Derivatives accounted for 32% of the crypto market in May, reaching a record volume of USD $ 602 billion. 

According to UK-based cryptocurrency data aggregator CryptoCompare, May’s figures beat the previous record of $600 billion, set in March 2020. 

The lion’s share of May’s derivative volume was handled by Huobi, OKEx, and Binance – which together accounted for approximately 80%. Huobi, the market leader, saw volume surge 29% to $176bn, while OKEx saw volume grow 33% to $152bn, and Binance recorded growth of 58% to $139bn. However, in terms of percentage growth, institutional player CME actually saw the biggest increase at 59%, which took it to $7.2bn. 

CME also saw institutional options volumes break records in May, with 5,996 contracts traded – that’s an incredible 16 times more than were traded in April. On 28 May alone, CME saw 1,418 Bitcoin (BTC) options contracts traded. It was a similar story at Derebit too, where options volumes more than doubled in May, to $3.06bn. 

CryptoCompare also noted a huge shift in stablecoin use, with USDT dominating, making up 98% of stablecoin to BTC trading, while USDC volume was down 78% and PAX crashed 97% in May. 

As to be expected, 10 May – the day before the much anticipated Bitcoin halving – saw a massive spike in spot trading volumes, which rocketed to $64.7bn. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With the world rapidly destabilising and many fearing an unprecedented crash of the traditional economic system is approaching, it’s not surprising to see a significant uptick in crypto activity among institutional investors and traders. 

Further confirming this uptick was data from Skew in mid-May, which showed open interest on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Bitcoin options exploding by more than 1,000%. And, just last week, it emerged that Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust had embarked on a massive BTC buying spree since May’s halving. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Online casino platform provider Digitain is sponsoring this year’s SiGMA Asia and SiGMA DeepTech virtual online conferences, taking place from 8-10 June. 

SiGMA Asia 2020 will explore a wide range of topics relating to Asia, including new market opportunities and product strategies for the COVID-19 era and beyond. 

SiGMA DeepTech 2020 will focus on important technology issues facing the industry as it evolves, including; Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Game Design, and User Experience. 

Over three days, virtual conference visitors will be able to learn from the shared experiences of more than 80 industry thought leaders, including Digitain’s Director of Product Management, Martin Clarke. 

Clarke will be part of the panel discussing the impact of esports on the industry during the current challenging times. He will also feature in a conference video presentation covering the trends, challenges and future of User Experience. 

Discussing the upcoming virtual conferences, Clarke said:

“We, at Digitain, as event Silver Sponsors, are very pleased to be able to support and take part in this innovative virtual conference, and to collaborate with such a great panel of industry leaders.

“We will have an opportunity to showcase our products to a wide, international audience and to discuss how we have reacted positively and pro-actively to the crisis by introducting new profitable revenue streams for our partners to our product portfolio.”

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s certainly been a challenging few months for the online gambling industry, so it will be fascinating to hear what the movers and shakers are seeing for the future, as we look ahead to the post-pandemic world. 

Staying with Digitain, earlier this week we reported the company had appointed industry veteran Peter Nolan as its new Strategic Consultant. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Kyrgyzstan could be about to legalise cryptocurrency mining, and introduce a regulated tax framework for operations.

Mining or using cryptocurrencies is currently illegal in the Central Asian nation of around 6.5 million people, and in September 2019 authorities went as far as cutting power to 45 mining firms.

The biggest concern with crypto mining in the country appears to be the strain it puts on the Kyrgyz electricity grid – which is underdeveloped and already has to import a substantial amount of power. 

Despite these concerns, the country’s parliament has recently been debating a proposal to allow crypto mining subject to a 15% tax on profits generated from the sale of mined assets. 

Plans to charge crypto miners a 70% premium on their electricity bills have also been discussed.

AYO.NEWS says:

Considering that the Kyrgz Republic is poor, underdeveloped, land-locked, and rather remote, the crypto industry offers a rare opportunity to develop a lucrative new economic sector, so perhaps lawmakers should focus on improving the electrical and internet infrastructure, and encourage international crypto firms to set-up shop there?

Last year Iran also did a u-turn on crypto mining, going from raiding operations to introducing licenses for firms, after the government realised the economic potential of the industry. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Uruguay Can has launched the world’s first blockchain-based traceability platform for medical cannabis. 

The result of eight months’ development work by Inmind, the platform is built on æternity, a decentralized and scalable blockchain, and allows complete traceability in cultivation of medical cannabis. It is scheduled to be put into operation in June and July, during the planting phase. 

The platform documents every phase in the cultivation process, from the sprout to the packaging stages, storing the information immutably on the blockchain. This means complete security and transparency can be guaranteed, increasing the value of the product internationally. The platform can also be used for any other crop. 

Commenting on the news PR director of æternity, Mariana Sanguinetti, said:

“This tool has a great applicability potential, not only for cannabis but for any kind of crops and processes that are enhanced by traceability, transparency and reliability.”

The project was born at the æternity Innovation Centre at ORT University, Montevideo, Uruguay and was led by Enrique Topolansky and Gonzalo Sobral.

In December 2013, Uruguay became the first country to legalise the growing, sale, and consumption of marijuana, and has since become one of the leading Latin American producers of cannabis for both medical and recreational uses. Around 80 countries worldwide are expected to legalise medical use of cannabis in the near future. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Given the very different legal status of cannabis in various parts of the world, it is absolutely vital to precisely document every stage of the production, packaging and distribution process, to avoid potentially serious misunderstandings. The immutable nature of blockchain makes it ideal for such applications, and with so many countries likely to legalise cannabis over the next few years, we’re sure the æternity-based platform will make exporting much easier. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

The Atari Token is set to be integrated with Native Gaming’s upcoming MMORPG and online casino. 

Iconic entertainment producer Atari® has partnered with Native Gaming and Black Dog Venture Partners to integrate the upcoming Atari Token in Native Gaming’s soon-to-launch Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), and library of popular casino slots. 

An ambitious new online casino project, that enables players to “Bet the House” by directly staking in the bankroll, Native Gaming (NativeGaming.io) will feature over 5,000 casino games from more than 70 providers, including Evolution Gaming, NetEnt, Play’n GO.

Uniquely, Native Gaming’s proprietary Social MMO Sweepstakes Casino, will feature a first of its kind, patent-pending, Native MMO Slot Game. Unlike traditional “spin-to-win” style online slots, Native’s new MMO is a true video game, featuring a monster-catching system similar to the popular Pokemon games. Caught monsters can either be used to battle and earn money, or cashed in directly to the casino. 

Discussing the partnership Native Gaming CEO, Justin McCool, said:

“We are excited to be a part of what Atari is doing in both the casino and blockchain space. It’s hard to imagine a more appropriate partner to help us take our new Native MMORPG Casino Slot Game to market and bridge the gap between gamers, gamblers, and the cryptocurrency community.”

While Atari CEO, Fred Chesnais, added:

“Native is building a whole new genre in online gambling and we are thrilled to partner with them on this new casino experience.

“Integrating the Atari Token in Native’s ecosystem will give gamers and gamblers the opportunity to use the Atari Token as a payment method in Native’s casino slot games, meaning more financial options and flexibility for consumers.”

AYO.NEWS says:

The Native Gaming project is extremely interesting, and clearly has the potential to engage many of those who aren’t interested by the current crop of casino offerings. Of course, much will depend on just how good the MMORPG ends up being. 

In April we reported Atari had partnered with global monetisation platform and multichain blockchain API and wallet provider Arkane Network. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Major crypto exchanges Bittrex and Poloniex have been dragged into a class-action lawsuit alleging serious market manipulation during the 2017 bull run.

The plaintiffs in the case allege that Bittrex, and its sister company Tether, inflated the supply of Tether’s USDT stablecoin, literally creating billions of them out of thin air, without the promised dollar backing. 

It is claimed the new USDT was then used to purchase other crypto assets, like Bitcoin (BTC), driving prices far above their legitimate value, and causing the “largest bubble in human history” – which led to investors losing billions of dollars. 

Though the original lawsuit was filed in October 2019, an amended filing now alleges that crypto exchanges Bittrex and Poloniex were parties to the organised scheme, and facilitated massive buy orders across multiple exchanges to make it look like fresh liquidity was pouring into the markets. 

This alleged scheme, which also saw the exchanges repeat the “guarantee” that each USDT was backed by one US dollar, is said to have enabled them to rapidly grow and appear to rank among the world’s largest exchanges. 

AYO.NEWS says:

The plaintiffs in this case aren’t the only ones alleging Tether was used to facilitate serious market manipulation of Bitcoin prices. In November last year we reported that University of Texas Professor John Griffin and Ohio State University Professor Amin Shams, had published a paper entitled “Is Bitcoin really Un-Tethered?’ in which they submitted evidence suggesting such manipulation. 

With so many lawsuits flying to and fro right now in the crypto world, it can be hard to keep track! In April we reported an investor was suing Ripple in California, claiming XRP is an unregistered security, while Ripple Labs and CEO Garlinghouse also filed their own suits against YouTube over XRP scams promoted on the platform. 

Meanwhile, Binance, Bitmex, Block.one, Tron, and others were hit with class-action lawsuits in New York, again alleging the companies were involved in selling unlicensed securities, and also engaged in cryptocurrency market manipulation. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020