News Wire United - Yield Farming and DEFI News

Friday, 1 January 2021

Crypto deals need to be much easier. That’s it. That’s the headline

As Bitcoin’s (BTC) price continues to climb ever higher, more and more people are beginning to educate themselves on how they can enter the cryptocurrency market. However, the realities of cryptocurrency ownership (long complicated addresses, passphrases and security risks) all remain barriers to adoption for new users. Programmers and technologists generally assume a level of understanding and ability with tech innovations that the average person on the street simply is not equipped with.

A survey carried out by our team saw 75% of respondents say they found cryptocurrency transactions stressful and unnecessarily complicated. A majority (55%) said they had had trouble in the past sending cryptocurrency transactions, 18% had lost funds, and 6% had suffered a man-in-the-middle attack. These complexities have real and damaging consequences even among technologically savvy elites; one programmer I know lost tens of thousands of dollars because a QR-code had been corrupted and his savings were lost forever. Highly qualified engineers and developers have lost millions due to misplacing files, losing passphrases or simply miscopying a 34-character address.

For any financial system to fully function, users need to have faith in its foundations. It is no coincidence that the word “credit” derives from the Latin “credere” which means “to believe.” The architects of any financial ecosystem, whether they be central bankers in Frankfurt or software developers in Silicon Valley, need to ensure that people trust where they are placing their money. Only by creating a secure environment and collective confidence of a broader user base will blockchain technology be able to deliver on its founding promises.

For example, crypto addresses could become self-sovereign nonfungible tokens that work with every token and every blockchain. Requests, which are decentralized payment requests, are privately encrypted between the two parties involved and include contextual metadata about the transaction, such as a memo or a link to an order or invoice.

The path for crypto

People often forget that university professors have been using the internet to send emails to each other since the 1970s, but the systems and protocols were too complicated back then for the average person to use. The World Wide Web as we know it today wasn’t accessible until the creation of HTTP. Blockchain technology is today at the same exciting place as the internet was before HTTP made it usable for the average person to build on. The blockchain ecosystem today needs to design easy-to-use protocols that can deliver what HTTP delivered for the internet in the 1990s: a user experience through browsers and the World Wide Web leading to mass adoption.

Developers should aim to make the experience of sending cryptocurrencies as simple as sending fiat with PayPal. It’s not hard to see why the average person on the street struggles with cryptocurrency, as the current systems are very confusing, but it’s only by bringing in more users that blockchain technology will gain more credibility.

The potential for blockchain to transform the way people and businesses interact is clear, but the infrastructure and systems in place have a long way to go. The last 25 years have shown how information and value can be shared and transferred in ways that were inconceivable just a few decades ago; however, the dynamic flow of information and data can only fulfil its potential when any person can use it.

Current naming systems built on blockchains are simply too complex for the average person to use. Few people know or care how Amazon and Netflix are integrated onto the internet, but they do know that it works — that’s the direction this industry needs to head toward.

Title: Crypto transactions must be easier. That’s it. That’s the headline
Sourced From: cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-transactions-must-be-easier-that-s-it-that-s-the-headline
Published Date: Fri, 01 Jan 2021 16:12:00 +0000

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.newswireunited.com/binance-us-to-delist-ripple-following-the-sec-suit-xrp-plunges-below-0-2/

Crypto deals need to be much easier. That’s it. That’s the headline
Check out the latest news at NewsWireUnited.com

Binance US To Delist Ripple Following The SEC Suit: XRP Plunges Below $0.2.

The US branch of the leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance has joined the long list of trading venues that will remove the XRP token from its platform. At the same time, the asset has continued with its price drops as it struggles with the $0.20 level.

CryptoPotato reported a few weeks back that the US Securities and Exchange Commission has brought charges against Ripple alleging the company of conducting a $1.3 billion unregistered security offering.Although the payment processor claimed numerous times that the allegations were wrong, multiple crypto exchanges started delisting its native digital asset – XRP.After the first wave of delisting exchanges, the largest US-based platform Coinbase also delisted XRP. Earlier today, Binance US made a similar decision announcement as well.The US branch of Binance will delist XRP on January 13th, 2021, at 10 am EST. The exchange will also suspend trading and deposits. However, XRP withdrawals will not be affected at this time. The statement outlined that a withdrawal requires a tag / MEMO to complete the transaction.Despite the delisting, Binance said that eligible users will still be able to claim their Spark (FLR) airdrop tokens next year. The company will provide more details on how the distribution will take place.The SEC charges and the subsequent XRP removals from exchanges have caused severe harm to the token. Ripple’s native crypto lost about 70% of value in two weeks. Prior to the Binance US announcement, XRP had jumped to $0.24, but the news from the leading exchange has plummeted the token back to $0.20.

Another exchange down from the Ripple tree.Title: Binance US To Delist Ripple Following The SEC Lawsuit: XRP Plunges Below $0.2
Sourced From: cryptopotato.com/binance-us-to-delist-ripple-following-the-sec-charges-xrp-plunges-below-0-2/
Published Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2020 09:31:16 +0000

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.newswireunited.com/bitcoin-rate-exceeds-29000-to-record-a-brand-new-all-time-high/

Binance US To Delist Ripple Following The SEC Suit: XRP Plunges Below $0.2.
Check out the latest news at NewsWireUnited.com

Bitcoin Rate Exceeds $29,000 To Record A Brand-new All-Time High

The cryptocurrency market shows no signs of slowing down today. The total capitalization has added almost $4 billion in the past 24 hours, surging to levels not seen since January 2018. At the time of this writing, the total market cap sits just shy of $760 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin price continues to paint fresh all-time highs on a daily basis. Earlier today, CryptoPotato reported that the cryptocurrency has managed to break out once again and chart a new high at $28,600. However, it appears that there’s undoubtedly room for more.In the past few hours, BTC has gone on yet another leg up, painting a fresh all-time high surpassing $29K – the current ATH is set to $29,010 on Bitstamp.

BTC/USD, source: TradingViewWith this, the cryptocurrency has also managed to gain about $3,000 since yesterday’s lows – below $26,000 and completes almost 50% ROI in just two weeks since breaking the previous ATH recorded in December 2017 ($19,660).It’s also interesting to note that the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum, is also on the move. Earlier today, we reported that it’s likely that ETH’s sideways movement from the past couple of days might end up with a wild move and it appears that one is already in the making.ETH’s price reached $758 on Binance – a level that we haven’t seen since May 2018. The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency is now sitting on a market cap of around $85 billion.Title: Bitcoin Price Surpasses $29,000 To Record A New All-Time High
Sourced From: cryptopotato.com/bitcoin-price-surpasses-29000-to-record-a-new-all-time-high/
Published Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2020 09:31:13 +0000

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.newswireunited.com/coinbase-demanded-receiving-commissions-on-illegal-xrp-sale/

Bitcoin Rate Exceeds $29,000 To Record A Brand-new All-Time High
Check out the latest news at NewsWireUnited.com

Coinbase Demanded Receiving Commissions on Illegal XRP Sale

While Ripple is dealing with allegations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning its XRP token, major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase seems to be getting its own share of legal saga, as the company faces a class-action lawsuit for receiving commissions gotten from the sale of XRP tokens.

Coinbase Slammed With Class Action Lawsuit

According to a court document, Thomas C. Sandoval, the plaintiff, has filed a class-action lawsuit against the San-Francisco based crypto giant. The plaintiff alleged that Coinbase, the defendant, sold XRP as unregistered security and received commissions.

In the lawsuit filed in the Northern District Court of California, Sandoval, a Missouri resident, stated that he purchased XRP twice on Coinbase before the SEC lawsuit and paid the exchange platform a commission.

However, the Plaintiff alleged that Coinbase knew that XRP was a security but still went ahead to sell the token to its customers. Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that the crypto exchange acted in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL), stating:

“Defendant’s actions were also “unfair” as that term used in the UCL, in that by selling XRP securities Defendant gained an unwarranted competitive advantage over digital asset exchanges that only sold commodities. As a result of Defendant’s conduct, Coinbase received commissions from Plaintiff and all other Class members.”

Furthermore, the Plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees, and any other relief as decided by the court.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a recent announcement by Coinbase to pause XRP trading on its platform. As reported by CryptoPotato, the crypto exchange giant revealed that it would halt trading of the token in January 2021. Meanwhile, Coinbase filed with the SEC to go public with an initial public offering (IPO). The IPO is reportedly valued at a whopping $28 billion.

Ripple Caught in the Eye of a Growing Legal Storm

With the latest development, other U.S. crypto exchanges that listed XRP could become subject to lawsuits, especially if the courts side with the SEC against Ripple.

Since the SEC lawsuit claiming that Ripple conducted a $1.3 billion unregistered securities offering, many crypto exchanges have either delisted or halted trading of XRP on their platforms. CryptoPotato reported that the U.S. branch of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance was the latest to announce that it would delist XRP and also suspend XRP trading and deposits on January 13, 2021.

However, Ripple is ready to challenge the SEC’s allegations, stating in a release that the lawsuit has caused harm to XRP holders. Meanwhile, the courts have set an initial pretrial conference via telephone to hold in February 2021.

Title: Coinbase Sued for Receiving Commissions on Illegal XRP Sale
Sourced From: cryptopotato.com/coinbase-sued-for-receiving-commissions-on-illegal-xrp-sale/
Published Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2020 09:31:08 +0000

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.newswireunited.com/last-market-watch-of-2020-bitcoin-cost-eyes-30k-polkadot-dot-breaks-ath/

Coinbase Demanded Receiving Commissions on Illegal XRP Sale
Check out the latest news at NewsWireUnited.com

Last Market Watch of 2020: Bitcoin Cost Eyes $30K, Polkadot (DOT) Breaks ATH

Despite retracing with over $1,000 after the latest all-time high, BTC has surged back up and reclaimed the $29,000 level. Some altcoins have expanded in value – Polkadot’s DOT has marked a new all-time high.

Bitcoin’s Latest ATH Above $29K

After a few days of relative stagnation around the $28,000 level, the primary cryptocurrency returned to its Q4 2020 bull run.

CryptoPotato reported yesterday that BTC charted two consecutive all-time highs in a day. The asset firstly reached $28,570 before initiating another impressive leg up – this time breaking above $29,000.

Ultimately, bitcoin’s latest ATH came at $29,300. Despite briefly retracing to 28,200, the cryptocurrency has recovered most losses and currently sits very close to that ATH again.

Nevertheless, if BTC retraces and heads south for a correction, the technical indicators suggest several significant support levels that could contain the possible drop. They are situated at $28,400, $27,850, $27,300, $26,750, and $26,300.

BTCUSD. Source: TradingView

Ethereum Marks YTD High; Ripple Bounces Off

Following BTC’s gains, Ethereum has been on quite the roll in the past several days. The second-largest digital asset struggled beneath $600 before Christmas but has exploded to a new yearly high just a week later at $760. Despite retracing slightly to $750, ETH is still 2% up in a day.

Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Litecoin, Chainlink, and Binance Coin have remained practically at the same price spot as yesterday with minor moves. However, Polkadot has doubled-down on its recent impressive price performance with another 10% surge to above $8. This is DOT’s newest YTD high.

Interestingly, Ripple has also added value on a 24-hour scale. After plummeting for weeks following the SEC charges and multiple exchanges delisting the token, XRP has increased by 8% since yesterday’s low.

Cryptocurrency Market Overview. Source: Quantify Crypto

Further gains come from Blockstack (7%), HedgeTrade (6%), Decred (6%), OKB (5%), and Gnosis (5%). Nevertheless, BTC’s dominance over the market is still above 70% as most alternative coins can’t keep up with bitcoin’s gains.

The total market capitalization has surged to $765 billion. Thus, it has neared the all-time high marked during the parabolic price increase in 2017/2018 at above $800 billion.

Title: Last Market Watch of 2020: Bitcoin Price Eyes $30K, Polkadot (DOT) Breaks ATH
Sourced From: cryptopotato.com/last-market-watch-of-2020-bitcoin-price-eyes-30k-polkadot-dot-breaks-ath/
Published Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2020 09:31:02 +0000

Last Market Watch of 2020: Bitcoin Cost Eyes $30K, Polkadot (DOT) Breaks ATH
Check out the latest news at NewsWireUnited.com

Tyler Winklevoss Eyes ETH: Buying Ethereum Now Resembles Buying Bitcoin At 50% Discount rate

Tyler Winklevoss, the co-founder, and CEO of the crypto exchange Gemini and one of the earliest BTC adopters believes that Ethereum’s price is a “steal” now. He noted that the second-largest cryptocurrency is still about 50% away from its all-time high.

Winklevoss: Buying ETH Now Is A Steal

Ethereum is among the best performers through this challenging year. Whether it was the DeFi craze or the long-anticipated ETH 2.0 launch, the asset has exploded by nearly 500% from $130 at the start of 2020 to the recently charted YTD high of $760.

Despite surging significantly more than BTC percentage-wise, ETH was unable to mimic bitcoin in registering a new all-time high. In fact, Ether is still a long way from its highest level, marked in January 2018 of $1,450 (according to CoinGecko data).

ETH’s price, being roughly 50% away from that level, has caught the attention of the early Facebook investor – Tyler Winklevoss. He classified the option to buy ETH at this level as a “steal” and compared it to purchasing BTC at $14,000 – slightly over 50% of bitcoin’s latest all-time high.

The price of ether $ETH right now is $735. This is 51% off of its all-time-high, which is like buying #Bitcoin at 14k. What a steal.

— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) December 31, 2020

Ethereum Whales Accumulate

And while Winklevoss might be expecting an additional price surge for ETH, it seems that Ethereum whales have been preparing for such a scenario with massive purchases.

The analytics company Santiment breached data that the number of ETH address holding at least 10,000 tokens has increased by 39 wallets in the past two months alone.

ETH Retail/Whale Hodlers. Source: Santiment

At the same time, Santiment said that retail investors had done the opposite. Addresses containing between 100 and 10,000 ETH tokens have been gradually decreasing since mid-November 2020. Furthermore, the number of relatively small wallets holding between one and 100 Ethers has plummeted before Christmas, as the graph above demonstrates (the purple line).

Google Trends, which is typically a good indicator of retail investors’ behavior, suggests that the term “buy Ethereum” has reached a yearly high this week following ETH’s YTD price record. Nevertheless, the interest from such investors is still far away from the 2017/2018 craze.

“Buy Ethereum” Google Searches 5-Year Back. Source: Google Trends

Featured Image Courtesy of Yahoo

Title: Tyler Winklevoss Eyes ETH: Buying Ethereum Now Is Like Buying Bitcoin At 50% Discount
Sourced From: cryptopotato.com/tyler-winklevoss-eyes-eth-buying-ethereum-now-is-like-buying-bitcoin-at-50-discount/
Published Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2020 09:30:49 +0000

Tyler Winklevoss Eyes ETH: Buying Ethereum Now Resembles Buying Bitcoin At 50% Discount rate
Check out the latest news at NewsWireUnited.com

Better Than This Year: Bitcoin Rate to Strike $120,000 in 2021, Tom Lee Forecasts

As BTC looks to end 2020 with massive gains of about 300%, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee believes that next year will be even more bullish for the cryptocurrency. Lee predicted that bitcoin could skyrocket by more than 300% from this point in 2021, which will take the asset into a six-digit price territory.

Tom Lee Sees Massive Gains for BTC in 2021

Bitcoin entered the new century with a price level of about $7,200. Despite highly volatile periods, including a vigorous dip beneath $4,000 in the mid-March liquidity crisis, 2020 will remain in BTC’s history as one of the most bullish years to date.

More specifically, bitcoin skyrocketed by roughly 300% to a new all-time high price of $29,300. Tom Lee, a Managing Partner at Fundstrat Global Advisors, predicted in January 2020 that BTC will reach $27,000 in the next few months. Although his timeframe was a bit off, his price prediction became a reality and even exceeded his expectations.

In a recent CNBC interview, Lee ironically said that he should have provided a higher BTC price number. Nevertheless, he envisioned even more bullish developments for the cryptocurrency next year:

“I think that 2021 will be a lot like 2017, which means that bitcoin will do even better in 2021 than it did in 2020. So, something above 300%.”

Tom Lee. Source: CNBC

With BTC sitting around $29,000 at of writing these lines, an additional 300% increase from this point would place the asset at nearly $120,000. Should that indeed occur, bitcoin’s market capitalization would surge to almost $2.3 billion. This means that the primary cryptocurrency would equal the world’s most valuable company’s market cap – Apple.

Weakening Dollar Pushes People To Bitcoin

Lee also touched upon the topic of the depreciating dollar. The world’s reserve currency has lost about 10% of its value against the Euro and the British Pound in the past few months.

As BTC is primarily denominated in the greenback, it means that the dollar’s decreasing value would ultimately benefit the cryptocurrency, Lee explained:

“The dollar’s weakness will make people think – how do you sort of keep a unit of sound money? A lot of people thought gold would be that store. I think it still has a reasonable basis for someone to be long on gold. But, I think for younger folk, and those who are from the digital generation, bitcoin is that digital asset that they want to hold as a store of value.”

The narrative that BTC is younger generations’ gold has been breached by several other individuals and institutions in the past. Those include the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, and the giant US multinational banking organization – JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Featured Image Courtesy of Bloomberg

Title: Better Than This Year: Bitcoin Price to Hit $120,000 in 2021, Tom Lee Predicts
Sourced From: cryptopotato.com/better-than-this-year-bitcoin-price-to-hit-120000-in-2021-tom-lee-predicts/
Published Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2020 09:30:45 +0000

Better Than This Year: Bitcoin Rate to Strike $120,000 in 2021, Tom Lee Forecasts
Check out the latest news at NewsWireUnited.com