Ripple competitor Stellar (XLM) is announcing plans to roll out smart contracts later this year. Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) ecosystem head Justin Rice says smart contracts will enable a new suite of products and services on Stellar. “There’s a lot of work to be done to get there, but at SDF we’re committed to researching […]
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Before investing in altcoins, you should look into the project's whitepaper, demand-supply elements, team and stakeholders behind the project.
The word “altcoin” is derived from “alternative” and “coin.” Altcoins refer to all alternatives to Bitcoin. Altcoins are cryptocurrencies that share characteristics with Bitcoin (BTC). For example, Bitcoin and altcoins have a similar basic framework. Altcoins also function like peer-to-peer (P2P) systems and share code, much like Bitcoin.
Of course, there are also marked differences between Bitcoin and altcoins. One such difference is the consensus mechanism used by these altcoins to validate transactions or produce blocks. While Bitcoin uses the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, altcoins typically use proof-of-stake (PoS). There are different altcoin categories, and they can best be defined by their consensus mechanisms and unique functionalities.
Here are the most common types of altcoins:
Mining-based altcoins use the proof-of-work method, most commonly known as PoW, which allows systems to generate new coins by way of mining. Mining entails solving complex problems to create blocks. Monero (XMR), Litecoin (LTC) and ZCash (ZEC) are all examples of mining-based altcoins.
Stablecoins aim to reduce the volatility that has marked crypto trading and use since the beginning. The value of stablecoins is, therefore, pegged to the value of a basket of goods, like precious metals, fiat currencies or other cryptocurrencies. The basket serves as a reserve in case the cryptocurrency encounters problems. Dai (DAI), USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT) are all examples of stablecoins.
True to its name, a security token is similar to traditional securities traded in stock markets. They resemble traditional stocks and represent equity, either in the form of ownership or dividends. Security tokens attract investors because of the high probability that their price will appreciate quickly.
Memecoins are called such because they represent a silly take on well-known cryptocurrencies. They are typically hyped by celebrities and popular influencers in the crypto space. Popular meme coins Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), for example, often have their prices driven up by Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO and well-known crypto enthusiast.
Utility tokens are used to provide services like rewards, network fees and purchases within a given network. Utility tokens do not offer equity, unlike security tokens. Filecoin (FIL), for example, is a utility token used to purchase storage on a decentralized storage network.
Altcoin fundamental analysis involves looking at and evaluating all available information on an altcoin. It involves looking at the cryptocurrency’s use cases and its network, as well as the team behind the project, to fully understand and evaluate the best altcoins to buy.
When analyzing altcoins, or any cryptocurrency for that matter, the goal is to understand whether the asset in question is overvalued or undervalued. Overvalued assets should be avoided, whereas undervalued assets are more ideal. This is because overvalued assets will likely underperform and dip back to their real value. Undervalued assets, on the other hand, have more potential for growth and are consistently profitable.
A thorough analysis will help you make the best decision concerning your investment decisions.
Here are some helpful guidelines on how to analyze cryptocurrency before investing:
Scrutinizing a token’s whitepaper will provide a lot of relevant information such as its use cases, goals and the team’s vision for the project. The white paper must give you a good picture of how the altcoin will provide value for its users.
The value proposition for Bitcoin, for example, is as follows: “a decentralized digital currency, without a central bank or single administrator, that can be sent from user to user on a peer-to-peer network without the need for intermediaries.”
An altcoin’s value proposition can guide you as you continue to analyze other information about it.
Looking at supply and demand is one of the best ways to assess your next crypto investment. Now that you’ve gotten a clear picture of how the altcoin adds value to its users, it’s time to look at how it navigates supply and demand.
Simply put, the altcoin should have incentives that will facilitate the increase of demand in such a way that supply is continually decreasing or stable. When demand outpaces supply, prices go up, thereby fueling even more demand.
To do this, you can access resources like Cointelegraph’s Price Indexes and Market News, as well as Coin 360’s Heatmap and CoinMarketCap.
Now that you have a good understanding of what the project can offer, it’s also important to thoroughly assess the team behind the project. You can find information about the team on the project’s white paper, but try to do independent research on them as well. You can check out the official project site’s team page as well as their LinkedIn profiles which they should have made public and accessible to all.
Ask the following questions when looking into each member’s background:
The goal is to find if the team behind the project is experienced and composed of experts who know what they are doing. You can look at on-chain analytics platforms and blockchain explorers to supplement your research regarding this. You can also sniff around their social media profiles or check out Twitter for conversations they engage in.
Ethereum, for instance, has such a strong investment community because every individual working on Ethereum creates value for Ethereum holders. Despite issues such as high fees and slow transactions, developers, community builders and other top talents still want to go onboard with Ethereum-related projects.
Platforms like AAVE and OpenSea, for example, are built on Ethereum. The logic behind ensuring a strong core team backing the project is because it creates a ripple effect. A project with a strong talented team attracts even more credible forward-thinkers, thereby allowing even more projects and improvements to be built upon the platform, much like Ethereum. These people strive to continually improve on available platforms and initiatives related to the project, thus creating even more value for currency holders.
When it comes to altcoin investing, there are a variety of options you can choose from. However, it’s always prudent to know which ones have the most potential to ensure you will be making a smart investment.
On January 5, digital currency markets shed a great deal of value as bitcoin dropped below the $44K handle during the late afternoon (EST) trading sessions on Wednesday. Nearly every coin has shed 24-hour value, but a slew of crypto assets have seen double-digit gains and have managed to stave off the crypto economy downturn. […]
The company is pushing new use cases for blockchain payments through its partnerships with Bitso and Stellar Development Foundation.
Crypto-focused enterprise payment platform Tribal Credit has concluded a $40 million debt offering that was funded through fiat and stablecoins — giving the company additional capital to expand its business services in Latin America.
The so-called hybrid debt round was financed by Partners for Growth, a California-based investment firm, and Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), which is a non-profit organization supporting the growth of the Stellar blockchain. Tribal said it will use the capital to fund receivables from its customer base throughout Latin America, particularly Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru.
Tribal COO Duane Good explained to Cointelegraph that funding receivables from its customer base means that “Tribal can use the debt facility to help customers” in the aforementioned countries. In other words, “this new debt facility will be used to support our customer's spending on the Tribal platform.”
When asked about the mechanics of the hybrid debt raise, Good explained that “a portion of the debt facility was established with SDF and funded through USDC.” A traditional debt facility, by contrast, “is an agreement with insittutiional lenders that enables a financial services firm to draw on the facility to support the underlying credit needs of their portfiolio.”
Launched in 2016, Tribal Credit provides credit cards and other forms of funding to startups in emerging markets. The company also employs a cross-border payment system supported by cryptocurrency exchange Bitso that allows businesses to convert local currency to Stellar’s USDC stablecoin. Integration with Stellar blockchain began in April 2021 after Tribal received $3 million from the Stellar Development Foundation.
Related: Crypto payments solutions firm Ramp raises $53 million to increase adoption of DApps
"Mexico could be another example of a country adopting cryptocurrencies for remittances, as estimates have shown they could reduce costs by 50% to 90%." - @ashady, CEO of Tribal. For more information, visit: https://t.co/g0oa3GvzZ4#TribalCredit
— Tribal Credit (@TribalCredit) October 22, 2021
Tribal and others have identified small businesses as a major source of growth for crypto payments and remittances, especially in emerging markets where access to traditional financial services is often limited. Data from the World Bank shows that small- and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets create roughly seven out of 10 jobs, making their access to financing more important.
The host of crypto channel Coin Bureau is unveiling his outlook for Stellar (XLM) next year after the XRP competitor’s lackluster performance in 2021. In a new video, pseudonymous analyst Guy tells his 1.78 million YouTube subscribers that while Stellar (XLM) doubled in price this year, the altcoin’s gains are “peanuts” compared to the performance […]
The post Will XRP’s Primary Competitor Outperform Crypto Markets in 2022? Coin Bureau Updates Outlook on Stellar Lumens (XLM) appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
A largely proclaimatory meetup generated a positive response, with the industry appearing ready for a busy new year on the Hill.
On Dec. 8, top executives from six major crypto companies faced the United States House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee during a special hearing on digital assets. While the tone of the conversation was largely proclaimatory, the industry reacted with an optimistic buzz — it seems that crypto is bound to become a hot topic on the Hill for years to come.
The meeting that took place in Congress also garnered much attention from mainstream media. What’s notable is the fact that this hearing is the first time that the industry’s senior leaders (aka “crypto moguls”) directly expressed the fears and hopes of the $2.2-trillion sector to U.S. legislators.
The industry representatives who were summoned to testify at the hearing included Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle; Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX; Chad Cascarilla, CEO of Paxos; Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Development Foundation; Brian Brooks, CEO of Bitfury; and Alesia Haas, chief financial officer of Coinbase.
this is the first positive public hearing on crypto that I can remember
— Vance Spencer (@pythianism) December 8, 2021
congress seems to have done their homework, industry seems prepared and synchronized
still not sure what stellar is doing there
very bullish - could be the start of a trend
Some of the key legislators who actively engaged with the crypto industry captains were Representative Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas; Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California; Rep. Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York; Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California; Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina; Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, a Republican from Missouri; and Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio.
So, here’s how it went down on the big day.
Allaire supported this point with an example from his firm’s operations: “Just in the past several weeks, Circle has signed on institutional customers who are using these services for small-business payments, international remittances and efficient payments for remote workers.” As he optimistically stated, soon “Dollars on the internet will be as efficient and widely available as text messages and email.”
Brooks took the message even closer to key political tensions of the day as he emphasized the opposition between tech behemoths such as Meta (formally Facebook) and the decentralizing impulse of crypto:
At the center of the CEOs’ narrative was the humanitarian significance of digital assets and their developmental potential. Cascarilla framed crypto as a “really powerful tool for democratization of access.”
The point of crypto is to have true decentralization, and the projects that succeed will be the projects that achieve that. Bitcoin succeeded because there were literally millions of participants in the node network, and so there is no CEO of Twitter to deplatform you, there’s no CEO of JPMorgan to take away your credit card.
It was also Brooks who laid out the powerful promise of the blockchain-powered Web3 era.
Aside from the fiery rhetoric, the message from the industry leaders was crisp and straightforward: It’s about time to bilaterally reconsider the rules of the game and put an end to the government’s suspicious paternalism. The industry is still being overseen by several federal agencies, state-by-state regulation is a mess, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to hold its grip, characterizing digital assets as securities.
Well #crypto community… engagement in Washington is working! I think it's clear from today's hearing that we've turned a corner. Keep building. We’ll keep educating. #wagmi
— Kristin Smith (@KMSmithDC) December 8, 2021
The last point was clearly emphasized as the main problem: Coinbase’s Haas proposed deeming blockchain-based tokens as digital property or a way to record ownership, which would put them outside of the SEC’s jurisdiction.
Brooks didn’t spare words when highlighting the dysfunctional patterns of the current situation: “What happens in the United States is you have a new crypto project, and you walk into the SEC, and you describe it in great detail, and you ask for guidance, and they say, ‘We can't tell you’ and ‘You list it at your own peril.’”
I’m surprised that after the congress hearings we didn’t get a pump! Today was a big day for crypto in the US! The hearings were super constructive and the senators were extremely positive! Incredible
— Ran NeuNer (@cryptomanran) December 8, 2021
The Dec. 8 hearing once again brought out a division regarding crypto-related issues that exists along party lines. Democrats focused their attention on investor protection and volatility, framing the industry as a potential threat to both uninformed investors and the global economy (environmental concerns were also mentioned.)
“Currently, cryptocurrency markets have no overarching or centralized regulatory framework, leaving investments in the digital assets space vulnerable to fraud, manipulation and abuse,” as Waters, who chairs the Financial Services Committee, put it.
Related: Lines in the sand: US Congress is bringing partisan politics to crypto
Sherman, one of the industry’s most consistent critics, expressed this anxiety in a quite vague, if not cryptic, form: “The powers in our society on Wall Street and in Washington have spent millions, and are trying to make billions or trillions, in the crypto world.”
Republican legislators, who — following a decades-old pattern of the American electoral system — are projected to win the majority in Congress in the next midterm elections, demonstrated a pragmatic approach.
My hope is that Congress will work with the digital asset market in its infancy to help Americans prosper and progress us forward as leaders on the world stage.https://t.co/m6iKPql03Q
— Pete Sessions (@PeteSessions) December 11, 2021
In the words of McHenry, who is poised to chair the Financial Services Committee if the GOP wins back the House:
This technology is already regulated. Now, the regulations may be clunky, they may not be up to date. I ask my friends, my policymaker friends here on the Hill, this question: Do you know enough about this technology to have a serious debate?
Sessions went even further and gave an outright cheer to the industry, uttering a promise to support it: “I am tremendously impressed that from what I see, a lot of the ingenuity, a lot of entrepreneurial spirit, and lots of advice about the future, about where this can grow, is, I think, very important for us to listen to.”
Despite certain disagreements between legislators, the hearing sparked a largely positive reaction from the crypto community, with Jake Chervinsky, head of policy at the Blockchain Association, calling it “the most positive, constructive, & bipartisan public event on crypto I’ve seen in Congress” and other experts largely projecting similar vibes.
Today's HFSC hearing was the most positive, constructive, & bipartisan public event on crypto I've seen in Congress — ever. I mean that literally.
— Jake Chervinsky (,) (@jchervinsky) December 8, 2021
It's a testament to the effectiveness of industry & community engagement in DC in recent months. We've made shockingly big progress.
Some representatives also projected an empathic epigraph in the aftermath of the hearing. Perhaps the most eloquent reaction belongs to Meeks, who demonstrated a moderate optimism toward the industry’s future:
The future of innovation in the financial markets is inevitable.
— Rep. Gregory Meeks (@RepGregoryMeeks) December 8, 2021
The use of digital assets can help underserved communities access additional financial tools - but we must make sure there is global coordination around regulation. pic.twitter.com/2DbvTZKMvp
The silence of crypto critic Sherman, normally an active Twitter user, was also notable.
The overall optimistic mood of the hearing stands in contrast to some of the recent regulatory actions taken by the U.S. government. For one, the SEC denied WisdomTree’s application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund after seven months of consideration, keeping it impossible to invest in a regulated financial product providing direct exposure to the world’s oldest cryptocurrency.
Surely, the hearing will not be the last turn in the crypto-government conversation, even for 2021. Already, a hearing on stablecoins took place before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Dec. 14.
As Representative McHenry put it, “Congress must work to fully understand and embrace these innovative new technologies, like #crypto.” It looks like everyone should brace for a busy 2022 in crypto policy and regulation.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation supports a Stellar-based private stablecoin project developed by a local bank.
Tascombank, one of the oldest commercial banks in Ukraine, is launching a Stellar-based pilot for Ukraine’s national fiat currency, the hryvnia.
The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) announced on Tuesday a private electronic hryvnia pilot launched by Tascombank and fintech company Bitt.
The electronic hryvnia pilot is being implemented under the supervision of the National Bank of Ukraine and is supported by the Ministry of Digital Transformation (MDT).
Oleksandr Bornyakov, deputy minister of the MDT, said that the pilot project will provide a “technological basis for the issuance of electronic money” and is the “next key step to advance innovation of payment and financial infrastructure in Ukraine.”
SDF CEO Denelle Dixon told Cointelegraph that the pilot work has already kicked off, with the first test including programmable payroll for public employees at Diia, a public IT solutions enterprise owned and supported by the MDT of Ukraine.
“This regulated electronic hryvnia will be privately issued e-money on blockchain technology, built under Ukraine’s current e-money legislation,” Dixon noted.
The purpose of the initiative is to test the issuance of electronic money on an open blockchain. Tascombank is responsible for building and testing the electronic hryvnia on Stellar to deploy it on Bitt’s transaction network known as Digital Currency Management System, or DCMS.
“Bitt’s DCMS will equip Tascombank with all of the technology required to securely mint, store, issue, distribute, and redeem the electronic hryvnia,” Bitt CEO Brian Popelka said.
While Bitt is providing a transaction network, SDF will help Tascombank “configure for their asset control needs while maintaining the interoperability and flexibility of an open ledger,” Dixon noted.
Related: Ukrainian president returns virtual asset bill to parliament for revision
The Ukrainian government has been actively exploring Stellar for digital currency implementations. In January 2021, the MDT first partnered with the SDF to develop a digital asset and infrastructure strategy for a central bank digital currency.
“We continue to provide input and guidance to MDT on their strategy work,” Dixon stated, adding that the electronic hryvnia pilot project is a separate workstream.
The hearing, "Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States," is the latest from Congress to explore the issues concerning crypto assets.
Maxine Waters, the chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, has announced several chief executive officers at major crypto firms in the United States will speak at a hearing to discuss digital assets and the future of finance.
According to a Wednesday announcement, Waters said Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Bitfury CEO Brian Brooks, Paxos CEO Chad Cascarilla, Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon, and Alesia Haas, the CEO of Coinbase Inc. and the chief financial officer of Coinbase Global, will be witnesses at a full House committee hearing held on Dec. 8. The hearing, named "Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: Understanding the Challenges and Benefits of Financial Innovation in the United States," is the latest from Congress to explore the challenges of adopting crypto assets.
Looking forward to hearing next week with @RepMaxineWaters, ranking member @PatrickMcHenry, and the full committee (@FSCDems) to discuss Crypto and national economic competitiveness for the United States. https://t.co/rVHAvaPMUd
— Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) December 1, 2021
On the other side of the U.S. Capitol building, Senate Banking Committee chair Sherrod Brown called on several crypto firms to release information related to consumer and investor protection on stablecoins. The notices to Coinbase, Gemini, Paxos, TrustToken, Binance.US, Circle, Centre and Tether requesting information by Friday suggest the committee may be planning a hearing on stablecoins in the future.
Related: US Congress plans ‘demystifying crypto’ committee hearing for Nov. 17
Though committees from both the House and the Senate have previously discussed the issues surrounding cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies and blockchain, lawmakers seem to be giving the technology more attention as mainstream interest in the space grows. In November, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets penned a report suggesting that stablecoin issuers in the United States should be subject to “appropriate federal oversight” akin to that of banks and that legislation was “urgently needed” to address risks.
Flutterwave is teaming up Tempo Payments to use USDC on Stellar to target Africa’s enormous remittances market.
The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has announced that it will facilitate a new remittance channel between Europe and Africa using the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin.
On Oct. 25, the SDF announced that global payments technology company Flutterwave will use the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin on the Stellar network to simplify remittances between Africa and Europe.
Flutterwave will work alongside Stellar’s principal EU payments partner, Paris-based money transfer operator, Tempo Payments.
Olugbenga Agboola, CEO at Flutterwave, commented that it is more expensive to send money to sub-Saharan Africa than to any other region in the world. He added that the new partnership will help to expand the network and “bring all-important, cost-effective money transfer services to African business owners.”
Flutterwave claims to have processed more than 140 million transactions worth over $9 billion to date, serving over 290,000 businesses which including Uber, Booking.com, and Facebook. The firm already has the infrastructure in more than 33 African countries, including Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa.
The SDF has been targeting Africa for roughly one year, with the foundation teaming up with East African payments firm ClickPesa in November 2020. ClickPesa provides on and off-ramps to the banking systems of Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda.
Stellar and its partners face stiff competition as there are already several payments companies operating in Africa, including WorldRemit, Azimo, Transferwise, Payoneer, and Xoom.
Africa has become a key market for payments companies because much of the population remains unbanked. However, remittances have fallen during pandemic-induced lockdowns, with Africa.com recently reporting a 28% drop in remittances to Nigeria last year.
The outlet also predicted that more transfers will be made in cryptocurrencies by 2025, adding that digital assets are likely to penetrate Africa's remittance market despite exclusionary policies from local governments.
Related: Crypto in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges, Explained
In February, Stellar announced that it had integrated Circle’s USDC stablecoin. USD Coin has seen monumental growth in 2021, with its market cap surging 733% since the beginning of the year to tag $32.5 billion.
Stellar’s native token, XLM, has gained 2.2% over the past 24 hours to trade at $0.386 according to CoinGecko. However, XLM is still down 56% from its January 2018 all-time high of $0.875.
Moneygram, one of the leaders in the cross-border payments and remittances market, has partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation to use the Stellar blockchain for settlements. The company will use the native version of USD coin (USDC), a popular stablecoin, to simplify and accelerate the process of sending remittances. This also means that Moneygram will […]
