Category: Crypto Introduction

In brief

• The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is a financial vehicle that enables investors to trade shares in trusts holding large pools of Bitcoin.
• Shares in the fund track the price of Bitcoin, but only roughly.
• Grayscale also offers several other exchange-traded products, tracking Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin among others.

There’s a way to invest in Bitcoin right on the stock market: the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). It’s one of several such financial vehicles enabling investors to trade shares in trusts that hold large pools of Bitcoin, with each share priced at near-enough the price of Bitcoin.

As of December 2020, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust represents $11.5 billion of privately-invested Bitcoin assets. Grayscale, a US crypto investment firm that’s one of the largest purchasers of Bitcoin in the world, launched the trust in September 2013. It trades under “GBTC.”

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust holds 546,544 Bitcoin, or 70% of the 775,137 Bitcoin held by publicly traded companies, according to Bitcointreasuries.org. As of December 17, GBTC currently trades at $30.16, and per official documents, holds 0.00095 Bitcoin (worth $22.52) per share.

The Trust has generated headlines due to its fast growth. On June 9, 2020, the Trust held 384,953 Bitcoin. That marks an increase of over 161,000 Bitcoin in just under six months.

Did you know?

Grayscale was founded by Barry Silbert, who also runs the Digital Currency Group, a crypto venture capital firm that’s invested in Coinbase, Coindesk and Ripple.

How does the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Work?

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust works like this:

• 🤑 Grayscale invites a private pool of rich investors to pledge money to the fund, which it uses to buy up huge amounts of Bitcoin.
• 🏛️ Then, Grayscale lists that fund on public stock exchanges, meaning that anyone can trade shares in it.
• 📈 Shares in the fund track the price of Bitcoin, but only roughly.

Shares in the fund can trade at either a premium or a discount to the actual price of Bitcoin. Historically, they’ve almost always traded at a premium. This is good news to Grayscale and its investors, who earn money from that premium, but bad news for investors. 

So, why would investors buy shares in GBTC instead of just buying Bitcoin outright? There are a couple of reasons:

First, investing in a Bitcoin Trust allows people to gain exposure to Bitcoin without having to worry about how to store it, complying with the law or filing separate taxes.

If you’re buying Bitcoin, you have to manage a laundry list of concerns: How do you store it? Do you need to pay someone to hold custody over your Bitcoin? What happens if you lose the key or your Bitcoin wallet is hacked? As a publicly-traded trust, which reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust makes this easy to forget about.

Coronavirus Has Been Good for Bitcoin: Grayscale Investor Study

Publicly-traded Bitcoin trusts come with various tax advantages. Certain IRA, Roth IRA and other brokerages and investor accounts that won’t give tax breaks on investments of Bitcoin, will give them for investments of publicly traded trusts. Grayscale’s Trust provides those investors with exposure to Bitcoin in a tax-friendly way.

You can’t trade Bitcoin against stocks in Tesla and Apple (without using crypto stock-derivatives platforms). That cuts off the crypto economy from the traditional one. However, as soon as you list Bitcoin on the stock exchange—albeit in a very expensive, limited way—traditional investors can invest in the crypto economy.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is one of several publicly-traded trusts, although Grayscale is by far the largest. Rival ETC Group’s Bitcoin product has a market cap of $123 million, as of December 2020, and Wisdom Tree’s Bitcoin product has a market cap of $134.6 million.

Grayscale Secures Over $1 Billion in Q3 Cryptocurrency Investments

Digital currency asset manager Grayscale Investments today announced its Digital Asset Investment Report for Q3 of this year. The company revealed that it has raised $1.05 billion in its inves…NewsBusinessScott ChipolinaOct 14, 2020

Grayscale also offers several other exchange-traded products—although its Bitcoin product is by far the largest. Its Ethereum Trust is the next largest, with $1.8 billion worth of Ethereum under management. Others include Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Stellar Lumens, XRP, Horizen and ZCash, as well as a digital large cap fund that contains BTC, ETH, XRP, BCH and LTC.

The future success of Grayscale’s trust is far from secure. The shares of its competitors could represent Bitcoin’s price more than Grayscale’s, or they could charge lower fees.

GBTC vs Bitcoin ETF

In addition, Grayscale’s model benefits from the absence of a Bitcoin ETF, or exchange-traded fund. To invest in a Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, you’re buying up shares in a trust; with an ETF, you’re investing in a fund that directly tracks the price of Bitcoin.

Still No Bitcoin ETF in the US: What’s Happening?

Bitcoin ETFs aren’t legal in the USA right now. The SEC has denied multiple applications for a Bitcoin ETF on the grounds that Bitcoin’s price can be manipulated. While US investors wait for a Bitcoin ETF—one that the SEC may never approve—Bitcoin trusts are the next best thing.

GBTC in 2020

Grayscale has rapidly increased its Bitcoin holdings over the course of 2020, growing its holdings by 15,000 BTC in a single week in November, and 56,000 BTC in just one week in December. In its Q3 Digital Asset Investment Report, the company revealed that GBTC’s average weekly investment amounted to $55.3 million over the quarter, and it experienced inflows of $719.3 million.

Grayscale also generated its own headlines in 2020 with a massive ad campaign that encouraged investment in GBTC.

Speaking in June 2020, Grayscale’s director of investor relations, Ray Sharif-Askary, explained some of the rationale behind the company’s Bitcoin investments, noting that 2020’s macro instability was driving institutions towards alternative hedges such as Bitcoin.

By Robert Stevens

Bitcoin ETFs are exchange-traded funds that track the value of Bitcoin and trade on traditional market exchanges rather than cryptocurrency exchanges. They allow investors to invest in bitcoin without having to go through the hassle of using a cryptocurrency exchange while providing leverage to its price.

How It Works

An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is an investment fund that tracks the price of an underlying asset or index. Today, ETFs are available for several assets and industries, ranging from commodities to currencies.

A Bitcoin ETF would work the same way – the price of one share of the exchange-traded fund would fluctuate with the price of bitcoin. If bitcoin increases in value, so does the ETF, and vice versa. But instead of trading on a cryptocurrency exchange, the ETF would trade on a market exchange like the NYSE or TSX.

Advantages of Bitcoin ETFs

1. Convenience

Investing in a bitcoin ETF provides leverage to the price of bitcoin without having to learn about how bitcoin works, having to sign up for a cryptocurrency exchange, and taking on the risks of owning bitcoin directly. For example, bitcoins are held in a wallet, and if an investor loses the password to the wallet, their bitcoin is lost forever. A bitcoin ETF simplifies the process of investing in bitcoin.

2. Diversification

An ETF can hold more than just one asset. For example, A Bitcoin ETF could comprise bitcoin, Apple stocks, Facebook stocks, and more—providing investors with the opportunity to mitigate risk and diversify their portfolio. Similarly, by trading on a regulated market exchange, a bitcoin ETF would provide investors with the chance to diversify their existing equity portfolios.

3. Tax efficiency

Given that bitcoin is unregulated and decentralized, the majority of the world’s tax havens and pension funds do not allow for purchases of bitcoin. On the other hand, a bitcoin ETF trading on traditional exchanges would likely be regulated by the SEC and eligible for tax efficiency.

Disadvantages of Bitcoin ETFs

1. Management fees

ETFs usually charge management fees for the convenience they provide. Therefore, owning a significant amount of shares in a bitcoin ETF could lead to high management fees over time.

2. ETF inaccuracy

While ETFs track the price of an underlying asset, they can also have multiple holdings in a bid to diversify the portfolio. However, this suggests that a 50% rise in the price of bitcoin may not be accurately reflected in the value of the exchange-traded fund due to its other holdings. Therefore, while an ETF provides leverage to bitcoin’s price, it may or may not be an accurate tracker of its price.

3. Limits to cryptocurrency trading

Bitcoin can be traded for other cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, and more. A bitcoin ETF would not be eligible to trade for other cryptos, as it is not a cryptocurrency but simply an investment fund that tracks the price of bitcoin.

4. Lack of Bitcoin ownership

Bitcoin serves as a hedge against central banks, fiat currencies, and equities. By being independent of central banks, bitcoin provides a way to mitigate risks associated with the financial system. Bitcoin also protects users and investors by providing privacy through the bitcoin blockchain. A bitcoin ETF would be regulated by the government, eliminating these benefits.

Do Bitcoin ETFs Exist?

No, there are no bitcoin ETFs as of yet. It is largely due to the unregulated nature of bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market, which makes the bitcoin market easy to manipulate by investors with large holdings. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)‘s blocked several proposals for bitcoin ETFs on the grounds that the market is unregulated.

While there is no bitcoin ETF, there are publicly-traded funds that invest their money in bitcoin. Unlike bitcoin ETFs that directly purchase bitcoin, shares in the funds represent a pool of money invested in the cryptocurrency. Another way to gain exposure to bitcoin without actually purchasing it is to invest in cryptocurrency and blockchain companies, which provide leverage to the crypto market.

By Corporate Finance Institute

Offline

Wallet addresses

If you only have a small volume of potential Bitcoin users, the easiest way to accept BTC would be to ask your customers to transfer the money directly you. But before being able to do so, you need to set up a Bitcoin wallet first.

Essentially, a wallet is just a string of random letter and numbers. Numerous Bitcoin exchanges are catering for different needs that offer wallet services as well as independent wallet platforms. All you need to do is register with one of them, receive your wallet address, which is also your public key, and a private key, which is necessary for signing for transactions and should be kept secret.

In order to be able to withdraw funds from your Bitcoin wallet in flat currency, you will need to link your bank account or your credit card.

To make things easier for your customers, it might be a good idea to present your wallet address in the form of a QR-code. All they will need to do is to scan it, put in the amount of Bitcoins necessary and sign with their private key. Bitcoin’s value is known to fluctuate a lot, so make sure to look up the current exchange rate on any major exchange before conducting the transaction.

Creating a short and easily understandable tutorial on how to transfer Bitcoins to your wallet would also be a good idea.

List of services:

Exchanges:

• Bitfinex
• Kraken
• Coinbase
• CEX.io
• Coinmama

Online wallet services:

• Eidoo
• Blockchain.com
• BTC.com
• CoinsBank
• StrongCoin

Screen apps

In a pursuit of streamlining Bitcoin payments for businesses, software developers have been coming up with various touchscreen apps. These apps work much like direct transactions to online wallets do. The merchant needs to connect their wallet address with the app, put in the required amount in fiat currency, and the app generates a QR-code containing the address and the amount of funds that need to be sent in BTC. All the customer has to do is scan the QR-code with their Bitcoin mobile wallet app and sign for the transaction. These services can be used on most smartphones and tablets.

List of services:

• CoinFly
• Coinbox (Android)
• CoinGate
• BitPay
• Blockchain Merchant (Android)

Hardware terminals (POS)

Bitcoin’s recognition as a viable form of payment has lead to the emergence of an ever-rising number of commerce-specific hardware point-of-sale solutions. Those can come in the form of Bitcoin-specific payment terminals as well as Bitcoin-oriented APIs that can be integrated in some of the existing point-of-sale terminals, and so on.

Their capabilities vary depending on a manufacturer.

List of services:

• Coinkite — A Bitcoin payment terminal similar to chip-and-PIN terminals. It can scan Bitcoin-based debit cards, issued by the same company, operate as a Bitcoin ATM and print out QR-codes for customers to scan.
• BitPay — A global payments processor, streamlined into the SoftTouch POS system. It contains an API that can be integrated into almost every point-of-sale system with a bit of programming job.
• Revel — A company that offers a range of POS solutions for various types of businesses and incorporates Bitcoin as a payment option.
• BitXatm — A startup from Germany that created Sumo Pro – a cryptocurrency ATM that incorporates a point-of-sale.
• XBTerminal — A Bitcoin POS device that allows customers to pay from any mobile Bitcoin wallet by NFC of QR-code. It also facilitates payments from offline mobile devices via Bluetooth.

Gift Cards

When it comes to Bitcoin, gift cards are often used as a medium of exchange. Even though major retailers like Amazon, Target or H&M are yet to start accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, there is always an option of buying a gift card to one of those establishments with Bitcoins.

If your business sells gift cards or gift certificates, you will find that perhaps the easiest way of accepting Bitcoin is to accept it for the purchase of gift cards or sell those cards on designated Bitcoin-accepting platforms. Obviously, those gift cards will then be used to purchase goods or services from your business.

List of services:

• eGifter
• Gyft
• Yes to Bitcoins
• GiftOff
• Paxful

Online

Button

If you’re running an online business, you can of course still accept manual payment directly to your wallet, providing customers with either a public key or a QR-code. However, there is also a way of streamlining online payments in Bitcoins by implementing a ‘pay with Bitcoin’ button on your website.

Several different services offer solutions for this. Some of them even provide button generators, where all you need to do is fill in a short form. As a result, you will get a few lines of HTML code to copy and paste into your website. While it is a relatively easy process, it is recommended you entrust an experienced programmer with this task.

List of services:

• BitcoinPay
• Coinbase
• BitPay
• Stripe
• CoinGate

Invoices

In case your business receives payments via invoices, there are a few things you need to consider. Besides the required amount in fiat currency, it is recommended that you include at least a suggested amount in Bitcoin or an instruction on how to calculate it. Due to Bitcoin’s constant fluctuation stating a certain amount in BTC may incur significant losses either on your part, or on your customer’s part.

The invoice should include a wallet address for the customer to send the funds to. As the public key is a long and random string of numbers and letters, both upper and lower case, including a QR-code would also be a good idea. This is especially necessary if you’re sending out paper invoices.

List of services:

• Invoiced
• Coinkite
• Coinify
• Blockonomics
• BitPay

Countries where it is allowed

In many jurisdictions, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are still in the legal grey area. Lawmakers, tax authorities and financial regulators are still trying to understand where it fits in within existing legal frameworks and are crafting new regulations to govern it.

In most countries worldwide, Bitcoin is either legal or unregulated. This means that accepting payments in BTC is legal in those jurisdictions, at least for now. However, the laws and regulations in different countries can view and treat merchants accepting Bitcoin differently. Moreover, those regulations are obviously subject to change. So, before deciding to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, make sure to consult with a legal advisor and be prepared to adapt.

The only countries where Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is outright banned are Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam. China and Russia are about to join those jurisdiction in due time.

Read more: Is Bitcoin Legal.

Taxation

Depending on a jurisdiction you live in, once you’ve accepted payment in Bitcoin, you might need to include it in your tax report. In terms of taxation, Bitcoin is treated very differently from country to country. In the US, the Internal Revenue Service ruled that Bitcoins and other digital currencies are to be taxed as property, not currency.

In theory, this really complicates merchants’ lives. This is because when acquiring property, the merchant is required to record the fair market value of the property. When the asset is later exchanged, if the fair market value has increased, then the owner has a taxable gain. So, when a merchant receives multiple payments in Bitcoin over a month during which the exchange value fluctuates and decides to exchange all of them for a flat currency, the taxable gain of every single transaction might be significantly different.

However, in practice, most of the merchant service providers mentioned above offer an instant exchange service. This means that once you receive a payment in Bitcoin, it is exchanged into a traditional currency of your choice instantly, allowing for minimum fluctuation.

It is recommended that you consult with a tax specialist in order to get a better understanding of how Bitcoin is taxed in your jurisdiction and how income gained through Bitcoin should be reported.

Pros

When it comes to accepting credit and debit card payments, a lot of small businesses often find themselves in a position where they have to set a card purchase minimum. This is because of the fees, which can range from two to five percent of the transaction total. On the other hand, one of Bitcoin’s main advantage is the lack of any central intermediary, which dramatically reduces transaction fees.

One of the main problems that any money transfer system, including standard bank cards, needs to solve is so-called ‘double-spending.’ Oftentimes, a transaction can be reversed with just a simple phone call, and the fraudster is able to spend that same amount of money again. Bitcoin, thanks to its distributed public ledger called the Blockchain, offers protection from such fraudulent schemes. Once the transaction is confirmed, it is recorded in the Blockchain and after that it becomes irreversible and unchangeable. In this respect, accepting Bitcoin is pretty much like accepting cash.

Bitcoin holders are always looking for new ways to spend it. Even though there are a lot of different businesses accepting Bitcoins these days, your business will not get lost among them. By accepting the cryptocurrency, you will attract a whole new group of customers, especially if you’re running an online-business.

Finally, accepting Bitcoin means giving your customers an extra way to pay, while also providing them with an extra layer of protection for their personal information. All in all, Bitcoin has a potential of significantly increasing your businesses’ profits.

Cons

The biggest disadvantage of accepting Bitcoin is the cryptocurrency’s insane volatility. For instance, in the beginning of 2017 one Bitcoin was barely worth $1,000. Then, it got to almost $5,000, quickly dropped to $3,200 before hitting its historical maximum of $8,000 in mid-November.

This means that you’ll need to adjust your prices on the daily, if not hourly basis. Moreover, you will have to translate Bitcoins into your currency of record quickly and regularly in order not to sustain a loss. Some of the merchant service companies mentioned above provide an instant exchange service, which means that prices in BTC are adjusted in real-time and Bitcoin payments made by your customers are immediately exchanged for cash value at BTC’s current value.

Even though Bitcoin transactions are safe and fraud-free, there is still a chance of hackers getting their hands on users’ wallets. The story of Mt. Gox, an infamous exchange that lost approximately 850,000 of its users’ Bitcoins, which amounted to more than $450 mln at the time still haunts the Bitcoin community. Overall, around a million of Bitcoins have been stolen from exchanges since 2011. Unlike most traditional currencies, Bitcoin is not backed or insured, so the loss of funds will most likely be irreversible.

However, there are steps that you can take to avoid that. In order to better protect your funds, store them outside of popular exchanges, use multi-factor authentication on your accounts, secure and take care of your private keys and do regular backups of your data.

Perhaps the most complicated problem with accepting Bitcoin is the regulatory grey area the cryptocurrency finds itself in right now. Existing laws and regulations are sparse and differ drastically depending on a jurisdiction. Moreover, they are subject to change, which means business-owners have to constantly monitor new developments in the world of Bitcoin and be prepared to adapt.

By Cointelegraph

Stablecoin supply quietly surged last year to $28 billion after starting the year below $5 billion. And the market continues to see substantive growth. As of January 2021, the current stablecoin supply is over $33 billion.

The two largest stablecoins — Tether and Coinbase’s USDC — account for most of the market by total supply. Tether’s USDT comprises over 75% of the market at $25 billion in total supply. On the other hand, USDC comes in second, far behind Tether at 14% of the market and nearly $5 billion in total supply.

So which USD-backed stablecoin is better for B2B payments: USDC or USDT?

It helps to weigh the pros and cons of each in order to make an informed decision based on your unique circumstances. But before we get into specifics, let’s think more broadly about the fundamentals and underlying technology.

Stablecoins are a cryptocurrency whose value is backed 1:1 by another asset, such as the US dollar, euro, yuan, or gold. This keeps the price stable relative to that asset.

With 24/7 availability, near instant settlement, and lower fees, people are turning to cryptocurrency to make payments.

As the first cryptocurrency, bitcoin paved the way for blockchain payments. In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas from Papa John’s for 10,000 bitcoin (worth $30 at the time) which is thought to be the first instance that crypto was used to pay for goods or services. In today’s value of bitcoin, those pizzas cost approximately $350 million.

Bitcoin is still the most popular cryptocurrency used for payments, but its wild volatility makes it problematic for enterprise use and payments.

That’s where stablecoins come in. While many top cryptocurrencies are still in price discovery, you can take advantage of the benefits of blockchain payments without subjecting yourself to volatility or complicated tax calculations. Stablecoins allow institutions, traders, and individuals to hold crypto without dealing with the highs and lows of bitcoin or ether.

How does it work? The stablecoin issuer will typically hold a reserve in a bank for the asset that is backing the stablecoin. Then, this reserve will serve as collateral for the stablecoin. This is similar to how both USDC and USDT collateralize their stablecoins with fiat.

Other more complex stablecoins (such as Maker’s Dai) are borrowed against locked collateral and destroyed when the loans are repaid. But we’ll spare you the details, since we’re focusing on USDC and USDT.

The economic data speaks for itself. Stablecoins exploded in 2020. Total stablecoin supply ballooned by more than 5X in 2020 from around $5 billion to over $28 billion. And for good reason.

For starters, the growth of DeFi in summer 2020 likely would not have happened if stablecoins did not have sufficient liquidity in the market to counter the unpredictable pricing of other crypto assets. Stablecoins are key to making the sophisticated tools being built on top of blockchain technology attractive and usable for developers and traders alike.

Along with the need for stablecoins in DeFi and trading, institutions across the world are using stablecoins to make cross-border (or intra-border) payments in a fraction of the time as fiat payments. This trend accelerated in 2020, with businesses increasingly relying on cryptocurrency for payments. Many companies prefer to transact with a currency that is tied to the global reserve currencies.

In January 2021, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) officially announced that they will permit federally regulated banks to facilitate stablecoin payments and other blockchain activities. There still seems to be plenty of room for growth in 2021 with this news.

Now let’s explore the two biggest stablecoins (by market cap) in crypto: USDC and USDT.

What is USDC?

The USD Coin (USDC) was launched in October 2018 by the Centre Consortium, powered by the massive cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and Circle Internet Financial. USDC is the only stablecoin currently supported by Coinbase. It’s built on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 token.

As of January 14, 2021, USDC is a top-15 coin on every exchange. It has a $4.75 billion in total supply (up from $518 *million at the start of 2020), and holds a 14.5% market share for all stablecoins. It’s quickly become one of the largest coins, and it looks like it’s continuing to build serious momentum.

How is USDC stabilized? USDC is pegged 1:1 to actual U.S. dollars (USD) and held in reserve bank accounts. It’s subject to regular audits to ensure that it’s staying an actual dollar. This is how you can trust that USDC will remain $1 regardless of what happens.

USDC is available to trade at seven different exchanges, including Coinbase, Poloniex, Binance, and KuCoin. For Coinbase Pro or Coinbase Prime users, you’re able to purchase and sell USDC from all regions of the world. If you have USDC on Coinbase, it’s simple to convert your USDC back into fiat and withdraw to your bank account.

How can I use USDC?

Since USDC is an ERC-20 token, any two ethereum wallets can send and receive USDC to anyone in the world almost instantly.

This ERC-20 based token can be used by any new decentralized application (dApp) built on the Ethereum blockchain. That’s why USDC is popular in the DeFi community. USDC holders are free to explore the wild west of DeFi lending, high-yield savings accounts, and other possibilities.

Most recently, USDC partnered with the exiled government of Venezuela to provide aid to people and healthcare workers in Venezuela. According to the CEO and founder of Circle, stablecoins are now a tool for US foreign policy and USDC is leading the charge.

Many believe that coins like USDC go against the crypto narrative of being anti-fiat, but there’s an opportunity here. In order for crypto to go mainstream, it needs to work collaboratively with traditional finance. Fiat-to-crypto payment rails are going to become more and more prevalent in the coming years.https://www.youtube.com/embed/wmCwPXLQveU?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://blog.gilded.finance

How to get paid in USDC?

With Gilded, it’s easy to send and receive payments using USDC. You can send invoices to your customers priced in USD (or other global currencies) and then accept the payment in USDC.

When you pay with USDC, the fees are lower, payment is faster, and you don’t have wait for an intermediary. Gilded never touches your funds. For those that prefer the convenience of a trusted custodian, Gilded’s Coinbase integration allows you to send and receive USDC payments directly in your Coinbase account.

What is USDT?

Tether, known by its ticker symbol of USDT, is widely known as the first stablecoin project. Originally known as MasterCoin, the idea for Tether was first conceived in January 2012 and officially launched in 2014 by Bitfinex. It’s a fiat-collateralized currency, meaning that the value is supposed to be pegged 1:1 to the U.S. Dollar.

USDT has nearly $25 billion in supply and accounts for greater than 75% of the total stablecoin supply (which fell below 80% for the first time last year). It’s the third biggest cryptocurrency by market cap as of today and it’s the reigning king of stablecoins.

How do I use USDT?

Since USDT is the biggest stablecoin by high margins, it provides high liquidity to its users. Most notably, USDT has a daily 24 hour volume of well over $100 billion, almost double that of Bitcoin. It’s the most liquid cryptocurrency in the world.

This makes it perfect for traders who need easy access to transfer funds. You can enter and exit trades without huge changes in price (like you would with Bitcoin or Ethereum). And if you’re only trading between various digital currencies, then the tax liability is lower or non-existent.

It’s also a good use as a medium of exchange, and not just for traders. More and more businesses and freelancers are using Tether as a form for B2B payments.

But Tether also is not without controversy, which center around whether it’s fully backed by the U.S. Dollar.

In 2019, Bitfinex, the exchange that shares a parent company with Tether, reportedly raided $850 million of Tether reserves for their outstanding debt.

We won’t get into too much detail here but it’s worth mentioning. We recommend that you to do your own research and reach your own conclusions.

75% of the stablecoin market believes that Tether is still trustworthy.

How to get paid in USDT?

Getting paid in USDT is super simple with Gilded. Since Tether is such a liquid asset, you never have to worry about the supply running low or the price becoming volatile.

And just like USDC, you’re going to save yourself time and fees by making or accepting payments with USDT.

Should I use USDT or USDC?

Short answer: it depends. From our research and conversations with hundreds of customers and prospects, it depends on your specific needs, preference, and your customer profiles.

USDC is most commonly used by institutions in the United States (or where Coinbase is offered in other countries). If your customers are businesses, then you will likely want to use USDC to send invoices to your customers. If you’re a Gilded user working with Gilded’s Coinbase integration, it makes sense to use USDC.

On the other hand, USDT is most commonly used by traders and investors. Tether is a tool that allows traders to protect profits and stay in crypto. It allows you to keep your money on exchanges without subjecting yourself to volatile bitcoin prices. If your customers are traders, then perhaps USDT is the right choice.

By GIL HILDEBRAND

There are three main categories of stablecoins available to users, all of which peg their units in different ways.

Fiat-backed
This is the most common form of stablecoin in the market, consisting of crypto assets that are directly backed by a government-issued currency (or commodities such as gold) with a fixed 1:1 ratio. Their value is based on the value of the backing currency.

In this setting, a central issuer or bank holds a certain amount of fiat currency in reserve and issues a proportionate number of tokens. The key requirement is that the amount of backing currency reflects the circulating supply of the stablecoin. For example, the issuer holding $100,000 dollars would equate to 100,000 tokens with the value of $1 each, which can be freely traded between users.

While they are registered with regulatory bodies such as US Securities and Exchange Commission, the off-chain nature of the system – i.e only the issuing financial institutions have complete oversight into the fiat money deposits – necessitates a certain degree of trust. There is no way for a user to be sure whether the issuer actually holds the funds in reserve, so the stability of the stablecoin’s price depends on their trust in the issuer.

Crypto-backed
In this case, stablecoins are issued with cryptocurrencies as collateral instead of being backed by fiat currencies. The main idea here is to peg them to a basket of cryptos or a cryptocurrency portfolio. Since everything is done digitally on the blockchain, the system depends on the use of smart contracts to handle the issuance of units, ensure governance and establish trust.

This creates a decentralised ecosystem that is regulated by the users themselves, as opposed to one issuer or third-party regulatory body dictating monetary policy. Users have to trust that all the network participants will act in the best interests of the group as a whole, which is one of the big draws of cryptocurrencies in general.

To acquire crypto-backed stablecoins, users lock their cryptocurrency into a contract, which then issues the token. Stablecoins must then be paid back into the same contract before their collateral can be returned, with price stability achieved through various supplementary instruments and incentives.

Algorithmic
Also referred to as non-collaterised stablecoins, these aren’t backed by any fiat currency, commodity or cryptocurrency reserve. Instead, algorithms and smart contracts manage the supply of tokens issued to maintain a stable price, mirroring the monetary policy used by central banks around the world to manage national currencies.

These smart contracts are implemented on a decentralised platform and can run autonomously, reducing or increasing the supply of tokens in circulation based on the price of the stablecoin relative to the price of the fiat currency it tracks. If the price falls below the value of the fiat currency, the token supply is reduced and vice versa.

Although they aren’t collateralised in the same way as fiat and cryptocurrency-backed stablecoins, algorithmic stablecoins may have a pool of collateral in reserve in case of black swan events.

What makes stablecoins different?

In a nutshell, stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are designed to minimise price volatility relative to a particular “stable” asset or basket of assets. Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, a stablecoin is one that is pegged to a real-world asset like fiat money (e.g. the Euro) or exchange-traded commodities (e.g. gold).

This means they maintain a steady value against a target price, making stablecoins an attractive proposition for investors as well as providing the much-needed stability for merchants looking to participate in the crypto space.

Most importantly, it makes them more viable as an actual currency because they aren’t subject to wild, daily fluctuations in price and are useful for all the things people actually want to use money for. As such, they can enable a number of practical use cases that traditional crypto-assets simply can’t – from insurance and loans, to payments and investments.

They also substantially reduce friction by letting people use something that they’re familiar with – such as the Pound or the Dollar – as well as allowing users to cheaply and quickly transfer value around the globe while maintaining price stability. This will all be key to fostering mass adoption in the future. By increasing confidence that they are stable enough to be used as a daily medium of exchange, consumers will be more likely to trust the technology.

Ultimately, they offer users the best of both worlds: the processing speed and security/privacy of cryptocurrency payments, combined with the volatility-free valuations of fiat currencies.

By Artem Shaginyan

★ 链得得技术负责人-雨龙：阻碍NFT发展的原因分为生态基础和交易形态两个方面。

在生态基础上来说，技术底层发展还属于发展前期，现在大家看到NFT大多数是卡片，数字收藏品，是因为很多传统意义上的数字资产暂时还无法通过现有的基础设施完全搬到链上。

而且现在大部分的项目是基于ERC721去实现，那么很多复杂的操作实现难度其实很高，这是为什么虽然现在我们看到有很多区块链的游戏在推进但是却给人很粗糙的感觉。行业发展前期，很多更专业的人才并没有进入这个行业。

在交易形态上来说，卡片类或者数字收藏品的NFT属于低频交易，本身流动性上就存在天然的劣势，所有在NFT价值或者流动性上需要其他的因素进行引导和推动。明年NFT的突破会呈现出多元性，技术底层会革新，可能出现更高效的协议，例如ENJ是从技术底层上进行突破，开发更适合游戏领域的技术基础设施。

和更多领域（注定有金融）的合作，引入更多的新鲜血液和人才也是破局的关键。

★ KuChain负责人Lou YU：NFT的流动性问题从两个方面可以去解决：

一个是落地的应用场景的拓宽，不要局限于NFT艺术创作和收藏，NFT+DeFi的融合是非常好的尝试。

另一个是核心用户的拓展，NFT从业者和爱好者需要让更多的人，以更低的成本，从更多的渠道接触、了解和参与到NFT市场中来。

无论是群众基础超强的Game.Fi，还是门槛最低的中心化NFT交易平台，都是对用户非常友好的方式和渠道。

★ Degochina社区发起人黑鳯李Xavier：阻碍NFT发展的最大问题就是市面上太多声音围绕在「收藏品」之上，一个市场的繁荣前提是交易频繁，收藏品本身就是一个交易不频繁的市场，它并不会因为结合区块链就改变低交易频率的资产属性。如果改变现状，从现在就应该改变人们对于NFT的理解。NFT的价值不在于稀有性，而在于结构体的描述。

NFT虽然是Non-fungible Token，但其实合约可以设定「NFT标准」之外的「NFT框架」，假设在同一个「NFT框架」之下，这个框架可以成为一个「池」，NFT抵押进去变成「债券」生成FT，NFT就可以像FT一样进行批量交易，那么对于长期困扰NFT的流动性问题就能被解决了。

以下为对话实录，略经链得得编辑：

主持人：科普一下NFT，以及我们为什么要讨论NFT？NFT要成为风口了吗？

链得得技术负责人-雨龙：NFT是「non-fungible Token」 ，非同质化代币。和我们已往所接触的代币不同，他不可分割，没个都是独一无二的。详细的描述，欢迎大家阅读我们的NFT报告。

关于NFT为什么最近比较火爆被市场关注的这个问题，首先看下年中最火爆的DeFi。虽然热度是被AMM和流动性挖矿推到高潮的，但是本质上也是去中心化金融发展的结果。

我理解的NFT是什么？在技术的角度上说是解决唯一性和独特价值的token，在属性上它代表的是一种被赋予了某种价值（这种价值可能是艺术性、稀有性、数学性等等）的新型数字资产。

所以本质上NFT也属于去中心化资产，和去中心化金融有高度的关联性，可操作性。由于维度是相同的，所以天然的有些方面会和DeFi的一些结合点，例如DeFi的产出进行铸币制造NFT，NFT通过DeFi平台进行抵押借贷 ，NFT使用权的出租等等方向都有探索的意义。

另外大家可以查一下近两年opensea的交易数据，是一个持续上升的过程。从数据反馈上来说已经被越来越多的人接受。

关于市场有多大，会不会成为下一个大火的风口，我认为NFT会给去中心化金融带来更多的可能性，但是在暂时的底层技术或者说生态的支撑上，量能不足以直接起飞，我更倾向于他会变成一只慢牛。一个个慢慢发展的行业，会产生更多有特色的的项目而不是催生出一个“Uniswap”。

KuChain负责人Lou YU：NFT虽然有很大潜力，但是还没有DeFi那么大的影响力。现在的发展虽然在游戏、收藏、艺术品领域有一定的成就和热度，但要形成一个类似今年DeFi一样的大风口，可能还需要一些对应用场景的探索。

比如现在很多项目都在尝试NFT和DeFi的融合产品，比如像Dego这种我们现在称为Game.Fi，NFT还在产生一些全新的玩法。NFT带来的「资产数字化」可能性巨大，并且长远来看这个发展路径是必然的。

Degochina社区发起人黑鳯李Xavier：NFT「non-fungible Token」和FT「fungible Token」是一个相对的概念，两者之间最大的区别在于「独一无二」和「批量复制」。

这也就使得NFT更加适合于对标现实世界中的资产——毕竟文明的演进已经让所有的事物都有了差异化的描述，即使是一件批量生产的消费品，在生产日期和喷码上也会有所不同。

现有的观点往往将NFT市场描述为一个独立的赛道，在其稀缺性上做文章，以加密艺术品和游戏卡片作为主要的价值输出途径。这其实是一个非常奇怪的现象，就像没有人会把FT当作一个独立市场。

形成这一误导性说法的原因在于经验主义限制了整个行业的想象力。NFT从2017年短暂高光到近年来的发展迟缓，很多人因为CryptoKitties曾经的火爆而迷失方向，在思维定式中把NFT和艺术、卡片、稀缺性等进行了强制绑定，却没有意识到这只是NFT应用场景的很小一部分。

NFT未来的应用应当是非常广泛的，它的存在丰富提炼了Token的使用广度和深度，它的崛起应该是润物细无声的，所有的类别都可以与它有关，毕竟NFT与FT之间是对等和互补的关系。相比FT来说，NFT应该是更大范畴的概念，就像现实世界的非标品交易远大于标品交易。

2020年DeFi的崛起将NFT再次推向风口浪尖，DeFi+NFT为市场进行了一次回炉教育，也让很多人开始重新思考NFT更具价值的未来。尤其是Dego，正是引用了「结构体描述」的核心思想，让我们看到了长期被「收藏品」的面纱笼罩在阴影中的NFT正在回归它的原貌。

主持人：其实从DApp、区块链游戏爆发后，不少人就意识到了NFT的巨大潜力。但截至目前，市场相对而言还是非常小众。阻碍其进一步发展的原因有哪些？可以从哪些方面突破？

KuChain负责人Lou YU：NFT其实早就出过圈了，以太猫的时代吸引了一众圈外的购买者、收藏者，一个能引起广泛共鸣的应用是带动NFT发展的那一块石头。

以前这块石头是CryptoKitties，今天，这些石头是Decentraland、是Dego、是OpenSea，后面千层浪的突破其实不难想象。优质的NFT应用从一开始就是概念和比特世界的产物，也是概念和比特资产的流通，整个生命周期都可以在链的网络中进行。

从创作、收藏，到交易物、拍卖品、抵押物，再到债券、期权，NFT还值得更多的可能性。从长远的角度去看，NFT的破圈甚至可以说是必要的。设想一下，未来NFT还可以布局区块链结合VR、AR领域，形成完整的虚拟世界产业链。

Degochina社区发起人黑鳯李Xavier：我觉得NFT被大家低估了。阻碍NFT发展的最大问题就是市面上太多声音围绕在「收藏品」之上，我们都知道一个市场的繁荣前提是交易频繁，收藏品本身就是一个交易不频繁的市场，它并不会因为结合区块链就改变低交易频率的资产属性。

如果改变现状，从现在就应该改变人们对于NFT的理解。NFT的价值不在于稀有性，而在于结构体的描述。如果为NFT引入结构体设计，会有怎样的效果？

举个例子，前段时间Dego合理利用了「结构体思维」，组织了一场空前的「抽铲子」活动。玩家在活动期间需要完成官方指定的任务，完成任务后可以免费铸造一个包裹着随机数量Dego的NFT铲子，这些NFT具备结构体属性，包裹Token的数量决定「基础面值」，还有「等级」决定了NFT铲子的挖矿效率，可作为溢价的附加价值。

由于随机「面值」「等级」的差别，这场活动也就成为了一次NFT「抽盲盒」，高面值的NFT理论上有更高的基础定价和溢价空间，玩家们会在好奇心和投机心理的驱使下不断抽取盲盒，无形中成为了构建NFT世界的创作者和贡献者。而且这些NFT不会因为大量产出而贬值，后期的这些低等级的铲子也有更多使用场景，例如可以「铸造」「合成」「锻造」等等。

在引入了「结构体思维」后，Dego NFT的价值不仅仅是「稀缺性」，而是让NFT从难以触及的空中楼阁下沉到更多的实际应用场景中。Dego抢眼的数据背后很重要地方就是team对于NFT的理解高几个身位。

By 技术围炉-链得得

区块链行业发展至今，依旧还处于一个很早期的阶段，有很多规章制度需要不断完善和补充。但是资金盘骗局、项目跑路等事件的层出不穷，让众多用户、投资者对于加密货币的安全问题表示惴惴不安。

区块天眼的出现，使得这个去中心化的世界里有了一盏“指南针”。在这款区块链监管查询应用上，不仅有资金盘等的曝光和黑榜，还有平台、项目排名以及 Token 的评分评级等等。不过，这些数据信息从何而来？评级评分的维度又是什么？有待我们考证。

白话大咖说系列会聚焦行业热点，会不定期邀请行业资深人士碰撞区块链思想。为此，我们邀请了区块天眼联合创始人 Rean，给我们分享关于区块链监管的相关内容。

以下为 AMA 内容原文：

01
区块天眼简介

白话区块链三黎 ：首先请 Rean 简单介绍一下自己以及区块天眼吧，为什么说区块天眼是一款“黑平台资金盘最不想让你知道的 APP” ？

Rean：大家好，我是区块天眼的联合创始人 Rean。区块天眼是区块链行业首个监管查询类 APP。

区块天眼的监管查询主要体现在两个方面：通过提供全方位多角度平台项目信息查询和用户举报曝光形成第三方主动监管。

第一：通过提供全方位多角度平台项目信息查询形成第三方主动监管。

区块天眼为用户提供区块链行业各个主体，例如加密数字货币交易平台、区块链项目信息查询，从多个维度检测区块链行业主体安全情况，以达到帮助用户快速判断它们是否是黑平台、资金盘、空气币等目的。

这些查询维度包括但不限于：基础信息查询、监管牌照查询、实地勘测 VR 实景查询、全球影响力指数查询、行情查询等，通过天眼评分直观的显示其安全值。

第二：通过为用户直接举报曝光形成第三方主动监管。

为了让交易平台和项目的健康值更客观更全面更立体，除了官方提供的信息维度，区块天眼为用户开放了曝光入口，用户可以直接在曝光板块揭发黑平台和资金盘的骗局和恶行，曝光内容将与被曝光的平台和项目直接关联。

所以，你既可以把区块天眼理解成一个查询平台，也可以把它理解成一个曝光平台，目的只有一个，为了安全！区块天眼旨在维护用户的利益，帮助用户远离资金盘黑平台，识别骗局，在投资中少踩坑。

区块天眼不能直接地告诉你，帮你预测哪个项目能为你带来超额收益，但是区块天眼能直接告诉你哪些是黑平台不能进，哪些是资金盘垃圾项目不能碰。

02
监管数据来源

白话区块链三黎 ： 作为一款区块链监管查询应用，我看到你们的 APP 上面显示，目前已经收录了 5837 个交易平台、8364 个通证，以及 26 个监管机构。

其实在区块链行业内，这数量算是很庞大了，请问你们是通过什么渠道来收集这些信息的呢？怎么保证信息的真实性呢？

Rean：首先是数据方面，我们所有监管数据都是基于政府部门的公开数据，这样首先保证了数据源的权威、可信，解决了数据源的安全问题。

另外，区块天眼有一套独家的大数据算法中心，结合先进的嗅探系统以及科学的计算机算法，构建了集数据采集、数据筛选、数据聚合、数据建模、数据产品化为一体的大数据解决方案。

在此基础上对从多个维度对收录项目进行信息实时住区，并对其进行监管水平、风险水平作出定性评价和定量评估，从而给出有含金量的和可信度的评分，实现准确性。

03
评分评级维度

白话区块链三黎 ： 看到你们 APP 上有天眼评分，是通过什么维度来衡量这种较为主观的评分等级排名呢？

Rean：区块天眼的天眼评分是安全值。是对于项目的安全程度进行评分，用户通过天眼评分，可以迅速的判断出平台和项目是否安全。

区块天眼的评分标准主要是通过 5 个维度监管指数、业务指数、风控指数、影响力指数、交易环节指数。

这 5 个维度的信息都是区块天眼独家大数据中心的数据实时抓取实时更新的，这些信息在相关政府机构或部门都公开透明可查。评分根据实时数据变化滚动更新，公平透明。

（1）监管指数
由区块天眼法务团队，通过在监管机构网站查询，与监管机构电话、邮件沟通等多种手段，对交易平台的牌照真实性、价值性等作出综合评估。

（2）业务指数
由区块天眼企业顾问和全球眼系统，通过业务合规校验模型、业务可持续性测评模型、业务生命周期核定模型等，对业务综合水平作出系统评估。

（3）风控指数
由区块天眼风控团队和天眼云系统，对平台的指令执行指数、客户资金静态指数、全球舆情指数、流动性指数、信用指数等超 40 个因子实时监测评估得出。

（4）影响力指数
由区块天眼数据工程师和测试工程师，对软件是否是正版，以及软件的安全性、稳定性、指令执行速度等 20 余项指标动态跟踪测试和技术评估。

（5）交易环境指数
由区块天眼合规、稽核团队，通过监管分级标准、监管实际量值、监管效用模型、监管异态预测模型等，对交易平台监管水平作出定量级评估。

这里需要注意的是，大家在查询项目时，可能会把天眼评分跟其他平台的评分混淆，产生冲突，形成误解。市场上很多社区或者机构可能会对项目按照收益率进行评分。

而区块天眼并不是按照项目的收益进行评分的，而是通过 5 大维度标准，对于项目和平台的安全性进行评分，帮助大家判断交易平台项目是否存在诈骗风险。

白话区块链三黎 ： 我看到有很多 Token 也有相应的评分，这是从哪些角度来考虑的呢？

Rean ：项目和 Token 的评分也是安全评分，与上一个问题提到的评分一致。评分高的项目说明平台或者项目运营稳定，跑路风险低一些，而评分低甚至出现在黑榜中的项目就要引起用户的注意了。

这类平台或者项目可能没有投入成本或人力，去获得牌照等行为证明其自身的安全性，他们相对于评分高的平台和项目跑路、犯罪的成本更低，大家在这些平台注册或投资评分低的项目是一定要更加小心。

04
区块天眼 APP 业务介绍

白话区块链三黎 ： 在区块天眼的版本更新公告中，有提到 Wikibit 糖果活动信息认证与 WKB 天眼币领取，这具体是什么活动呢，你们与天眼币有什么关系呢？

Rean：这里需要进行解释和说明的是：wikibit 是一个去中心化的项目，wikibit 是 wikibit 项目发行的去中心化 Token，它是链上的、去中心化的。而 WKB 是区块天眼的平台积分，它是积分不是 Token，不上链。

wikibit 活动之前举办了糖果活动，而区块天眼 APP 只是为 wikibit 项目的空投活动的全球回购提供技术支持。

区块天眼 APP 现在及将来都不会自主发行任何数字货币，WKB 只是作为辅助积分来奖励区块天眼生态建设者，用户只要持有即可兑换奖励。WKB 兑换比例固定，兑换比例为 100WKB=1USDT。

用户可以通过曝光黑平台、资金盘，和在区块天眼 APP 上活跃为区块天眼 APP 生态建设获得 WKB 。

白话区块链三黎：另外，App 上有一个板块是云算力，为什么会考虑把云算力放进去呢？

Rean：众所周知，一款产品是否能被用户喜欢和使用，首先要看其能给用户带来什么价值，也就是用户能够在这个平台上获得什么。

刚刚我们一直在讨论的是区块天眼的监管安全查询功能，这是区块天眼 APP 目前上线第一版本最核心的功能，为用户提供的核心价值是让用户尽可能全面快速的了解平台项目的全面，判断其是否安全。

除了核心价值，附加价值对于用户来说也很重要。云算力挖矿其实就是区块天眼的一个附加价值。

在区块天眼 APP 的第一个版本上，提供给用户的第一个附加价值就是云算力挖矿。用户可以通过很少的投入获得每天固定的收益，现在是一个月支付 6 元，到月底可以获得 31 元，约 5 倍收益，次月续费 6 月，月底继续领取 31 元。金额不多，不会强制用户购买。

这相当于平台给用户支持平台，进行活跃的奖励，奖励金额不大，但是只要每天登陆就能领取奖励，并且随时可以进行提现。目前用户可以选择以 BTC/ETH/FIL/WKB 四种形式来领取奖励。

白话区块链三黎：在 APP 首页就能看到上面有曝光和黑榜两个模块很醒目，里面还包含一些无法提币、诱导欺诈等提示，感觉很实用。

其实能够把众多资金盘揪出来，这的确是很大快人心，请给我们分享一下在曝光和黑榜这两方面的布局吧？

Rean ：区块天眼 APP 的曝光板块可以供被资金盘和黑平台骗的受害者发声，并由区块天眼免费曝光，对于优秀的曝光素材和案例经官方采纳还将获得丰厚奖励，并提供流量支持，在各个平台广泛发布曝光，帮助受害者进一步发声。

另外，区块天眼有专业的法律顾问，能够为受骗的用户提供法律援助，进一步帮助用户维护自己的合法权益，将骗局公开，保护更多其他的用户免受欺骗。

05
主要优势

白话区块链三黎：目前你们有哪些竞品，能给我们介绍下吗？相比竞品，你们有什么亮点优势呢？

Rean ：目前我没有竞品。区块天眼 APP 是专注于监管查询、安全曝光的 APP 产品。在行业内是首家，填补了行业监管安全信息查询的空白。

区块天眼 APP 的亮点在于第三方的主动监管，第一个是区块天眼 APP 多维度信息查询来起到主动监管作用，第二个是用户直接曝光举办来起到主动监管作用。

对于区块链行业的用户来说，判断一个平台靠谱吗？平台是否获得了相关牌照？办公场所是否可查？项目可信吗？如何确保项目是安全的而不是资金盘传销盘这些具体的问题时，市场上暂时还没有一个可信可靠的工具去佐证与查询。

已经用户如果自己去搜集这些信息需要花费大量时间和精力，有些新的行业小白或许根本无从下手。

区块天眼利用独家的大数据优势，为用户聚合信息，除了基础信息的查询，还提供平台牌照查询，办公场所实地勘察，拍摄 VR 实景视频，黑平台黑榜曝光、通过天眼评分快速的判断平台和项目的安全系数，让行业信息数据公开透明可查，提升用户对于信息获取和安全的需求。

刚刚提到的牌照查询、办公场所实地勘察，拍摄 VR 实景视频、黑平台、黑榜、曝光等功能是区块天眼 APP 独家所有，所以如果用户想要查询，也只能下载区块天眼，这可以算是区块天眼 APP 的核心优势和亮点和用户必需要下载区块天眼 App 的理由吧。

06
想解决哪些行业痛点？

白话区块链三黎：当时做区块链监管查询应用，是基于什么样的考虑呢，主要是想解决哪些行业痛点？

Rean：在创立区块天眼之前，团队有在做一款全球天眼的产品，主要专注于互联网安全。

近几年，随着区块链行业兴起和比特币等加密货币的价值被大众所熟知，我们自己也有关注和投资的经历，但是作为初入行业初次接触区块链和数字货币，由于市场上缺少监管类信息，所以在投资某一项目或在注册交易平台的时候凭借自己的力量很难去判断其是否安全。

由于信息搜索成本高和缺乏可以判断项目和平台是否安全的信息，比如监管信息等作为参考，所以在我们自己的投资过程中或是身边人投资被骗了很多次，踩过很多坑，遇到很多诈骗项目，甚至损失后也维权无果。

其实就是这个简单的原因，促使我们决定站出来，做一款可以帮助用户了解项目了解平台是否安全的信息查询类平台。

我们坚信区块链是非常有发展前景的行业，而区块链行业的合规也迟早会到来。只不过目前整个行业都还处于早期，国家层面的监管还不明朗，所以作为第三方，我们也有责任在国家正式监管合规到来之前去填补这个行业空白。

去聚合公开监管信息，帮助推动整个行业合规化，为平台和项目安全、为保护越来越多已经在区块链行业和将要进入区块链行业的用户、投资者、企业等出一份力。

07
团队介绍及未来规划

白话区块链三黎：在 APP 上观察到，你们在监管和资讯方面都有布局，请给大家分享一下目前的团队构成吧？

Rean：Wiki Co.LIMITED 总部位于中国香港特別行政区，本着“源于中国，面向世界”的初衷，公司始终重视自主知识产权的科技研发工作，并在上海成立有技术研发团队，开发团队都是名校出身的硕博士，研发水平实力雄厚，通过不断创新、持续迭代，努力为用户提供优质服务。

与此同时，公司已在香港、澳大利亚、印尼、越南、泰国、塞浦路斯设立分支机构或办公室，并以超过 14 种以上的不同语言版本，向世界各国用户推广使用 WikiBit，让世界各国用户充分领略和享受中国互联网科技所带来的神奇与便利。

白话区块链三黎：区块天眼未来的规划和预估的发展路径是怎样的？

Rean：区块天眼目前聚焦监管安全信息查询和曝光。未来蓝图是打造出聚合型平台，成为一站式区块链信息查询平台。

08
社群提问

1、做这种爆料，目前有多少用户是真实受益的，你们做过统计吗？

Rean：目前有不少用户都在我们 APP 发曝光了，私下也有很多受骗用户私聊客服爆料一些“杀猪盘”，每天大概都有 10 多位用户发布曝光

2、有些项目确实存在漏洞，那么对于非故意留下的漏洞，咱们会不会给他纠正的机会，或者发展重大漏洞的项目咱们会复测么，多久更新一次系统？

Rean：我们的大数据是每天都会更新的，平台和通证评分也不是固定的。目前 APP 版本新功能一直在开发，下一个版本预计是 4 月 7 日上线，主要更新了行情以及其它一些使用体验的优化。

3、用户曝光的资金盘。如果 App 还在，是否可以查询到对应的负责人，追回用户的损失。如何去追回。

Rean：这个也是我们后面着重发展的方向，我们会尽力帮助用户挽回损失。

4、Token 不上链，也就是相当于是单机嘛，是因为在国内的原因吗 ?

Rean：区块天眼 APP 现在及将来都不会自主发行任何数字货币，WKB 只是作为辅助积分来奖励区块天眼生态建设者，用户只要持有即可兑换奖励。WKB 兑换比例固定，兑换比例为 100 WKB 天眼币 =1 USDT。

5、最近有没有空投活动？

Rean：没有。

By 白话区块链-链得得

正如所有人的判断一样，金融交易还是成了区块链及加密技术闯入牛市的第一张多米诺骨牌。信用扩张和流动性自驱，在链上金融基础设施初现雏形的过程中，催动了利率协议、抵押借贷协议、去中心化交易协议的爆发式增长。在全球流动性泛滥预期和现状的背景下，加密市场在华尔街和散户重重加码中，攫取了加密金融衍生品第一份原始积累。

之前和一位在美林美银高层从事了20多年资产交易的朋友，聊起当下DeFi资产流动性盛宴将维持多久的话题。她和她的一些同行认为，这轮金融衍生品的快速增长在今年中期左右恐怕会有一轮较大的回撤。理由很简单，从华尔街的固有风险收益思维看来，没有实际实物资产为可见标的物、锚定物的资产，中长期看来一定会有问题。对于华尔街人士来说，配置标的可选项远大于币圈，配置本身也是阶段性动态策略的表象。抛开本轮宏观宽松和刺激导向的货币环境，前段时间用于配置对冲策略的DeFi衍生品加密资产，目前已有机构在向核心加密资产（比如BTC）和其他传统金融资产进行配置转移。即便是链上的信用扩张，当没有被广泛主流共识的底层资产支持前提下，维系信用的体系依然很脆弱；何况层层嵌套设计，底层主流资产的偿付能力存疑；尤其作为这个市场价值基石的BTC、ETH本身也在经历大波动常态。 

仅有衍生套利功能的资产很难维持整个加密行业长期流动性扩张。那么，下一场盛宴将来自何方？

产业资本与资源进场新入口—— 一个市值数据与市场数据爆炸领域

“跨境支付协议”，或将成为产业资本连同产业资源进场的重要入口。以下从产业需求和金融资本双重角度解答这个问题。

这里的启发源于这几天与Velo协议的CEO Tridbodi Arunanondchai在语音中的对话。这位毕业于美国斯坦福信息工程专业，并有十余年银行从业经历的泰国创业者给了我一个数据：“全球目前跨境转账支付市场份额超过1万亿美元，仅东南亚的市场价值就达到1500亿美元。与此同时，东南亚依然有超过1.7亿人没有银行卡，没有银行账户，无法享受基本的金融服务。”而他和他的团队正利用区块链跨区域支付技术，从东南亚开始解决这一痛点。

总结目前加密市场具有跨境支付功能的协议与稳定币，我找了一组数据。2020年1月1日至2021年2月9日的市值对比。主流跨境支付协议里，Ripple（XRP）在深陷SEC起诉阴云中，“仅”增长150%。Terra增长3299.64%；Reserve（REV）增长1079.84%；Stellar（XLM）增长846.06%。在主流美元稳定币里（部分拥有跨境支付转账功能），USDC增长1155.67%；USDT增长599.92%；DUSD从2020年10月的已知数据到2020年2月9日增长287.75%。相比DeFi，跨境支付场景同样涨势惊人，却悄无声息。 

2020–2021加密市场有跨境支付功能的主要协议与稳定币市值增长图

Velo协议本身是一个金融协议，能够发行可与任何法定货币锚定的数字信用。这些数字信用之后会被用于可信任合作伙伴互相之间的商业交易、互动和运作。在Velo这家公司身上，可以窥见符合“跨境支付协议”发展趋势的一些典型特征。因此以Velo为例，来思考跨境支付协议，这个今非昔比的赛道。

很遗憾，这里只接纳“贵族”创业 

跨境转账支付协议曾吸引了像瑞波、R3这样的行业早期创业项目。传统基于银行账户的SWIFT跨境转账支付体系，费用高昂、速度慢、交易透明度不足，在没有银行账户的条件下无法满足转账支付需求等矛盾，一直是这些先行者们着力解决的问题。但在那个链上技术初始、加密稳定币尚未出现的时期。先行者面临着监管合规风险、链上技术能力局限、加密数字资产受众瓶颈、支付场景单一、桥接资产价格波动大、银行壁垒森严、区块链产业认同程度低等困难；导致跨境支付协议的进展一度受阻。

如今，诸多合规用于转移支付的稳定币已在加密市场中无处不在。他们所锚定或桥接的资产，不光是法币，更有BTC、ETH等主流原生数字资产组合。协议捕获价值更多样，选择更自主、链上交易路径更灵活。

构架在专为即时支付转账而开发Stellar公链上，Velo区块链网络性已能每秒完成1000笔交易，在汇款支付场景适用度上远超以太坊。Velo转账交易成本较比特币和以太坊也更占优势。

但相比来说，这些都不是最重要的。非常残酷的现实是，当产业需求和资源寻求入口进入区块链创业市场时，“跨境支付协议”注定将是一个“贵族”创业赛道。小团队或产业背景浅的公司基本没有生存机会。无论是C端的转账汇款，还是对公的跨境支付业务，有雄厚产业资金支撑、有多样支付落地场景、有既有合规背景、对面金融机构有方案推动能力的才具备突围条件。

Velo成立于2018年，由华人跨国巨头，泰国最大商业集团——正大集团联合成立。成立之初，正大集团向Velo直接投资2000万美元；并逐步在使用Velo进行资金管理、贸易融资和结算，通过正大集团在金融、零售、供应链、电信、地产、传媒、制药、农牧食品等多条业务线为Velo提供落地支撑。这其中包括1.2万家7-11便利店、多家银行、正大广场、正大优鲜、正大电商等重支付场景。

就像马斯克在利用特斯拉15亿美元真金拉盘比特币后，依然不忘在产业需求端为比特币带来长线福音——将考虑允许比特币购车。一切又回到了区块链最初的价值愿景，一个点对点的电子支付网络。 

Velo实验室的联合信用交易网络是一个由准入机制的分布式网络，在网络内部，没有中心节点，所有数据都通过可用的最短路径从一个用户发送到另一个用户。受信任的合作伙伴发行与任何稳定币挂钩的数字信用，用于日常运营。这些数字信用的结算由Velo代币担保。因此，Velo代币桥接不同资产类型的价值，并使流动性能够进出Velo信用交换网络。

VELO首笔交易流程

有了技术路径、有了局部应用场景、有了产业资金资源的注入，Velo这样的商业“跨境支付协议”在政策强压和市场规模上是否会步Libra和早期支付项目的后尘？答案是不会的。因为主权数字货币带来了新的空间。

主权数字货币带来的市场红利

主权数字货币的核心竞争力之一在跨境支付环节。在数字化金融新制度的博弈过程中，无论中美，都在利用各自货币影响力角逐话语权，搭建跨境支付场景加密基建的同时也教育着市场。上个月，美国联邦银行和联邦储蓄协会允许使用公共区块链和稳定币进行验证、存储、记录和结算。虽然美国目前为止从未官方公开发行其主权数字货币；只要把目前为止加密市场上的游戏参与者合规纳入到整个监管的可追溯架构之下，就可以利用现行为止一个市场化的思路，让大家以美元为最终价值锚定物的“央行数字货币”，在这个世界上所有接受美元流通的地方迅速地普及。因此USDT、USDC和DAI已逐步进入银行体系的支付结算交易，可以算是合规的跨境支付稳定币。 

中国CBDC是基于现行法币的数字化改造，在国内基于M0的消费支付场景试验也在加速公众对数字货币的认知。实际上对公众来说感受不会非常明显。但是在跨境支付的对公领域则完全不一样。目前跨境收支双方是有时间差的，不管交易速度多快都存在中间商撮合，而基于区块链的跨境支付协议能真正实现点对点支付、实时到账，且降低支付成本。

如果一个生态业态庞大的跨国控股公司，有几千家供应商、几万家客户，全部都需要跨境公对公业务，在条件成熟时整个财务体系即可以完全脱离银行。如果这个跨国控股公司利用自身生态业务，建立起业务多方信用交易网络，甚至发行自己锚定法币的数字通证，这也是Velo依托泰国正大集团切入的点。

在现有情况下，当某些主权数字货币不够灵活、主权信用不够坚实、出于管制原因短期难以自由交易时，将来很多跨境企业可能在注册国直接使用其他国家的CBDC，或区域财团的支付稳定币跟国外的生意伙伴进行结算，不再经过银行。比如将逐步将出现一些国家的企业之间完全用美元稳定币做生意，一些东南亚国家企业，最后在用Velo做跨境结算。 

大国的主权稳定币博弈先行，并不会完全淹没全球范围内跨境支付协议的消失。反而在推动普及非银行账户体系的数字自金融时代，人们的接受度和基础设施也将空前加速。除了美元、人民币、欧元等强势主权数字货币以外，在全球支付稳定币的流动性海洋中，类似Velo、瑞波这样的商业跨境支付协议，将扮演主权城池分割之外的公海，充当连接不同资产类型价值的桥梁资产，推动区域商业生态间的金融效率。

“跨境支付协议”的愿景

无论去中心化的支付结算网络如何发展。在很长一段时期内，银行账户体系仍将占据业务主导权。决定了“跨境支付协议”离不开银行的业务开拓。2020年11月，Velo与VISA全球达成合作，以Velo通证为金融解决方案中作为抵押数字资产，共同开发针对亚洲中小微企业贷款的支付解决方案。随后Velo与其生态公司Lightnet宣布与泰国第一家本土银行泰国汇商银行（SCB）合作，为规模高达万亿美金的跨境汇款市场提供跨境汇款服务，并利用区块链技术为东南亚数百万外籍劳工提供汇款服务。2021年1月，Velo与亚洲数字银行（Asia Digital Bank）开始开发跨境业务解决方案。

VELO生态伙伴一览

在“跨境支付协议”的愿景中，一个脱离银行账户的金融普惠网络；一个去中心化对公结算及出入金网络；一个主权与商业数字信用可供编程可衍生的金融交易网络，每一步都能带来数字社会的极大变化。从ERC20启动的2017牛市到DeFi启动的2019下半年牛市，其本质都是信用的链上扩张从而激发起的行业流动性盛宴。ERC20通过项目发币造流，DeFi通过资产桥接衍生推流。对“跨境支付协议”来说，回到上述例子：如果这个东西好用到让几个东南亚国家的企业，都更愿意用去中心的链上信用通证来做彼此结算，那么扩张的将是一个前所未有的故事。

By 链得得

投资机构会不会也像买比特币一样这样大规模地买入以太坊？

实际上已经有投资机构在持续买入以太坊了，它就是数字货币领域的头牌基金–灰度公司。灰度资本自成立以来，在比特币之后，很快就成立了以太坊的专项基金。

在数字货币领域活跃的大型投资机构和投资者除了灰度还有另外两个：一个是我们经常听到的MicroStrategy，另一个是推特的CEO杰克多西。然而这两个大买家经常出现在新闻中的消息似乎只是买比特币，杰克多西甚至说只有比特币才是唯一。MicroStrategy的CEO在公开场合也从未谈及以太坊。

所以从这些信息看，灰度似乎是传统机构中为数不多地在买入以太坊的基金。那么对于大多数传统机构投资者，当他们在买入比特币时是如何看以太坊的呢？

今天我从一些蛛丝马迹来分析传统机构对以太坊的看法。

我曾经反复说过：大机构投资一个品种，首要考虑的有流动性、安全性和长期盈利的稳定性。

这三方面综合看，比特币毫无疑问是占据绝对优势的。那么以太坊呢？我还是从这三方面出发把以太坊和比特币进行对比。

首先我们看流动性。所谓的流动性最通俗地说法就是当投资者想卖出或者买入某个投资品时，很快可以在市场上成交，并且成交的价格不会受买入或卖出交易量的影响。

流动性要好这个投资品的市值一定要足够大，如果市值太小，一笔稍大的买卖就会搅动整个市场，从而使价格剧烈波动，这样的投资品，机构投资者是不敢轻易进入的。

在昨天的文章中，我引用了一个数据：灰度资本在过去五个月平均每个月要买入大概2万枚比特币，如果按1万美元一枚算，2万枚比特币就是2亿美元，而2亿美元对机构投资者来说只是九牛一毛。

这个资金量占比特币总市值大概为0.3%不到。如果同等的资金进入以太坊，则会占以太坊总市值的接近2%。

显然从流动性深度方面来说以太坊和比特币差了一个数量级。

我们再看安全性。所谓的安全性主要包括系统受到攻击以及系统稳定运行的状况。在这一点上，我认为无论是现在的以太坊还是未来的以太坊2.0都毫不逊色于比特币。因此纯粹看技术上的安全性以太坊和比特币没有太大的差距，唯一有明显差距的是在共识上，以太坊稍逊于比特币。

我们在看长期的盈利性。我认为这一点是以太坊优于比特币。因为随着以太坊生态的不断壮大和发展，以太坊承载的生态价值必然越来越大，这反过来又会把更多价值平摊到以太币上。而比特币现在无论在技术还是在生态上已经没有太大的空间。

从上面三方面看，以太坊未来的成长性和期望空间要远大于比特币。但是相比比特币，以太坊在流动性上还与比特币有相当大的差距，这个差距通俗地说就是以太币现在价格还不高，要等到以太币的价格再上一个台阶，它的市值非常接近比特币时，这个差距才会变小，才会引起机构投资者的注意。

除此以外，我认为还有一个因素在观念上深深影响着传统投资机构：那就是比特币的发行总量不变，而以太坊现在的发行量理论上是无上限的。

在昨天的文章中，我引述了MicroStrategy CEO的观点，他认为大量的资产包括债券、股票、房地产、贵金属和衍生品等都会随滥发货币而贬值，只有上限固定的比特币能解决这个问题。

这说出了这些传统机构投资者的心底话。

那么以太坊的未来会不会在发行量方面有所变化呢？有，这就是以太坊的1559协议。这个协议一旦实施，以太坊的总量不仅不会继续上升反而有可能会变为通缩。

因此我认为机构投资者会大规模进入以太坊，但不是现在，并且现在进入也只是小批量试探性买入，而他们要大规模进入必须等两个条件满足：第一是以太币的价格要上一个数量级，使其总市值接近或达到比特币的总市值；第二是以太坊要出现明显的通缩效应或至少不会再膨胀。

而要满足这两个条件估计还需要2-3年的时间，而在这之前，机构投资者仍然会以比特币为主要投资对象。

By 道说区块链-链得得

Filecoin 出生不凡，仅投资机构便有红杉资本、DCG集团、A16资本、斯坦福大学等国际知名投资机构，而创始人胡安更是获得了斯坦福大学计算机硕士学位，并且是一个连续创业者。从背景来看，filecoin 阵容十分豪华。

时间回到2014年，胡安（Juan Benet）与几个好友一起创办了协议实验室。2015年1月，协议实验室发布了一个项目——IPFS（InterPlanetary File System），它是星际文件系统的缩写，旨在建立一个分布式存储和共享文件的网络传输协议。它的愿景是取代HTTP，使上网、下载更快以及安全性更高。

IPFS 是一种点对点、版本化、内容寻址的超媒体传输协议，在 IPFS系统的文件是碎片化的，每个碎片都进行哈希运算（复杂的数学运算）最终有个hash值，把整个文件所有的碎片再hash拼接在一起就可以得到整个文件Hash值，然后大众可以通过最终的哈希值直接浏览完整的文件。文件碎片不是存在一个服务器，而是众多服务器。没有中心化服务器，黑客就无法精准攻击、多服务器可以承受更高数量级用户请求页面加载更快，单个服务器被毁数据可以从其它服务器恢复，保证信息永久保存。基于内容寻址的IPFS协议，比HTTP协议有着更安全、成本更低、对用户更友好的优势。

因此，IPFS协议一经推出，就获得了极高的关注度。但IPFS只是一种技术，技术与商业之间仍然缺少纽带。

Filecoin应用而生。

2017年，协议实验室以IPFS为基础，创建了去中心化存储网络Filecoin，旨在建立一个去中心化、高效率的基础网络设施。它是基于IPFS进行众筹的一个项目，也可以认为它是IPFS的激励层。

很多人分不清IPFS与Filecoin的关系，这就好比区块链与比特币，区块链是一种技术，比特币只是这个技术的应用；同理，IPFS也是一种技术，Filecoin则是这个技术的一个应用。

同年，Filecoin在自建平台上进行合规代币融资，半小时便获得2.05亿美元的募资，加上此前私募的5200美元，Filecoin共募集资金2.57亿美元，成为当时融资金额最高的区块链项目。公开资料显示，代币FIL的融资在成本0.75~5美元之间。

二、上线危机

Filecoin 是一个去中心化存储网络。矿工通过闲置硬盘资源进行挖矿，从而获得 FIL代币激励。换言之，比特币采用的是CPU算力挖矿，Filecoin采用的则是硬盘挖矿。

与比特币PoW（工作量证明）挖矿不同，Filecoin是有效存储证明。所以Filecoin矿机并不是硬盘越大算力越大，而是存储的数据越多算力越大。

尽管募资时间较早，但直到2020年7月，Filecoin才上线了测试网。

为了迎接即将上线的主网，各类Filecoin矿机厂商/矿池、资本都已经摩拳擦掌，开始演习竞赛。

随着主网日期临近，FIL价格也开始暴涨，据币小宝数据显示，FIL年初价格仅为4~5美元，在10月15日上线当日一举突破59美元，涨幅近10倍。

就在主网上线前夕，部分矿工反馈出质押币不足、难以开机挖矿的声音，甚至一度引发矿工罢工，导致FIL价格暴跌。

这和Filecoin挖矿的特殊机制有关。

为了防止矿工利用作恶手段获得系统奖励，网络设置了区块链奖励抵押以及前置抵押机制。具体来说，参与挖矿的矿工需要在封装扇区前提供FIL进行前置抵押，而挖矿所得的奖励则会在180天内按线性缓慢释放解锁。

10月23日上午，Filecoin上线Lotus 版本，这一版本中矿工的25%区块奖励可立即释放，另外的75%区块奖励180天线性释放。例如，当前Filecoin单日的区块奖励为20.17万FIL枚，按照规则，当日释放量为5万枚。

由于挖矿需要质押FIL代币，几大主流交易所推出了FIL借贷，币安7天期的FIL借贷利率一度飙升至156%！

数据显示，FILcoin全球共有778个节点，这些节点主要分布在亚洲、欧洲、北美洲，但通过图形可以直观的看到，这些节点大部分来自国内，另外根据飞狐浏览器数据，排名前20的节点中，其中有8个来自中国，因此Filecoin在国内拥有很高的人气。

三、FIL经济模型

FIL发行总量为20亿枚，其分配方案如下：

• 矿工：55%，通过区块奖励的方式线性释放，用于奖励维护区块链，运行合约；
• 矿工储备：15%，用于网络给其他类别的矿工提供激励的，例如，检索矿工、维修矿工；
• 协议实验室：10.5%，作为协议实验室团队的研发及运营费用，按6年线性释放；
• PL团队贡献者 ：4.5%，主要是指协议实验室团队和其他主要贡献者；
• 投资人：10%，分配给参与私募与公募的投资者，按6-36个月线性释放；
• 基金会：5%，作为长期社区建设，网络管理等费用，按6年线性释放；

根据最新的Filecoin代币分配模型，FIL代币总量为20亿枚，矿工通过区块奖励的方式线性释放部分占55%，也就是11亿枚，这部分代币用于奖励维护区块奖励，运行合约。

根据最初的释放模型，引用某机构构建的随区块逐步递减6年减半的函数，计算得出首年区块奖励为15510万枚，每天FIL区块奖励为42.49万枚。现如今，矿工通过区块奖励的方式释放的部分由最初的70%降为55%，那么，理论上每天FIL区块奖励为33.38万枚FIL。

数据显示，24小时Filecoin产量仅为193263 FIL枚，远远不及之前模型计算的33.38万枚。这表明矿工参与度严重不足，低于预期。

四、市值与价格

据币小宝区块链数据显示，FIL价格为29.4美元，流通量为4100万枚，流通市值超过12亿美元。

那么，FIL代币每日新增有多少呢？

• 6年线性释放部分：15.5%*20亿/2190 =14.5万枚；
• 投资人，取平均21个月线性释放计算：10%*20亿/630 =31.7万枚；
• 挖矿部分：根据飞狐浏览器数据，Filecoin每日产量约为19.3万枚左右（6年减半一次）。

综上所述，FIL代币每日新增约为65.5万枚。

另一方面，filecoin算力每日增速约为12PiB，按照目前0.24FIL/32GiB的质押率计算，大约需要新增质押9.4万枚FIL。

因此，FIL每日净增56.1万枚流通量。

按此计算，FIL每年新增流通量为 56.1*360=2亿枚

币小宝认为，相较于目前的流通量而言，FIL的新增抛压依然偏大，未来或不利于二级市场价格。

总之，关于Filecoin项目，支持者认为，Filecoin彻底改变了存储方式，为互联网带来了新的可能；而反对者认为，Filecoin的本质就是一个分布式存储项目，未来还可能面临类似于电驴等版权问题，目前Filecoin中文社区也仅有少数回复，即使按照目前12亿美元的市值，后续向上的空间也不大。

从项目长远发展的角度来看，Filecoin设计的经济模型是有道理的，这种抵押机制有助于保护算法以及用户数据的完整性。但是在当前网络没有实质流入数据，用户需求几乎为零的大环境下，Filecoin的价值最直接的体现在参与项目挖矿的矿机体量之上。

By 币小宝-链得得