Kategorie: Crypto Markets

• Binance’s Changpeng “CZ” Zhao says that purchasing a bank would not be a solution to the crypto debanking issue.
• He cites the regulatory environment and need for a network of banking providers as key hurdles.
• Binance Australia was recently forced to halt AUD deposits amid a banking provider’s decision to stop the service.

Binance CEO “CZ” Changpeng Zhao has expressed doubt that acquiring banking institutions would offer a solution to the growing trend of banking problems for crypto companies.

According to the Binance CEO, while this is something they previously looked at, they don’t see it as a path that offers a solution to crypto. And it’s not as easy as it may sound, he said as he highlighted issues to do with policy and regulation.

Binance CEO on why they haven’t acquired a bank yet

CZ was commenting on the issue of crypto banking partners during an episode of the Bankless Podcast on Monday. The sentiment comes just a few days after the exchange said it was looking for a new banking partner for its subsidiary Binance Australia.

As CoinJournal reported here, Binance Australia announced it had been forced to halt AUD deposits after a banking partner said it could not continue with the service. The remarks also come a few weeks after a tumultuous period for US banks and the collapse of crypto-friendly banks Silvergate and Signature Bank.

It meant a significant dent on the crypto-friendly banks landscape is now firmly in place. But why can’t a crypto giant like Binance just acquire one of the banks and “make it crypto-friendly?”

Zhao explained, “The reality is much more complex than the concept. You buy one bank, it only works in one country, and you still have to deal with the banking regulators of that country. It doesn’t mean you can buy a bank and do whatever you wanna do.”

According to him, buying a bank won’t stop regulators from telling you not to touch crypto. Also, even if Binance were to acquire a bank, it would still need to work with corresponding banking partners across the globe. Many of these banks, which operate from the US, could still halt their services given Binance offers crypto-related products and services.

Binance isn’t also looking to buy a bank because of the costs involved and the fact that the business model has very little profit.

“Many banks don’t have very sound business models. They’re very risky businesses. They take the customer’s money, loan it out, try to make money, if they don’t get it back, they declare bankruptcy. In many countries the government will save them, but I don’t like to run those kinds of businesses,” he noted.

But while Binance may not buy a bank, it has plans to invest in several banks as part of a strategy aimed at making such providers more crypto-friendly.

The post You can’t just buy a bank and make it crypto-friendly: CZ appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Gamified asset marketplace Blocktrade says it has raised €4.5 million in an exclusive BTEX Token (BTEX) sale.
• The sale attracted 1,400 community members from 42 countries.
• Blocktrade will use the funds to grow its platform.

Blocktrade, a gamified crypto asset and marketplace, has announced that it has raised €4.5 million in an exclusive sale of its BTEX token. The sale, which ran from May 5th to 18th, was open to Blocktrade VIP members and attracted over 1,400 participants from 42 countries.

The BTEX token will be used to power the Blocktrade ecosystem, with holders able to access a variety of benefits, including reduced trading fees and participation in airdrops.

Blocktrade CEO Christian Niedermueller said that the successful token sale is a testament to the growing demand for the platform’s gamified crypto service. 

“We are grateful for the overwhelming response and participation by Blocktrade VIP members to this exclusive token sale round,” Niedermueller added. “This show of enthusiasm points to the appetite amongst crypto users today for an accessible and engaging digital asset trading platform. We now look forward to continuing to enhance the experience on offer to Blocktrade’s ever-growing community.”

The launch of the BTEX token is the latest development in Blocktrade’s rapid growth. The platform was established in 2018 and has received VASP registrations in Estonia, Italy, and Slovenia.

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• Bitcoin miners’ revenue from fees dropped 90% since the BRC-20 peak, from $17.8 million daily to $1.7 million per day as of 29 May, 2023.
• However, current levels remain within historical levels with only 310 out of 4674 trading days having seen greater fees.
• In 2018, transaction fees were higher than recent highs only on two trading days.

Bitcoin miner revenue from transaction fees has declined significantly since the BRC-20 frenzy that drove network activity higher earlier in the month.

Bitcoin mining is a key component of the flagship cryptocurrency’s network operations and miners earn from the set subsidy as well as transaction fees. BRC-20 tokens are a type of fungible tokens created on the Bitcoin blockchain. They are ordinal inscriptions that can are used to represent a variety of things, including digital assets and loyalty points.

Miner revenue from fees falls sharply after BRC-20 frenzy

According to data from Glassnode, a leading on-chain and financial markets data platform, miners were earning roughly $17.8 million from transaction fees per day. This happened as Bitcoin price traded near the YTD highs and as the BRC-20 craze hit the industry. 

However, as of May 29, 2023, the earnings had declined considerably and miners were taking home just $1.7 million from network fees per day.

Miner earnings from fees has thus fallen by about $16.1 million, or 90.85% from that recent peak, Glassnode highlighted on Monday.

But as the platform noted, miners’ revenues from fees dropping to latest levels still sees the figures near historical ones seen in most trading days. Only 310 out of 4,674 days, or 6.7% of BTC trading days have seen higher miner revenue from fees.

Glassnode noted:

“At the peak of the BRC-20 frenzy, Bitcoin miners were earning $17.8M in transaction fees, with only 2 trading days across the 2018 peak recording a larger fee revenue. Currently, miners are earning $1.7M in fee revenue, a -$16.1M decline from the recent peak. However, this remains significantly elevated when compared to historical precedence, with only 310 / 4674 (6.7%) trading days recording greater fees.”

The Bitcoin network recently saw a massive surge in activity as the demand for BRC-20 tokens soared. The result, as highlighted here, was network congestion as the rush to inscriptions helped fees to spike to year-to-date highs. It proved a bumper season for miners as Glassnode data shows.

In 2018, when Bitcoin fees also spiked significantly, only 2 trading days had recorded transaction fees higher than the $17.8 million miners earned recently.

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• Bybit has been in the process of expanding its service offerings.
• Bybit received “in-principle” approval from the Astana International Financial Centre to begin operations in Kazakhstan.
• The exchange will begin operating as a digital asset trading facility and as a custody services provider in the country.

Bybit has announced that it has received an “in-principle” approval from the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) to start operating as a digital asset trading facility and as a custody services provider in Kazakhstan.

Commenting on the achievement, the co-founder and CEO of Bybit, Ben Zhou, stated that the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as a region provides promising potential for the crypto industry.

Bybit expansion drive

Bybit has been in the process of expanding its service and product offering over the past few months.

The most recent move was its announcement on May 2 that it will start offering crypto lending services.

In March this year, Bybit announce a partnership with Mastercard for a new debit card to allow crypto payments.

Kazakhstan and cryptocurrencies

In February, local officials in Kazakhstan announced new regulations requiring 75% of the revenue made from crypto mining to be sold through a crypto exchange as the country cracks down on tax evasion in the industry.

Kazakhstan recently announced that it had collected about $7 million in crypto taxes in 2022. The country is also in the pilot phase of its digital current development.

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• Fantom blockchain will reward projects that contribute toward high usage of gas fees.
• The move aims at driving increased demand for block space.
• Eligible applications will be rewarded 15% of the gas fees they produce.

In a move to drive demand for block space on the Fantom blockchain, the blockchain has announced that it will reward projects that use the network and contribute high usage gas fees. Eligible applications will be given back 15% of the gas fees they produce thus giving developers some extra income.

The move is also expected to help add value to the FTM token, which at press time was trading at $0.3405, up 2.21% in the past 24 hours.

Fantom dApp Gas Monetization Program

The recent announcement is part of Fantom’s initiative called the “dApp Gas Monetization Program,” which was passed through a community governance vote earlier this year.

The dApp Gas Monetization Program proposal sought to bring down Fantom’s current token burn rate to direct more network fees to applications being built on the blockchain. Now that the proposal already passed, its implementation will reduce the burn rate from 20% to 5%.

Part of the gas fees saved from the reduced burn rate will be redirected towards gas monetization.

To be specific, the gas monetization program will reward in-demand applications and retain developers.

Projects already benefiting from the monetization program

According to on-chain data, some projects are already benefiting from the monetization program after the Sunday announcement that saw the start of the implementation of the passed proposal.

For example, decentralized exchange SpookySwap (BOO/USD) has earned 978 FTM ($300), while cross-chain bridge Stargate Finance (STG/USD) has earned 8,300 FTM ($2,600).

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