Aurelia Butler

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Coinbase records $1.2B revenue in Q3, 88% came from transaction fees

    Details from the Q3 report revealed that the firm’s net income was just $406 million, down by almost 75% from the second quarter that brought in a whopping $1.6 billion in profits for the firm. It also reported an adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of $618 million.According to Coinbase, Q3 was characterized by “softer crypto market conditions, driven by low volatility and declining crypto asset prices.” However, the firm still managed to notch up a tidy profit.Coinbase is renowned for having some of the highest transaction fees in the industry and it remains a vital source of income for the company. It recorded total revenue of $1.08 billion from both retail and institutional transaction fees in Q3. This accounts for 88.25% of the total revenue, even though there was a decrease of 44% from the previous quarter.Coinbase also had a total operating expense of $1.02 billion for the quarter, a decline of 25% from the previous quarter. The firm closed Q3 with approximately $6.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents, inclusive of the $2 billion in net proceeds associated with the senior notes issuedin September 2021.The company foresees better results in Q4 suggesting that the October trend signaled higher levels of activity within retail traders. Judging by history, retail traders utilize Coinbase more during periods of heightened volatility, the report added.According to MarketWatch, the Company’s shares did not respond well to reports of the 75% decline in the net income. COIN prices slumped by 13% in after-hours trading, while shares fell from $357 at the close of trading on Nov 9 to $310 after-hours.However, COIN has gained 34% since the beginning of October and is expected to recover from this dip should crypto markets remain bullish.Continue reading on BTC Peers More

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    in Economy

    UK Brexit minister tells EU to ‘stay calm’ over N Ireland threats

    UK Brexit minister Lord David Frost has called on Brussels to “stay calm and keep things in proportion” if the UK goes ahead with threats to suspend parts of the Brexit deal for Northern Ireland. The UK is seeking to rewrite the agreement’s protocol for Northern Ireland, which left the region in the EU’s single market for goods in order to prevent the return of a north-south trade border on the island of Ireland. The two sides have been in a stand-off for months over post-Brexit trade rules for the region, with the UK threatening to trigger Article 16, the safeguard clause either side can use if they believe the arrangement has caused “serious economic, societal or environmental difficulties” or the “diversion of trade”. After inconclusive talks last week the EU’s Brexit negotiator Maros Sefcovic warned of “serious consequences” if the UK carried through its threats. These could include slowing cross-Channel trade with more intensive customs and health checks, or even ending the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which permits tariff- and quota-free goods trade between the EU and UK.Sefcovic met EU ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss possible retaliatory measures that could be taken if Article 16 is triggered. The two sides will meet for a fourth round of talks on Friday.During a visit to Washington DC, also on Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said she and US President Joe Biden shared the assessment that keeping the withdrawal agreement and sticking to the Northern Ireland protocol was important for peace and stability on the island of Ireland. The EU had shown the “utmost flexibility” within the parameters of the protocol, she said, adding “it is important to stick to what we have agreed and signed together”.

    Speaking in the House of Lords on Wednesday, Frost said triggering Article 16 to suspend some parts of the so-called Northern Ireland protocol was the UK’s “only option” if negotiations fail. He said Brussels has suggested the UK can only take this action at the price of “massive and disproportionate retaliation”. He added: “I gently suggest that our European friends should stay calm and keep things in proportion. They might remind themselves that no government and no country has a greater interest in stability and security in Northern Ireland, in the Belfast Agreement, than we do.”Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the Democratic Unionist party, which is part of the Northern Ireland power-sharing executive, told the EU to focus on negotiations, not briefings, and urged Dublin to use its influence to squeeze more concessions out of Brussels for the benefit of Northern Ireland.In a statement issued after a “useful” telephone conversation with Micheál Martin, Ireland’s Taoiseach, Donaldson said: “Brussels’ devotion and loyalty to the protocol should not overshadow the wider interests of peace and stability here.”Donaldson has supported the use of Article 16 and wants the Irish Sea border scrapped. “We need to see progress or else the government must step in to safeguard the United Kingdom internal market,” he said. “Our opposition to the protocol remains resolute.”Frost has said since July that the threshold has been reached to justify using Article 16 because of the economic and political disruption the protocol has caused.But in an apparent softening of his tone on Wednesday, Frost insisted talks were continuing between the two sides and implied the UK was still weeks away from unilaterally suspending parts of the protocol. “There is still a real opportunity to turn away from confrontation, to move beyond these current difficulties and put in place a new and better equilibrium,” Frost told peers. He added: “There is more to do and I will certainly not give up on this process unless and until it is abundantly clear that nothing more can be done. We are certainly not there yet. If, however, we do in due course reach that point, the Article 16 safeguards will be our only option.”

    In a warning shot at the EU, he added: “If the EU were to choose to react in a disproportionate way, and decide to aggravate the problems in Northern Ireland rather than reduce them, that is of course a matter for them.”His remarks came as four senior Democratic congressmen in Washington published a joint statement warning that the UK’s threat to trigger Article 16 was “dangerous”. “In threatening to invoke Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol, the United Kingdom threatens to not only destabilise trade relations, but also that hard-earned peace. We call on the UK to abandon this dangerous path, and to commit to implementing the Northern Ireland protocol in full,” they said.Additional reporting by James Politi in Washington More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Experts Believe Cryptocurrency is Expected to Revolutionize the Future of Real Estate Transactions

    The article continued: “Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies like Ethereum are being used to purchase real estate all over the world. From home services to purchases and sales, the industry is exploring various ways to use cryptocurrencies. Property buyers are now paying with cryptocurrencies while sellers have the option to accept the digital currencies directly or have them converted into USD. The power, openness and security of the blockchain are also being explored by industry stakeholders as a viable option for recording property titles and transfers during the sales process. Another advantage in using cryptocurrency to purchase or sell a home is that the transaction can be completed and the closing on the property can be finalized in less time than a traditional real estate sale funded by a bank… Cryptocurrency and real estate transactions are quickly becoming more common as buyers and sellers responsibly take advantage of this safe, secure and swift finance option. Some believe Bitcoin, Ethereum and other types of cryptocurrency and real estate are a powerful combination that will shape the industry for years to come.”Cryptocurrencies, decentralized digital currencies void of a central bank or single administrator, can be transferred from user to user on the peer-to-peer cryptocurrency network without the need for any intermediaries. Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography, and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain.“This is an exciting development at Algodon Wine Estates,” said Scott Mathis, CEO & Chairman of Gaucho Group Holdings. “The acceptance of digital currency as a medium of exchange continues to gather momentum as, among other causes, investors across the globe witness the impact of central bank actions on currency valuations and as a result are seeking alternative stores of value. At the same time, investors are beginning to recognize the opportunity for diversification that luxury real estate in Argentina presents.“This cryptocurrency-based transaction represents the first of what we believe could be many more such transactions as some cryptocurrency holders look to deploy some of their holdings into various hard assets around the world. As the world continues to emerge from the pandemic, we have expected to see a resurgence in interest from traditional investors and luxury buyers in Algodon Wine Estates. The addition of investors utilizing cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange could expand that investor base significantly, to the benefit of Gaucho Holdings.”Global investors also have a unique opportunity at Algodon Wine Estates, where in addition to luxury vineyard ownership, investors can access a combination of world class wine, wellness, culinary and sports destinations. Gaucho Holdings recently completed its first water well, and has begun drilling a second well, in what the company ultimately believes may potentially add up to six additional wells, significantly enhancing the appeal and ultimately the value of plots at the Estates.Algodon Wine Estates is a 4,138 acre (1,675 ha) world-class wine, wellness, culinary and sport resort, and luxury real estate development, located in the rolling hills of the Sierra Pintada Mountains in San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina. This wine and golf community is surrounded by the natural beauty of vineyards, which are responsible for producing the wines of Algodon Fine Wines, as well as a boutique hotel, and amenities such as a nine-hole golf course (with an additional nine holes forthcoming), grand slam style tennis courts, a year-round restaurant serving traditional Argentine cuisine, and other services. More than 100 vineyard lots overlook the golf course, and the wines cultivated at the estate have garnered multiple awards from international tasting competitions.Information provided by FinancialNewsMedia.EMAIL NEWSLETTERJoin to get the flipside of cryptoUpgrade your inbox and get our DailyCoin editors’ picks 1x a week delivered straight to your inbox.[contact-form-7]
    You can always unsubscribe with just 1 click.Continue reading on DailyCoin More

  • 138 Shares149 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    New Cambridge-Built Decentralized Carbon Credit Marketplace Will Support Reforestation Efforts Worldwide

    A new Cambridge centre will bring together computer scientists and conservation scientists to build a decentralized marketplace for carbon credits and support global reforestation efforts. The Cambridge Centre for Carbon Credits (4C) – based in the Department of Computer Science and Technology, and the Conservation Research Institute – has two primary goals: to support students and researchers in the relevant areas of computer science, environmental science, and economics; and to create a decentralised marketplace where purchasers of carbon credits can confidently and directly fund trusted nature-based projects.The Centre will build its decentralised marketplace on the energy efficient Tezos blockchain because it operates sustainably, in line with the Centre’s vision to support a sustainable future through technology. The goal of the marketplace is to exponentially increase the number of real nature-based conservation and restoration projects by channelling funding towards them via market-based instruments.Nature-based solutions, particularly forests, have a vital role to play in mitigating the worst effects of climate change. Pressure is mounting from governments and the public to rapidly roll out a global programme of well-executed nature-based solutions (NbS) to sequester several gigatons of carbon each year and protect biodiversity. However, current NbS projects are hampered by chronic underfunding.“Current accreditation systems that measure and report the value of carbon and related benefits like biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction rendered by NbS are costly, slow and inaccurate,”
    said Centre Director Dr Anil Madhavapeddy.“These systems have undermined trust in NbS carbon credits. What is needed is a decentralised marketplace where purchasers of carbon credits can confidently and directly fund trusted nature-based projects. And that’s the gap the Centre is aiming to fill.”
    The Centre will support 12 PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, and investment to prototype a scalable, trusted NbS marketplace. Researchers funded from the Centre will come from the Departments of Computer Science and Technology, Zoology, and Plant Sciences, as well as from the Centre for Doctoral Training in Artificial Intelligence for the study of Environment Risk.Professor David Coomes, Director of the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute, said:“Conservation strategies are increasingly broadening to include large datasets, remote sensing technologies and computational approaches. The Centre for Carbon Credits is a ground-breaking initiative that will bring together computer scientists and conservation scientists in a new way.”
    Andrew Balmford, Professor of Zoology, said:“The recent announcement at COP26 of the new commitment to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030 demonstrates the crucial role forests play in carbon capture and the health of our planet. The new Centre has a significant role to play in supporting crucial research to develop new, trusted mechanisms to support reforestation projects.”
    Speaking on the collaborative nature of the Centre, Professor Ann Copestake, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Technology, said:“In the last few years, we’ve been expanding our emphasis on the use of computer science techniques and technologies to help address the climate emergency and the crisis in biodiversity. We are delighted to be bringing our research strengths together with the expertise in environmental science across the University of Cambridge. We hope the work resulting from this interdisciplinary collaboration will lay the foundation for tangible solutions to some of the environmental challenges facing the world.”
    Learn more about the Centre for Carbon Credits (4C) at https://4c.cst.cam.ac.uk/EMAIL NEWSLETTERJoin to get the flipside of cryptoUpgrade your inbox and get our DailyCoin editors’ picks 1x a week delivered straight to your inbox.[contact-form-7]
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  • 100 Shares189 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    Top 3 Meme Tokens: DOGE, SHIB, and FLOKI

    The crypto dogs continue to set the crypto world on fire. In detail, the DOGE, SHIB, and FLOKI cryptos each successfully recorded a huge market cap amounting to over $2 billion. The overwhelming amount of market cap that each of these cryptos possesses made them the top favorite meme crypto of investors worldwide.Furthermore, the tokens mentioned above are not just ordinary meme digital assets. To be specific, these tokens have a great team of developers and famous people behind their back to support the development of the project. For instance, SHIB has its own decentralized exchange and other technologies to support its network rally in the crypto space.At the same time, DOGE remains the favorite meme token of Elon Musk, the CEO of TESLA and the world’s richest man at press time. Meanwhile, FLOKI stays on track by partnering with different exchanges in the crypto world. With this, FLOKI is able to expand its presence worldwide.On the other hand, the crypto world nowadays is taking the greener path towards the moon. In fact, the whole market cap of the crypto world is now over $3 trillion. Indeed, this is a huge sum of funds that cannot be overlooked by the financial sectors inside and outside the crypto world. But of course, this will not be possible without the help of Bitcoin, the king of crypto assets.At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades a bullish price of over $65K per crypto with a 24-hour trading volume of almost $40 billion.Continue reading on CoinQuora More

  • 113 Shares169 Views

    in Economy

    Analysis-Flexible inflation targets a recipe for bond market turbulence

    LONDON (Reuters) – For markets trying to navigate the pathway for stickier-than-expected inflation, a move to asymmetric price targets at the world’s two biggest central banks may be a recipe for wild and increasingly frequent bond price swings. The U.S. Federal Reserve adopted in 2020 a flexible average inflation target (FAIT) designed to be more forgiving of price pressures than before, a major shift in the Fed’s dual approach towards achieving maximum employment and stable prices.The European Central Bank followed this year, setting a 2% medium-term inflation target and ditching its long-established “below but close to 2%” goal.Although both dismiss current price pressures as “transitory”, they are facing the first real test of these new frameworks. “Hindsight is a beautiful thing, but it is unfortunate timing that we had those reviews,” said Rabobank senior rates strategist Lyn Graham-Taylor. “Under the old mandates, we knew the reaction function of central banks. Now there’s more uncertainty around that.”Flexible inflation mandates make it harder to judge just how hot inflation will be allowed to run and whether central banks are at risk of moving too late. Euro area annual inflation is above 4%, while the U.S. consumer price index likely exceeded 5% last month, stoked by supply bottlenecks and red-hot commodity prices. (GRAPIC:Where next for inflation?-https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/zdvxonnjxpx/USEZinflation0911.PNG) While central banks cannot control such factors, they often act early to ensure consumers’ expectations of future inflation do not translate into significantly higher wages.So New Zealand and Norway have started lifting rates; Britain and Canada are preparing to do so. While the Fed is set to unwind its $120 billion monthly stimulus, it shows no inclination to raise rates. At the ECB, a move may not come for years. But markets are wary of hawkish surprises. For David Arnaud, a senior fund manager at Canada Life Asset Management, the asymmetric targets raise more questions than they address about central banks’ policy response. “They’re saying we’re going to make up for past low inflation by allowing inflation to run hotter above 2%, so on average we’re going to be able to meet our 2% target,” he said.”But for how long do you let inflation run above your target? What’s an acceptable level? These metrics have not been defined intentionally, because they want to keep their options open, but this has created uncertainty and makes the reaction function much harder to read for bond investors.” HARD TIMESSovereign bonds are among the tools central banks deploy to transmit policy messages. But if investors don’t understand that message, confusion can ensue. That’s what happened last month when bond yields shot up in anticipation that central banks would act against inflation, only to plummet as policymakers quashed those bets. Italian 10-year yields swung from an 18 basis-point weekly jump to a 25 bps weekly fall, and even staid Germany saw 10-year borrowing costs drop 19 basis points last week, the biggest fall since 2012, a week after hitting 2-1/2-year highs. The turmoil was caused by what was seen as a timid ECB pushback against rate-hike wagers. Policymakers have since calmed markets but positions for a 2022 move have not dissipated. If the ECB does raise rates next year, it would violate its guidance or mean that inflation has busted all forecasts, BofA analysts note.Recent swings were partly down to a positioning shakeout, triggered after Australia failed to defend a key target for bond yields and instead allowed them to soar. This year’s steady rise in bond volatility to 20-month highs contrasts with the calm in forex and equity markets. (GRAPHIC: Volatility-https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/myvmnkagzpr/Pasted%20image%201636540097193.png) Salman Ahmed, global head of macro at Fidelity International, reckons the Fed has deliberately not defined FAIT parameters so it has the option to act if inflation stays high. “This leads to a growth-inflation tango, which the bond market is switching back and forth from,” he added. The outlook hinges on what trajectory inflation takes. Vaccines and easing curbs on travel are already boosting demand for services over consumer goods, Purchasing Managers’ Index surveys show. Eventually that should ease supply chain stresses.A services boom is more likely to cause wage pressures which policymakers will find harder to ignore, notes Paul O’Connor, head of multi-asset at Janus Henderson. Equity investors, with gains underpinned by central bank largesse, will be watching. “We may see more turbulence in fixed income markets as they struggle to price what the policy response might be to labour market inflation,” he said, describing recent volatility spikes as “recognition that the ‘central bank put’ is diminishing.” More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Panther Protocol to Solve Surveillance Problem for Web 3 Infrastructure

    Eliminating Obstacles for Complete PrivacyOne of the few drawbacks to implementing blockchain technology is the process by which end-user data is being stored, which is done on publicly accessible ledgers. Public blockchains such as Ethereum, ETH smart contracts, Cardano, and Binance Smart Chain, among others, are the most predominantly implemented on-chain systems. However, these systems are flawed because every data input, including transactions, is stored immutably, which implies that they can not be modified or altered; more so, they will remain on the system forever.While this helps achieve transparency, which is not entirely possible in a centralized system, it exposes end-users to other risks and exploitations by third parties. Some such hazards include Alpha extraction, front running attacks, MEV attacks, or in other instances, bias in negotiation between different parties.While this has been the status quo for most blockchain systems, Panther Protocol, an innovative blockchain project, has looked inwardly and seeks to eliminate this fundamental industry-wide flaw.In an exclusive interview with Oliver Gale, Co-founder and CEO at Panther Protocol, the blockchain enthusiast discussed the startup’s proprietary approach to solving the prevailing problem.In addition to storing end-user data on a publicly accessible ledger, public blockchain creates a profile for end-users or any entity that uses the technology over time. It increases the risk of exploitation by third parties who may analyze the resources or data set for unethical reasons.Data Privacy Is as Important as Free SpeechGale compared on-chain privacy to having freedom of speech. According to him, “the paradigm of why users’ privacy is important is intimately connected to why a person’s freedom of speech is important.””So what does it mean to have your privacy undermined? It means you’ve been put in a position where you don’t have a choice, where you don’t have sovereignty. As a result, on an individual level, as a typical user, your privacy may not be a priority,”
    Gale noted while trying to explain the current situation of things with most public blockchain systems.When asked how Panther Protocol is different from others in its approach to solving the surveillance problem, Gale emphasized the role of regulations. According to him, regulations primarily serve as a means to attain consumer protection. The secondary purpose of the regulation, which is an “unintended consequence,” is the introduction of barriers in competition, something which is considered unhealthy for the market.Gale assures that Panther Protocol is designed so that it is entirely compatible with all existing compliance regulations. This further implies that access to user data is solely the end-user’s responsibility.”It’s on the individual to make their disclosures, and those disclosures might pertain to things like their tax payments or like a source of funds when you want to interact with a financial services provider,”
    told Gale. For instance, Panther Protocol acts as the secure channel that links actors (i.e., end-users) to the DeFi world. In other words, a user can interact with a DeFi project privately. “On the side of the financial service provider that’s using Panther Protocol, they have an obligation to adhere to their regulated status. And what Panther does is it facilitates the negotiations between the actors at the time that they use the service,”
    Gale explained.What Panther Protocol also does is help end-users to negotiate the type of data that can be provided and made accessible during compliance processes such as KYC for specific DeFi projects. According to Gale, what that negotiation means is simply that a user signs, or partially signs, a transaction or disclosure proof, and it is there and available for the third party to finish signing. Depending on the agreement, Panther Protocol subsequently broadcasts a portion of the transaction history, which will only be accessible by the third party for the specific purpose that is agreed upon. Panther Protocol employs the bouncer analogy in its compliance approach, consisting of three tiers of compliance and data disclosure. The first requires an end-user to disclose all personal information; the second tier involves disclosing details upon request. The third tier, dubbed “zero proof,” allows users to verify a data set without revealing the data itself.Panther Protocol aims to achieve compliance enforcement in the most cost-effective way possible. Its proprietary approach provides financial institutions with a clear path to compliantly participate in the DeFi economy.On The FlipsideWhy You Should Care?The current compliance landscape is flawed with various challenges ranging from third-party hacks to the high cost of enforcement. By leveraging a platform like Panther Protocol, all stakeholders, including end-users and regulators, stand to benefit significantly.Watch the full interview here:EMAIL NEWSLETTERJoin to get the flipside of cryptoUpgrade your inbox and get our DailyCoin editors’ picks 1x a week delivered straight to your inbox.[contact-form-7]
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