crypto traders

Up to 12 Million Iranians Own Cryptocurrency, Traders Choose Local Exchanges

01/11/2021 by Idelto Editor

Cryptocurrencies are a popular investment among Iranians and estimates suggest that the number of those who already own one coin or another may be as high as 12 million. The majority of Iranian traders prefer the services of local crypto exchanges, the chief executive of one of them claims.

Iranians Said to Transfer $180 Million in Crypto Daily

Despite the lack of proper rules for most of the crypto space and the government stance on the matter, a growing number of Iranians have been investing in decentralized digital money over the past months and years. “An estimated seven to 12 million Iranians own cryptocurrencies,” according to Hamed Mirzaei, CEO of Bitestan, one of the country’s crypto exchanges.

“Iranians’ daily crypto transactions is estimated between 30 and 50 trillion rials ($181 million), while there is no regulation over trade in cryptocurrencies,” Mirzaei was recently quoted as saying by Peyvast magazine. According to a report by the English-language business portal Financial Tribune, the executive also pointed out:

More than 88% of the deals are conducted via local exchange platforms.

This amount, Mirzaei elaborated, is higher than the total of all capital market transactions in the Islamic Republic. “An estimated seven to 12 million Iranians own cryptocurrencies,” the blockchain entrepreneur also revealed to Iranian media.

Mirzaei’s comments come after earlier this year Iranian officials voiced concerns over crypto assets attracting capital from traditional markets. In early May, digital coin trading platforms were accused of taking advantage of the volatile state of the stock market, where deals had seen a significant decline since last summer. At the time, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) advised Iranians to avoid cryptocurrency, warning them that these investments would be at their own risk.

Later that month, the parliament’s leadership asked the National Tax Administration to profile the owners of Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges and report back. The Speaker of the Majlis, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, stated that imposing a ban on crypto trade is not enough and called on the CBI to develop precise regulations for the sector. In July, members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly proposed a bill aimed at adopting rules for the exchange market.

Restrictions on crypto trading would deprive Iran of opportunities, Iranian fintech companies warned this year, expressing their opposition to government attempts to curb the operations of crypto exchanges. In April, the CBI authorized domestic banks and money exchangers to use locally mined cryptocurrencies to pay for imports but authorities went after other coin trade. The startups insisted crypto trading is not illegal and called on lawmakers and regulators to adopt rules allowing the sanctioned country to continue to benefit from decentralized money transfers.

Do you think Iranian authorities will change their stance on cryptocurrency exchange and investment? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

Analysts Discuss Bitcoin Over-the-Counter Desks Bubbling With BTC Demand

01/08/2021 by Idelto Editor

Digital currency markets have been gathering gains again moving past the lows seen a few weeks ago. This week crypto traders have been discussing over-the-counter (OTC) desks bubbling with demand for bitcoin as the co-founder of 21st Paradigm explained, “high net worth individuals [and] institutions want your bitcoin.”

Analyst Says Big Market Players ‘Want Your Bitcoin’

Most traders either use decentralized exchange (dex) platforms or centralized exchange (cex) operations to acquire bitcoin (BTC) and a myriad of other digital currencies. However, high-net-worth individuals and institutions usually don’t leverage dex or cex applications, as they choose to trade via over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks. OTC trading or off-exchange trading is trading between two parties directly and usually with help from the OTC desk’s representative. In contrast to trades that take place on cex or dex platforms, these trades are not recorded on order books. Although, transfers from crypto OTC desks can be recorded.

Two days ago, the co-founder of the advisory firm 21st Paradigm, Dylan LeClair, tweeted about some large OTC transfers last week by sharing a chart from Glassnode analytics. “Big transfer volumes from OTC Desks over the last week,” LeClair said at the time. “High net worth individuals [and] institutions want your bitcoin,” he added. Another individual agreed with LeClair and said “Yessssirr,” because the individual, Will Clemente, shared a tweet on July 22 that had shown a similar trend.

“OTC Outflow RSI showing the strongest BTC buy signal since July of last year,” the analyst Will Clemente said to his 158,000 Twitter followers. “This indicates buying from institutions/high-net-worth individuals,” he added. A number of other traders discussing the subject on Twitter agreed with the OTC demand assessment and the social media platform is littered with threads discussing the subject. One individual tweeted:

Don’t give the smart money your BTC (or ETH)…

Noticeable Market Changes During China’s Morning Trading Sessions

A number of other ‘whale-like’ and large purchasing patterns were noticed by bitcoiners observing different metrics. While bitcoin has been rising, traders also suspect that China might be buying bitcoin. There have been a few noticeable market changes during the early morning hours in China, according to Trustnode’s research.

Meanwhile, during the last 24 hours bitcoin (BTC) has consolidated just above the $41K handle and has only moved +0.10% on Sunday, August 1. However, BTC is still up 17% against the U.S. dollar during the last week and 30-day stats show BTC has gained over 22%. Bitcoin had managed to jump above the $42K handle at $42,615 per unit, but has not been able to hold above the $42K zone for long periods of time.

What do you think about the bitcoin OTC demand assessment from traders and analysts on social media? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

South Korean Regulators Warn Dozens of Foreign Exchanges to Comply With New Rules

22/07/2021 by Idelto Editor

Overseas crypto exchanges marketing to Koreans will be blocked if they fail to comply with new South Korean regulations. The country’s anti-money laundering body has sent a notice to a number of foreign trading platforms warning them a registration is mandatory in order to provide services to Korean residents.

Korean Financial Intelligence Unit Notifies Foreign Crypto Exchanges of Registration Obligations

Access to foreign-based cryptocurrency exchanges can be denied and the platforms may face criminal investigations in South Korea if they don’t comply with the country’s new regulations for the sector. One of the key requirements is to register with the Korean anti-money laundering agency, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), by Sept. 24.

To remind them of their obligations, FIU has sent out a notice to 27 entities with crypto trading operations targeting Korean nationals, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced Thursday, quoted by the Korea Herald. The regulations adopted earlier this year also require exchanges to have information security certificates, but none of them has obtained one yet, officials said.

The commission emphasized that foreign exchanges shall cease business operations in Korea as of Sept. 25 unless they register with the FIU. Unregistered activities will lead to penalties, including up to five years of imprisonment and a fine that can reach 50 million Korean won (over $43,000). In a statement sent to the parliamentary National Policy Committee, the FSC elaborated:

Business activities carried out by overseas cryptocurrency exchanges targeting local customers without reporting to the Financial Intelligence Unit — an anti-money laundering unit under the Financial Services Commission — are illegal under the revised Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information.

Compliance Deadline Approaching With Few Exchanges Meeting New Requirements

South Korea’s revised Special Funds Act took effect on March 25 but will be enforced in September after a six-month grace period. Another of its updated provisions requires cryptocurrency exchanges to cooperate with domestic banks on the issuance of real-name accounts for their users. While the country’s top four coin trading platforms — Bithumb, Upbit, Coinone, and Korbit — have secured partnerships with commercial banks, hundreds of smaller exchanges are facing closures.

Korean banks fear exposure to money laundering, hacking, fraud, and other crypto-related risks. Under the new rules, they’ll be responsible for assessing a crypto platform’s transparency and the possibility of criminal activity. Requests to be relieved of liability for offenses committed through the crypto exchanges they work with was reportedly rejected by Korean regulators earlier this month.

According to the Korea Herald, the FSC is planning to send guidelines regarding the new regulations to foreign crypto operators providing services in the country. “If overseas cryptocurrency exchanges serve local customers with the won-currency settlement, they must register with the FIU and comply with the government’s guidelines to prevent money laundering,” FSC Chairman Eun Sung-soo told lawmakers last week.

South Korea’s financial regulator is hardening its stance on foreign crypto service providers after authorities in a number of other jurisdictions, including Italy, Lithuania, the U.K., Japan, Germany, and Poland issued warnings against Binance, the world’s leading digital asset trading platform. New regulatory measures regarding the exchange range from temporary suspension of operations to stricter reporting requirements, the Korean daily notes, revealing a growing global crackdown on the market.

What’s your opinion about the new South Korean regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Indians Hold $40 Billion in Cryptocurrency, Report Suggests

29/06/2021 by Idelto Editor

Crypto investments in India have been gaining significant traction over the past year, blockchain data indicates. Despite the ambiguous regulatory situation in the country, more than 15 million Indians have bought or sold digital currencies.

Indian Crypto Investments Increase Amid Regulatory Uncertainty

A growing number of Indians have put money into cryptocurrencies in the past year, which saw major coins hitting all-time market highs. Investments in crypto assets have increased from around $200 million to almost $40 billion, Bloomberg reported, quoting blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis.

The massive growth has been registered despite an unclear future for decentralized digital money in the world’s second-most populous country. The spike in investment interest happens against the backdrop of a generally hostile, but also ambiguous, attitude of the Indian central bank towards crypto.

Over 15 million Indians have been buying and selling cryptos, the publication added, in disregard of a proposed ban on coin trading. Their number is approaching the 23 million crypto traders in the U.S. and far exceeds the U.K.’s 2.3 million active traders.

The remarkable increase in crypto investors is largely associated with Indians between 18 and 35-years-old, according to Sandeep Goenka, co-founder of crypto exchange Zebpay. Goenka, who has been representing the industry in regulation talks with the government, explained that young people find it far easier to invest in cryptocurrency than gold:

You go online, you can buy crypto, you don’t have to verify it, unlike gold.

Indians Find New Gold in Bitcoin

Historically, gold has been a very popular investment in India, where households own an estimated 25,000 tons of the precious metal. However, the latest data from the World Gold Council has indicated that adults under the age of 34 are less attracted to gold than older Indians.

A young entrepreneur who abandoned gold and turned to crypto has invested over 1 million Indian rupees (around $13,400) into bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and dogecoin (DOGE) since December. To acquire the coins, 32-year-old Richi Sood borrowed some of the money from her father.

Sood, who sold a portion of her cryptocurrency when BTC passed the $50,000 mark in February and then bought again when prices dropped, used the profits to fund the overseas expansion of her education startup, Study Mate India. She says crypto has higher short-term returns than gold, elaborating:

I’d rather put my money in crypto than gold. Crypto is more transparent than gold or property.

In the last 12 months alone, daily crypto trading values have shot up almost 900%, the report reveals. At the same time, India is yet to adopt comprehensive regulations for the expanding crypto space, and the lack of clarity has likely put off many potential investors and traders.

In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India issued a circular which banned financial institutions from providing services to crypto businesses. However, in May this year, the RBI advised banks that the instruction was no longer valid, citing a year-old ruling from the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, several commercial banks have recently halted services to customers dealing in cryptocurrencies.

What do you think the future holds for cryptocurrencies in India? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Survey: Crypto Traders Predict Ethereum’s ROI to ‘Crush’ Bitcoin’s 2021 Year-End Return

19/05/2021 by Idelto Editor

Bitcoin and a slew of digital assets have seen massive drops in value during the last few days, while the top two leading crypto assets bitcoin and ethereum have been battling for market supremacy. This week, bitcoin’s towering dominance over the crypto economy has dropped to a three-year low tapping 41.9%, while ethereum’s market cap has captured 18.6% of the crypto economy. Now a recently published Benzinga poll shows survey participants believe ethereum will “crush” bitcoin’s 2021 year-end return.

Over 80% of Traders Polled by Benzinga Believe Ethereum Will Outperform Bitcoin by the Year’s End

Benzinga, a fintech media and data company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan has published a report called “Ethereum Predicted to Crush Bitcoin’s ROI in 2021.” The survey has obtained data from 100 cryptocurrency traders and investors and many believe ethereum will soon be the top crypto asset.

80.8% polled in Benzinga’s survey indicate that ETH will outperform BTC “through the end of 2021.” Benzinga further explains that ethereum is already commanding the return-on-investment (ROI) lead in 2021 so far.

Despite the favoritism toward ethereum over bitcoin, Benzinga participants are still “bullish on bitcoin,” according to the company’s latest poll. “Only 12.8% of respondents believe that Bitcoin will close the year below the $55k mark,” the Benzinga content creator Logan Ross details.

Ethereum predictions were more positive, as far as the survey’s price targets were concerned.

“Only 20.5% of crypto investors believe that Ethereum will close the year below $4k, while 11.8% said that Ethereum will end the year over $10k,” Ross’s report highlights. “The majority believe that ETH will end the year between $6-10k.”

When Ross asked the 100 participants what the most interesting project built on top of the Ethereum network was to them, respondents spoke about ETH 2.0 staking.

“The incoming ETH 2, staking is open which will cause many to buy and unable to sell if they stake to promote the new blockchain, (including myself),” a participant told Benzinga. “I believe this will drive the price higher until ETH 2 is released, then a huge sell-off creating a perfect opportunity to ‘buy the dip.’”

The Flippening Watch

Benzinga’s report comes at a time when bitcoin (BTC) has been threatened by ethereum (ETH) in recent months. Bitcoin.com News reported earlier this week that BTC was getting its market dominance siphoned by ETH and a number of other digital assets.

The website called “The Flippening Watch” has been gathering data in real-time as well in order to record the event if it comes to fruition. As far as data from daily mining rewards are concerned, ETH has already beat BTC in this arena.

There are two other metrics ethereum is gunning for which include overall market valuations and 24-hour trade volumes. At the time of publication, BTC still commands these positions, but ETH is getting awfully close to flipping the leading crypto asset. Currently, ETH captures 68.2% of BTC’s daily trade volume today, and 44.6% of BTC’s overall market cap. If ETH outperforms BTC in 2021 and captures a higher market valuation, then a flippening will unfold before the crypto community’s eyes.

What do you think about the Benzinga recent survey with 100 crypto traders? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.