A massive Chinese gold scandal has given the crypto community something to smile about. 

Gold has long been touted as the safest asset, and gold-backed loans and assets seen as the sensible choice for those looking to protect their wealth, especially by those who have been highly critical of crypto assets as “scam ridden” and “unsafe.”

However, it has now emerged that 83 tons of “pure gold” stored in creditors’ vaults by Kingold of Wuhan, backing 16 billion yuan of loans, is likely just gilded copper. To put it in perspective, according to The Economic Times, that is the equivalent of 22% of China’s annual gold production, and 4.2% of the state gold reserve (2019). 

According to Nikkei Asian Review, the bogus gold bars mean lenders are at least 16 billion yuan out of pocket (approx. $2.26 billion), and this scandal, which is just the latest involving fake gold, raises the question of whether there are other Chinese companies involved in similar scams? 

Indeed, some are even questioning the integrity of central bank gold reserves.

AYO.NEWS says:

The whole sorry saga shows just how ridiculous the position of the anti-Bitcoin brigade, typified by outspoken gold lover Peter Schiff, really is. Though all cryptos still have their issues, Bitcoin (BTC) can’t be faked. Period. Gold, however, clearly can. 

And, that’s not even mentioning Bitcoin’s other advantages over gold, like the fact you don’t need vast vaults with full-time armed guards, there’s no need for massively expensive and vulnerable transport in armoured vans and chartered planes, it’s more divisible, more recognisable/verifiable, and it has a truly fixed supply making it more scarce. 

Staying with Bitcoin, yesterday we reported that on-chain analyst and Co-founder of Hypersheet, Willy Woo, had published a new BTC price model predicting an “exponential bull run” will likely start within 30 days.  

‘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

Japanese blockchain company Soramitsu has said it intends to start testing its ‘White Tiger’ digital currency for retailers. 

According to the Nikkei newspaper, tests on the new digital currency, which runs on Soramitsu’s native Hyperledger Iroha blockchain, will begin across cafes and shops at the University of Aizu in Fukushima tomorrow (1 July 2020). 

The White Tiger roll out is part of a smart city initiative run by a public-private partnership in the city of Aizu-Wakamatsu. It will allow the city’s 120,000 residents to make digital payments to retailers using smartphone apps or charge cards. 

Tokyo-based Soramitsu also developed Cambodia’s ‘Bakong’ system, which is effectively a central bank digital currency (CBDC). 

AYO.NEWS says:

Soramitsu is amassing plenty of experience at introducing digital currencies “into the wild”, with a focus on everyday real-world use cases. With Japanese authorities warming to the idea of a central bank digital currency, as evidenced by the comments made by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan in January this year, there could be some interesting opportunities for the company on home soil soon. 

‘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 scandal engulfing German fintech Wirecard has taken another twist, as German shareholders launch legal action against “Big Four” auditor EY. 

Wirecard collapse takes crypto cards with it

As we reported last week, German authorities arrested former CEO Markus Braun on charges of misrepresenting the company’s balances, after EY refused to sign off on Wirecard’s 2019 financial report due to a missing €1.9 billion – equivalent to 32% of Wirecard’s assets. 

On 25 June Munich-based Wirecard filed for insolvency proceedings, and regulators suspended its subsidiary Wirecard Solutions Ltd. – the issuer of debit cards for several major crypto companies, including Wirex, TenX, CryptoPay, and Crypto.com.

Following a request from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Crypto.com has ceased all operations for both its EU and UK debit cards, has now returned affected funds to customers’ cryptocurrency wallets, and is seeking an alternative card provider.  

Legal action launched against EY

CNBC has reported EY as saying the fraud appears to have been “elaborate and sophisticated, involving multiple parties round the world in different institutions, with a deliberate aim of deception,” and that even the “most robust and extended audit procedures” would likely have failed to detect the fraud. 

Even so, the German shareholders’ association, Schutzgemeinschaft der Kapitalanleger e. V. (SdK), has launched legal action, filing a criminal complaint against three EY auditors for their alleged role in the scandal. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Given the sheer scale of this scandal, we expect there will be plenty more allegations and lawsuits before the dust has settled. On the positive side, Crypto.com’s prompt action to return users’ funds to their wallets should give consumers confidence that its own safeguards worked properly. 

‘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

Yet another crypto analyst has predicted we are on the verge of a dramatic Bitcoin (BTC) bull run. 

On-chain analyst and Co-founder of Hypersheet, Willy Woo, has published a new BTC price model predicting an “exponential bull run” starting within 30 days. Based on historical data, the new model seems to suggest we are around a month from the long-awaited bull market. 

2020 has been a strange year for everything, including Bitcoin. Despite many expecting the original crypto would rapidly emerge as a safe haven asset during times of crisis like COVID-19, from its $10K mark in February, its price plunged as low as $3,600 at one point, triggering the liquidation of more than $1 billion worth of leveraged positions. 

Despite the COVID-19 crisis affecting nearly all risk-on markets, Woos says his model, which has proven accurate before, suggests Bitcoin is about to go exponential. 

This is a new model I’m working on, it picks the start of exponential bull runs.

1) Bitcoin was setting up for a bullish run until the COVID white swan killed the party.

2) This model suggests we are close to another bullish run. Maybe another month to go. pic.twitter.com/wmoEdMVywF

— Willy Woo (@woonomic) June 27, 2020

Furthermore, Woo has gone out on a limb and said that if the price of Bitcoin remains stable for longer, and the bull run is delayed beyond a month, it will likely strengthen the next break out and lead to a higher peak price. 

That point seems to be supported by the fact that, despite its failure to break out into a bull run, Bitcoin’s price has seen a definite sideways uptrend, with its series of higher lows remaining unbroken. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Wherever you stand on Bitcoin, the flood of models and predictions suggesting a major bull run in the coming months is fascinating. Of course, it should be remembered that in any situation, there are always some analysts using models to predict pretty much every possibility – there are, after all, an awful lot of analysts these days! 

However, it’s hard not to get the feeling that we are seeing a subtle shift towards a much stronger institutional presence in cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin (BTC). And, as Messari’s Ryan Watkins pointed out last week, if institutions shift just a tiny percentage of their portfolios to BTC, it could have dramatic results. 

At this point, perhaps we should keep in mind another observation from Willy Woo: “fiat money is also an experiment.”

‘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

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has announced an open-source peer-to-peer data streaming platform. 

An alternative to centralised platforms

The “Dazaar” protocol has been uploaded by GitHub, with Bitfinex describing it as a crypto-powered protocol for monetised data streaming. 

Bitfinex says it was inspired to create the platform to offer an alternative to the increasing reliance on centralised platforms like search engines, social media, and messaging apps, to enable the sharing of data and media. 

The Dazaar protocol was developed as an extension to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-licensed Hypercore Protocol, and involves distributed node operators storing the information shared among users. 

According to Bitfinex, Dazaar provides a hyper-scalable, decentralised, and privacy-oriented protocol, that can be implemented in any existing project. 

It allows users to monetise their data without the need for intermediaries. Buyers and sellers will use a unique cryptographic identifier, termed the “Dazaar Card”, and crypto or credit cards will be used to purchase streams. 

A live-streaming desktop app, Dazaar Vision, is also included, complete with subscription and broadcast management. 

Battle of the crypto-streaming platforms

There’s increasing competition in the crypto-powered streaming arena. In May it emerged that Theta.tv’s crypto-powered esports streaming app is set to be integrated with 75 million Samsung devices around the world, with the news causing the platform’s tokens to surge more than 1,000% since mid-March.

Tron has also forged a partnership with gaming platform Refereum, and will be rewarding streamers and gamers with Tron (TRX) or BitTorrent (BTT) tokens. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With so many aspects of life and communication becoming centralised, and subject to ever increasing regulatory requirements, it’s great to see the crypto community is still developing decentralised solutions to ensure the free flow of data and media. And, by offering fiat onramps with Dazaar, Bitfinex has positioned its platform as a real alternative, even for those not familiar with crypto. 

‘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

Portuguese esports startup Replai has raised USD $1.3M (approx. €1.16M) in a seed funding round. 

Porto-based Replai harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) to create short videos in real-time. The company says the resulting social media ready clips enable audiences to be maximised and more revenue to be generated for sponsors and advertisers.

Investors were led by Lisbon-based Bright Pixel, with contributions from Ideias Glaciares and Clever Advertising. The company says the new capital will be used to expand internationally, with a focus on the United Kingdom and United States. 

Discussing their plans for the company Founders of Replai, João Costa and Francisco Pacheco, said:

“Forecasts show that esports will soon beat traditional sports. However, monetization is still far behind other fields such as mobile gaming – which is expected to top $100b in revenue by 2020, for example. 

“So, our mission is to help esports companies profit from this paradigm shift. This round allowed us, above all, to gather a panel of experts in gaming and technology that will help us take the next step growth-wise as soon as possible.”

While Co-founder of Bright Pixel, Benjamin Júnior, added:

“Replai stands out for their AI technology which enables automatic creation and distribution of short videos, this being a transversal need to any area that uses video as a communication method. 

“Besides the innovative solution, Replai is founded by two young entrepreneurs with a proved record of user acquisition, strong technical know-how and the ambition to grow the business globally. This combination of factors was decisive and provides us confidence in consolidating Replai’s success.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite the phenomenal growth of esports, it’s true that many in the sector are still struggling with monetisation, so there’s sure to be a lot of interest in Replai’s offering. Of course, whether or not it will actually deliver on its monetisation promises is another story, but it’s definitely a company to watch.

NO ESCAPE! #replai #goreplai #createdbyreplai #tiktok #foryou #fyp #gaming #tiktokgaming #foryoupage #fornite #fortniteclips pic.twitter.com/HHKkLRfpvc

— Replai (@goReplai) June 24, 2020

‘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. 

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