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"Buckle Up" For Bitcoin's Next Bull Run, Cameron Winklevoss Says

Gemini CEO and co-founder Cameron Winklevoss believes that the next Bitcoin bull run coming up will be “dramatically different,” due to the innovative financial resources that crypto investors have access to nowadays and to the current economic infrastructure.

Winklevoss Anticipates Next BTC Bull Run

Compared to previous bull markets, the billionaire crypto philanthropist said that with the rise of infrastructure, the influx of capital, and better projects at hand, Bitcoin (BTC) is set for its next bull run:

“The next Bitcoin bull run will be dramatically different. Today, there’s exponentially more capital, human capital, infrastructure, and high-quality projects than in 2017. Not to mention the very real specter of inflation that all fiat regimes face going forward. Buckle up!”

The Winklevoss brothers are on the same page regarding Bitcoin. Last week, Cameron’s twin brother and co-founder of Gemini, Tyler Winklevoss, commented on the US Federal Reserve’s economic stimulus strategy having a positive impact on Bitcoin and its pricing on the crypto market. Winklevoss stated that the Federal Reserve had set the stage for BTC’s next bull run. He referred to the fact that the US government is actively printing money in bulk in order to deliver an economic stimulus package to its citizens, to provide pandemic relief.

Americans Use First-Time Stimulus Check for BTC

What seems to be interesting however, is that according to a report by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, instead of using their funds towards goods and services, many Americans directd their first-time stimulus checks of $1,200 towards investing in BTC funds.

So despite coronavirus and the economic downfall happening worldwide, things appear to be looking up for the cryptocurrency market. Data points hint that crypto investors’ capital have been on the rise. Furthermore, with the increase in regulatory policies and the clarity of them, the infrastructure of the crypto market has been improving considerably.

Why Was More Money Involved In the Last BTC Rally?

Researchers looked at two key points to explain why more money has been involved in the latest Bitcoin rally, where the dominant cryptocurrency underwent a huge surge.

First of all, Tether(USDT), the market capitalization of Tether, the biggest stablecoin on the cryptocurrency market, has surpassed $10 billion in assets. Secondly, Grayscale Investments, the big-time cryptocurrency investment firm, has recently achieved a new high in the Assets Under Management (AUM) department.

Stablecoin Tether On Top of Its Game

Tether has been up to now the biggest stablecoin on the crypto market. Investors worldwide have therefore relied a lot on the stablecoin to trade crypto. Countries with poor regulatory policies revolving around cryptocurrency regulation have favored Tether, as it is a stablecoin. With the rise in market cap of Tether to $10 billion, this may mean that cryptocurrency exchanges might be on the brink of a huge money influx, with more funds being used on them.

As to further explain why more money has been involved in the latest BTC bull run, researchers turn towards Grayscale’s crypto-asset trusts as an explanation. The crypto asset trust funds of the large-scale investment firm are arguably the most utilized investment vehicles employed by businesses and networks looking to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies.

Grayscale Investments Reaches $5.1 Billion

Recently, the assets under management by Grayscale Investments have achieved a new record, reaching an all-time high of $5.1 billion.

On the subject matter, CEO of Grayscale Investments, Barry Silbert, said that Bitcoin has too much support from US government officials to ever be dismissed and shut down. The CEO thinks that blockchain firms’ success with regulatory policies put forth by officials can be attributed to pro-blockchain groups, such as Blockchain Association. The latter is a group who has advocated for digital firms by appealing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in the past.

Silbert thinks that the blockchain industry has come a long way, with more and more investors looking at Bitcoin as an interesting hedge. In a Twitter post, he spoke about his own personal experience with his cryptocurrency investment firm. Silbert said that in 2013, when his company launched a Bitcoin investment fund, everyone thought they were crazy. “Well, look at us now…,” he added.

This Week’s Bitcoin Bull Run

Overall, projects and companies in the Bitcoin and crypto industry seem to be increasing in quality. With the latest Bitcoin rally that happened earlier this week, there seems to be an indication that the cryptocurrency industry is on the rise. Bitcoin surged past the $10,000 mark on Monday, creating a buzz in the financial industry.

CEO of financial consultancy firm deVere Group, Nigel Green, was even bold enough to state that the cryptocurrency is set to potentially “knock gold from its long-held position” of being a safe-haven asset.

Image source: Shutterstock

Bitfinex and Tether's Appeal Rejected by New York Judge

Earlier this year, the New York Attorney General’s office has made allegations against Bitfinex of using up Tether’s cash reserves in April 2019. The accusations were made regarding the cryptocurrency exchange of losing $850 million, and thereafter taking funds from Tether’s reserves to cover the loss. The NYAG office started to investigate iFinex Inc, the company was registered in the BVI and owns both Bitfinex and Tether.

In a press release by New York Attorney General Letitia James, she stated:

“Our investigation has determined that the operators of the ‘Bitfinex’ trading platform, who also control the ‘tether’ virtual currency, have engaged in a cover-up to hide the apparent loss of $850 million dollars of co-mingled client and corporate funds. New York state has led the way in requiring virtual currency businesses to operate according to the law. And we will continue to stand up for investors and seek justice on their behalf when misled or cheated by any of these companies.”

The lawyers of Bitfinex and Tether asked Judge Joel Cohen of the New York Supreme Court to dismiss the case, the main argument is that both firms do not have any clients in the state of New York. It was later on revealed that on July 10, the Metropolitan Commercial Bank of New York shut down accounts associated with Tether.

Photo: Judge Cohen

Judge Cohen reportedly decided to give a 90-day extension to the case, which will give the New York Attorney General’s office to continue investigating. Judge Cohen also dismissed Bitfinex and Tether’s motion to appeal after the ruling.

The Government is Taking Action on Bitfinex, Who’s Next?

Judge Cohen image via Law.com, thumbnail image via Shutterstock

Tether Plans to Issue Stablecoin Backed by Chinese Yuan

Tether has been reportedly working on a new stablecoin pegged to the Chinese Yuan. The stablecoin project named “CNHT” came from the intention of Zhao Dong, one of the shareholders of the Bitfinex crypto exchange.

Zhao Dong’s digital banking business, RerenBit will be supporting CNHT’s trading and deposit services as soon as it is launched.

Zhao also confirmed that he believes that the new stablecoin “will be launched very soon, possibly within weeks.” The new stablecoin’s reserve is expected to be held in a Belgian bank.

The two main benefits explained by Zhao include that it would make Tether less dependent on the US dollar while boosting the circulation of the Renminbi held offshore.

He later added:

“Personally, I think the offshore yuan stablecoin could boost the circulation of offshore Renminbi and internationalize it. Regulators may be happy to see it proceed and succeed.”

Amidst the new stablecoin plans, Bitfinex and Tether are still under an ongoing investigation regarding an alleged cover-up. The NYAG is inquiring into Bitfinex’s loss of access to funds totaling to $850 million and borrowing funds from Tether’s US dollar reserve.

Bitfinex Permitted to Withhold Documents About Alleged $850 Million Cover-up

The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court has ruled that Bitfinex is legally allowed to withhold documents pertaining to the alleged cover-up of an $850 million loss on its trading platform.

A court order authorized by court justices David Friedman, Peter Tom, Troy Webber, Ellen Gesmar and Jeffrey Oing has stopped the previous ruling of New York Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen that required Bitfinex to produce documents and information related to the loss of $850 million from its trading platform.

The story so farIn April 2019, the New York Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint against Bitfinex, parent company iFinex and affiliated stablecoin issuer Tether—alleging that the companies were in violation of New York law in connection with activities that may have defrauded New York-based crypto investors by covering up the loss on the Bitfinex trading platform.

Attorney General Letitia James revealed that her office obtained a court filing which alleged that Tether had given Bitfinex access to $900 million of Tether’s cash reserves through a series of masked corporate transactions. The funds were then used to hide the losses and satiate clients’ withdrawal requests.

James wrote at the time that the Attorney General’s office had determined that, “Operators of the ‘Bitfinex’ trading platform, who also control the ‘tether’ virtual currency, have engaged in a cover-up to hide the apparent loss of $850 million dollars of co-mingled client and corporate funds. New York state has led the way in requiring virtual currency businesses to operate according to the law. And we will continue to stand up for investors and seek justice on their behalf when misled or cheated by any of these companies.”

Image via Shutterstock

Bitfinex and Tether Face Market Manipulation Class Action Lawsuit

Roche Freedman, New York-based legal firm, filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of those who own cryptocurrency against Bitfinex and Tether and others for crypto market manipulation and creating the largest bubble in history.

In the class-action suit, the New York-based legal firm alleged that Bitfinex and Tether had been involved in manipulating markets and concealing illicit proceeds, as stated in the tweet by the law firm’s founding partner, Kyle Roche.

The complaint filed with the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York stated that Bitfinex and Tether were involved in a sophisticated scheme to defraud investors. The complaint said that the action concerns a “part-fraud, part-pump-and-dump, and part-money laundering.”

Tether’s asset backing notion debunked

The document further notes that Tether claims “that the number of [USDT] tokens in circulation will always equate to the dollars in its bank account.” However, this claim was a lie, according to Roche Freedman.

The law firm claimed that Tether “issued extraordinary amounts of unbacked USDT to manipulate cryptocurrency prices. Because the market believed the like that one USDT equaled one US dollar, Bitfinex and Tether had the power to, and did manipulate the market on an unprecedented scale to profit from boom-and-bust cycles they created.”

Image via Bitcoin Magazine

Tether Deny Bitcoin Bull Run Manipulation

Reporting on allegations made against Tether’s parent company iFinex, Tether has released follow up comments to deny any wrongdoing in the market.

The USDT backed stable coin quickly published responses stating, Tether and its affiliates have never used Tether tokens or issuances to manipulate the cryptocurrency market or token pricing. All Tether tokens are fully backed by reserves and are issued pursuant to market demand, and not for the purpose of controlling the pricing of crypto assets. It is reckless — and utterly false — to assert that Tether tokens are issued in order to enable illicit activity. Tether token issuances have quadrupled since December 2017. This growth is not a product of manipulation; it is a result of Tether’s efficiency, acceptance and widescale utility within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Market manipulation has been a constant and overwhelming feature across all crypto markets. Tether, large exchanges, and tokens have all been under severe scrutiny to start publishing internal documents and open up order books to the public.

Griffin and Shams, who have brought this article to the public have been continually researching the marketplace and came to the conclusion a Tether Whale, likely Bitfinex was the main reason behind the Bitcoin price run.

With both sides strongly believing in their figures and stats, it is unlikely any clear picture will show, until Bitfinex, open up their backend accounts.

Image via Shutterstock

Tether becomes First Stablecoin to be Integrated into Algorand 2.0 Blockchain

Tether has integrated its US dollar-backed stablecoin USDT into Algorand’s blockchain ecosystem. Tether is the first stablecoin to be launched on Algorand 2.0, and it facilitates automated wallet support, micropayments, and instant confirmation.

USDT hosted by different platforms

Tether has emerged as a behemoth in the stablecoin arena as it is the most utilized by traders on market capitalization and has existing partnerships with other platforms, such as Tron, Omni, EOS, Ethereum, and the Liquid Network.

Algorand is the latest platform to host USDT, and its users will be able to access it using high scalability and speed. For instance, it has been revealed that Tether’s presence on Algorand will see block confirmation undertaken in less than four seconds, and transaction fees will be a fraction of a cent, which optimizes blockchain opportunities for micropayments.

Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, acknowledged, “Our latest collaboration with Algorand leverages the speed and security of Algorand’s protocol to give traders fast settlement and reduced counterparty risk in their fiat to digital asset transactions. Tether and Algorand both share a desire to keep building next-generation financial products, and we feel our growing customer base will appreciate and benefit greatly from this collaboration.”

Defi economy to be boosted

Algorand Inc’s CEO, Steve Kokinos, noted that Tether’s presence on their platform would prove to be a gamechanger for worldwide DeFi (decentralized finance) participants as it is one of the quickest means of moving money across the globe.

He acknowledged, “We are excited that Tether has chosen to join the Algorand ecosystem, and its stablecoin will benefit from technology that provides immediate transaction finality and security to support a strong and more stable DeFi economy.”

Notable financial institutions, such as central banks and leading financial service providers, have been penetrating the stablecoin space. For instance, in October 2019, the Global Currency Organization revealed the establishment of a new USD Digital (USDD) token that was to be instrumental in institutions’ revenue sharing.

Image via Shutterstock

Tether Brings into Play Anti-Money Laundering Solutions with Chainalysis Tool

Tether, the most leveraged stablecoin provider based on market capitalization, has deployed a tool provided by Chainalysis, a blockchain analytical company, in its quest to have anti-money laundering (AML) compliance solutions. Tether stated in a press release that the company will usethe Know Your Transaction (KYT) tool by Chainalysis to get more AML tracking insights.

Tether seeks real-time monitoring

By leveraging on the KYT tool, Tether intends to maximize the surveillance of its US dollar-backed stablecoin USDT usage in its blockchain network. This approach will be instrumental in red-flagging suspicious transactions in real-time.

Tether will, therefore, benefit from full-cycle surveys of its stablecoins from the time they were issued to the redemption moment. The data provided will be beneficial in mitigating any risks that may be prompted by suspicious activities on its entire network.

Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, asserted that they have the responsibility to have automated and transparent compliance solutions to regulators and the entire crypto ecosystem. As a result, the Chainalysis KYT tool will be useful in realizing this objective. He, however, noted that a user’s vital data would not be shared as it is safely stored in servers.

Jonathan Levin, CSO and co-founder of Chainalysis, acknowledged, “By putting proper AML transaction monitoring in place, Tether is demonstrating its commitment to transparency and regulatory compliance, further building trust among its growing user base.”

Regulators on the watch out

Tether’s intentions of deploying the KYT tool come, at a time when regulators across the globe have become more stringent on money laundering measures in the crypto space. This is intended to stamp more confidence and authority in this sector.

Tether has also shown its plan to propel its dominance in the stablecoin arena by forming formidable partnerships. For instance, it recently collaborated with Algorand making it the first stablecoin to be integrated into Algorand 2.0. Some of the benefits rendered will include reduced block confirmation to be accomplished in under four seconds.

Meeting new and existing regulatory compliance standards

Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex has also been using Chainalysis Know Your Transaction (KYT) to meet new and existing regulatory and compliance standards, and establish a safer, more secure platform for their users. Chainalysis KYT software enhances the compliance and transparency of cryptocurrency exchanges, like Bittrex, by monitoring large volumes of cryptocurrency activity and identifying high-risk transactions on a continuous basis, feeding the exchange more accurate data on each of their users.

Image via Shutterstock

US Court to Determine Which Law Firm Should Lead Classic Action Against Tether

Stablecoin issuer Tether, owned by iFinex and its other subsidiary, Bitfinex exchange, is facing charges of allegedly manipulating the price of Bitcoin in 2017. Although the company, on the other hand, is vehemently in denial of the charges leveled against it.

This leaves the court with the responsibility of determining which firm should lead the classic action against Tether. Proceedings in a US courthouse for the Southern District of New York, pass judgment on Katherine Failla heard on Feb. 25, from three plaintiff firms who brought the charges against iFinex et.al. With court set to determine which firms will take the lead in a magnificence motion with more than tens of thousands of aggrieved contributors.

As the legal process to determine who takes the lead gets tense, Kyle Roche, representing plaintiffs Leibowitz et al., submitted that his company Roche Cyrulnik Freedman LLP was once the primary platform to analyze the alleged price manipulation, the primary to record a grievance, and the only one to have in possession a high level of experience in cryptocurrency. Roche stated, “cryptocurrency is exclusive, the legislation is new, and this example gives tricky definitional problems.”

Who is in the right position to sue Tether?

Karen Lerner of Kirby Mcinerney LLP, who represents plaintiffs’ Younger, Kurtz, Crystal, et al., in her arguments she stated, “We’re magnificence motion legal professionals, and we’re antitrust and commodities legal professionals.” She contended that although they weren’t the primary to record a grievance, their paintings used to be essentially the most authentic, with in-depth regression research that known 115 explicit dates when marketplace manipulation befell and 256 precise transactions. Their company’s proprietary set of rules would display “a lockstep pricing dating between spot Bitcoin and Bitcoin futures,” she argued.

With doubt within the crypto community in doubt for a long time as to the allegations that Tether is in fact supported by the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio as claimed; and the Griffin paper finding Insufficient Tether reserves, it will be beneficial to all parties involved in the case brought against Tether and its partner to have the most capable firm lead the case before the court.

Image via Shutterstock

Tether's Blockchain Ecosystem Continues to Grow with USDT Launch on Bitcoin Cash Network

Tether’s USDT token, the world’s largest stablecoin by marketcap, has launched on the Bitcoin Cash network.

As the Coronavirus disruption has taken hold of the markets, it appears that people are not turning to either Bitcoin or Gold in the face of the crisis but cold hard cash and their digital alternatives. Tether in particular has seen a surge of interest and its stablecoin, USDT, currently has a market cap of over $5.7 billion and over $180 million in new tokens have been created over the last few days.

USDT is available on the Bitcoin Cash network via the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) which is BCH’s token conceptually similar to Etheruem’s ERC20. USDT is also available on Algorand, EOS, Tron, Omni and the Liquid Network.

The SLP protocol allows anyone to create tokens on the Bitcoin Cash network in a permissionless way. The majority of Tether token run on Ethereum and a moving a significant proportion to the Bitcoin Cash network , which has larger blocks and lower fees than bitcoin itself, may help reduce demand on the Ethereum network and lower gas fees.

“A key strength of Tether is that it is underpinned by a rich diversity of different blockchains,” said Paolo Ardoino, CTO at Tether. “Our latest collaboration with Bitcoin Cash will provide Tether with a variety of benefits. We expect the adoption after launch to be pretty easy for any integrator. The launch will also support more applications on the Bitcoin Cash chain, with Tether facilitating payment for these applications.”

Bitcoin Cash Wallet Upgrade

Bitcoin Cash’s Bitcoin,com recent wallet upgrade supports its users in accessing SLP tokens and now USDT as well.

“It’s extremely exciting to hear that the world’s biggest stablecoin will be using the Bitcoin Cash Blockchain and that the millions of Bitcoin.com wallet holders will be able to send and receive Tether using SLP tokens,” said Roger Ver, Executive Chairman of Bitcoin.com.

With built-in token management support, users can send, receive, and store a variety of tokens that represent anything from dollar-pegged stablecoins to virtual gaming assets and company loyalty points, with the private keys held only by the user.

USDT hosted by different platforms

Prior to the Bitcoin Cash announcement, Algorand became the latest platform to host USDT, and its users will be able to access it using high scalability and speed. For instance, it has been revealed that Tether’s presence on Algorand will see block confirmation undertaken in less than four seconds, and transaction fees will be a fraction of a cent, which optimizes blockchain opportunities for micropayments.

Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, acknowledged, “Our collaboration with Algorand leverages the speed and security of Algorand’s protocol to give traders fast settlement and reduced counterparty risk in their fiat to digital asset transactions. Tether and Algorand both share a desire to keep building next-generation financial products, and we feel our growing customer base will appreciate and benefit greatly from this collaboration.”

Image via Shutterstock