Crypto Pirates

According to Simon Seojoon Kim, he began investing in Ether, the cryptocurrency that powers the Ethereum network, in the year it began — 2015.

His pals thought he was insane for investing a sizeable portion of his life assets in the new cryptocurrency. By March 2017, he had invested about $400,000.

Ether then began climbing.

While Kim's investments are difficult to verify, one thing is certain: Ether's value has increased significantly since the start of 2017. It has increased by more than 980 percent in the last year. Meanwhile, Kim has established himself as one of South Korea's most prominent blockchain evangelists. Following the successful launch of his first blockchain fund in December, he is preparing to launch a second this month.

“He is the Yoda of cryptocurrency,” said Sean Park, a senior partner and managing director of Boston Consulting Group Inc. in Hong Kong who collaborated with Kim on a blockchain project.

Kim is a member of a growing class of newly affluent individuals who acquired their wealth through virtual currency. The two largest tokens, Bitcoin and Ether, continue to fluctuate violently, but both reached new highs this year.

“The most successful investments are made when you identify a fundamentally sound asset that is either receiving little attention or is being viewed negatively,” Kim said in a Seoul interview, referring to his early cryptocurrency bet.

By trade, the 36-year-old entrepreneur is a software developer who has founded and sold two businesses. One was a technological company specialising on education, while the other was a dating app.

In 2018, he co-founded Hashed, a blockchain-focused venture financing business. It invests in businesses and assists them in their development by facilitating partnerships, offering financial assistance, and even assisting with public relations.

In December, Hashed raised $120 million for its first blockchain fund. According to the companies' half-year financial filings, it was backed by South Korean behemoths Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp.

Now, Hashed intends to raise at least 200 billion won ($173 million) this month for a second fund, Kim added.

Hashed typically invests between $1 million and $10 million in each firm. It invested alongside billionaire Mark Cuban in a $7.5 million fundraising round for Vietnamese game developer Sky Mavis in May, following a seed round in 2019. Additionally, Kim noted, the company invested $2.5 million in Loco, an India-based gaming streaming platform.

However, Hashed has attracted major participants such as internet corporation Naver, the third-largest listed company in South Korea by market capitalisation. According to Naver, Hashed has the greatest experience in the blockchain business, having revealed investments totalling 14 billion won in Hashed's inaugural fund.

“Our investors' primary objective is to maximise their profit,” Kim explained. “However, they want to learn about the market from us as well.”

Kim Kyonghwan, head of Sungkyunkwan University's graduate school of enterprise in Suwon, a city near Seoul, sounds a cautionary note.

“Because the blockchain sector is still in its infancy, volatility may be a short-term risk,” he explained. “However, I feel that this is a market that will eventually institutionalise and grow.”

Kim stated that there is significant upside potential due to the fact that the blockchain technology sector is still in its infancy. However, when it comes to cryptocurrency trading, he cautions those without knowledge to be wary about attempting to earn quick fortunes.

Kim stated he still maintains the majority of his Ether holdings while sitting in a room named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious founder of Bitcoin. He also disclosed that he is a significant investment in a cryptocurrency called Luna coin.

Kim, on the other hand, prefers to avoid conventional investments such as bonds and commodities. He also lives with his wife in a rented apartment rather than purchasing his own property, he explained.

“Traditional assets are not advantageous to me,” he stated. “They simply appear to be too ancient and out of date.”

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The cryptocurrency associated with the Solana network has risen to seventh place among the world's top ten largest virtual coins on the back of optimism that the blockchain might become a long-term rival to ethereum.

Sol tokens issued by Solana have more than tripled in value over the last three weeks, reaching a market cap of more than $41 billion, according to CoinGecko. Proponents emphasise the alleged speed and lower cost of transactions on Solana for decentralised finance and digital collectibles, two applications where ethereum now reigns supreme.

“Solana has a thriving ecosystem, projects are being developed on it, and it has benefited significantly from the NFT mania,” Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of crypto lender Nexo, wrote in an e-mail. NFTs are irreversible tokens that are used to trade digital collectibles. He cited the support of crypto luminary Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of crypto exchange FTX.

Solana bills itself as the world's fastest blockchain, with an average transaction fee of $0.00025, according to its website. In June, it announced a $314 million funding round led by Bankman-Alameda Fried's Research, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, blockchain startup Polychain Capital, and CoinShares.

“Major companies in the space, including as FTX and Jump, are seeing its potential,” Alexandra Clark, sales trader at GlobalBlock, a UK-based digital asset dealer, wrote in an e-mail on Monday. “Not only that, but the network's debut into NFTs with Solanart, the marketplace based on the SOL blockchain, has played a significant role in driving the altcoin's price higher,” she added. “The present increase in Sol's price is likely to continue.”

Late in August, Jump Trading-affiliated crypto market data service Pyth Network launched on Solana's mainnet, a move that is likely to enhance the field of decentralised finance. There are plans to enable it to transmit market data over the so-called Wormhole Network in the near future.

“It's growing too large to ignore and provides a viable alternative to ethereum's smart contract solution,” Jonathan Cheesman, head of over-the-counter and institutional sales at FTX, wrote in an e-mail.

So-called alternative coins such as the Sols, Cardano's ADA, and Binance Coin have soared in recent weeks, stealing some of the spotlight away from top tokens bitcoin and Ether as part of a wider crypto rebound following a May crash. Bitcoin has also increased in value and came dangerously near to $52,000 on Monday.

Skeptics contend that the technological advancements pushing some tokens may not justify the rally's size.

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Certain groups intend to establish offices in chilly countries.

Cryptocurrency miners in India have just gotten smarter. To offset the high cost of electricity, the majority of miners are installing solar rooftop power units and battery backup in their living facilities. Additionally, there are more innovative individuals who are examining surrounding cold countries to develop system infrastructure in order to avoid heat difficulties and consequent operational costs.

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that relies on blockchain technology to facilitate its creation and secure online transactions. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Lightcoin, and Darkcoin are all well-known cryptocurrencies.

Crypto-mining is the process of earning cryoto through the solution of cryptographic equations utilising powerful computers. The extremely secure problem-solving procedure entails confirming data blocks, which are then appended to a public ledger using blockchain technology. Solving difficult mathematical problems in a decentralised environment online provides users with cryptocurrency.

Ajay K., 48, of Hyderabad, a former stock market trader, has been involved in the serious business of crypto-mining (Bitcoin and Ethereum) for the last couple of years. Mr. Ajay installed a solar rooftop unit a year ago to save money on electricity.

“My 5 kilowatt solar rooftop system with battery backup saves me more than 60% on energy costs. Air conditioning and a motherboard with many graphics cards take a significant amount of power. We are looking for ways to reduce these costs,” Mr. Ajay stated.

Cost of electricity and equipment

The hardware infrastructure uses a lot of power, which is a significant cost and a significant issue in cryptocurrency mining. On average, crypto-mining consumes between 30,000 and 50,000 watts of electricity every month. While the cost of a simple bitcoin mining system begins at $50,000, a professional system equipped with a high-end motherboard and eight graphics cards costs around $450,000.

Mr. Ajay is not the only one installing rooftop solar panels. He is joined by members of fraternity groups on WhatsApp and Telegram in India and overseas that have already established solar energy systems. According to estimations, India has a few lakhs of crypto-miners, while the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have only a few thousand.

Offshore locations

Cost savings are not confined to solar energy systems. Superior ideas appear to be evolving in social media communities. There are more astute miners that wish to establish operations abroad, particularly in colder nations, in order to save on power. “We have a WhatsApp group of like-minded individuals who are working to establish our systems in Ukraine and other adjacent frigid nations. We are very likely to do so shortly,” Mr. Ajay stated.

Business of equipment

Meanwhile, the supply of crypto-mining equipment has grown to be a significant sector in India. According to Krishnam Raju of Bhimavaram, the demand for equipment is multiplying. He serves the markets of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.

“The business is rapidly maturing. The import period has been cut to seven days for customised motherboards and graphics cards from China and Singapore. Customs clearances are instantaneous. Previously, the import process took roughly a month,” Mr. Raju explained.

Additionally, the rapidly growing market segment caters to those who are not cryptocurrency believers but are interested in lucrative equipment trade. “Like Warren Buffett, I am a cryptocurrency sceptic. However, the equipment trade works for me and I am content with it,” said Anil Kumar, a Hyderabad-based businessman.

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Bitcoin and Ethereum, two of the world's major cryptocurrencies, have surpassed their May 2021 highs. What does this mean for investors, given the cryptocurrency's history of volatility?

What has happened to the price of Bitcoin and Ethereum?

Bitcoin's price exceeded $50,000 on 4th September, according to CoinDesk data, a 20% rise over a month ago. Ethereum, on the other hand, has increased by 40% over the same time period, trading at more over $3,900.

These recent price highs indicate that the two cryptocurrencies may be on the verge of a bull run. Bitcoin's last all-time high, at $63,000, occurred in April. By July, the price had plummeted to less than $30,000.

Ethereum's price fluctuation has been comparable. The last time Ether traded above $4,000 was in mid-May, shortly followed by a price meltdown that saw the cryptocurrency's value plummet by more than half.

As has been the case in recent months, these prices may continue to rise or fall. However, why are they at such a high level currently? Let us conduct an investigation to ascertain this.

The reasons for the meteoric rise of Bitcoin and Ethereum

Numerous technologies have aided these digital tokens in their growth.

El Salvador's Legalisation of Bitcoin

El Salvador is on track to become the world's first country to include Bitcoin alongside the US dollar as a national currency. The government announced that effective 7th September 2021, cryptocurrency would become legal tender. This announcement may result in more Bitcoin use and speculation in other nations, which could affect the price.

Facebook Page Added for NFTs

Facebook just announced the debut of Diem, a new digital payment service. Additionally, firm leaders revealed in late August that they would be able to include NFT capabilities into its digital wallet, Novi.

Due to the fact that NFTs are based on the Ethereum blockchain, they have the potential to grow in popularity and hence raise demand for Ether due to Facebook's clout.

Regulations promulgated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission

The SEC has been adamant about enforcing crypto laws on all participants. The commission has even filed charges against cryptocurrency CEOs who violate existing regulations.

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Bitcoin miners are substantially withholding revenues, a pattern noted by crypto markets monitoring company Glassnode. Glassnode data demonstrates that events that are critical to on-chain trends can also be well-correlated with real-world demands.

The Bitcoin mining ecosystem suffered a major setback in the second quarter as a result of Chinese authorities' crackdown on miners. Miners, in response to the government's leave notice, embarked on the greatest exodus in history, resulting in the unplugging of millions of hardware equipment. As a result, mining difficulty decreased significantly, reaching an all-time low of 13.67 T in July.

It's worth mentioning that decreasing mining difficulty effectively increases the profitability of miners already operating on the network. According to Glassnode data, “miner USD revenue per hash has now recovered to July 2019 levels of $380k per Exahash, making running miners historically extremely profitable.”

Regardless of this fact, the Bitcoin network's health is gradually returning to normal, with difficulty returning to pre-hunt levels.

“The Bitcoin mining sector is continuing to rebound after more than half of the hash power was lost during China's Great Migration. The 14-day median hash rate has risen to 128 EH/s, which is roughly 29% behind the all-time high and represents a 42 percent recovery from the July lows.”

The increasing hashrate is suggestive of miners relocating to nations such as Canada, the United States, and Kazakhstan, among others.

Indeed, miners are reaping the benefits.

Bitcoin miners are especially profiting, with rumours abounding as to the destination of the proceeds. On-chain data indicates that over 2,900 BTC have been spent from miner balances thus far, equating to approximately $150 million at the digital currency's current price of $51,727.46.

Glassnode gives a list of potential recipients of the funding.

“This might be a result of afflicted Chinese miners acquiring fiat liquidity to cover expenditures, or operating miners profiting and de-risking following the May sell-off. Additionally, it is anticipated that some of this revenue will be redirected towards facility expansion and the acquisition of hardware from second-hand or fresh ASIC markets.”

Despite this spending, the miner's nett position is currently balanced, with coins mined and spent balancing each other out.

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The last several days have been quite good for the majority of altcoins. Despite Bitcoin's insufficient support, they have been able to continue their individual rallies. Take Chainlink, the market's 12th largest cryptocurrency.

The market value of the aforementioned altcoin has increased by over 119 percent over the last six weeks and has increased by another 12 percent over the last 24 hours. Indeed, LINK was trading at $34.56 at the time of press.

Chainlink is the go-to provider of solutions

To be sure, a number of things conspired to support LINK's rally this time. To begin, the network's continuous growth was a significant catalyst. Chainlink's price feeds are increasingly establishing themselves as the de facto price oracle solution for computing borrowing rates and collateralisation ratios.

For example, SCREAM — Fantom's major lending provider - relies on Chainlink's feeds as its principal oracle solution. The network's price feeds have a track record of providing accurate on-chain updates in the face of unanticipated externalities such as exchange downtime, data manipulation attempts, and crash outliers.

Additionally, other smart contract developers can leverage Chainlink's up-to-date market data to create a variety of DeFi goods. For example, by integrating Chainlink's FX Feed on Ethereum, tamper-proof currency markets powered by decentralised price data can be created. Chainlink has been able to establish itself as a solution provider in the field by delivering such services.

Effects of ripples on the token

Chainlink's Github submissions were increasing, as was the network's general development activity. Indeed, Santiment's latest tweet made the same point. Interestingly, ITB's statistics indicated that the number of Commits, Stars, and Open Issues have been hovering around the 148.11k, 3.31k, and 186 marks, respectively, in recent months.

All of this has heightened market participants' positive narrative. For example, the average transaction value has been steadily increasing over the last few weeks.

Additionally, LINK's volatility decreased significantly over a three-month period beginning in June, from over 180 percent to over 70 percent. Surprisingly, current levels were comparable to those in May [74.05 percent].

Volatility being more often than not under control assisted LINK's previous climbs. As a result, the current ideal level created an even more favourable situation for LINK's price to continue rising. Additionally, the altcoin has a pretty strong correlation with Bitcoin [0.8, to be precise], putting it in a favourable position to benefit from the latter's impending rally.

Thus, given the current situation of the aforementioned variables, market watchers can anticipate LINK's price to accelerate northward in the next days. It's worth noting, though, that the alt would likely test the $43 to $46 zone before breaching over $50.

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According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), four major causes are driving a global tidal wave of cryptocurrency adoption.

According to a new analysis from the independent international organisation, interest in cryptocurrencies is increasing as a result of a variety of economic reasons.

“Central bank policies, hyperinflation, and macroeconomic instability contributed to the volatility and devaluation of local fiat currencies in relation to other global currencies prior to and during the COVID-19 epidemic. As a result, people and businesses such as Microstrategy, Tesla, and Square have begun to own bitcoin and other digital currencies. It has also sparked increasing user activism and awareness among lawmakers from the United States to El Salvador who are developing new cryptocurrency policies.”

Additionally, the WEF adds that remittance fees are consuming a higher-than-ideal proportion of transactions, which may explain the increased interest in P2P systems featured in many cryptos.

Another reason fuelling interest in crypto assets is the development and rapid scalability of stablecoins as a significantly more efficient means of trade.

“For example, the market capitalisation of USD Coin (USDC) has surpassed $25 billion, growing at a compound annual growth rate of more than 6,100 percent. Such traction has prompted Sweden to restructure its proposed e-krona in order to compete with cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).”

Finally, the WEF emphasises the breadth of varied applications that various digital assets provide, as well as how an endeavour to be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient is leading people to turn their attention to the crypto markets.

“Such advancements are also increasing the adoption of DeFi (decentralised finance) applications. The rapid spread and development of these breakthroughs is owed in great part to the open-source design and global developer communities that support crypto networks.”

Additionally, the WEF notes that cryptocurrencies do not facilitate illicit financial activities while giving the possibility of establishing a more transparent economic system.

“Regulators have emphasised cryptocurrency systems' anonymity and border lessness as potential money laundering and terrorist financing hazards. Nonetheless, criminal activity is far less prevalent than it is in the traditional banking system, accounting for only 0.34 percent of all cryptocurrency transactions.

Cryptocurrencies can facilitate transparency and give a chance for policymakers aggressively pursuing the formalisation of the economy.”

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According to recent sources, Uniswap is under investigation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Uniswap is the largest decentralised cryptocurrency exchange at the moment.

According to sources, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has already initiated an investigation into Uniswap. According to the article, it will investigate Uniswap labs and the platform's primary developers. The Wall Street Journal reported on the situation on Friday, September 3, 2021.

According to the Wall Street Journal report, the investor and marketing services for the Uniswap platform are currently being scrutinised. The enforcement attorneys will be in charge of conducting an investigation and amassing information on Uniswap.

According to The Wall Street Journal, this information was provided by an internal source familiar with the situation. The source has asked anonymity and that their identity not be revealed.

Following reports of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation into the exchange, Uniswap Labs has taken the lead in defending its position. According to Uniswap Labs, they have always adhered to regulatory norms and procedures.

They have always followed the law and shown deference to the regulatory and enforcement bodies that have governed them. They will maintain this trend and position by disclosing all information necessary for the US SEC and attorneys to conduct their enquiry.

Uniswap is a leading decentralised exchange in the bitcoin space. It enables users to trade Ethereum-based coins as well as other decentralised tokens. At the moment, it is the world's largest decentralised exchange.

The exchange operates 24 hours a day and handles a sizeable trade volume. The exchange reportedly registered a 24-hour trading volume of more than $1.5 billion. CoinMarketCap has verified this information.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission was also contacted for information on the matter. However, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is now refusing to comment on whether it has opened an investigation into Uniswap or not. Similarly, Uniswap executives have refrained from making any announcements on their cooperation with the US Securities and Exchange Commission's probe.

Uniswap is not the only exchange or crypto-project under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Prior to Uniswap, the US Securities and Exchange Commission began an investigation into Binance and Ripple.

The US SEC has taken this action in response to the significant volume of complaints and concerns lodged against cryptocurrency firms by domestic investors. As the number of fraudulent and scamming activities in the bitcoin sector continues to grow, the regulatory authority is becoming more aggressive in its pursuit of such organisations.

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Bitcoin has soared to new heights in the run-up to a controversial cryptocurrency decision by a single country. However, this is not universally true.

Bitcoin's price has risen sharply in the run-up to El Salvador's decision to convert it to legal cash.

The digital currency surpassed the $51,000 barrier over the weekend.

At the time of press, CoinMarketCap reported that the world's most valuable cryptocurrency was trading at $US51,788.90 per coin.

That puts bitcoin close to its all-time high of $US63,314 set on April 13.

Bitcoin was last trading near $51,000 in mid-May.

On July 18, it plummeted to $US31,796, but has gradually increased over the subsequent two months.

The coin gained 5.4 percent last week and is now up 26.3 percent year to date.

Its price increase has been attributed to a variety of factors, including El Salvador's involvement and Facebook's endorsement.

El Salvador, the world's first country to adopt bitcoin as legal cash, will do so on Tuesday.

This means that if a customer wishes to make a payment in bitcoin, merchants will be forced to accept it.

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador is a great bitcoin enthusiast. At the very least, he has a pair of laser eyes on his Twitter profile, indicating he is optimistic on cryptocurrency.

El Salvador decided in June to become the world's first country to legalise bitcoin as a form of currency.

Politicians voted in favour of establishing a legislation allowing for the use of bitcoin in everyday life with 62 of 84 available votes.

The bill will allow for the use of the notoriously volatile digital currency in a variety of everyday transactions, from property purchases to tax contributions.

On September 7, the law will take effect.

According to some, this will increase bitcoin adoption.

To entice individuals to join the Bitcoin revolution, El Salvador's government has offered $30 in free bitcoins to anyone who registers up for the country's national digital wallet, Chivo.

And, even more radical, according to Fast Company, foreigners who invest three bitcoins in the country – which is presently worth $US150,000 – will be awarded residency.

Not everyone, however, agrees with the decision.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed concern over the coin's volatility, warning that it could destabilise El Salvador's economy.

Citizens opposed the change over the weekend, citing economic concerns.

FACEBOOK ADOPTS CRYPTOCURRENCY

To add to the excitement surrounding bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general, Facebook has entered the industry, further bolstering the market.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that Facebook executive David Marcus was developing its own digital wallet to support non-fungible token (NFT) transactions.

While this has no effect on bitcoin directly, it does contribute to the cryptocurrency frenzy.

Ethereum, bitcoin's chief competitor, does indeed use NFTs, and the announcement sent its price soaring.

It shot up to nearly $US4000 over the weekend.

The second-most valued cryptocurrency was trading at $US3,926.63 per coin at the time of press.

Facebook has made a significant investment in the cryptocurrency market by developing its own token, dubbed "diem."

Diem and the digital wallet will be launched together to increase use.

When Facebook initially unveiled its plans for the token, it faced regulatory opposition. Diem's developers have now spun off as an independent company, while Facebook continues to invest extensively in it.

However, the date of the coin's or wallet's introduction is unknown at this time.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, is conducting an investigation into Uniswap. And Uniswap is the market leader in the decentralised cryptocurrency trading space. According to some accounts, regulators in the United States are actively monitoring how investors use UniSwap. Additionally, they are examining their marketing processes. The SEC is also probing the company's crypto lending apps. This is also why the token's price has fallen in recent days...

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