Your Cryptocurrency Newsletter for 30 October ,2020

If you are interested in cryptocurrencies, this newsletter is for you. [img]  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [img]( [FeedBinary Newsletter]( [Trump or Biden? Bitcoin Wins Regardless of US Election — Barry Silbert]( Grayscale CEO says that Bitcoin will win because both a Trump or a Biden election victory would result in more “brrr” or the expansion of the US dollar supply.Whether it is a Democratic sweep led by Joe Biden or a Donald Trump reelection, Bitcoin (BTC) would likely thrive. Industry executives, including DCG and Grayscale CEO Barry Silbert, say both a Trump or a Biden win would buoy BTC.The optimistic stance of industry execs despite the glaring election risk comes after Grayscale’s Bitcoin study.Grayscale, a major cryptocurrency investment firm with $7.6 billion in net assets under management, released a study on Oct. 27 highlighting that the potential market for Bitcoin has significantly expanded in 2020. In 2019, Grayscale discovered that 36% of investors in the U.S. were interested in investing in Bitcoin. This year, 55% of investors in the U.S. are looking at Bitcoin. The study reads:Interest is on the rise: More than half of U.S. investors are interested in investing in Bitcoin In 2020, more than half (55%) of survey respondents expressed interest in Bitcoin investment products. This marks a significant increase from the 36% of investors who said they were interested in 2019.The nearly 20% rise represents a substantial increase in mainstream awareness within a short period. It also coincides with the growing demand for Bitcoin from institutions following Bitcoin’s impressive 200%+ recovery since March. Higher mainstream awareness strengthening BTC The strong fundamental factors behind Bitcoin and the rapidly growing demand could offset the election risk in the fourth quarter.For instance, a particularly positive statistic that shows the clear increase in demand for Bitcoin in 2020 is the rate at which individuals interested in BTC become actual buyers.According to Grayscale, out of the individuals that expressed the intent to invest in Bitcoin, 83% purchased BTC. The researchers wrote:Among those who reported investing in Bitcoin, 83% have made investments within the last year, indicating that digital currencies are an increasingly attractive component of modern investment portfolios.The higher conversion rate from interested individuals to investors is important because Bitcoin’s potential market has rapidly expanded.What’s more, the potential market in the U.S. of around 32 million investors does not include other major markets like Europe and Asia. Meanwhile, the number of investors familiar with Bitcoin has also increased noticeably. The survey found that 62% of investors are now aware of BTC, compared to just 53% in 2019. The study said:Based on this year’s survey, the market of potential Bitcoin investors is 32 million strong — compared to 21 million investors just one year ago. This year, 62% of investors reported that they are ‘familiar’ with Bitcoin, compared to 53% in 2019. What is the biggest allure of BTC to investors? The primary reason behind the attraction of Bitcoin remains its exponential growth potential. Yet, in the eyes of institutional investors, it is also a hedge asset.Bitcoin being a hedge asset against inflation and having demonstrated exponential growth potential makes it a compelling portfolio asset for both institutions and accredited investors. Consequently, the number of investors purchasing Bitcoin with a fraction of their capital or portfolio and building on top of existing positions has increased as well. The Grayscale research says:The factors that drove interest in Bitcoin last year resonated even more with investors in 2020. In 2019, 59% of survey respondents indicated that the ability to start with a small amount and increase their investment over time would be a motivating factor when considering Bitcoin investment products; in 2020, that number increased to 65%. The clear spike in interest towards Bitcoin follows a continuous rise in inflows from institutional investors. As Cointelegraph reported, Grayscale added $300 million to its net AUM in one day on Oct. 23 as the Bitcoin price hit new yearly highs. [Read Full News]( The post [Trump or Biden? Bitcoin Wins Regardless of US Election — Barry Silbert]( first appeared on [Feed Binary](. [Read Full Story]( ------------------ You Might Like     [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( ------------------ [Mainstream Tax Solutions Making Their Way into Crypto]( Mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies is well underway. In recent months, the on-going pandemic has highlighted the benefits of digital currencies around the world, resulting in a massive resurgence of the cryptocurrency market. Central banks are developing digital currencies, major corporations are converting financial reserves into Bitcoin, and FinTech firms are developing platforms supporting such assets.Despite these positive developments, there are a couple of areas which are often noted as lacking – holding back cryptocurrencies from truly taking flight. - Merchant terminals – The ability to make simple purchases with digital currencies - Custodial services – The ability to safely store digital assets, without the need to be technologically savvy Each of these is often noted as a major hurdle needed to be cleared for mainstream adoption to occur – and for good reason, as both are real-life issues that would be encountered by everyday users.One area often forgotten is the need for simple and effective tax solutions. Buying and selling cryptocurrencies is not a fun activity free of any tax burden. Typically, governments require capital gains to be calculated on each and every trade made, along with a variety of other requirements. Unfortunately, many investors are completely unaware of the tax implications associated with trading cryptocurrencies. Further compounding this, is a simple lack of options for making the process simple. Yes, there are third party companies that are attempting to do just this, but their lack of integration with major trading platforms results in these services remaining unknown to many. Day of Reckoning For many of those willing to look past the dearth of user-friendly solutions, and continuing to trade anyways, a day of reckoning is coming. When that day happens, there will either be those that have reported their activity, and float – and there will be those that failed to do so, and sink.Every country around the world has its own set of rules and guidelines surrounding the reporting requirements of cryptocurrencies. Although early industry participants may have skirted around reporting activity due to lax oversight, this is rapidly changing. Entities such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), have made it clear that they are watching, and expect appropriate reporting. Tax The issue of taxes and cryptocurrencies will hopefully be a thing of the past in the coming years, though, as popular platforms continue to delve into the industry. The following are three examples of well-known companies involved with FinTech, their forays into cryptocurrencies, and what they are doing about taxes – Two with a plan, and one a wild card. PayPal The latest FinTech firm to jump into cryptocurrencies is one of the biggest around – PayPal. While support is not expected to launch for another few weeks/months, depending on one’s location, investors anticipating using the service are already wondering what tax solution PayPal will offer.PayPal has not indicated what its plans are for minimizing tax reporting burdens. With all eyes on PayPal (regulators and users alike), this may be the case for now, but presumably not forever. The question is, will PayPal develop its own solution? Will it acquire a company such as SimpleTax? Or will it partner and integrate the services of another like TaxBit? WealthSimple A relative newcomer to cryptocurrencies, WealthSimple announced its crypto platform in late 2020. This platform, which facilitates the buying and selling of various top-assets (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.), holds great potential to introduce cryptocurrencies to a diverse group of clientele. Whether intentional or not, WealthSimple is fortunate to have made a strategic move in 2018, which will benefit its newly formed crypto platform – the purchase of SimpleTax. This popular tax-oriented platform brings simplicity to filing one’s taxes. Furthermore, it has for years now, supported users which partake in cryptocurrency trading. As a result, WealthSimple is primed and ready to support its new platform with a much needed crypto-focused tax solution. Gemini While WealthSimple provides access to a broad range of financial capabilities, including TFSAs/RRSPs/etc., Gemini has a more focused approach on cryptocurrencies.The increasingly popular platform has just announced that it will be integrating software by TaxBit, designed specifically for reporting crypto trading activity. One highlight of this service, is the ability for investors to, not only generate year-end reports, but to track the effect of their trading on taxes in real-time. Tyler Winklevoss, CEO of Gemini, stated, “TaxBit’s software automates the calculations required for crypto tax reporting, helping reduce the pain point of crypto taxes for our users. Investors will also be able to see real-time tax implications of any trades they make on Gemini.” Maximalist by Choice? A term often used when discussing Bitcoin investing, is the ‘maximalist’. This refers to investors that believe in the efficacy of Bitcoin above all else, and maximize their holdings in this single asset, rather than diversifying among various alt-coins.Keeping in mind the issue surrounding taxes discussed here today, it begs the question – are all investors Bitcoin maximalists by choice? Or are they simply deterred by onerous tax requirements, and a lack of options to overcome this? Hopefully, sooner than later, this issue will become a moot point, and companies such as WealthSimple, Gemini, PayPal, and others will continue to satisfy the industry need. [Read Full News]( The post [Mainstream Tax Solutions Making Their Way into Crypto]( first appeared on [Feed Binary](. [Read Full Story]( ------------------ You Might Like     [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( ------------------ [Monero Outpacing Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash as a Payment Crypto]( On-chain data and price growth reveal that Monero is now outpacing Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. Monero miners are earning more fees than Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash counterparts. Privacy ranks high among developers and users for payment-focused cryptocurrencies. The privacy-centric cryptocurrency, Monero, is now outpacing leading altcoins as the industry turns a new eye to personal privacy. Monero Enters Mainstream Crypto Payments The total fees on Monero have surpassed that of Bitcoin Cash in April and Litecoin towards the end of September this year. Moreover, the transaction costs for the next popular privacy-based cryptocurrency Zcash is less than 5% of XMR. This is an indicator of XMR’s healthy network usage compared to BCH and LTC. Justin Ehrenhofer, a community lead for the Monero project, told Crypto Briefing: There seems to be a perfect storm going on where liquidity is up, supporting more payments than were previously reasonable, which thus are driving more liquidity. It’s a positive feedback loop from more payments moving to Monero with its greater liquidity as far as I can tell There has also been a consistent rise in average fees for transactions on Monero since July this year. This metric is roughly five to eight times the average transaction fee on Litecoin. The transaction privacy on Monero prevents comparing transaction count and volume on these protocols. The increase in the average fee on Monero, however, suggests that the actual volume of transactions on Litecoin is greater. This is because, while the XMR’s total earning from fees is 1.33 times of LTC, the mean transaction fee is five to eight times more. The fees on Monero are higher than Litecoin, however. It costs roughly $0.007 to make an LTC transaction, and $0.05 to make an XMR transaction. Users needn’t worry about any exorbitant costs when making XMR payments relative to LTC. The rise in earnings via fees helps grow the mining ecosystem, strengthening the network’s security and liquidity. Privacy Tops The List Monero, famed for its use on the dark web, has been neglected mainly due to regulatory concerns. However, the recent push towards privacy from Bitcoin and Litecoin developers is accentuating mainstream usage of Monero. Litecoin, for instance, has already announced its privacy upgrade Mimblewimble in 2021. Ehrenhofer added: There is also another dynamic where the cryptocurrency community more and more trusts and recommends Monero for private payments Along with on-chain progress on Monero, other privacy-based tokens like Zcash and Dash have performed better in terms of price compared with Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash. Still, Monero leads the year-to-date price gains with a 175% increase compared to 100% on Zcash and 65% on DASH. The same metric only gives Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash a 35% increase.Based on this data, the market ultimately appears to be valuing privacy-based coins greater than traceable counterparts. [Read Full News]( The post [Monero Outpacing Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash as a Payment Crypto]( first appeared on [Feed Binary](. 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