It’s All About Crypto Blog
USDC Without XLM: A Roadblock for the Unbanked
Stellar recently published an article about its partnership with the African fintech service Fonbnk. The authors claim that many people in Africa lack access to banking services and, consequently, financial transactions. Fonbnk, leveraging Stellar’s network, is said to provide these individuals with access to modern financial tools. But is that really the case? According to the article, users of African mobile operators...
Tokens as Shares: A Reality Check
Some tokens are considered shares of crypto companies, issued through Security Token Offerings (STOs). These tokens can represent ownership, offer dividends, or other benefits. Polymath is a well-known example. Another example? LKK. Issued by Lykke, these tokens were marketed as shares: 100 LKK equaled one share of the company. Back in 2017, intrigued by this concept, I...
“Bitcoin is dead” headlines are dying themselves
One of the oldest Bitcoin educational websites, 99Bitcoins, has been tracking headlines about Bitcoin’s “death” in mainstream English-language media since 2010. In 2024, only two entries were added to their "Bitcoin Obituaries" list - and one of them seems to have been a mistake. This means there was just one notable declaration of Bitcoin’s death in major media this year: an article on...
Decentralization as a Marketing Term
What if I told you that the cryptocurrency services you’ve come to consider decentralized aren’t actually decentralized? It may sound strange, but in many cases, decentralization turns out to be nothing more than an enticing buzzword. Let’s figure this out. WHAT DECENTRALIZATION MEANS IN THE CONTEXT OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES TODAY One day, a customer reached out to Rabbit...
IRS Targets DeFi Front Ends for Reporting
U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published a rule that targets front-end providers of DeFi services - like liquidity pools, lending platforms, and overcollateralized stablecoin protocols. While DeFi smart contracts operate autonomously without human involvement (making it impossible to demand transaction data directly from them), users rarely interact with these contracts directly. Instead, they...
BIO Token is Making Waves
Trading for BIO tokens is currently underway in the pre-market phase on Mexc and Bybit. The official Binance listing is set for January 3, 2025. BIO is the first token from the DeSci segment to debut on major centralized exchanges. Here’s what’s interesting: until now, BIO tokens were only available as rewards for directly funding DAOs within...
Crypto for Charity: The Story of MIRA Token
People use cryptocurrencies for various purposes, including charity. One such initiative was the launch of the MIRA token to raise funds for a critically ill girl. The creator transferred 50% of the token supply to the girl’s father, accompanied by a campaign focusing on compassion and mutual support. Today, MIRA’s price spiked, only to fall back within hours...
The Growing Risks of P2P Exchanges and How to Avoid Them
The Bank of Italy has published a report highlighting the growing popularity of P2P exchanges, which the authors describe as "crime-as-a-service." The report explains that with P2P exchanges, crime organizers no longer need to cover the financial tracks of their illicit activities themselves; instead, P2P brokers and other market participants handle that for them. As...
Another Proof of the Challenges in Entering the Stablecoin Market
Coinmetrics presents a chart showing the market share of low-cap stablecoins, collectively valued at $10 billion. Among these, one stands out: PYUSD. 1. It’s issued by PayPal, a financial giant with decades of reputation and an enormous user base. 2. Despite this, PYUSD’s share is invisible on the chart - it’s that small. Even PayPal, with its massive...
Binance & Kraken Invest $10M in Usual Labs’ Stablecoin USD0
Crypto exchanges Binance and Kraken have led a $10 million investment round in Usual Labs, the issuer of the USD0 stablecoin. At first glance, investing in a new stablecoin issuer might seem unprofitable. The stablecoin market is already saturated and divided among major players. But if giants like Binance and Kraken see potential, Usual Labs’ business model must offer something...
