Chainlink has been making partnership and integration announcements nonstop throughout the year, although adversity is no stranger to its path.

The year 2020 has been a year full of abrupt changes and high peaks of varied standards in every corner of the economy. In the cryptocurrency ecosystem, a voracious battle took 5 currencies in the highest spots, Bitcoin cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Litecoin (LTC), Cardano (ADA), and LINK, are the primary currencies at the top of the crypto-economy nowadays. But recently, a movement of LINK throughout the year has placed this currency at the fifth spot; this was a sudden surprise for us all.

Chainlink has been creating paths of partnership and integration announcements throughout the year, although adversity is always on its path. There was a dubious report penned by Zeus Capital that called Chainlink a scam and crypto’s version of Wirecard. Zeus also claimed that it was compromised and building a short position in LINK with a 99% profit in the target.

The success of the oracle project has caused additional competition. It was also announced that a major crypto exchange OKEx is now getting into the oracle game.

Despite Competition and Critics, the Token Price Keeps Ascending

The decentralized finance space has been fully in the crypto world during all this year,  there are even comparisons with the ICO bubble. The total Ether (ETH) value locked in DeFi has exploded from just over $1 billion in mid-June to over $4.5 billion by early August.

Not all DeFi applications need some kind of price data as a feed but most of them do. A solid, decentralized feed is crucial to create an environment of opulence, wealth, and success and security of most DeFi apps. The absence of feeds has led to several well-documented deficits. Since Chainlink is the highlight player in this space, it stands to create a big gain from the growth of the DeFi space.

Interest in Chainlink is growing up fast, not only in the USA but the whole world; this info was found in data coming from Google trends. The main role in crypto price dynamics is led by the overall market sentiment crypto price dynamics. Interest in Bitcoin (BTC) climbed a high peak in late 2017 when its price touched an all-time high of $20,000.

Data oracle is saying that chainlink is now up nearly 1,000% from where it was during the Black Thursday sell-off. When it saw a bottom spot at a near-year low of $1.79 on March 17^th, LINK tokens have existed within a few cents of the $20 limit during the past few days. The price growth has been followed by an explosion of enthusiastic investors, searches of chainlink on Google has reached a high peak that has shadowed the bitcoin.

By Jenson Nuñez

The main reason is because of the exceeding fee in comparison with the transaction made. It is usually counted as some dispersed satoshis (a micro measurement of the currency).

Sometimes unwanted dirt makes its way into a bitcoin wallet and cleaning all the mess can turn into a headache, when it comes to Bitcoin the word “dust” is a term given to determine traces of bitcoins that are already too small to make a transaction with.

The main reason is because of the exceeding fee in comparison with the transaction made. It’s usually counted as some dispersed satoshis (a micro measurement of the currency). There’s no normal reason to consolidate a transaction using sand, normal bitcoiners usually avoid using dust for any operation but there are uses for it

The dust must settle so it can be useful

Entities conducting blockchain analytics sometimes use dust to deanonymize users, which in other words means that is a technique used in data mining that attempts to re-identify encrypted or obscured information about the users.

The mission is the creation of sufficiency in the determinations between the analysis firm’s wallet and the addresses. With the links already created the firm is completely able to start a new analysis using the data collected to trace IP addresses to the wallets. Beyond the imminent threat of anonymity, there’s a serious interest in consolidating these UTXOs, this means, this leads to bigger spending on more fees, more than the dust’s actual worth.

Is There a Limit in the Dust Amount?

To alleviate the notable impact dust has on the network, it’s suggested to start raising the dust limit as designated by the Bitcoin Core wallet. subsequently, wallets are carefully designed to cap transactions at 546 sats (0.00000546 BTC, or roughly 7 cents). If this limit were raised, then executing a dusting attack would result in a very expensive activity.

Another fix was started by Bitcoin Core Developer Peter Todd some time ago which involves wrangling dust UTXOs and spending them in a CoinJoin transaction to maintain the privacy under good conditions.

“I’m not sure that raising the dust limit would prevent this,” Ergo, a pseudonymous analyst for OXT Research, told recently. Arguing that no guarantee raising the dust limit would ever solve the problem.

Blockchain analysts are willing to send dust if the limit is raised, fundamentally if there are high-dollar contracts on the game with agencies related to governments. Still, trivial transactions can be seen made by some bad actors and bitcoiners regularly.

Blockchain maintains a record of each transaction ever operated on the network, there is a high amount of space per block to fix new operations; dust causes unnecessary ballooning on Bitcoin’s transactions mainly because instead of accommodating as legitimate to build solid larger transactions is usually used to operations worth way less than the amount expected.

By Jenson Nuñez.

A sense among members of the cryptocurrency community has been growing recently about the dollar relevancy against Bitcoin’s imminent uprising.

Bitcoin (BTC) was flat after a big jump occurred on Monday; this jump leads to a new 2020 high peak above $12,400. Analysts are now talking about whether the largest cryptocurrency can hold the higher ground.  This event created a high volume and it was what is commonly called “a convincing break”. Elsewhere, prices for the recently-and-strangely-launched Curve DAO token poured 26% on Monday, even as total value locked into the affiliated Curve Finance protocol rose above the $1 billion, creating a five-fold increase on top of the last week.

In the past few days that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought shares in a gold miner, commentators instantly started to speculate about the billionaire investor that might be making bets against stability the dollar or U.S economy in general terms.

Bitcoin analysts and investors have been wondering why it took him so long, due to at least trillions of dollars of money that filled the financial system this year by the Federal Reserve to help capitalize U.S. national debt. 

“The money printer working overtime is causing Buffett and his board grave concern,” Mati Greenspan, of the foreign-exchange and cryptocurrency research firm Quantum Economics, wrote Monday. “While Buffett is perhaps not so sure how to react to a world that no longer values bonds and government debt, others are sure.”

A sense among members of the cryptocurrency community has been growing recently, a sense that their well-established assessment of the traditional financial system as unsustainable is finally getting attention among Wall Street experts, and most of the mainstream investors. If the concerns grow more, it might guide prices for bitcoin, which many digital-asset investors see as serious inflation protective barrier strongly similar to what gold is.

Goldman Sachs, which in May of this year criticized with fierce bitcoin saying that is “not a suitable investment, and talking about some of its weaknesses among other extra comparisons” hired a new head of digital assets and showed a rising interest in cryptocurrencies from institutional clients. The firm stated in July that the U.S. dollar will soon be at risk of losing its global status and was also losing relevancy.

Dick Bove, a five-decade Wall Street analyst that works now for the firm Odeon, made a report the last week mentioning that the U.S dollar-ruled financial system could end its days and the fault will be of the possibility of a multi-currency system that also includes digital currencies.

“The case for bitcoin as an inflationary hedge and sound investment is being articulated with crystal clarity by influential people outside of our crypto bubble,” the digital-asset analysis firm Messari wrote last week. Buffett never called back under any circumstances.

Currently, a preference from major businesses and governments is very unlikely, once they feel a glimpse of control, and education on this currency the acceptance will naturally grow. A world without the US dollar hegemony is possible now.

By Jenson Nuñez.

Experts note that Latin America pays for imports that arrive from Asia with cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin represents 63% of the total cryptocurrencies that Latin America trades.

The Asian continent sends the largest amount of Bitcoin that Latin America receives, according to the last report by the blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. China, Japan, and South Korea have become the most important trading partners in the Latin American ecosystem.

Between July and June, East Asia sent more than USD 10 billion worth of cryptocurrencies to addresses in Latin American countries, according to data from Chainalysis. The Asian territory thus becomes the largest provider of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for companies and users in Latin America.

Chinese owners and companies conduct most of their transactions with Latin America. Several Chinese traders, especially those who are dedicated to importing products, prefer to pay their Latin partners with Bitcoin and other digital assets. For that reason, a large part of the cryptocurrencies that enter the territory comes from the Asian market.

Even though the Latin American market is one of the smallest with which Asia interacts, its presence has grown thanks to traders on both continents, adds Chainalysis.

This has prompted several Asian exchanges to start providing their services in Latin America in recent months. In recent days, the South Korean exchange platform Bithumb announced that it would begin operations in Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil. Similarly, other renowned Asian brokerages such as Binance, OKEx, and OKCoin have decided to bet on the Latin American market.

Given that the majority of overseas Bitcoin transactions occur in China, Chainalysis researchers consider that Chinese users use cryptocurrencies to transfer their capital out of the domestic market without state supervision.

Latin Americans Prefer Bitcoin to Other Cryptocurrencies

In Latin America, Bitcoin continues to be the main cryptocurrency, according to the said report. Chainalysis states that Latin Americans typically trade more Bitcoin than other cryptocurrencies since this is the region’s preferred asset. Around 63% of the volume of cryptocurrency transactions conducted by Latin Americans occurs on the Bitcoin network, according to a graph from the research.

Latin America is the fourth territory with the largest presence of Bitcoin in its market worldwide. North America, Africa, and Eastern Europe surpass it by few digits. This coincides with the growth that the local market has achieved in the last twelve months. It has managed to mobilize around USD 42 million by the end of July, just on Localbitcoins.

Latin America is more interested in Bitcoin than in altcoins like Ether, Dash, Monero, and Zcash. The trading volume of altcoins is only 11% of the total market. Even stablecoins like Tether and Dai, which comprise 26% of this market, outperform them.

The Latin American cryptocurrency market has matured over the years and forecasts are very encouraging. According to the Spanish firm Ametic, the growth of this market will rebound in the next three years. There have even been discussions that investment in the blockchain sector will be above USD 200 million in 2023.

By Alexander Salazar

In recent days, the crypto analyst stated that Bitcoin may be heading for USD 50,000 by 2021. The current global economic crisis could be leading people to seek Bitcoin as a store of value.

Everyone is concerned about the price of the main cryptocurrency on the market. The latest rise in its price has led analysts in the crypto community to wonder what the fate of the cryptocurrency will be.

Tone Vays has a very clear opinion on this matter since he states that Bitcoin is heading for USD 50,000. Therefore, it is on the verge of a new big bullish rally in its price.

Crypto Market Situation in 2020

Undoubtedly, 2020 will be one of the most important years in the history of Bitcoin. After the third halving on the cryptocurrency blockchain, huge expectations around where the virtual currency is going have risen. At the moment, there is debate about its quality as a store-of-value asset for the great world capitals.

In this sense, Anthony Pompliano, among other important crypto influencers, referred to Bitcoin as the gold of the future. He says that it is a financial asset in which large capitals can protect their money from the turmoil of the world economy. The price of BTC has given signs that it will hold or rise in the face of political, economic, or social uncertainty, just as has happened to gold.

The price of Bitcoin appears to be heading for a new bullish rally, which breaks the psychological barrier of USD 10,000 once again. Therefore, it is logical that many members of the crypto community begin to speculate on the occurrence of a large bull rally like the one in 2017. At that time, the price of the cryptocurrency almost reached USD 20,000 per BTC, after the second halving on the blockchain.

Bitcoin Heads for USD 50,000

Investor and crypto analyst Tone Vays believes that the price of Bitcoin is not only undergoing a new big bullish rally. He also thinks that it could be heading for a price of USD 50,000, thanks to the global economic situation. He said that this crisis could be weakening fiat money and strengthening store-of-value assets such as Bitcoin and gold.

In recent days, Vays said that the biggest factor was the huge capitulation occurring last March, not to mention that many people are afraid of the quarantine. He explained that the government is printing money to avoid riots, but it will eventually go bankrupt and will have to tax people so that cities can continue to function.

For this reason, Vays believes that the conditions exist for people to start migrating to alternative assets like Bitcoin, in an attempt to flee the collapse that will inevitably come. That situation could put Bitcoin around USD 50,000 by 2021.

Despite the recent surge in the price of Bitcoin, it seems that there is still not enough momentum to push BTC beyond USD 20,000. However, everything seems possible during the coronavirus crisis, and after the third halving on the Bitcoin blockchain.

By Alexander Salazar

The premium on the new Litecoin fund is currently 753%. In the case of Bitcoin Cash, the market premium is 351%.

On August 18^th, Grayscale announced the trading of the shares of two cryptocurrency funds based on Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash, respectively. Thus, the crypto investment company completes an offer of 10 funds, which began with the Bitcoin fund (GBTC), with a total amount of assets under management (AUM) above USD 6,000 million.

Grayscale’s Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash funds already existed, but the trading of the respective shares on the secondary market effectively began on August 17^th. Arcane Research revealed that the shares of Grayscale’s Litecoin fund have a net LTC value of USD 5.9. Given that the share price on the secondary market started at USD 50, the initial premium on the Litecoin fund was 753%, compared to the price of USD 59.43 on the regular market.

Regarding the Bitcoin Cash fund, the Net Asset Value (NAV) of BCH is USD 2.8 and its price on the initial secondary market was USD 12.5. This represents a premium of 351%, according to Arcane Research’s calculations.

A distinctive feature of this type of funds is that Grayscale assigns each share a value specific to the respective cryptocurrency. Then it assigns a premium value to the said share, above its market price, according to the demand.

After a stipulated waiting period (of 6 months in the case of GBTC), holders can trade their shares on the secondary market. Regardless of whether the premium is high, the dynamics of supply and demand for those shares can be attractive to some investors.

Investments in the GBTC fund exceed USD 5,000 million, while the sums of assets that Grayscale manages are USD 6,129 million.

Dynamics of Premiums in Grayscale

GBTC attracts 82% of investments in Grayscale funds, with each share containing USD 11.60 worth of BTC. On August 20^th, Arcane Research recorded a price of that share on the secondary market of USD 14.30, that is, a 23% increase compared to the spot price of Bitcoin. This premium on GBTC fund shares has reached up to 35% in previous months.

In the Ethereum fund (ETH), the demand has been considerably higher, raising the premium on the respective shares above 800%. This occurred in June, coinciding with the explosive growth of decentralized finance.

The introduction of the COMP token on the Compound lending platform, last June, contributed to tripling the total value locked on DeFi platforms in a few weeks. Most of these platforms run on Ethereum, as the community well knows.

The magnitude of the assets that Grayscale manages (USD 6,129 million) is minimal, compared to the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies (just 1.6%). However, it is very close to USD 6.7 billion worth of value currently locked on DeFi platforms.

The value of the assets that Grayscale manages is equivalent to 92% of the total value of decentralized finance, while the value of the assets invested in GBTC is equivalent to 75% of the value locked on DeFi platforms.

Regarding the high percentage of Bitcoin that Grayscale has acquired, compared to the BTC mined in the first quarter of this year, the cryptocurrency investment company is reportedly using a method of payment in cryptocurrencies. Consequently, the total BTC that it acquired was much less than it initially announced.

By Willmen Blanco