Blockchain Consultants

How NFTs, DeFi and Web 3.0 are intertwined

April 10, 2021 by Blockchain Consultants Leave a Comment

While blockchain itself provides the technology constructs to facilitate exchange, ownership and trust in the network, it is in the digitization of value elements where asset tokenization is essential. Tokenization is the process of converting the assets and rights to a property into a digital representation, or token, on a blockchain network.

Distinguishing between cryptocurrency and tokenized assets is important in understanding exchange vehicles, valuation models and fungibility across the various value networks that are emerging and posing interoperability challenges. These are not just technical challenges, but also business challenges around equitable swaps.

Asset tokenization can lead to the creation of a business model that fuels fractional ownership, the ability to own an instance of a large asset. While discussing asset tokenization in a previous article, I also mentioned the value of an instance economy in democratizing finance, commerce and global access, as well as in creating a broader global marketplace at a scale never before seen.

With digital assets and their fungibility in a blockchain ecosystem, there are various drivers of valuation. These include: 1) tokens based on crypto economic models that are driven by supply and demand, and the utility of the network; 2) nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, which have an intrinsic value such as identification, diplomas and healthcare records — essentially, tokens that are simple proof validations of the existence, authenticity and ownership of digital assets; and 3) fungible tokens that are valued on various bases, such as the sum total of economic activity in the network (cryptocurrency), its utility (smart contracts and transaction network processing), assigned values (stable coins and security tokens), and so on.

In this article, I address the complex issue of the hyperbolic and rapid rise of NFTs, after a similarly meteoric rise of decentralized finance, or DeFi, creating amazing innovations — with immense promise of democratization, new business models and global marketplaces with global access — all fueled by the basic premise of decentralization and fundamental constructs of tokenization and wallets. While NFTs may be characterized as one-of-a-kind cryptographic tokens with some intrinsic value to a holder or to a market (art, collectibles), the NFT movement is indicative of a larger token revolution that will not only fuel massive innovation and growth in Web 3.0 protocols but also test the resolve of the DeFi movement, along with its ability to intersect and provide platforms and an exchange vehicle for all token types.

Growth in Web 3.0 protocols

The first two generations of web protocols were largely about disseminating information and connecting people. They fueled a massive growth in information and collaboration, and did wonders for connecting the world. However, those web protocols were never designed to move things of value. Also, as the Web 2.0 era reached its fullest potential, vulnerabilities such as “fake news” and the “batched relay” of the movement of assets via a series of intermediaries emerged. Threats to the commerce and financial infrastructure of the system risk destabilizing it.

Web 3.0 promises to safeguard all things we value: information, truth and digital assets — both fungible and nonfungible. Whereas Web 2.0 was driven by the advent of social, mobile and the cloud, Web 3.0 is largely built on three new layers of technological innovation: edge computing, decentralized data networks and artificial intelligence.

The growth of NFTs has not only empowered the ability for artists, skilled professionals and entrepreneurs to encapsulate innovation in a tokenized form but has also fueled the democratization of the platform as one of the promises of blockchain technology. The underlying infrastructure includes decentralized storage technologies, efficient consensus protocols, off-chain computing, and oracle networks to provide connectivity and validation to existing systems.

Collectively, the Web 3.0 set of technologies envisions a connected, trustless, accountable network for efficiently delivering value, thus crafting an infrastructure for things of worth. NFTs represent both transferable entities and nontransferable tokens that we value. The latter include things such as our identification, healthcare records and passports, things that represent us and allow us to participate in the digital economy with our own unique, digital identities.

As we dare to envision a shift toward a world with decentralized control, governance based on distributed technology that challenges every business model, and governance structure built upon centralized business frameworks, we do have to ponder some things. Not only the shift itself, but the motivation, incentive and monetization elements that fuel and power the economic infrastructure to move things that have value — thereby keeping up with our changing perception and subsequent realization of that value.

Intersecting with finance — DeFi

DeFi is the movement in the blockchain applications space that leverages decentralized network technology to disrupt and force a transformation of old financial products into trustless, transparent protocols, facilitating digital value creation and dissemination with few to no intermediaries. It is widely understood and accepted that — due to new synergies and co-creation via new digital interactions and value-exchange mechanisms — blockchain technology lays the foundation for a trusted digital transactional network that, as a disintermediated platform, fuels the growth of marketplaces and secondary markets.

While DeFi aims to deliver the promise of finance democratization, NFTs test the resolve of DeFi by delivering a competitive yet inclusive asset class, plus avenues to provide a medium of exchange, fungibility by other fungible asset classes, and liquidity to a traditionally illiquid market.

Asset classes resulting from DeFi protocols and NFTs avail themselves of the advantages of fractional ownership of the assets, blurring the lines between asset classes and using constructs like digital wallets as a receptacle for them. This is all supported by underlying layers of Web 3.0 that provide security and availability via decentralization, as well as trust and immutability via consensus, extending these principles to basic computer infrastructure like storage and interconnect.

Commercialization of Web 3.0 protocols, which manifest as fungible utility tokens, further blurs the lines with diverse financial innovation products introduced by DeFi (such as base assets and derivatives), products that are also tokenized. So, while decentralization is the underlying theme — and the wallet and the token are fundamental constructs — these blurring lines are quite profound.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Nitin Gaur is the founder and director of IBM Digital Asset Labs, where he devises industry standards and use cases and works toward making blockchain for the enterprise a reality. He previously served as chief technology officer of IBM World Wire and of IBM Mobile Payments and Enterprise Mobile Solutions, and he founded IBM Blockchain Labs where he led the effort in establishing the blockchain practice for the enterprise. Nitin is also an IBM Distinguished Engineer and an IBM Master Inventor with a rich patent portfolio. Additionally, he serves as research and portfolio manager for Portal Asset Management, a multi-manager fund specializing in digital assets and DeFi investment strategies.

How NFTs, DeFi and Web 3.0 are intertwined

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Litecoin Price Prediction: LTC/USD Faces $250 Resistance as Bulls Hold Around $235 Zone

April 10, 2021 by Blockchain Consultants

LTC Price Prediction – April 10

The Litecoin price escalates but a break above $240 is expected to pull the coin towards $250 in the coming trading sessions.

LTC/USD Market

Key Levels:

Resistance levels: $250, $260, $270

Support levels: $200, $190, $180

LTC/USD is seen trading around the resistance level of $230 after touching the daily high of $235.37 in the early hours of today. This is a move that could easily pave the way for gains above $240 and towards $250. Therefore, if the technical indicator RSI (14) keeps moving above the 60-level, the market may show that the bullish grip is getting stronger.

Where is LTC Price Going Next?

The Litecoin (LTC) is currently holding the ground at above the 9-day and 21-day moving averages after a major recovery from $219.02. This shows that buyers still have the upper hand in the price movement and they could easily push the coin towards the potential resistance of $250, $260, and $270. In the other words, if the buying action fails to break above $240, then LTC/USD could instead settle for consolidation.

However, any breakout above the upper boundary of the channel is still having an impact on the price. Furthermore, it is about time that buyers increase their confidence in the recovery because $240 is still achievable. Therefore, if the bears push the coin below the moving averages, the support levels of $200, $190, and $180 may be touched.

Against Bitcoin, LTC remains above the 9-day and 21-day moving averages in other to retest the resistance level of 4000 SAT. Unless this resistance is effectively exceeded and the price eventually closes above it, there might not be any reason to expect the long-term bullish reversal.

Moreover, trading below the moving averages could recall the lows and a possible bearish continuation may likely meet the major support at 3500 SAT before falling to 3400 SAT and below while the buyers may need to push the market to the potential resistances at 4200 SAT and above as the technical indicator RSI (14) is likely to cross above 60-level to give more bullish signals.

Litecoin Price Prediction: LTC/USD Faces $250 Resistance as Bulls Hold Around $235 Zone

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Price analysis 4/9: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, DOT, UNI, LTC, LINK, THETA

April 9, 2021 by Blockchain Consultants

Hong Kong tech company Meitu revealed on April 8 that it had added $10 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to its holdings which were purchased at an average rate of $57,000 per coin. After the latest purchase, Meitu’s total cryptocurrency portfolio consists of $49.5 million worth of Bitcoin and $50.5 million worth of Ether (ETH). This acquisition shows that institutional investors are confident that the rally in Bitcoin is still in its early stages.

Tom Jessop, Fidelity’s head of the crypto division, believes that Bitcoin has reached a tipping point and that traditional finance companies will continue to adopt cryptocurrency aggressively in the next few years. Jessop believes the massive monetary stimulus from governments and central banks has accelerated institutional adoption and this is a trend that could extend for at least another year.

*Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source:* *Coin360*

It is not only institutional investors who are rushing into cryptocurrencies. Data shows that the number of retail investors trading cryptocurrency has also increased. Popular trading app Robinhood reported on April 8 that crypto trading on its platform surged to 9.5 million users in Q1 2021, a six-fold increase over Q4 2020.

While crypto adoption is on the rise, some legacy finance firms are still taking an anti-crypto approach. HSBC has reportedly blacklisted MicroStrategy stock and will not allow customers on its HSBC InvestDirect platform to buy shares from the company.

Will Bitcoin and major altcoins extend their uptrend and attract more buyers or will they enter a corrective phase? Let’s analyze the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.

BTC/USDT

The bears could not capitalize on Bitcoin’s break below the 20-day exponential moving average ($57,043) on April 7. Their failure to break the 50-day simple moving average ($54,572) support could have attracted buying from the aggressive bulls, resulting in the rebound on April 8.

However, today’s Doji candlestick suggests the bulls are struggling to sustain the momentum at higher levels.

The BTC/USDT pair has formed an inverse head and shoulders pattern that will complete on a breakout and close above $60,000. This bullish setup has a target objective at $69,540. If the bulls sustain the momentum and clear this hurdle, the uptrend may reach the next target at $79,566.

Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down from the current level, the bears will once again try to break the critical support at the 50-day SMA. If they succeed, the selling could intensify as short-term traders may rush to the exit. That could pull the pair down to $50,460.02 and then $43,006.77.

ETH/USDT

Ether’s (ETH) drop on April 7 was arrested at the 20-day EMA ($1,933), which shows the bulls are accumulating on dips. The price rebounded sharply on April 8 and rose above the resistance at $2,040.77.

The bulls will now make one more attempt to climb above the all-time high at $2,150. If they manage to do that, the ETH/USDT pair could resume its uptrend and march toward the next target objective at $2,618.14.

However, the bears are likely to have other plans. They will try to pull the price below the 20-day EMA. If that happens, several aggressive bulls may get trapped. That could intensify the selling, resulting in a drop to the trendline. A break below this support will suggest a change in trend.

BNB/USDT

Binance Coin (BNB) continues to be in a strong uptrend. The bulls flipped the $348.69 level to support on April 7 and followed that up with a breakout to a new all-time high on April 8. This shows a strong appetite from the bulls.

The upsloping moving averages and the relative strength index (RSI) above 75 indicate that the bulls are in command. The next target objective on the upside is the $500 to $530 zone where the bears may mount a stiff resistance.

On any correction, the first support to watch out for is the 20-day EMA ($334). A strong rebound off this support will suggest the sentiment remains bullish and traders are buying on dips.

However, if the BNB/USDT pair dips below the 20-day EMA, it will suggest that the bullish momentum is weakening.

XRP/USDT

XRP made successive inside day candlestick formations on April 7 and April 8. The current price action is pointing to another inside-day candlestick pattern today. The drop in daily volatility shows the altcoin is still digesting the recent gains.

This tightening of the intraday range usually ends with a strong breakout. If the uncertainty resolves to the upside and the bulls drive the price above $1.11, the XRP/USDT pair could start the next leg of the rally that could take it to $1.34 and then $1.66.

Alternatively, if the indecision resolves to the downside, it will suggest that supply exceeds demand and traders have dumped their positions. If that happens, the pair could drop to the 20-day EMA ($0.72). A break below this level could pull the price down to $0.65.

ADA/USDT

Cardano (ADA) dipped below the 20-day EMA ($1.18) on April 7 but the bulls did not allow the price to slip below the 50-day SMA ($1.16). This shows the bulls are defending the moving averages aggressively.

The buyers will now try to push the price above $1.33. If they manage to do that, the ADA/USDT pair could rise to $1.48. This is an important level to watch out for because the pair has returned from it on two previous occasions.

If the price again reverses direction from $1.48, it will suggest that the range-bound action may continue for a few more days. On the other hand, if the bulls can drive the price above $1.48, the pair could resume the uptrend toward the next target objective at $2.

A break below the moving averages will be the first sign of weakness and that could result in a drop to the $1.02 support. If this level breaks down, the bears could start a deeper correction to $0.80.

DOT/USDT

Polkadot (DOT) bounced off the 20-day EMA ($38.68) on April 7, indicating buying on dips. The bulls will now try to push the price above the overhead resistance at $42.28.

If they succeed, the DOT/USDT pair will retest the all-time high at $46.80. A breakout and close above this level could start the next leg of the rally that has a target objective at $53.50 and then $57.

The gradually upsloping 20-day EMA and the RSI in the positive territory suggest the bulls have the upper hand.

However, if the price turns down from the current level and breaks below the moving averages, it will indicate that traders are closing their positions on rallies. That could result in a fall to $32.50 and then $26.50.

UNI/USDT

The bulls successfully held the $27.97 support on April 7, which is a positive sign as it shows accumulation on dips. Uniswap (UNI) bounced back above the 20-day EMA ($29.65) on April 8 and the buyers will now try to push the price above $32.50.

If they succeed, the UNI/USDT pair could rally to the $35.20 to $36.80 overhead resistance zone. The bears are likely to defend this zone aggressively. If the price turns down from this resistance, the pair may extend its stay inside the range for a few more days.

Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down from the current level, the bears will make one more attempt to pull the price below the $27.97 to $25.50 support zone. If they manage to do that, the pair could start a deeper correction to $20.74.

LTC/USDT

Litecoin (LTC) successfully completed the retest of the breakout level from the symmetrical triangle on April 7. That was followed by a rebound on April 8, but the bulls are struggling to pick up momentum.

This shows hesitation to buy at higher levels. If the bulls do not overcome the hurdle at $246.96 within the next few days, the possibility of a break below the 20-day EMA ($207) increases. In such a case, the LTC/USDT pair could drop to the support line.

Contrary to this assumption, if the bulls sustain the momentum and propel the price above $246.96, the pair could start the next leg of the uptrend that may reach $307.42. The gradually rising 20-day EMA and the RSI above 59 suggest a minor advantage to the bulls.

LINK/USDT

Chainlink’s (LINK) sharp reversal on April 7 could not break below the 20-day EMA ($30.29). This shows the sentiment remains positive and the bulls are buying on dips. The rebound on April 8 rose above the $32 resistance but the bulls are struggling to build on this strength today.

If the price turns down and breaks below the moving averages, it will suggest that supply exceeds demand at higher levels. That could pull the price down to the critical support at $24.

On the other hand, if the bulls again defend the 20-day EMA, the LINK/USDT pair could rise to the all-time high at $36.93. A breakout and close above this resistance will suggest the bulls have absorbed the supply and that may indicate the start of the next leg of the uptrend.

However, if the price again turns down from $36.93, the pair could extend its stay inside the range for a few more days.

THETA/USDT

After the large range day on April 7, THETA made an inside day candlestick pattern on April 8 and has followed it up with another one today. This shows indecision among the bulls and the bears about the next directional move. While the bears are defending the overhead resistance, the bulls are buying on every minor dip.

The upsloping 20-day EMA ($11.33) and the RSI above 62 suggest a minor advantage to the bulls. The buyers will have to clear the hurdle at $14 to signal the start of the next leg of the uptrend. If they manage to do that, the THETA/USDT pair could rally to $17.65 and then $22.50.

On the contrary, if the bears sink the price below the 20-day EMA, it will be the first sign of a possible change in sentiment. It will suggest that the bulls are no longer buying the dips to the 20-day EMA. The next critical support to watch will be $10.35. If this level is taken out, a deeper correction to the 50-day SMA may start.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Market data is provided by HitBTC exchange.

Price analysis 4/9: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, DOT, UNI, LTC, LINK, THETA

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Bitcoin Price Prediction: BTC/USD Begins Fresh Bull-Run Above $58,000 Level; Bullish Confirmation?

April 9, 2021 by Blockchain Consultants

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Prediction – April 9

The Bitcoin price is expected to break out from the current short-term pattern and move towards the $59,500 level.

BTC/USD Long-term Trend: Bullish (Daily Chart)

Key levels:

Resistance Levels: $63,000, $65,000, $67,000

Support Levels: $54,000, $52,000, $50,000

BTC/USD is currently trading around $58,328 with a 0.42% gain in the past 24-hour. According to the daily chart, since the beginning of today’s trading, the Bitcoin price fights to stay above the important level of $58,000. More so, for BTC/USD to remain above $57,000 for the past few days, it has made many traders feel that the $55,000 support level could be pretty strong.

Where is BTC Price Going Next?

BTC/USD touches the daily low of $57,670 today, if the number-one crypto breaks below this level, it could test the next support lines at $56,000. Alternatively, Bitcoin has to reclaim the first resistance at $59,500 to head upwards. If successful, the primary cryptocurrency could aim at $60,000, followed by $61,000, and $62,000 resistance levels.

However, the technical indicator RSI (14) is moving in the range as the Bitcoin price is not done with the downside. More so, this means that there may still be a room that could be explored by the bears. If this happens, the critical supports at $54,000, $52,000, and $50,000 may play out.

On the upside, recovery may not come easy. Therefore, traders must be aware that support will have to be sort for above $57,300 while the other seller congestion zones to keep in mind include $63,000, $65,000, and $67,000 resistance levels.

BTC/USD Medium – Term Trend: Bullish (4H Chart)

From a technical point of view, on the 4-hour chart, the technical indicator RSI (14) keeps moving below the 55-level and this supports the option of some bullish correction. Meanwhile, adding to the above, there is a little bit of bullish divergence on the RSI (14) as the signal line faces the south.

However, if the Bitcoin price breaks below the 9-day and 21-day moving averages, the market price may likely reach the supports at $57,000 and below. On the contrary, if the current market value rises above the upper boundary of the channel, it may likely reach the resistance at $60,000 and below.

Bitcoin Price Prediction: BTC/USD Begins Fresh Bull-Run Above $58,000 Level; Bullish Confirmation?

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3 Latest Blockchain and Crypto-Related Announcements That You Should Know

April 9, 2021 by Blockchain Consultants

This article talks about the 3 latest announcements related to Blockchain and crypto space that every Blockchain enthusiast must know.

Overview
Latest News and Announcements This Week
New Kind of Network(NKN) Price Rallied to a New All-Time High
Indian Tech Giant’ Tech Mahindra’ to Launch Stablecoin Tool for Banks
India’s Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange, WazirX Launches NFT Marketplace
Concluding Lines

Overview

The uncertainties in 2020 have resulted in a cryptocurrency boom. Blockchain technology has proven to be distributed, transparent, safe, and reliable. Right from its use-cases in finance to supply chain and healthcare, Blockchain has its use-cases in every domain.

As this sector is booming and shows no sign of slowing down, Blockchain and crypto always remain in the limelight. Let’s talk about top announcements related to this domain.

Latest News and Announcements This Week

In this section, let’s talk about the latest news and accomplishments in the crypto and blockchain domain.

New Kind of Network(NKN) Price Rallied to a New All-Time High

Backed by Blockchain Technology, a New Kind of Network, also known as NKN, is a new type of peer-to-peer(P2P) network connectivity protocol that uses economic incentives to promote users on the internet to share and distribute their network connections and employ unused bandwidth.

This network has risen 1,400 percent from a low of $0.052 on March 8 to a new all-time peak of $0.779 within two days on April 6, making it one of the month’s unexpected risers.

According to its official website, since its launch in starting in 2018, the project has steadily expanded its active population to become the “world’s largest blockchain network in terms of full consensus nodes,” with 67,266 nodes already running on the network with the capacity to host millions of full consensus nodes. Following Binance’s announcement on March 11 that NKN holders could gain 20% APY on their assets if they deposited them into their Binance savings account, the NKN price began to rise.

Indian Tech Giant’ Tech Mahindra’ to Launch Stablecoin Tool for Banks

Indian tech firm Tech Mahindra is revealing and developing a new stablecoin service targeting financial institutions and banks. The tech giant has collaborated with Dutch blockchain application incubator Quantoz to launch a “stablecoin-as-a-service” tool to lessen transaction fees and processing rates.

As a part of the announcement, Rajesh Dhuddu, Blockchain and cybersecurity leader at Tech Mahindra, expressed his views and stated that the recent OCC statement promoting the use of stablecoins for the settlement of financial transactions by banks would drive demand and accelerate innovation in global payments.”

Tech Mahindra’s collaboration will help users integrate Quantoz’s Nexus transaction processing platform into their legacy infrastructure.

India’s Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange, WazirX Launches NFT Marketplace

Another big announcement related to Blockchain and crypto space came from one of the leading largest crypto exchanges, WazirX. Recently, the Indian-based crypto exchange platform announced that it is launching the NFT marketplace for the exchange of digital art, assets, intellectual property, and more. This announcement comes after a strong month for the exchange’s in-house WRX token.

WazirX founder Nischal Shetty believes that it is the first of its kind in India. He further expressed his views regarding the launch and stated that his entire team is delighted to launch India’s first Non-Fungible Token marketplace. As a part of the launch, he explained that creating and listing NFTs will be free on the platform, and work is apparently underway to repeal the bedrock gas fees that increase when minting NFTs on multiple Blockchains. He further stated that, at present, his team is working around certain basics to make NFTs more profitable for their customers.

Concluding Lines

Apart from these announcements, the XRP price surges 55%, as it has renewed its aim on the creation of a cross-border payment network. The number of crypto projects has also risen, according to Cointelegraph. It says that a new benchmark has been achieved, with the market capitalization of 100 cryptocurrencies reaching $1 billion.

If the domain of crypto and Blockchain interests you, you can get enrolled in Blockchain Council and become a Certified Blockchain Expert.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council.

3 Latest Blockchain and Crypto-Related Announcements That You Should Know

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DeFi’s money markets are finally luring in institutional investors

April 8, 2021 by Blockchain Consultants

Bitcoin’s bull run from last year has caused even some of its biggest skeptics to soften their stance. From economists to hedge fund managers, the world is opening itself up to technology, and at the center of this movement is decentralized finance, or DeFi. While the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has hit $2 trillion, worth as much as Apple, it’s the promise of DeFi — a small corner of the blockchain industry today — that’s grabbing the attention of institutional investors.

As Bitcoin’s (BTC) bullish trend persists, interest-bearing crypto products have become all the rage. Some services offer up to 8% returns on Bitcoin holdings. For investors who are already expecting a rise in value, this can be incredibly useful for maintaining cash flow without selling any assets.

The three main factors solidifying institutional interest in Bitcoin are the current historically low interest rates, the inflation rate and geopolitical instability. With near-zero interest rates expected for the foreseeable future, investors are gearing up to move their funds into alternative locations for securing wealth.

The United States Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target has incited concern in investors fearing devaluation, and with tensions between the U.S. and China on a precarious edge, portfolios denominated in U.S. dollars are becoming riskier by the day.

A market for money

Buying, storing and using cryptocurrencies securely is still quite a complex ordeal — far more involved than setting up a bank account. However, according to Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock — a global investment management fund with nearly $9 trillion in assets under management — Bitcoin could evolve into a global market asset and achieve new highs in the upcoming years.

In the traditional financial system, money markets are parts of the economy that issue short-term funds. They usually deal with loans for periods of a year or less, and offer services like borrowing and lending, buying and selling, with wholesale trading taking place over the counter. Money markets are composed of short-term, highly liquid assets and are part of the broader financial markets system.

Money markets are traditionally very complicated, with expensive overheads and hidden fees pushing most investors to hire a fund manager. However, their existence is paramount to operating a modern financial economy. They incentivize people to lend money in the short term and allocate capital toward productive use. This improves the overall market’s efficiency while helping financial institutions meet their goals. Basically, anyone with extra cash on hand can earn interest on deposits.

Money markets are composed of different kinds of securities, such as short-term treasuries, certificates of deposits, repurchase agreements and mutual funds, among others. These funds generally consist of shares that cost $1.

On the other hand, capital markets are dedicated to the trade of long-term debt and equity instruments, and point to the entire stock and bond market. Using a computer, anyone can purchase or sell assets in mere seconds, but companies issuing the stock do so to raise funds for more long-term operations. These stocks fluctuate, and unlike money market products, they have no expiration date.

Since money market investments are virtually risk-free, they often come with meager interest rates as well. This means that they will not produce huge gains or display substantial growth, compared with riskier assets like stocks and bonds.

DeFi vs. the world?

To hedge against currency risk, institutions have started using Bitcoin, and retail investors are following their lead. More than 60% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply hasn’t moved since 2018, and BTC is predicted to push well above $100,000 in the next 24 months.

If the current trend carries forward, investors will continue to stockpile BTC. However, while much of the supply of the world’s first cryptocurrency remains in storage, the DeFi industry is constantly producing alternative platforms for interest-bearing payments through smart contracts, which increases transparency by allowing investors to view and track on-chain funds.

The average return for DeFi products is also much higher than in traditional money markets, with some platforms even offering double-digit annual percentage yields on deposits. From asset management to auditing smart contracts, the DeFi space is creating decentralized infrastructure for scalable money markets.

According to Stani Kulechov, co-founder of the Aave DeFi protocol, rates are high during bull markets because the funds are used to leverage more capital, with the cost of margin pushing up the yield. “New innovation in DeFi is consuming more stablecoins, which further increases the yield. Unless there is a new capital injection — these rates might stick for a while,” he said.

The Ethereum network currently hosts most of the DeFi applications, and this has barred tokens that aren’t available on the network from participating in decentralized finance. Bitcoin, for example, despite being the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has only recently found its way onto DeFi platforms.

With Kava’s Hard Protocol, investors can yield farm using Bitcoin and other non-ERC-20 tokens like XRP and Binance Coin (BNB). Backed by some prominent names (Ripple, Arrington XRP Capital and Digital Asset Capital Management, among others), the platforms allow users to stake their cryptocurrencies into a pool of assets, which is lent out to borrowers to generate interest.

The team also plans to add support for Ethereum-based tokens in the near future. The network’s upgrade to Kava 5.1, which was postponed to April 8 after failing to reach the required quorum, will also introduce the Hard Protocol V2, bringing powerful incentivization schemes and enhancements to its governance model.

Most loans in DeFi are overcollateralized, meaning the pool always has more money than it lends out. In case the value of the issued token drops, funds in the pool are liquidated to compensate.

According to Anton Bukov, co-founder of decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch, blockchains are the first-ever unbiased executors in human history — very limited, but ultimately fair — and could deliver new services and new flows of interactions in future. “Developers are doing their best to solve potential dishonesty issues of existing flows and invent new flows by replacing intermediaries,” he said.

By creating an automated platform to borrow and lend assets, decentralized finance enables money markets without intermediaries, custodians or the high fees that stem from high infrastructural costs.

Honest work

Of the many trends DeFi has set into motion over the last few years, yield farming has attracted quite a lot of attention. Yield farming is when the network rewards liquidity providers with tokens that can be further invested into other platforms to generate more liquidity tokens.

Simple in concept, yield farmers are some of the most vigilant traders out there, constantly switching up their strategies to maximize their yield and tracking rates across all platforms to ensure they’re getting the sweetest deal. The potential rate of return can become obscenely high, but it’s still unclear whether yield farming is just a fad or a phenomenon in the making. Kulechov added:

“Yield farming is simply a way to distribute governance power to users and stakeholders. What actually matters is whether the product itself would find protocol market/fit. Most successful governance power distributions with yield farming have been with protocols that have found protocol market/fit before such programs.”

Yield farming has an incredibly positive feedback loop, with an increase in participation pushing the value of its governance token up, driving further growth. According to Kava CEO Brian Kerr, while this feedback loop can produce very positive results in bull markets, it can have entirely the opposite effects in falling markets:

“It will be up to the governance groups of the various projects to navigate bear markets effectively, by ratcheting back rewards before a full-on death spiral occurs. Regardless of bull or bear markets, yield farming will be a mainstay in blockchain projects for years to come.”

Money markets are the pillars of our global financial system, but most of its transactions occur between financial institutions like banks and other companies in time deposit markets. However, some of these transactions do find their way to consumers through money market mutual funds and other investment vehicles.

Decentralization is the next frontier for finance, and as prominent investors continue to engage with the DeFi space, a decentralized economy seems all but inevitable. Participating in the burgeoning environment may be a risky bet today, but what decentralized finance platforms learn now will be the foundation of the robust DeFi applications of the future. According to Bukov, the higher interest rates of DeFi platforms are “absolutely sustainable.” He added:

“Higher profits are usually involved with higher risks. So the risk-profit model of all these opportunities is always nearly balanced. Normalizing risks would decrease profits because more participants will join to share the rewards.”

From smart contract malfunctions to the unauthorized withdrawal of community funds, the DeFi space is a place of both miracles and nightmares. DeFi-based yield farming platforms are still in their very early stages, and while the numbers can be all too tempting at times, it’s crucial to do your own research before investing in any platform or asset.

DeFi’s money markets are finally luring in institutional investors

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