Here's What You Need To Know About Cryptocurrency Today‍

The following is a daily round-up of some of the most interesting articles about cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether to help kick-start your day.

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• Big Story

Most Asked Investment Question on Cryptocurrencies: Answered

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An investment analysis firm that specializes in investment research has released a new report on the most frequently searched investment-related questions on cryptocurrencies on Google. This study, which was conducted by Investing Reviews, examined thousands of search terms in an effort to determine the top ten questions that people all over the world ask when it comes to investing. With an average of 150,400 searches per month around the world, the most frequently asked question was "How do I invest in cryptocurrency?". This was followed by "How can I start investing?" which received an average of 137,000 searches per month. With an average of 64,000 monthly searches, "How much should I invest when I start?" came in third place, with an average of 64,000 monthly searches. 

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• UBS Report

UBS Report: Mt. Gox Creditors' Repayments Unlikely to Destabilize Bitcoin

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UBS has released a report stating that there should be no concern over the release of large amounts of bitcoin onto the market following the repayment of the debt owed by Mt. Gox as a result of bankruptcy proceedings. There are several options on repayment and timing for creditors of now-defunct cryptocurrency exchanges, and some of their money will be repaid after a decade-long liquidation process, as part of the rehabilitation plan. Regardless of whether creditors choose to accept an early lump sum or wait for further proceedings and asset recoveries, in addition to whether they wish to receive the funds in fiat or cryptocurrencies, according to the UBS report, creditors have a number of options available to them. However, the strategists pointed out that "the early lump-sum option with fiat repayments suggests that the exchange would have to sell bitcoins to raise the necessary funds," which has previously led to concerns regarding the possible effects on bitcoin's price of the early lump sum.

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• Newsmakers

Institutions in Asia not keen on liquid staking despite nearing $15B total value locked

Kraken's staking service was targeted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which led to a rally in liquid staking tokens. However, David Cicoria, Head of Markets Technology at crypto custodian Hex Trust, said that despite liquid staking's total value locked approaching $15 billion, institutions in Asia have not shown much interest in the category, despite the category's value locked close to $15 billion. It is possible for users to delegate their crypto to network validators while retaining liquidity at the same time through liquid staking. Despite the fact that the staking service is not decentralized, it is protocol-based, which means that it may not be subjected to the same regulatory scrutiny as centralized staking services. There are several risks associated with liquid staking, cited by Cicoria, including the de-pegging of the funds, the risk of hacks, the concern over centralization, and a lack of clarity within the regulatory environment. 

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• NFT Buzz

Binance Launches AI-powered Product To Turn Prompts Into NFTs

A new product called "Bicasso" was launched on Wednesday as part of the digital currency exchange Binance's NFT marketplace, which uses artificial intelligence to turn the prompts that users give into NFTs. “Using artificial intelligence, it is possible to turn your creative visions into NFTs. Please give it a try and show me what you make with it," Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said in a tweet. There will be a limit of 10,000 mints in the beta version, which was released on Wednesday, during the test period. Bicasso is a software tool that allows users to create images, in a similar manner to AI art platforms like DALL-E and Midjourney. Using this tool, users can provide creative prompts to create a one-of-a-kind image, or upload an image to the tool, and it will adapt it to meet their needs. The Binance native chain BNB allows users to mint their own images as NFT tokens through the Binance platform. 

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• Web 3

Robinhood Launches Global Rollout of Self-Custody Web3 Wallet

In a recent announcement, Robinhood, the popular online brokerage firm, has announced the global rollout of its self-custody, Web3 wallet, dubbed Robinhood Wallet, to all iOS customers worldwide. The wallet was previously only available to a select group of beta testers. As the company claims, users will have complete control over their crypto assets, since the wallet will allow them to hold and maintain the private keys of their digital assets, so they can maintain full control over assets. A statement from Johann Kerbrat, the general manager of Robinhood Crypto, noted that the feedback we've received since the launch of Robinhood Wallet in beta has been extremely positive. Polygon's users have told us that they really like how accessible and easy it is to use the app and that they really enjoy the fact that they can self-custody their digital assets on Polygon and swap them with no network fees." 

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• Coinbase

Coinbase CEO Optimistic on Stablecoin Sector Despite Regulatory Scrutiny

Coinbase's CEO and Co-Founder, Brian Armstrong, has spoken out about the regulatory crackdown that the US government has directed at the cryptocurrency industry. Armstrong reiterates that the exchange's "staking" product should not be classified as a security due to its nature. During an interview with Bloomberg Television, he explained that Coinbase's staking product is not considered a security because customers never have to turn over their assets to the exchange. Rather than providing its customers with a service that lets them participate in staking, which is a decentralized protocol that enables users to facilitate transactions on a blockchain to generate yields, he explained that Coinbase simply provides its users with a service that lets them do so. Taking this stance puts Armstrong at odds with the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, who has expressed concerns over the regulatory status of Staking in the United States. 

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• From the War

Russians Secretly Donating Money to Ukraine

According to Ukraine's deputy digital minister, Alex Bornyakov, Russians are sending "significant amounts of money" to support Ukraine by using cryptocurrency back channels as a means of showing their support for President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Over 100,000 donations have been made to the war-torn country via cryptocurrency channels, ranging in value from $1 up to millions of dollars. We saw that some Russians were donating to us a significant sum through cryptocurrency, and in some cases, it provides an anonymous way to transfer money. Crypto, in certain cases, can make money transfers anonymous. It has been determined that the majority of the crypto donations received by Ukraine have been in Bitcoin and Ether, although a significant proportion of these donations have also been in US dollar stablecoins such as USD Coin and Tether, which have also contributed to the donation total.

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• Digital Dollar

Reserve Bank of Australia to Explore Digital Dollar's Use Cases in Pilot Projects

As part of a series of initiatives, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has announced a series of initiatives that will explore the use cases of developing a digital version of the Australian dollar, referred to as an eAUD. A number of applications of eAUD will be tested by the RBA during its ongoing testing phase, including offline payments, bond settlement, and securities trading during its ongoing testing phase. Brad Jones, an Assistant Governor at the Reserve Bank of Australia, explained that the pilot projects will involve a diverse range of industry participants, ranging from smaller fintech to larger financial institutions. A key objective of the project is to facilitate industry learning and provide policymakers with information about how eAUD might be able to benefit the Australian economy and financial system in the future. A digital currency pilot conducted by the RBA began last August and is expected to end by mid-2023.

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• Virtual Asset

Huobi Prepares to Launch in Hong Kong as City Aims to Become a Virtual Asset Hub

The government of Hong Kong is set to introduce new requirements for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and the city will become a hub for virtual assets as a result of the city's plans to become a hub for virtual assets. In order to launch Huobi Hong Kong if the VASP license application is approved, Huobi, one of the largest blockchain exchanges in the region, is preparing to apply for a VASP license in Hong Kong. The creator of the Tron blockchain and the man behind the Huobi crypto exchange, Justin Sun, expressed his confidence that the license would be secured in the near future. There are several other exchanges looking to operate in Hong Kong's crypto market, including OKX, which is based in Seychelles. However, the shadow of China looms over the city, with Beijing viewing Hong Kong as an experimental zone for cryptocurrencies, according to Sun. 

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• Market Buzz

Cryptocurrency Prices Show Slight Increase, Crypto Stocks Experience Dip

It appears that cryptocurrency prices have shown a slight increase on Wednesday, with most of the digital assets trading within a narrow range, while crypto stocks have seen a dip following the market's opening. Based on CoinGecko data, Bitcoin traded around $23,590 on Friday, an increase of 2%, with Ether trading around $1,661, up 3.4%. As a result, the crypto market performed well across the board, with CFX gaining over 9% following its $10 million token sale. It has been a rollercoaster ride for the shares of crypto-friendly bank Silvergate after the stock opened, with shares down 2.7% by 10:15 a.m. EST. Block and MicroStrategy both fell by 2% and 1.4%, respectively, while Coinbase's price fell by 1% to $64.16.