosystem. It allows communication between the blockchains with no need to establish individual connections. Each team can embrace the communication protocol available on the Cosmos SDK for implementation.

It allows easy interoperability between the DeFi applications that reside on Cosmos. IBC makes it possible for the blockchains to communicate with significant DeFi ecosystems like Binance Chain, which are outside the realm of Ethereum.

The stable coin-centric ecosystem – Terra and Secret are other DeFi options available on the Cosmos. Kerr said several Cosmos SDKs can now connect with IBC. Private-centric blockchain – Secret Network facilitates smart contracts.

Cameron Winklevoss Of Gemini Introduces A Free Education Resource – Cryptopedia

By
Adam Barry
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0

The president of Gemini, Cameron Winklevoss on Thursday launched Cryptopedia, a free educational resource for investors.

Investors looking for high-quality education on cryptocurrencies and investment ideas can use this free resource. It also offers in-depth information on security, investing, and trading, and DeFi.

Share knowledge on digital assets

The subject matter experts can use Cryptopedia to share their knowledge on digital assets. Expert Network of the platform comprises thought leaders and founders of the biggest projects that comprise Stani Kulechov, CEO of Aave; Kathleen Breitman, co-founder of Tezos, and Brendan Eich, CEO of Brave.

Despite the maturing of crypto markets over the years, the requirement for educating the investors and people who plan to enter the industry remains high. The recently available data suggests the adoption of cryptocurrency is still at the infancy level.

Education for promoting investments in Bitcoin

Just 101 people hold Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital currencies in their investment portfolio as per data available with CCAF (Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance). Educating more people is required to promote investments in digital assets including Bitcoin.

On the backdrop of introducing Cryptopedia, Cameron said lack of educational suite is an impediment for convincing the investors and promoting the addition of crypto assets in the investment portfolio.

He said Cryptopedia will fill that gap to improve investments in digital assets. The leading cryptocurrency in the US, Gemini unveiled free-educational resources to educate the general public and improve their understanding of digital assets.

Driving the adoption

Cryptocurrency exchanges across the world play a vital role in improving the adoption of digital assets. The launch of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital currencies changed the way how people transact worldwide.

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks can bypass the traditional financial systems and promotes direct transaction without the need for a central institution. However, a myriad of crypto exchanges worldwide confused the investors in choosing the right exchange for their investment or transaction needs.

How to overcome hurdles?

Plenty of resources and time are necessary to develop a perfectly working cryptocurrency exchange. Also, their working and transaction of digital assets are complicated across the borders because each nation established its laws and regulations for cryptocurrencies. With many nations like Switzerland adopting cryptocurrencies for tax payments, the stage is set to change for a positive impact going forward.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) Targets GeForce RTX 3060 GPU At Gamers And Limits Hash Rate To Dissuade Crypto Miners

By
Adam Barry
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0

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) will dissuade crypto miners by limiting the hash rate for its upcoming GPU GeForce RTX 3060. The company targets its new GeForce RTX 3060 GPU at gamers.

Software drivers detect crypto mining

Nvidia is developing software drivers for RTX 3060 GPU to detect mining of Ethereum cryptocurrency. It lowers the hash rates by 50% to deter cryptocurrency miners. As a result, the crypto miners will buy special hardware to meet their hash requirements.

Nvidia CMP for cryptocurrency mining

Nvidia will unveil a special chip – Nvidia CMP (crypto mining processor) targeting crypto miners. The specifications of CMP products are different from GeForce RTX 3060 GPU. Therefore, it will not lower the availability of GPUs for gamers.

The demand from gamers exceeds the supply of innovative GPUs. Therefore, Nvidia is putting in all measures to limit the appeal of RTX 3060 GPU for crypto miners. It prevents inflated prices for graphics cards.

In early 2021, Nvidia said the supply of GPUs will be leaner this year. CFO and EVP of Nvidia, Colette Kress said the company’s supply is not sufficient to satisfy the demand.

Specifications of GeForce RTX 3060 GPU

The RTX 3-family GPUs are economical. GeForce RTX 3060 GPU will debut with a starting price of $329 on February 25, 2021. Its base clock speed is 1.32 GHz. The clock speed of the GPU can increase up to 1.78 GHz. It supports DLSS and boasts a memory of 12GB GDDR6. The chip operates with a power supply of 550W and consumes 170 W. It also supports installation on GTX1060 cards or older. The GPU also offers improved rasterization performance.

Nvidia will launch a conference call on February 24, 2021, to discuss Q4 2021 and full 2021 financial results. The investors can listen to a live webcast through its website. It will also offer a question and answer session for institutional investors and financial analysts after the live webcast.

A probe is launched into the takeover of Arm

According to a report in Bloomberg, a probe is opened by the US FTC into the accord signed to take over Arm Ltd. Nvidia entered a deal in September 2020 with Softbank Group to acquire Arm based in the UK for $40 billion.

Som Seif Is Successful In Getting Bitcoin (BTC) ETF Launched On TSE In Canada

By
Adam Barry
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0

Bitcoin (BTC) ETF is launched on the TSE in Canada today. It is attracting a lot of interest from investors worldwide.

The OCS (Ontario Securities Commission) gave a nod earlier this month to introduce Bitcoin ETF in Canada. Som Seif, CEO of Purpose Investments, said it is on the backdrop of working for eight months with the regulators.

Records trading volume of $100 million

Purpose Bitcoin ETF attracted a lot of interest from investors and recorded trading volumes of $100 million on the first day of trading itself. According to a report in Bloomberg, it registered volumes of $80 million within the first hour of trading. Seif during a press conference in the early part of today said Bitcoin holds great potential.

Assets of $421.8 million

The Bitcoin ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) holds $421.8 million in assets within 48 hours of the launch in Canada. However, investors can expect higher volatility when dealing with cryptocurrency.

The market cap of Bitcoin-related products exceeded $1 trillion amid inflows from frenzy investors. Bitcoin touched a new all-time high of more than $57,000 in the morning trade.

The investors can increase their exposure to digital assets with no need to hold digital tokens through Purpose Investments. Winklevoss twins founded Gemini Trust Company will store the cryptocurrency offline. Bitcoin ETFs offer improved liquidity and lower costs compared to other vehicles.

Risks of investment in Bitcoin

Direct purchase of cryptocurrency is complicated and prone to risks like electronic keys loss or hacking. Also, Bitcoin witnesses huge price risk variations. It can also be prone to new regulations or market manipulation. As a result, portfolio managers park a smaller percentage of their funds in this high-risk investment.

Grayscale trusts

Investors willing to take a risk can park their funds in the digital assets through Grayscale trusts. In 2020, the Grayscale cryptocurrency trusts witnessed inflows of $6 billion mainly from institutional investors. Greg Taylor, CIO of Purpose fund, said the Grayscale fund’s success shows growing demand for bitcoin from institutional and retail investors. Nowadays, investors are looking at Bitcoin as an asset to diversify the holdings. However, putting the whole of the hard-earned money in Bitcoin is risky because of volatility and hacking.

The Residents In The Zug Canton Of Switzerland Can Now Pay Taxes Using Digital Assets

By
Adam Barry
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0

Switzerland enabled tax payments using Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC). It is now official that the Canton of Zug, the first region in the nation, will accept taxes on digital assets from the residents.

Converts digital assets to Swiss francs

In 2020, the authorities in Switzerland said the businesses based in Zug and its citizens can remit their taxes in Ether or Bitcoin subject to a maximum of 100,000 CHF. The new initiative to accept payments in digital assets is on the backdrop of several months of association between Bitcoin Suisse and officials. Bitcoin Suisse acts as a broker for cryptocurrencies. As per the terms of the agreement, Bitcoin Suisse will convert Ethereum and Bitcoin to Swiss francs to prevent volatility.

How to pay taxes?

The residents need to send an email to the local authorities indicating their intention to make payments using digital assets. They will receive an email with instructions from the officials. It is necessary to scan the QR code and make the payment using Ethereum or Bitcoin. Commenting on the initiative, Bitcoin Suisse said it is a milestone for accepting cryptocurrencies for tax payments.

Investors interest remain intact

The investors’ appetite for cryptocurrency remains intact despite many nations like India are scouting for an outright ban on cryptocurrencies. In India, the crypto exchanges added up to 5 time’s new users in February 2021, after the announcement of the proposed ban. It is on the backdrop of renewed interest in cryptocurrency by leading companies like Tesla.

An India exclusive cryptocurrency platform – CoinSwitch Kuber introduced in 2020 increased user base by 139% in the first week of February 2021 against the previous month. Its customers in India are around 30 lakhs.

Co-founder and CEO of Kuber, Ashish Singhal said the exchange witnessed a significant increase in users in the first two weeks of February 2021. After the Government listed a bill for banning the cryptocurrencies like Ether and Bitcoin in India on January 29, 2021, the traffic on the Indian Exchanges witnessed a small dip for few days in early February 2021.

CEO of WazirX, Nischal Shetty said the exchange, which commands a user base of 15 lakhs, witnessed a sell-off during the budget days in India. However, it is now become normal.

Unified Financial Data Startup, Pngme Completes $3 Million Funding Round

By
Adam Barry
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0

The US-based Africa-focused unified financial data platform Pngme has announced that it completed a successful seed funding raising around $3 million.

Raptor Group, Radical ventures, EchoVC, and Lateral Capital, completed led the investment, closed in Q3 2020. The investment came at the back of the fintech firm’s 2018 pre-seed round in which it raised $500,000. It is important to note that the Pngme platform focuses on user-permissioned data collection via a partner’s existing mobile app. It uses a one-click data sharing feature to deliver real-time financial alerts and data.

Pngme to tap the mobile money market in Africa

The fintech startup will tap into the fast-growing mobile money market in Africa, which kicked off in 2007 with M-Pesa. M-Pesa, which launched in Kenya, is a mobile banking service allowing users to transfer and store using their mobile phones. The feature targets the massive unbanked population in the sub-Saharan region.

In recent times, Pngme has been collecting financial data from mobile users and sharing it with financial institutions and banks. The startup has recognized that consumers are increasingly becoming aware of their finances and demanding additional data. The company’s co-founder Brendan Playford, told TechCrunch that they are focused on offering quality real-time data coverage on credit-invisible consumers, something on other API offers. Credit-invisible customers are those without credit history thus are invisible to the lender.

Massive opportunity in the mobile money sector

Playford also added that the company is planning to integrate with leading institutional banks in the coming month. Pngme reported 300% month-over-month growth across Q4 2020. The firm expects user permissioned data profiles on the platform to increase significantly by 2022.

Co-founder Cate Rung indicated massive growth in the region’s mobile money sector, which could open the way for new financial products for consumers. She said that the most exciting this is how mobile money has leapfrogged traditional forms of financial infrastructure.

According to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, there is optimism that the DeFi revolution will start in the developing world.

Huobi DeFi Labs Integrates Native KAVA’s technology To Bridge The DeFi and CeFi Gap

By
Adam Barry
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0

Huobi DeFi labs and KAVA labs have partnered to leverage their strong relationship to bring HBTC and other native assets to the KAVA DeFi ecosystem. With first-generation DeFi projects catering to Ethereum users growing significantly, Huobi Global has become the next leading exchange to incorporate Kava’s tech into its platform.

Huobi DeFi Labs expands partnership with KAVA

KAVA asset and Huobi’s relationship goes back to November last year when the asset debuted on Huobi Global exchange. Crypto trading platforms and exchanges need to offer access to upcoming assets as early as possible. To enhance their relationship, Huobi is now integrating KAVA’s technology. The incorporation underscores growing attempts by DeFi projects and exchanges to develop sustainable gateways between DeFi and CeFi.

Currently, Kava has established itself among the frontrunners in the space, and the partnership is not surprising. Kava is better positioned to offer Huobi with necessary infrastructural resources for the expansion in the DeFi market. Most importantly, the aim is unlocking more DeFi liquidity changes, and the best route is attracting prized collateral assets to the ecosystem.

Kava to help bridge CeFi and DeFi

Huobi VP Ciara Sun said that providing users with a range of DeFi Apps and services is one of the exchange’s priorities. Sun said that they chose Kava for HBTC yield in a cooperative mindset for bridging DeFi and CeFi and introducing a range of instruments and liquidities to the market.

Huobi DeFi labs are expected to complete the integration by the end of February and implement HBTC as one of the collateral assets supported on Kava. The implementation will expose users to a progressive earning platform where HBTC is collateralized to create USDX loans. Also, users can enjoy more earning opportunities through Hard Protocol interfacing. The Kava API integration will allow borrowing, lending, and earning with HBTC in Hard.

Since it is customary in the DeFi industry, users will be engaging in liquidity mining through the HARD Money Market. Therefore users can experiment with HBTC earnings through the service.

India To Ban Cryptocurrencies, Investors Given Six Months To Liquidate Holdings

By
Adam Barry
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0

The regulations guiding cryptocurrency development in India took a restrictive turn recently with reports of introducing a ban on digital assets. According to an anonymous Indian official, the country’s parliament is planning to introduce a complete on cryptocurrencies with holders expected to have 3-6 months to liquidate their holdings.

India to ban all private cryptocurrencies

Sources indicate that the government will ban all private crypto investments in the world’s most populous nation. According to the source who spoke to Bloomberg, there will be a ban on the use of digital currencies in the country under a new bill to be introduced in parliament. Equally, transactions on foreign exchanges with crypto will be illegal. Interestingly a final decision is yet to be made on the bill following its introduction.

Nirmala Sitharama, India’s Finance Minister, indicated that the government is yet to make a final decision, but it will follow the committee report recommendations. Equally, Sitharama said that the legislative bill, if any is likely to move to parliament to follow due process. Although details of the bill are not public yet, it is likely that after the six-month grace period, investors will not be allowed to invest in crypto on domestic or foreign exchange. Holders are expected to liquidate all holdings, but some are contemplating storing their assets independently.

Indian government wants only RBI backed cryptos

According to the official, lawmakers have targeted cryptocurrencies due to the lack of Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) backing. Last month parliament introduced “The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of official Digital Currency Bill 2021” for discussion. The bill intends to create a facilitative framework for India’s issuing central bank digital currency to ban private digital assets in the country.

Indian crypto exchange Unocoin co-founder and CEO Sathvik Vishwanath said that they are waiting for the details of the bill to determine the next course of action. Sathvik said that if the government decides to ban all private cryptocurrencies except those issued by the government it will not make sent for the exchange to continue doing business in India,

Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK) Will Unveil Cryptocurrency Custodial Services To Support Crypto Financing And Bitcoin (BTC)

By
Adam Barry
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0

The prominent institution in the US, Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK) will introduce cryptocurrency services for supporting Crypto financing and Bitcoin.

The oldest US bank is making plans to jump into the crypto space for two years according to a 2019 blog post. It explored the challenges in offering custodial services and maintaining the digital assets safely in 2019.

Cryptocurrencies can access the same financial network

The decision of Mellon Corp decoded to support digital services, cryptocurrencies can now access the same networks being used by the traditional banks that hold equities and treasury bonds. Roman Regelman, CEO (head of digital and asset servicing) of Mellon Corp praised the bank’s decision to provide crypto custodial services.

First bank to offer integrated service

Mellon Corp is the global first institution in the US to offer integrated services to support digital assets. It is on the backdrop of the improved need for digital assets from the client base worldwide. The company considered jumping on the bandwagon because of clarity in regularity conditions and advanced solutions. Regelman said the bank plans to introduce its crypto custodial services in 2021.

Financial institutions consider the cryptocurrency sector as a major field to act. Paypal introduced a facility the US customers to sell, buy, or hold cryptocurrencies on its platform a few months ago. It is a catalyst for players like Visa and Mastercard to enter the crypto space.

Tesla invests $1.5 billion

After investing a sum of $1.5 billion in Bitcoin, Tesla announced plans to accept payments in cryptocurrency for its electric vehicles. Following the investment by Tesla, the price of Bitcoin hit an all-time high of more than $48,000 in under 24 hours from $39,400.

The price of Bitcoin has surged by over 50% in January and the first two weeks of February 2021. Several companies already invested significant amounts in Cryptocurrency. Tesla would also invest in other digital assets and hold for the long term.

With investments in digital assets, the EV producer gets the flexibility to diversify and improve returns on cash. However, Bitcoin is highly volatile and dropped lower than $4000 in March 2020. After touching an all-time high, Bitcoin declined by 30% in 2021.

PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) Expands Crypto Products Into The UK

By
Adam Barry
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0

After introducing crypto buy, sell, and hold services in the US, PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) is expanding the service after four months to the residents in the UK.

Crypto services launch in Venmo

At an investor day on Tuesday, Paypal announced that its crypto products services will go live in the UK in a few months from now. The payments giant will also introduce crypto as the funding service soon for  UK residents. It will provide crypto services in Venmo in H1 2021.

EVP of Paypal, Jonathan Auerbach said its crypto product services exceeded the performance bar. It is on the backdrop of a significant number of governments and institutions embracing the crypto service. The future trend is towards digital assets.

Auerbach further said its team is working towards positioning Paypal on the driver’s seat in the crypto services. The company will play a vital role in improving the acceptance of federal bank digital currencies and cryptocurrencies for commerce and consumer payments securely and safely. It earned a growth of 11.8% in transaction revenues in the earnings of Q4 2020.

Shift to digital payments is swift

Many governments and institutions worldwide are quickly transitioning to digital payments. Paypal is capitalizing on this trend as an early player in digital currencies. The company reported the addition of several new customers because of the launch of digital payment services.

Paypal added 16 million active accounts in Q4 2020. Each active account carries out at least few transactions on its platform over 12 months. The company reported a 72% YoY growth in the new active accounts. Its overall active accounts now stand at 377 million. The active accounts count at Paypal exceeds the US population of around 330 million. It is on the backdrop of Paypal acquiring Honey in 2020. Online customers enjoy deep discounts on websites using Honey.

Miami to pay salaries in Bitcoin (BTC)

Francis Suarez, the Mayor of Miami in an interview with Forbes a few days back said considering plans to pay its city employees in Bitcoin (BTC). The city municipal commission of Miami passed a resolution a week later to pay the salaries to its municipal employees in Bitcoin. Also, residents in the city can now pay taxes and fees in Bitcoin.

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