Forex Yearbook 2021 - A Fazzaco's Industrywide Annual

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Forex Yearbook 2021

From the completion of Brexit transition that led to the suspension of numerous businesses, to the proposed sale of IG's stakes in Nadex that kind of signaled the focus shifting from traditional to emerging marketing, the year 2021 certainly sees remarkable changes across the global forex markets. To end the year, this article collects the ground-breaking events the FX industry witnessed in 2021 as it's crucial to look back to move forward.

End of Post-Brexit Transition Period

Following the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31, 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) withdrew the registrations of 6 UK-based Credit Rating Agencies(CRAs) as well as 4 Trade Repositories(TRs). Global brokers like TP ICAP have to adjust operating model as soon as practicable to ensure continued services in the UK and the post-Brexit EU.

During that period of time, authorization from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange commission (CySEC) has seen an explosion in popularity among UK firms seeking to continue to provide investment services in the European countries after Brexit. As a result, the CySEC extended the deadline for the submission of notifications by UK firm wishing to make use of the Temporary Permission Regime (TPR) up until 28 February 2021, from the previously decided December 31, 2020.

GameStop Frenzy

From late January to early February, Reddit retail investors piled into GameStop shares. The frenzy has rattled Wall Street, forcing some brokers to restrict trading. These brokers include but not limited to US trading app Robinhood and Interactive Brokers, the leading software based broker.

Reddit Mania Spread to the Silver Market

In February, as GameStop shares retreated, Reddit traders turned their sights to silver, pushing silver prices up to an 8-year high and forcing GAIN Capital, Admiral Markets, City Index, FXCM and many other brokerages into tightening trading terms for the precious metal.

ASIC's CFD Product Intervention Order Took Effect

The Product Intervention Order issued on October 23, 2020 by ASIC came into effect on March 29, 2021. That order reduces the maximum CFD leverage available to retail clients to a range from 30:1 to 2:1. Multiple brokers, including City Index, IG, Saxo Markets, eToro, Rakuten Securities, FP Markets, CMC Markets, have changed their margin requirements or revised account structure to ensure compliance.

Dogecoin Became the 5th Largest Crypto

On April 16, 2021, Dogecoin jumped more than 225% over 24 hours, which made the joke cryptocurrency the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

ASIC's Ban on Retail Binary Options Trading

On May 3, 2021, ASIC's new rules that ban the issue and distribution of binary options to retail clients took effect.

First Bitcoin ATM Installed in Alaska

In mid-June, US Bitcoin ATM provider CoinFlip brought 3 Bitcoin ATMs to Alaska. Despite the wild fluctuations in the prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, an increasing number of financial institutions have expanded their businesses in the crypto markets.

Binance Beleaguered by Tough Regulatory Actions

The biggest drama of FX in the second half of 2021 would be Binance getting slapped in the face by regulator one after another. As the largest de facto virtual assets exchange on the planet, the situation of Binance is undoubtedly the attention of the industry.

Binance has been warned consecutively by Japan FSA, UK FCA, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, and Thailand SEC since July 2021. Followed by Italy CONSOB, MFSA and HK SFC, all issued warnings, claiming that Binance had been engaging in providing investment services and other financial activities in the countries and regions above without authorization.

According to an industry insider, "no smoke without fire", so somewhere in the background there was some smoke at some stage. The insider also mentioned that some big crypto scams were operated via Binance platform and this might be a strong and valid reason why the company got in trouble. But on the other hand, many believed that "excessive regulation is killing the crypto business" too.

The latest updates involving Binance indicate that the situation is becoming quieter. But just like the business itself, many of the once "shocking" news might just go away like the water under the bridge. And those "big news" would all become the topic of some random chitchat someday.

FCA's Ban on BDSwiss

This August, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned BDSwiss Holding Plc and other members of the BDSwiss Group from offering high risk contracts for differences (CFDs) to UK investors, citing that the group was selling high risk investments to UK investors in breach of the FCA's perimeter and its rules for CFDs.

In response, BDSwiss suspended its services and terminated partners operating in the UK. The group also launched an additional internal investigation of its existing network of partners as certain affiliates of the group were said to be the wrongdoers.

Interactive Brokers Launched Crypto Trading

In September, Interactive Brokers, one of the biggest US-based brokerage firms, started to offer cryptocurrency trading via Paxos Trust. The company's CEO Thomas Peterffy had confirmed this launch back in June.

In addition to Interactive Brokers, there were 7 more brokerages who launched or expanded their crypto offering to fulfill customer demands only in September, according to Fazzaco News team's coverage. Obviously, their volatile nature did not slow cryptocurrencies down to gain momentum and become a favorite among investors.

Brokers Encouraging Clients to Trade with Foreign Firms Identified by FCA

In October, the FCA released its Perimeter Report for 2020-2021, where the regulator identified several brokers encouraging clients to trade with entities in third-country jurisdictions and alleged that these companies were conducting unregulated activities.

Deposit via Shiba Inu (SHIB) Available

At the end of November, US-based crypto exchange Kraken added support for deposits via Shiba Inu (SHIB), an Ethereum-based memecoin inspired by Dogecoin, giving additional evidence to back up the sustainability of the crypto boom.

IG to Sell Nadax and Small Exchange

In the last month of 2021, IG Group, a world leader in derivatives trading, proposed to sell its stakes in North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. (Nadex) and Small Exchange, Inc to Foris DAX Markets at an aggregate price of $216 million.

​According to June Felix, CEO at IG Group, the deal will allow the group to further sharpen its focus on integrating and expanding the US options and futures business through its tastytrade and tastyworks franchises. IG completed the acquisition of tastytrade, a fast-growing online brokerage and investor education platform, at the end of this June.

These are what mark off the year 2021. Fazzaco has focused on up-to-date industry news meant to inform and inspire individuals and teams in the forex trading ecosystem ever since our establishment. So stay tuned to know what happens in the industry in real time!

The crypto market is a wonderfully efficient mechanism for transferring wealth from the impatient to the patient.

A lot of people come to the crypto market to “get rich quickly”. And although it’s possible (if you buy and sell a meme coin at the right time) I would argue most people will not get that lucky.

The good news is that much more people could might a lot of money in the crypto market by just being patient. Here are a couple of tips to achieve just that:

1. Find a crypto project who’s value you believe in for the long term (10 years or more). Ask yourself: will this coin still be useful in ten years? Understand in what you are investing.

2. Invest money you can afford to lose or at least money you won’t need in the short term (5 years min) so that you are not forced to sell in a potential crypto winter.

3. Favor Cryptos that allow staking with decent APY. And stake them for as long as you hodl them.

4. Since you are in for the long run, become your own bank and understand how to manage your private keys safely. Avoid the exchange failure risk.

5. Be patient, buy more during crypto winter or big dips and enjoy the bull market or pumps. Remember if the past is any indication cycles are driven by Bitcoin halvings and last 5 years or more.

6. If you need money in the future consider borrowing against your cryptos (Coinbase offers that option already) so you don’t have to sell them. This avoids a taxable event and allows you to continue benefiting from your average annual growth and staking rewards. This is called a Lombard loan and this is how the rich get super rich.

I would argue if you invest in the right cryptos the best time to sell them will be never.

Good luck everyone!

Let's talk..

Righto everyone, grab a drink and a snack and sit back for a ride. I have been a holder of SM since April, and member of this Reddit shortly after I bought in. I have been through every single part of the SM journey, I can name the points on the chart and what events made the price dip, and other factors. I have never sold any of my holdings and I am super bullish on this long term. But what I want to know is this:

HOW THE FUCK DID WE WIN CRYPTO COMMUNITY OF THE YEAR???

This place has become a toxic cesspit of FUD, anger, disappointment, and entitlement. We have lost our way and are not that cohesive group that we once were. Crypto communities make or break a token/coin, and right now, what we're seeing here is going down a slippery slide into the 'break' territory for this project.

To buy Safemoon initially, everybody who is on a decentralised exchange had to purchase BNB, right? Right? Yes. End of story. So why the hell do people think it's ok to 'beg' for money to fund the gas fees to swap over? if you can't spare $6 (even $50 for the minimum buy amount), you shouldn't be even in crypto in the first place. So anyone who posts those pitiful posts, please stop.

Next, we better address the new elephant in the room, that is the ex-wizard. It appears he is trying to bring doubt to the SM community, possibly because he is upset at how he didn't have as big a part in the coding as he wanted to. John and the team obviously felt his services were no longer required, and I am positive they are always mindful of doing the best for the token's future, as well as for every existing and new holder. Please don't think you know more than they do about anything. And if you do still follow that person, kindly do yourselves a favour and unfollow all of his accounts.

I'm hoping that we can somehow find our maturity in here once again. No more posts about why the token is down in price (Just a look at Bitcoin atm and you'll see why - yes sadly all cryptos use Bitcoin as the benchmark). If you're here for the short term, then I feel sorry for you. Sorry that you cannot see the scope of this project and see if a fraction that the youtubers like SM Tim and others are hypothesising comes to fruition, then long term gains are going to be absurd.

To my fellow long term HODLers, keep up the good fight, and together we will make the SafeMoon community strong and great again!

Bitcoin fucked us :)

This galaverse event would be the one to make Gala hit 1$ but since Bitcoin is fucking sucking it's dick so are all the alt coins and hence gala is suffering rn.

What is Mercor Finance (MRCR) | What is Mercor Finance token | What is MRCR token

In this article, we’ll discuss information about the Mercor Finance project and MRCR token

Mercor’s mission is to democratize the algorithmic trading market, disrupting financial markets by building a bridge between algorithmic trading and everyday investors worldwide. Over 80% of all market transactions are currently done with the use of algorithms and trading automation tools. These types of trades leverage computational resources and speed to outperform human traders. However, algorithms are becoming more complex and are harvesting the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Aside from speed, these algorithms are now also becoming extremely successful in making the right decisions. Many different strategies exist, ranging from relatively simple, trend-following strategies all the way to advanced AI trading algorithms, reacting to live world events, weather, Twitter sentiment, and more.

Increasing demand for reliable, high-frequency and effective order execution as well as a growing demand for reduced transaction costs, are expected to further accelerate the algorithmic trading market. The expected CAGR of the algorithmic trading market over the years 2020–2025 is 11.23%. At the beginning of 2020, the corona crisis caused stock markets worldwide to plunge. Algorithmic trading has been contributing to market rebounds after the March lows. Thus, algorithmic execution tools in foreign exchange increased significantly since March 2020.

In crypto markets this dominance is not yet as strong. The consensus is that crypto markets are moving into that direction, playing into the hands of large institutional investors currently entering the market. Mercor aims to diminish this advantage and offer similar capabilities to individuals worldwide.

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The Mercor Solution

The Mercor platform provides its users with the instruments to develop and the possibility to invest in what is known as the black box of trading, algorithmic trading. On the one hand, we supply developers with analytical tools, backtesting capabilities and exclusive data. On the other hand, we make investing in algorithmic trading publicly accessible, by reducing entry barriers. With the power of the crowd, we create an environment in which no individual is restricted by expensive data or high entry barriers. We are supplying ordinary people with the tools previously only available to a handful of institutions.

Mercor will give ordinary traders the opportunity to directly invest in complex algorithms with no intervention of large institutional investors, through an accessible social platform focused on ease of use and education. Mercor aims to connect traders with development teams and their algorithms, with worldwide access on all devices, providing our users with the ability to profit from a previously inaccessible market.

We believe in the power of creative individuals to create value with their self-build algorithms, promoting teamwork and the creation of advanced algorithms making use of AI. Mercor will give developers the chance to use our unique development environment called ‘Mercor Environment’. This environment will provide developers with all the tools and computational power necessary to build AI-based algorithms. Creating an interactive and social environment in which thousands of developers can form teams and build together, testing and deploying their creations. The development of these algorithms will be supported by data, tools and tutorials (Mercor Academy), as well as pre-made functions and API’s. The development of these algorithms will be supported by data, tools, and tutorials (Mercor Academy), as well as pre-made functions and API’s. Developers will earn Mercor Tokens (MRCR) based on the success of their algorithm, the total AUM and their personally set commission fee.

An early-stage alpha version has currently been deployed and an enclosed alpha testing phase has successfully concluded. The alpha environment has provided the mercor team with valuable feedback and functions as a PoC. The Mercor team is currently preparing the platform for widespread beta access.

Revenue model

Mercor aims to be an open and accessible platform; this means free access for both developers and investors. Developers will be charged in Mercor Tokens (MRCR), based on computational power used and total trading volume. Traders will be charged competitive trading fees. We will be committed to a fee structure that is fair, straightforward, and as transparent as possible. Both Developers and Traders will also be able to select a tier modelled staking membership.

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Here at Mercor, we aim to radically change this dominance. We aim to democratize the algorithmic trading market. We will provide its users with the instruments to develop and invest in what is known as the black box of trading — algorithmic trading. On the one hand, we supply developers with data and licenses to develop their own algorithms in the Mercor environment, on the other hand, we make investing in algorithmic trading accessible to everybody.

We believe in the power of creative people, students, and hobbyists to create value with their self-built algorithms. We promote teamwork and the creation of advanced (AI) algorithms. We hate to see brilliant ideas and pure creativity go to waste. We understand that there are many talented individuals that are currently working for institutional investors, which could use the Mercor Environment to make magic happen. With the power of the crowd, we create an environment in which no individual is restricted by expensive data or high entry barriers. We are supplying ordinary people with the tools previously only available to a handful of institutions.

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he least scary future I can think of is one where we have at least democratized AI… — Elon Musk

Algorithmic Trading in the Crypto Markets

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While the dominance of algorithmic trading is not yet as strong in the crypto markets as their traditional counterparts, the consensus is that crypto markets are moving in that direction, playing into the hands of large institutional investors currently entering the market.

Within crypto, there is an increasing emphasis on passive income. Mining, the first “passive” income that’s been around since the inception of Bitcoin, staking, and now Decentralized Finance (DeFi) with its lending platforms and yield farming, have captured the interests of market participants. Investing and automatically receiving interest via algorithmic trading (for a modest fee) is very relevant.

Unlike traditional markets, crypto markets are accessible 24/7, every day of the year, and are well known for their extreme volatility, low fees, and barriers to entry. The ability to respond quickly and without emotion at any time is critical to a trader’s success. Even in bear markets, algorithmic trading is successful, which means that passive income can be generated while most, if not all, cryptocurrencies are losing value.

Why on the Blockchain?

Mercor Finance is a decentralized algorithmic trading platform where trades are executed on decentralized exchanges by utilizing smart contracts. This environment provides many advantages over traditional market algorithmic trading.

As there is no central authority on the platform, crypto assets remain in the user’s hands. Trades are initiated through signals coming from the algorithm storage. These signals will communicate with a blockchain oracle that calls upon the smart contract on the Binance Smart Network. The smart contract performs the trade directly on a decentralized exchange. The developer and transaction fees are handled by the smart contract. In addition to security, this setup provides a great deal of privacy to Mercor’s users.

The decentralized blockchain environment levels the playing field for everyone involved. No one is refused entry and there are fewer costs and regulations than in a traditional market environment. Also, as all transactions are immutably stored on the blockchain, all trading activity is easy to follow and assess.

Advantages of Using the Mercor Platform for Algorithmic Trading

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Traders and investors face several problems when attempting to invest with the help of algorithmic trading tools. Comparing and backtesting algorithms is extremely difficult, making it nearly impossible to objectively study different algorithms. Being forced to rely on biased information originating from the creators or parent company is less than optimal. Fees and subscriptions are often extremely expensive, demanding high minimal investments, limiting accessibility to only certain individuals or companies. In addition, entering the algorithmic trading market typically requires a lot of knowledge.

The Mercor platform addresses these issues in a number of ways. As algorithms are created, they are audited by the Mercor security and fraud module. If approved, they will be encrypted and saved in the algorithm storage. Developers can then test the effectiveness of the algorithms using the Mercor platform backtest environment. Developers will also have a tier available for which they can host their own secured container which will communicate with the Mercor API to trigger smart contract trades, this gives the developer the possibility to not share their code directly with the platform.

In regards to fees, the Mercor platform provides free access for both developers and investors. Developers will be charged in Mercor Tokens (MRCR), based on computational power used and total trading volume. Traders will be charged competitive trading fees. We will be committed to a fee structure that is fair, straightforward, and as transparent as possible.

To lower the barrier of entry, almost no knowledge of algorithmic trading is required to begin using the platform. The platform has an academy module that includes a demo environment where users can practice and perform fictitious trades. This also allows new users to test the platform without any commitment. Developers can also create academy modules for more advanced trading algorithms and strategies.

The MRCR Token — Backbone of the Mercor Platform

Mercor aims to be a platform that connects Python-based algorithms with the crypto market and makes them available to the public. Both the investors and the developers will need MRCR tokens to make use of the Mercor platform.

Developers will earn fees by deploying their algorithms onto the Mercor platform. The amount of fees gained by the developer will be calculated by a capped variable fee that is set by the developer. We do this to create a free market effect, in which the best-performing algorithms can demand the highest fees.

Developers can stake MRCR tokens in tiers that will allow them to unlock tools that can be used to create more advanced trading algorithms. Furthermore, developers can use MRCR tokens to purchase additional storage and computational power to train and run their algorithms in more advanced environments.

Investors need MRCR tokens and a native coin to invest in an algorithm. The MRCR tokens need to be staked and depending on the amount staked and the corresponding tier, certain benefits will be available. Once an investor chooses an algorithm, a fee will be applied which will be used to pay the developer fee.

The Mercor platform will have two main burning mechanisms to create a stable coin value. Early staking withdrawal burning will be imposed on traders who withdraw their MRCR from the staking contract. Transaction fee burning will occur as a fee that includes the spread of the exchange and a Mercor platform fee. This fee will consist of a percentage of the total value traded by the algorithm. 25% of all trading fees will be used to buy back and burn MRCR tokens. MRCR token holders may also stake MRCR tokens to receive staking rewards and benefits.

Token Distribution

The distribution of MRCR tokens will be as follows:
Total Supply: 100,000,000 (100 million)
Seed Sale Supply: 2,000,000 (2 million)
Private Sales Supply: 23.000.000 (23 million)
Public Sale Supply: 5.000.000 (5 million)
Liquidity: 13.000.000 (13 million)
Marketing & Partnerships: 15.000.000 (15 million)
Development & Infrastructure: 16.000.000 (16 million)
Team: 8.000.000 (8 million)
Community Rewards / Project Reserve: 7.000.000 (7 million)

Public Sale & Private Sale Information:

Private Sales Supply: 23.000.000 (23 million)
Purchase Option: BNB
Private Sale Price: $0.063-$0.098
Date: TBD
Public Sale Supply: 5.000.000 (5 million)
Purchase Option: BNB
Private Sale Price: $0.13
Date: TBD
Listing Price: $0.138
Date: TBD

How and Where to Buy MRCR token ?

MRCR token is now live on the Binance mainnet. The token address for MRCR is 0x155dab50f1dded25c099e209e7b375456a70e504. Be cautious not to purchase any other token with a smart contract different from this one (as this can be easily faked). We strongly advise to be vigilant and stay safe throughout the launch. Don’t let the excitement get the best of you.

Just be sure you have enough BNB in your wallet to cover the transaction fees.

You will have to first buy one of the major cryptocurrencies, usually either Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), Binance (BNB)…

We will use Binance Exchange here as it is one of the largest crypto exchanges that accept fiat deposits.

Once you finished the KYC process. You will be asked to add a payment method. Here you can either choose to provide a credit/debit card or use a bank transfer, and buy one of the major cryptocurrencies, usually either Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), Binance (BNB)…

How can I increase the profitability of my bitcoin trading?

How can I increase the profitability of my bitcoin trading?

At the moment, the Crypto Industry is one of the most prominent and profitable trading platforms available to practically anybody with access to the Internet. When it comes to trading in the crypto industry, it is not simply about investing some money in the various currencies available; rather, it imposes a plethora of duties on the trader and necessitates the highest vigilance and attentiveness. In this post, we'll look at certain elements that will help you secure your success in a shorter period of time by producing a big quantity of profit from your crypto trading activity.

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ETHRLIN

Optimism

Staying positive and optimistic in the face of adversity or difficulty is critical to being a great trader. Furthermore, optimism is a wonderful attribute that allows a person to make better choices and make appropriate selections in life. As it is generally known, crypto trading is a unique as well as unexpected platform, and it is critical for a trader to exercise caution when trading. As a result, remaining cool and peaceful is essential for success as a trader.

Time Administration

It is critical for a trader to spend his or her time equally between trading and non-trading activities. In the long run, this factor is critical. Having the time available to you correctly controlled proves to be really beneficial in achieving enormous success in life as a trader. It is also essential for a trader to get the most out of the extra time he or she has.

Keep Up to Date

Being informed of and conversant with what is going on in the crypto market is a critical factor on which your profit ratio is dependent. It is the responsibility of the crypto investor to stay up to speed on the newest revisions, news, and rules pertaining to the Crypto business, as there is no authority that supervises its whole operation. As a result, it is critical to keep oneself up to date with all of the necessary information since it allows the trader to make more informed judgments and achieve more success and profit in a shorter period of time. As a result, staying up to speed on all events and information pertaining to the crypto business is essential. Nobody can save their digitalized funds in a physical bank, which is why a cryptocurrency wallet is required to store bitcoin in a virtualized way with all-encompassing protection.

Strategise

Moving on without first strategizing every step is not a smart idea while trading cryptocurrencies. It is critical for a trader to have a solid plan in place in order to last in the crypto market. Sometimes traders do not provide enough time to develop a strong strategy and operate in line with it, and as a consequence, they incur significant losses during their trading period. As a result, in the outset, spend some time and effort developing a superior plan and then working to implement it.

Cardano Rumor Rundown December 13, 2021

Hey Everyone!

Let's go...

Newly covered today:

1. MLabs has released The Plutonomicon a developer driven guide to Plutus. https://twitter.com/MLabs10/status/1469218960856199173
2. In Macro news that could affect Cardano, the Fed is expected to discuss quicker tapering and rate hikes at their Dec. 14 & 15 meeting. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/10/fed-is-expected-to-speed-up-end-of-bond-buying-and-signal-interest-rate-hikes-are-coming.html
3. SundaeSwap releases the TasteTest model for decentralized price setting of tokens prior to launch. Very interesting! https://sundaeswap-finance.medium.com/sundaeswap-presents-the-taste-test-a5b125ee2645
4. It looks like Muesliswap has the number 1 most used script on mainnet (Dec. 12, 2021). https://twitter.com/MuesliSwapTeam/status/1470079303048212484

Previously Covered but still interesting:

1. You might have missed this IOHK blog entry on how dApp certification will be incorporated into the new light wallet (I know I did). https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2021/10/25/new-certification-levels-for-smart-contracts-on-cardano/
2. The Cardano dApp Store is looking like it’s going to be amazing. Curation & certification without gatekeeping is a great solution to preserve decentralization and maintain censorship resistance. https://summit.cardano.org/sessions/redefining-dapp-discovery-bringing-dapps-to-the-mass-market
3. There’s also a new update on Crypto Bisons! https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2021/10/28/buffalo-soldiers-march-to-the-heart-of-the-blockchain/
4. Charles released a new AMA from Ethiopia! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5au7JEPMaM
5. The U.S. President’s Working Group on Financial markets has published its Stablecoin Report. No surprise: they want to regulate stablecoin issuers as insured depository institutions with federal supervisors and to curtail their affiliation with commercial entities. They also want to curtail such affiliations for custodial wallet providers. https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/StableCoinReport_Nov1_508.pdf
6. It turns out there are some big chain reorg vulnerabilities in ETH 2.0. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2110.10086.pdf But, maybe ETH has already got fixes planned? https://twitter.com/casparschwa/status/1450785316865024000
7. A partnership among World Mobile, IOHK, and Zanzibar has been announced! It’s a five year plan that focuses on education, eGov solutions, the Blue Economy (sustainable fisheries), replicating the Blue Economy model in tourism | agriculture | & telecommunications. https://worldmobile.io/blog/post/partnering-with-zanzibar-blockchain-hub/
8. Alessandro has a great idea (multi-sig) to improve NFT drops over his original model that is now used by pretty much everybody! This would help mitigate the hassle of refunds and reduce some congestion. https://twitter.com/berry_ales/status/1455473647934742530
9. It feels crazy that we have over 2 million Cardano wallets out there these days. Our small ecosystem has become a gigantic one. https://datastudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/3136c55b-635e-4f46-8e4b-b8ab54f2d460/page/k5r9B
10. The Plutus Application Backend integration process has begun! https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1455905122802864138
11. Pavia has revealed proposals for parcel size in their metaverse. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1455915006395101188
12. Mark Stopka takes everyone to school on how “pool extractable value” can still be a thing in Cardano if dApp Developers don’t plan for designs that prevent it. https://youtu.be/0VloKsDjW70
13. Nami Wallet will soon support hardware wallets! https://twitter.com/NamiWallet/status/1456375916918083588
14. SundaeSwap has unveiled its own concurrency solution. https://twitter.com/SundaeSwap/status/1456338509870952450
15. A University of Virginia School of Law lecturer outlines a crypto related “hidden felony” in the Infrastructure Bill. https://www.decential.io/features/defi-and-the-digital-asset-felony-hidden-in-the-infrastructure-bill
16. IOG drops it’s Sustainability Report. https://static.iohk.io/green-blockchain-paper.pdf
17. We get a view of what can actually be built on a Pavia single Parcel and news that the Pavia Map v.2 will launch soon with wallet linking and custom images. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1456667167680831491 https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1456523907280822273
18. The Plutus Application Backend (PAB) Beta has been released! Developers of Cardano dApps can now begin experimenting on the testnet! This is a big milestone! https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1456683592726233097
19. Apparently Cardano’s transaction volume just last month in October was double all of 2020!?! https://twitter.com/CardanoStiftung/status/1456730746861748224
20. Looks like Cardano (at least the logo) made the cover of the Economist?!?! https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1457327848285376513
21. We just saw an instance of Yoroi wallet dApp Connector integration! https://twitter.com/SundaeSwap/status/1457396024822075409
22. We saw an all time high of +61k native assets issued on Cardano in one day recently! https://twitter.com/thinkgrowcrypto/status/1457130708300824576
23. World Mobile just dropped a great video documenting the IOHK/World Mobile/Zanzibar visit. https://twitter.com/WorldMobileTeam/status/1457800436501467136
24. It looks like Zimbabwe is looking into crypto adoption! https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1457703228192301058
25. Apparently, there’s a new partnership between COTI and the Cardano Foundation. Sounds like we’ll hear details on November 10. https://twitter.com/shahafbg/status/1457665945963532294
26. There is a Spacebudz ad running on the Nasdaq screen in Times Square right now (November 8-14). https://twitter.com/budzdegen/status/1457706024778014720
27. The IOHK Haskell course in Ghana will include 80 students! https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2021/11/05/empowering-a-new-generation-of-innovators-in-ghana/
28. A new Cardano NFT store has sprung up mentioning smart contract support and royalties for creators. https://twitter.com/jpgstoreNFT/status/1457548567032184832
29. Terra Virtua is saying we’ll have our Cardano Summit 2021 NFTs by November 10th. https://twitter.com/TerraVirtuaHQ/status/1457800095101976578
30. COTI is now talking about news of an IOHK Partnership to be announced on Nov. 10 in addition to the previous announcement of an announcement of the new Cardano Foundation partnership slated to be announced Nov. 10 6pm UTC. https://twitter.com/COTInetwork/status/1458129369482792967
31. Here’s a beautiful thread explaining how one of Cardano’s big competitor’s tps claims may be HIGHLY misleading. https://mobile.twitter.com/EdnStuff/status/1457875177052643333
32. The Galaxy Digital paper on Gen 3 blockchains is out. I think some may definitely take issue with their description of the capabilities of eUTxO smart contracts in the Cardano section. https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1458271252993302535
33. The Catalyst Natives program rolls out with a COTI ADAPay challenge to develop ADAPay plugins for medium & small businesses. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2021/11/10/introducing-catalyst-natives-how-any-business-can-leverage-the-cardano-innovation-engine/
34. The “Director of Ops” of ENS Domains runs a poll about whether or not ENS Domains or Cardano has more utility. At writing, over 30k voters had surprised him with the answer he didn’t expect.. https://twitter.com/BrantlyMillegan/status/1458268301100990467
35. IOHK drops a blog entry on optimizing network performance. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2021/11/10/optimizing-cardano/
36. Looks like we’ll be getting both the PAB & the ERC-20 Converter in the “next several weeks”. https://twitter.com/DanielTetsuyama/status/1458209250950332418
37. In macro news that could affect Cardano and all of crypto 30 year treasury bonds went vertical, and news of the +6% inflation in the US broke widely. https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1458507405675880452
38. World Mobile dropped a nice youtube AMA for us. Very interesting details came up about Microsoft Airband, Google Project X, and Project Taara. https://twitter.com/WorldMobileTeam/status/1458718340931858435
39. Weiss highlights that Cardano addresses participating in staking have grown by 100k in two months. https://twitter.com/WeissCrypto/status/1458845224671887362
40. The Cardano Summit 2021 Terra Virtua NFTs have arrived. Check your inventory if you did all the tasks in the Summit’s virtual worlds. https://terravirtua.io/inventory
41. Pavia dropped a more detailed roadmap with live events scheduled for the plaza in Q3 2022. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1459246398046674945
42. Charles is back in Colorado and has dropped a full AMA. https://youtu.be/nnDWc6uP6gs
43. The November mid-month IOHK Development Update is now out! https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1459250049414799368
44. Seeing reports that Cardano’s 24 hour volume recently exceeded Ethereum! https://twitter.com/cardano_daily/status/1460238659098005504
45. We’ve seen a very nice and steady rise in transactions over the last 15 days! https://twitter.com/WillyzPortico/status/1460221046112456704
46. The January Haskell class in Ghana will include 80 students! https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1460259961313837058
47. IOHK has dropped their new article on eUTxO dApp architecture. It explains in detail a design for an eUTxO order book. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2021/11/16/architecting-dapps-on-the-eutxo-ledger/
48. Apparently we saw over 1MM transactions in Epoch 302. https://twitter.com/ccvaultio/status/1460673461614006276
49. Looks like Cardano is seeing a huge amount of on-chain activity. The crazy part is this is all pre-PAB. Just wait until dApps can actually launch! Unsurprisingly, some supporters of other chains were shocked to realize they didn’t understand the difference between exchange trading volume and actual blockchain use volume. https://twitter.com/cardano_daily/status/1460238659098005504 https://messari.io/screener/most-active-chains-DB01F96B
50. Charles drops a short regulatory update letting us know about the proposed bill to fix the highly faulty Infrastructure Bill language and another new bill to lay out a pro-crypto comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto (including definitions for utility coins). https://youtu.be/AcBuk0zHLfU
51. Here’s the announcement and the bill from Senators Lummis & Wyden to fix the bad crypto language in the Infrastructure Bill. https://www.lummis.senate.gov/press-releases/wyden-lummis-introduce-bill-to-fix-broker-definition-for-digital-assets/ https://www.lummis.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/GAI21B7321.pdf
52. Senator Lummis reveals that she is working on a big crypto bill as expected. https://twitter.com/SenLummis/status/1461004206588968965
53. CIP-0030 Related to the dApp Connector has been merged. https://twitter.com/stakenuts/status/1460891981417267205
54. Be aware that fake stakepools are a thing! https://twitter.com/berry_ales/status/1460917711920414723
55. Here is the coming onslaught of Cardano dApps summed up in just six lines. https://twitter.com/DCdoso/status/1461340919731523586
56. Pavia says they will drop the extended land map next week and that it will include some new land types. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1461331532069711876
57. The smaller “fix-it” bill that would attempt to remedy the bad crypto language in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill has now been introduced in the House of Representatives. https://twitter.com/jerrybrito/status/1461317078175072263
58. Charles says input endorsers can improve the performance of the base layer by a factor of 20-40x!!!! https://youtu.be/Lf2C4fq4ZY4?t=790
59. MSN.com runs a positive Motley Fool article on Cardano. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/in-the-world-of-crypto-cardano-could-be-a-real-winner/ar-AAQWzzf
60. The updated list of Cardano researchers now numbers 152. https://twitter.com/DIGI_StakePool/status/1462536768658542604
61. A new wallet has been announced. https://twitter.com/TyphonWallet/status/1462410333939658752
62. Charles dropped a new AMA where he mentioned very briefly that they are actually going to look into read-only UTxOs. If it’s possible to have these types of UTxOs while preserving determinism, it would be a big change since transactions must currently consume inputs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJcVEJ1a6eg Some background reading on read-only UTxOs: https://github.com/Emurgo/Emurgo-Research/blob/master/smart-contracts/Unlocking%20The%20Potential%20Of%20The%20UTXO%20Model.md
63. Apparently, we have surpassed 20MM transactions on the Cardano network. https://twitter.com/CardanoTech/status/1462805643874680835
64. World Mobile gives a peek at their aerostat hanger where they will launch balloons to connect the unconnected in Africa. https://twitter.com/WorldMobileTeam/status/1462715361015521280
65. Pavia has dropped some very cool images of their avatars (or at least “background characters”). https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1461713781122232327
66. Remember, Cardano 360 is the last Thursday of every month. That means this Thursday, November 25th! https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1462793042587443206
67. Jerome Powell is named to a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-will-tap-jerome-powell-for-new-term-as-fed-chairman-11637589600
68. We got another Plutus Application Backend (PAB) release today (11.22)! https://github.com/input-output-hk/plutus-apps/releases/tag/v2021-11-22
69. CMC is now showing Cardano native assets! https://twitter.com/matiwinnetou/status/1462902025633554444
70. It looks like we’re getting a block size increase and a plutus script memory increase on December 1, 2021. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2021/11/22/slow-and-steady-wins-the-race-network-evolution-for-network-growth/ https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1463097104331468803
71. Pavia has partnered with ReadyPlayerMe so that you can build your own avatar. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1463103151893106688
72. Charles drops a video on the eToro user limitations. It sounds like IOHK knew nothing about this. Interacting with exchanges falls in the Cardano Foundation’s wheelhouse. It’s unclear whether the CF knew anything. He also pointed out it’s very interesting that an old line exchange like Bitstamp has decided to LIST Cardano during this same period. Charles also mentioned that they haven’t seen any regulatory activity on IOHK’s end. eToro is a relatively small source of liquidity for Cardano and there shouldn’t be much of an impact. https://youtu.be/WYQTkf8ndpY
73. The Pavia map is expanding on Wednesday, Nov. 24th at 1500 UTC with a second land sale. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1463153632484941834
74. Charles drops a video about the Caravan moving on despite any FUD (like eToro) that temporarily emerges. https://youtu.be/IjXkP_DGRgY
75. The Pavia second land sale saw demand vastly outstrip supply to become (reportedly) the biggest Cardano NFT drop ever. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1463560375442591753 https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1463547885539278849
76. World Mobile got some positive coverage in Tech Crunch! https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/23/world-mobile-group-bringing-zanzibaris-online-through-mobile-network-built-on-blockchain/
77. Looks like COTI’s Djed project has teamed up with SundaeSwap. https://twitter.com/COTInetwork/status/1463480313506668546
78. The minutes from the Fed’s November FOMC meeting have been published and indicate they are ready to taper asset purchases and raise rates to combat inflation. Some members felt even faster tapering than is currently planned is warranted. These are impactful revelations for crypto. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/24/federal-reserve-releases-minutes-from-its-november-meeting.html
79. IOHK drops a new article on a tiered transaction fee system that would still preserve determinism. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2021/11/26/network-traffic-and-tiered-pricing/
80. Here’s a good concise tweetstorm inspired by the Raul Pal/ Breedlove conversation about how the last 100 or so years led us here to this macro environment and crypto. https://twitter.com/JamesRothmann/status/1464305493099393028
81. Interesting discussion of the SundaeSwap ISO, the Scooper Model, and decentralization. https://youtu.be/94N8KXNs_as
82. John O’Connor drops an IOHK article on “RealFi” including thoughts on the ramifications of validated identity for uncollateralized loans in markets like Kenya and the projects in Ethiopia and Zanzibar. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2021/11/25/welcome-to-the-age-of-realfi/
83. The Cardano dApp ecosystem maps continue to grow to silly proportions. https://twitter.com/Coin98Analytics/status/1463782688502915075/photo/1
84. There is at least one “Cardano” baby. Is this the first or have there been others? https://twitter.com/Brunokarno1/status/1464762911746773002
85. The % of total ADA staked is still over 71% (11.29). https://twitter.com/matiwinnetou/status/1464921027922866188
86. The Cardano Community takes a moment to enjoy contemplating the circumstance that there will never need to be a “magical Cardano 2” in order for our blockchain to survive. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1465089315340488704
87. There are three new Cardano Improvement Proposals (CIPs) related to Plutus and the dev experience. https://twitter.com/_KtorZ_/status/1465345098619760643
88. Strong words from Philip Wadler on why Solidity is so terrible for smart contracts. https://twitter.com/cryptomaxpwr/status/1465223788144955393
89. Interesting point by Charles regarding Cardano having the expressiveness of Ethereum and the attack surface of Bitcoin. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1465369644408049668
90. It looks like there is another Cardano project that says it will attempt to increase connectivity in sub-Saharan Africa. https://3air.io/
91. Charles dropped a video with his thoughts on ISPO’s and regulatory issues. https://youtu.be/bCEYizNPptYADA Whale makes a very good point about Cardano inflation vs. almost all of it’s competitors. https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1465673768047570954
92. Sundaeswap is planning to hit the testnet this weekend. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1466110936369008640
93. We are approaching 1 million staked addresses! https://twitter.com/RichardMcCrackn/status/1465924981150208005
94. ADA Whale drops a Top 50 Cardano dApps list. https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1465907181086130179
95. Yet another hack has occurred in Ethereum DeFi. This one is being listed at $31MM. https://twitter.com/Gr88nCardano/status/1466013936164216832
96. Cardano increased it’s blocksize and Plutus Script Memory yesterday (12.1.21)! https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1466086538207547393
97. Looks like more theft in ETH DeFi (“Robbery Forest”). Reports coming in that Badger DAO has lost $120MM. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/12/02/badger-dao-protocol-suffers-10m-exploit/
98. Liqwid has announced that they are integrating Chainlink price feeds. https://twitter.com/liqwidfinance/status/1466404699284938756
99. IOHK drops a new video with Pi Lanningham of SundaeSwap regarding the tools that SundaeSwap has open sourced as part of its approach to launch. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1466480233004113926
100. Cardano has reached one million wallets staked. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1467351929047044096
101. Cardano still remains secure. Meanwhile a gigantic bug in Solana that could have been exploited for six months was reported. https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/126318/solana-library-bug-could-have-seen-attackers-stealing-27-million-an-hour
102. Robbery Forest can’t seem to go a day without doing its thing. This time it was apparently $150 million. https://twitter.com/sheldonbitmart/status/14673162528552263
103. SundaeSwap went live on testnet with a faucet for free testnet ADA and various ice cream flavored free testnet tokens. All compatible with Nami. https://twitter.com/SundaeSwap/status/1467795614633185280
104. ADA Handles were a surprise integration into the SundaeSwap Testnet! https://twitter.com/adahandle/status/1467907015972323328
105. The testnet proved valuable quickly as some improvements were identified with the scooper and they were taken offline to make those changes. https://twitter.com/SundaeSwap/status/1467897465768665090
106. Here is a beautiful illustration of massive concurrency in action on Cardano’s testnet! https://twitter.com/ProfSmith9000/status/1467978254912946184/photo/1
107. Charles dropped a new AMA! https://youtu.be/Jex6wItSvzE
108. In macro news that could affect all of crypto including Cardano, it looks like Evergrande (one of the largest real estate developers in the world) has finally formally defaulted on its debt obligations. While Evergrand has been stumbling for a long time, this event could mark the beginning of a new phase in global economics. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/07/business/china-evergrande-kaisa-property.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/07/evergrande-set-for-restructuring-with-no-word-on-first-formal-default.html
109. You can now use the Cardano ERC-20 Converter live on testnet with AGIX. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1468308091217362947
110. The Cardano Foundation dropped a fireside chat! https://youtu.be/TVWwnBpAbqE
111. P2P is now live on the Cardano testnet! This is a busy week for new products launching on testnet! https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1468592725532553226
112. The heads of Circle, FTX, Bitfury, Paxos, Stellar Development Foundation, and Coinbase appeared before the House Financial Services Committee. As expected, the questions from some of the House Committee members belied a misplaced focus on things like terrorist financing while others understood the need to regulate crypto appropriately so that crypto innovation is not forced offshore. There was significant focus on stablecoins due to the President’s Working Group placing so much focus there. One representative also chose to focus heavily on the energy consumption of Bitcoin mentioning coal power plants coming back on line to fuel Bitcoin mining. The witnesses from the crypto industry seemed to focus on dispelling misconceptions and also pushing for a single crypto focused regulatory body as opposed to the fragmented regulation that is typical in Washington. https://youtu.be/ohp-Trq4HU4
113. Rick McCracken makes a great point about Cardano Stake pools losing $0 of delegator money in 2021 while ETH stakepools have apparently lost at least $163 Million. https://twitter.com/RichardMcCrackn/status/1468819811014610945
114. There was an AMA about AVOUM on the IOHK discord on 12/09/21. AVOUM would allow for account balance type smart contracts (e.g. as in ETH) on top of the Cardano Blockchain. https://twitter.com/MutualKnowledge/status/1468711769069789196
115. It appears that the number of Plutus scripts running on the Cardano blockchain has more than doubled in the last month. https://twitter.com/CardanoStiftung/status/1468645270221033475/photo/1
116. Unbelievably, we’re seeing reports that Solana “crashed” again. Another report is chalking it up to a DDOS attack. Apparently, even after block creation was restarted, token distribution was still “halted”. https://twitter.com/murphsicles/status/1468998047879340041 https://twitter.com/Blockassetco/status/1468955731957202954
117. Fitch calls it official with Evergrande defaulting on $1.2 Billion in foreign debt and Kaisa defaulting on another $400 Million. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/evergrande-stock-china-default-bonds-fitch-chinese-market-intervention/

~Army of Spies