I thought it would be really cool to have an ultimate guide for those new to crypto currencies and the terms used. I made this mostly for beginner’s and veterans alike. I’m not sure how much use you will get out of this. Stuff gets lost on Reddit quite easily so I hope this finds its way to you. Included in this list, I have included most of the terms used in crypto-communities. I have compiled this list from a multitude of sources. The list is in alphabetical order and may include some words/terms not exclusive to the crypto world but may be helpful regardless.
2FA
Two factor authentication. I highly advise that you use it.
51% Attack:
A situation where a single malicious individual or group gains control of more than half of a cryptocurrency network’s computing power. Theoretically, it could allow perpetrators to manipulate the system and spend the same coin multiple times, stop other users from completing blocks and make conflicting transactions to a chain that could harm the network.
Address (or Addy):
A unique string of numbers and letters (both upper and lower case) used to send, receive or store cryptocurrency on the network. It is also the public key in a pair of keys needed to sign a digital transaction. Addresses can be shared publicly as a text or in the form of a scannable QR code. They differ between cryptocurrencies. You can’t send Bitcoin to an Ethereum address, for example.
Altcoin (alternative coin): Any digital currency other than Bitcoin. These other currencies are alternatives to Bitcoin regarding features and functionalities (e.g. faster confirmation time, lower price, improved mining algorithm, higher total coin supply). There are hundreds of altcoins, including Ether, Ripple, Litecoin and many many others.
AIRDROP:
An event where the investors/participants are able to receive free tokens or coins into their digital wallet.
AML: Defines Anti-Money Laundering laws**.**
ARBITRAGE:
Getting risk-free profits by trading (simultaneous buying and selling of the cryptocurrency) on two different exchanges which have different prices for the same asset.
Ashdraked:
Being Ashdraked is essentially a more detailed version of being Zhoutonged. It is when you lose all of your invested capital, but you do so specifically by shorting Bitcoin. The expression “Ashdraked” comes from a story of a Romanian cryptocurrency investor who insisted upon shorting BTC, as he had done so successfully in the past. When the price of BTC rose from USD 300 to USD 500, the Romanian investor lost all of his money.
ATH (All Time High):
The highest price ever achieved by a cryptocurrency in its entire history. Alternatively, ATL is all time low
Bearish:
A tendency of prices to fall; a pessimistic expectation that the value of a coin is going to drop.
Bear trap:
A manipulation of a stock or commodity by investors.
Bitcoin:
The very first, and the highest ever valued, mass-market open source and decentralized cryptocurrency and digital payment system that runs on a worldwide peer to peer network. It operates independently of any centralized authorities
Bitconnect:
One of the biggest scams in the crypto world. it was made popular in the meme world by screaming idiot Carlos Matos, who infamously proclaimed," hey hey heeeey” and “what's a what's a what's up wasssssssssuuuuuuuuuuuuup, BitConneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeect!”. He is now in the mentally ill meme hall of fame.
Block:
A package of permanently recorded data about transactions occurring every time period (typically about 10 minutes) on the blockchain network. Once a record has been completed and verified, it goes into a blockchain and gives way to the next block. Each block also contains a complex mathematical puzzle with a unique answer, without which new blocks can’t be added to the chain.
Blockchain:
An unchangeable digital record of all transactions ever made in a particular cryptocurrency and shared across thousands of computers worldwide. It has no central authority governing it. Records, or blocks, are chained to each other using a cryptographic signature. They are stored publicly and chronologically, from the genesis block to the latest block, hence the term blockchain. Anyone can have access to the database and yet it remains incredibly difficult to hack.
Bullish:
A tendency of prices to rise; an optimistic expectation that a specific cryptocurrency will do well and its value is going to increase.
BTFD:
Buy the fucking dip. This advise was bestowed upon us by the gods themselves. It is the iron code to crypto enthusiasts.
Bull market:
A market that Cryptos are going up.
Consensus:
An agreement among blockchain participants on the validity of data. Consensus is reached when the majority of nodes on the network verify that the transaction is 100% valid.
Crypto bubble:
The instability of cryptocurrencies in terms of price value
Cryptocurrency:
A type of digital currency, secured by strong computer code (cryptography), that operates independently of any middlemen or central authoritie
Cryptography:
The art of converting sensitive data into a format unreadable for unauthorized users, which when decoded would result in a meaningful statement.
Cryptojacking:
The use of someone else’s device and profiting from its computational power to mine cryptocurrency without their knowledge and consent.
Crypto-Valhalla:
When HODLers(holders) eventually cash out they go to a place called crypto-Valhalla. The strong will be separated from the weak and the strong will then be given lambos.
DAO:
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations. It defines A blockchain technology inspired organization or corporation that exists and operates without human intervention.
Dapp (decentralized application):
An open-source application that runs and stores its data on a blockchain network (instead of a central server) to prevent a single failure point. This software is not controlled by the single body – information comes from people providing other people with data or computing power.
Decentralized:
A system with no fundamental control authority that governs the network. Instead, it is jointly managed by all users to the system.
Desktop wallet:
A wallet that stores the private keys on your computer, which allow the spending and management of your bitcoins.
DILDO:
Long red or green candles. This is a crypto signal that tells you that it is not favorable to trade at the moment. Found on candlestick charts.
Digital Signature:
An encrypted digital code attached to an electronic document to prove that the sender is who they say they are and confirm that a transaction is valid and should be accepted by the network.
Double Spending:
An attack on the blockchain where a malicious user manipulates the network by sending digital money to two different recipients at exactly the same time.
DYOR:
Means do your own research.
Encryption:
Converting data into code to protect it from unauthorized access, so that only the intended recipient(s) can decode it.
Eskrow:
the practice of having a third party act as an intermediary in a transaction. This third party holds the funds on and sends them off when the transaction is completed.
Ethereum:
Ethereum is an open source, public, blockchain-based platform that runs smart contracts and allows you to build dapps on it. Ethereum is fueled by the cryptocurrency Ether.
Exchange:
A platform (centralized or decentralized) for exchanging (trading) different forms of cryptocurrencies. These exchanges allow you to exchange cryptos for local currency. Some popular exchanges are Coinbase, Bittrex, Kraken and more.
Faucet:
A website which gives away free cryptocurrencies.
Fiat money:
Fiat currency is legal tender whose value is backed by the government that issued it, such as the US dollar or UK pound.
Fork:
A split in the blockchain, resulting in two separate branches, an original and a new alternate version of the cryptocurrency. As a single blockchain forks into two, they will both run simultaneously on different parts of the network. For example, Bitcoin Cash is a Bitcoin fork.
FOMO:
Fear of missing out.
Frictionless:
A system is frictionless when there are zero transaction costs or trading retraints.
FUD:
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt regarding the crypto market.
Gas:
A fee paid to run transactions, dapps and smart contracts on Ethereum.
Halving:
A 50% decrease in block reward after the mining of a pre-specified number of blocks. Every 4 years, the “reward” for successfully mining a block of bitcoin is reduced by half. This is referred to as “Halving”.
Hardware wallet:
Physical wallet devices that can securely store cryptocurrency maximally. Some examples are Ledger Nano S**,** Digital Bitbox and more**.**
Hash:
The process that takes input data of varying sizes, performs an operation on it and converts it into a fixed size output. It cannot be reversed.
Hashing:
The process by which you mine bitcoin or similar cryptocurrency, by trying to solve the mathematical problem within it, using cryptographic hash functions.
HODL:
A Bitcoin enthusiast once accidentally misspelled the word HOLD and it is now part of the bitcoin legend. It can also mean hold on for dear life.
ICO (Initial Coin Offering):
A blockchain-based fundraising mechanism, or a public crowd sale of a new digital coin, used to raise capital from supporters for an early stage crypto venture. Beware of these as there have been quite a few scams in the past.
John mcAfee:
A man who will one day eat his balls on live television for falsely predicting bitcoin going to 100k. He has also become a small meme within the crypto community for his outlandish claims.
JOMO:
Joy of missing out. For those who are so depressed about missing out their sadness becomes joy.
KYC:
Know your customer(alternatively consumer).
Lambo:
This stands for Lamborghini. A small meme within the investing community where the moment someone gets rich they spend their earnings on a lambo. One day we will all have lambos in crypto-valhalla.
Ledger:
Away from Blockchain, it is a book of financial transactions and balances. In the world of crypto, the blockchain functions as a ledger. A digital currency’s ledger records all transactions which took place on a certain block chain network.
Leverage:
Trading with borrowed capital (margin) in order to increase the potential return of an investment.
Liquidity:
The availability of an asset to be bought and sold easily, without affecting its market price.
of the coins.
Margin trading:
The trading of assets or securities bought with borrowed money.
Market cap/MCAP:
A short-term for Market Capitalization. Market Capitalization refers to the market value of a particular cryptocurrency. It is computed by multiplying the Price of an individual unit of coins by the total circulating supply.
Miner:
A computer participating in any cryptocurrency network performing proof of work. This is usually done to receive block rewards.
Mining:
The act of solving a complex math equation to validate a blockchain transaction using computer processing power and specialized hardware.
Mining contract:
A method of investing in bitcoin mining hardware, allowing anyone to rent out a pre-specified amount of hashing power, for an agreed amount of time. The mining service takes care of hardware maintenance, hosting and electricity costs, making it simpler for investors.
Mining rig:
A computer specially designed for mining cryptocurrencies.
Mooning:
A situation the price of a coin rapidly increases in value. Can also be used as: “I hope bitcoin goes to the moon”
Node:
Any computing device that connects to the blockchain network.
Open source:
The practice of sharing the source code for a piece of computer software, allowing it to be distributed and altered by anyone.
OTC:
Over the counter. Trading is done directly between parties.
P2P (Peer to Peer):
A type of network connection where participants interact directly with each other rather than through a centralized third party. The system allows the exchange of resources from A to B, without having to go through a separate server.
Paper wallet:
A form of “cold storage” where the private keys are printed onto a piece of paper and stored offline. Considered as one of the safest crypto wallets, the truth is that it majors in sweeping coins from your wallets.
Pre mining:
The mining of a cryptocurrency by its developers before it is released to the public.
Proof of stake (POS):
A consensus distribution algorithm which essentially rewards you based upon the amount of the coin that you own. In other words, more investment in the coin will leads to more gain when you mine with this protocol In Proof of Stake, the resource held by the “miner” is their stake in the currency.
PROOF OF WORK (POW) :
The competition of computers competing to solve a tough crypto math problem. The first computer that does this is allowed to create new blocks and record information.” The miner is then usually rewarded via transaction fees.
Protocol:
A standardized set of rules for formatting and processing data.
Public key / private key:
A cryptographic code that allows a user to receive cryptocurrencies into an account. The public key is made available to everyone via a publicly accessible directory, and the private key remains confidential to its respective owner. Because the key pair is mathematically related, whatever is encrypted with a public key may only be decrypted by its corresponding private key.
Pump and dump:
Massive buying and selling activity of cryptocurrencies (sometimes organized and to one’s benefit) which essentially result in a phenomenon where the significant surge in the value of coin followed by a huge crash take place in a short time frame.
Recovery phrase:
A set of phrases you are given whereby you can regain or access your wallet should you lose the private key to your wallets — paper, mobile, desktop, and hardware wallet. These phrases are some random 12–24 words. A recovery Phrase can also be called as Recovery seed, Seed Key, Recovery Key, or Seed Phrase.
REKT:
Referring to the word “wrecked”. It defines a situation whereby an investor or trader who has been ruined utterly following the massive losses suffered in crypto industry.
Ripple:
An alternative payment network to Bitcoin based on similar cryptography. The ripple network uses XRP as currency and is capable of sending any asset type.
ROI:
Return on investment.
Safu:
A crypto term for safe popularized by the Bizonnaci YouTube channel after the CEO of Binance tweeted
“Funds are safe."
“the exchage I use got hacked!”“Oh no, are your funds safu?”
“My coins better be safu!”
​
​
Sats/Satoshi:
The smallest fraction of a bitcoin is called a “satoshi” or “sat”. It represents one hundred-millionth of a bitcoin and is named after Satoshi Nakamoto.
Satoshi Nakamoto:
This was the pseudonym for the mysterious creator of Bitcoin.
Scalability:
The ability of a cryptocurrency to contain the massive use of its Blockchain.
Sharding:
A scaling solution for the Blockchain. It is generally a method that allows nodes to have partial copies of the complete blockchain in order to increase overall network performance and consensus speeds.
Shitcoin:
Coin with little potential or future prospects.
Shill:
Spreading buzz by heavily promoting a particular coin in the community to create awareness.
Short position:
Selling of a specific cryptocurrency with an expectation that it will drop in value.
Silk road:
The online marketplace where drugs and other illicit items were traded for Bitcoin. This marketplace is using accessed through “TOR”, and VPNs. In October 2013, a Silk Road was shut down in by the FBI.
Smart Contract:
Certain computational benchmarks or barriers that have to be met in turn for money or data to be deposited or even be used to verify things such as land rights.
Software Wallet:
A crypto wallet that exists purely as software files on a computer. Usually, software wallets can be generated for free from a variety of sources.
Solidity:
A contract-oriented coding language for implementing smart contracts on Ethereum. Its syntax is similar to that of JavaScript.
Stable coin:
A cryptocoin with an extremely low volatility that can be used to trade against the overall market.
Staking:
Staking is the process of actively participating in transaction validation (similar to mining) on a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. On these blockchains, anyone with a minimum-required balance of a specific cryptocurrency can validate transactions and earn Staking rewards.
Surge:
When a crypto currency appreciates or goes up in price.
Tank:
The opposite of mooning. When a coin tanks it can also be described as crashing.
Tendies
For traders , the chief prize is “tendies” (chicken tenders, the treat an overgrown man-child receives for being a “Good Boy”) .
Token:
A unit of value that represents a digital asset built on a blockchain system. A token is usually considered as a “coin” of a cryptocurrency, but it really has a wider functionality.
TOR: “The Onion Router” is a free web browser designed to protect users’ anonymity and resist censorship. Tor is usually used surfing the web anonymously and access sites on the “Darkweb”.
Transaction fee:
An amount of money users are charged from their transaction when sending cryptocurrencies.
Volatility:
A measure of fluctuations in the price of a financial instrument over time. High volatility in bitcoin is seen as risky since its shifting value discourages people from spending or accepting it.
Wallet:
A file that stores all your private keys and communicates with the blockchain to perform transactions. It allows you to send and receive bitcoins securely as well as view your balance and transaction history.
Whale:
An investor that holds a tremendous amount of cryptocurrency. Their extraordinary large holdings allow them to control prices and manipulate the market.
Whitepaper:
​
A comprehensive report or guide made to understand an issue or help decision making. It is also seen as a technical write up that most cryptocurrencies provide to take a deep look into the structure and plan of the cryptocurrency/Blockchain project. Satoshi Nakamoto was the first to release a whitepaper on Bitcoin, titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” in late 2008.
And with that I finally complete my odyssey. I sincerely hope that this helped you and if you are new, I welcome you to crypto. If you read all of that I hope it increased, you in knowledge.
my final definition:
Crypto-Family:
A collection of all the HODLers and crypto fanatics. A place where all people alike unite over a love for crypto.
We are all in this together as we pioneer the new world that is crypto currency. I wish you a great day and Happy HODLing.
-u/flacciduck
feel free to comment words or terms that you feel should be included or about any errors I made.
Edit1:some fixes were made and added words.

It is no doubt Grayscale’s booming popularity as a mainstream investment has caused a lot of community hullabaloo lately. As such, I felt it was worth making a FAQ regarding the topic. I’m looking to update this as needed and of course am open to suggestions / adding any questions.
The goal is simply to have a thread we can link to anyone with questions on Grayscale and its products. Instead of explaining the same thing 3 times a day, shoot those posters over to this thread. My hope is that these questions are answered in a fairly simple and easy to understand manner. I think as the sub grows it will be a nice reference point for newcomers.
Disclaimer: I do NOT work for Grayscale and as such am basing all these answers on information that can be found on their website / reports. (Grayscale’s official FAQ can be found here). I also do NOT have a finance degree, I do NOT have a Series 6 / 7 / 140-whatever, and I do NOT work with investment products for my day job. I have an accounting background and work within the finance world so I have the general ‘business’ knowledge to put it all together, but this is all info determined in my best faith effort as a layman. The point being is this --- it is possible I may explain something wrong or missed the technical terms, and if that occurs I am more than happy to update anything that can be proven incorrect
Everything below will be in reference to ETHE but will apply to GBTC as well. If those two segregate in any way, I will note that accordingly.

What is Grayscale? 

Grayscale is the company that created the ETHE product. Their website is https://grayscale.co/

What is ETHE? 

ETHE is essentially a stock that intends to loosely track the price of ETH. It does so by having each ETHE be backed by a specific amount of ETH that is held on chain. Initially, the newly minted ETHE can only be purchased by institutions and accredited investors directly from Grayscale. Once a year has passed (6 months for GBTC) it can then be listed on the OTCQX Best Market exchange for secondary trading. Once listed on OTCQX, anyone investor can purchase at this point. Additional information on ETHE can be found here.

So ETHE is an ETF? 

No. For technical reasons beyond my personal understandings it is not labeled an ETF. I know it all flows back to the “Securities Act Rule 144”, but due to my limited knowledge on SEC regulations I don’t want to misspeak past that. If anyone is more knowledgeable on the subject I am happy to input their answer here.

How long has ETHE existed? 

ETHE was formed 12/14/2017. GBTC was formed 9/25/2013.

How is ETHE created? 

The trust will issue shares to “Authorized Participants” in groups of 100 shares (called baskets). Authorized Participants are the only persons that may place orders to create these baskets and they do it on behalf of the investor.
Source: Creation and Redemption of Shares section on page 39 of the “Grayscale Ethereum Trust Annual Report (2019)” – Located Here
Note – The way their reports word this makes it sound like there is an army of authorizers doing the dirty work, but in reality there is only one Authorized Participant. At this moment the “Genesis” company is the sole Authorized Participant. Genesis is owned by the “Digital Currency Group, Inc.” which is the parent company of Grayscale as well. (And to really go down the rabbit hole it looks like DCG is the parent company of CoinDesk and is “backing 150+ companies across 30 countries, including Coinbase, Ripple, and Chainalysis.”)
Source: Digital Currency Group, Inc. informational section on page 77 of the “Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) Form 10-K (2019)” – Located Here
Source: Barry E. Silbert informational section on page 75 of the “Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) Form 10-K (2019)” – Located Here

How does Grayscale acquire the ETH to collateralize the ETHE product? 

An Investor may acquire ETHE by paying in cash or exchanging ETH already owned.

• Cash: The investor pays the subscription amount in cash and the Authorized Participant will use that cash to purchase ETH.
• ETH: The investor transfers the ETH to the Authorized Participant, which will contribute the ETH in-kind to the Trust.

Source: Creation and Redemption of Shares section on page 40 of the “Grayscale Ethereum Trust Annual Report (2019)” – Located Here

Where does Grayscale store their ETH? Does it have a specific wallet address we can follow? 

ETH is stored with Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC. I am unaware of any specific address or set of addresses that can be used to verify the ETH is actually there.
As an aside - I would actually love to see if anyone knows more about this as it’s something that’s sort of peaked my interest after being asked about it… I find it doubtful we can find that however.
Source: Part C. Business Information, Item 8, subsection A. on page 16 of the “Grayscale Ethereum Trust Annual Report (2019)” – Located Here

Can ETHE be redeemed for ETH? 

No, currently there is no way to give your shares of ETHE back to Grayscale to receive ETH back. The only method of getting back into ETH would be to sell your ETHE to someone else and then use those proceeds to buy ETH yourself.
Source: Redemption Procedures on page 41 of the “Grayscale Ethereum Trust Annual Report (2019)” – Located Here

Why are they not redeeming shares? 

I think the report summarizes it best:

Redemptions of Shares are currently not permitted and the Trust is unable to redeem Shares. Subject to receipt of regulatory approval from the SEC and approval by the Sponsor in its sole discretion, the Trust may in the future operate a redemption program. Because the Trust does not believe that the SEC would, at this time, entertain an application for the waiver of rules needed in order to operate an ongoing redemption program, the Trust currently has no intention of seeking regulatory approval from the SEC to operate an ongoing redemption program.

Source: Redemption Procedures on page 41 of the “Grayscale Ethereum Trust Annual Report (2019)” – Located Here

What is the fee structure? 

ETHE has an annual fee of 2.5%. GBTC has an annual fee of 2.0%. Fees are paid by selling the underlying ETH / BTC collateralizing the asset.
Source: ETHE’s informational page on Grayscale’s website - Located Here
Source: Description of Trust on page 31 & 32 of the “Grayscale Ethereum Trust Annual Report (2019)” – Located Here

What is the ratio of ETH to ETHE? 

At the time of posting (6/19/2020) each ETHE share is backed by .09391605 ETH. Each share of GBTC is backed by .00096038 BTC.
ETHE & GBTC’s specific information page on Grayscale’s website updates the ratio daily – Located Here
For a full historical look at this ratio, it can be found on the Grayscale home page on the upper right side if you go to Tax Documents > 2019 Tax Documents > Grayscale Ethereum Trust 2019 Tax Letter.

Why is the ratio not 1:1? Why is it always decreasing? 

While I cannot say for certain why the initial distribution was not a 1:1 backing, it is more than likely to keep the price down and allow more investors a chance to purchase ETHE / GBTC.
As noted above, fees are paid by selling off the ETH collateralizing ETHE. So this number will always be trending downward as time goes on.
Source: Description of Trust on page 32 of the “Grayscale Ethereum Trust Annual Report (2019)” – Located Here

I keep hearing about how this is locked supply… explain? 

As noted above, there is currently no redemption program for converting your ETHE back into ETH. This means that once an ETHE is issued, it will remain in circulation until a redemption program is formed --- something that doesn’t seem to be too urgent for the SEC or Grayscale at the moment. Tiny amounts will naturally be removed due to fees, but the bulk of the asset is in there for good.
Knowing that ETHE cannot be taken back and destroyed at this time, the ETH collateralizing it will not be removed from the wallet for the foreseeable future. While it is not fully locked in the sense of say a totally lost key, it is not coming out any time soon.
Per their annual statement:

The Trust’s ETH will be transferred out of the ETH Account only in the following circumstances: (i) transferred to pay the Sponsor’s Fee or any Additional Trust Expenses, (ii) distributed in connection with the redemption of Baskets (subject to the Trust’s obtaining regulatory approval from the SEC to operate an ongoing redemption program and the consent of the Sponsor), (iii) sold on an as-needed basis to pay Additional Trust Expenses or (iv) sold on behalf of the Trust in the event the Trust terminates and liquidates its assets or as otherwise required by law or regulation.

Source: Description of Trust on page 31 of the “Grayscale Ethereum Trust Annual Report (2019)” – Located Here

Grayscale now owns a huge chunk of both ETH and BTC’s supply… should we be worried about manipulation, a sell off to crash the market crash, a staking cartel? 

First, it’s important to remember Grayscale is a lot more akin to an exchange then say an investment firm. Grayscale is working on behalf of its investors to create this product for investor control. Grayscale doesn’t ‘control’ the ETH it holds any more then Coinbase ‘controls’ the ETH in its hot wallet. (Note: There are likely some varying levels of control, but specific to this topic Grayscale cannot simply sell [legally, at least] the ETH by their own decision in the same manner Coinbase wouldn't be able to either.)
That said, there shouldn’t be any worry in the short to medium time-frame. As noted above, Grayscale can’t really remove ETH other than for fees or termination of the product. At 2.5% a year, fees are noise in terms of volume. Grayscale seems to be the fastest growing product in the crypto space at the moment and termination of the product seems unlikely.
IF redemptions were to happen tomorrow, it’s extremely unlikely we would see a mass exodus out of the product to redeem for ETH. And even if there was incentive to get back to ETH, the premium makes it so that it would be much more cost effective to just sell your ETHE on the secondary market and buy ETH yourself. Remember, any redemption is up to the investors and NOT something Grayscale has direct control over.

Yes, but what about [insert criminal act here]… 

Alright, yes. Technically nothing is stopping Grayscale from selling all the ETH / BTC and running off to the Bahamas (Hawaii?). BUT there is no real reason for them to do so. Barry is an extremely public figure and it won’t be easy for him to get away with that. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust creates SEC reports weekly / bi-weekly and I’m sure given the sentiment towards crypto is being watched carefully. Plus, Grayscale is making tons of consistent revenue and thus has little to no incentive to give that up for a quick buck.

That’s a lot of ‘happy little feels’ Bob, is there even an independent audit or is this Tether 2.0? 

Actually yes, an independent auditor report can be found in their annual reports. It is clearly aimed more towards the financial side and I doubt the auditors are crypto savants, but it is at least one extra set of eyes. Auditors are Friedman LLP – Auditor since 2015.
Source: Independent Auditor Report starting on page 116 (of the PDF itself) of the “Grayscale Ethereum Trust Annual Report (2019)” – Located Here
As mentioned by user TheCrpytosAndBloods (In Comments Below), a fun fact:

The company’s auditors Friedman LLP were also coincidentally TetheBitfinex’s auditors until They controversially parted ways in 2018 when the Tether controversy was at its height. I am not suggesting for one moment that there is anything shady about DCG - I just find it interesting it’s the same auditor.

“Grayscale sounds kind of lame” / “Not your keys not your crypto!” / “Why is anyone buying this, it sounds like a scam?” 

Welp, for starters this honestly is not really a product aimed at the people likely to be reading this post. To each their own, but do remember just because something provides no value to you doesn’t mean it can’t provide value to someone else. That said some of the advertised benefits are as follows:

• Access to trading within a tax advantaged retirement account
• Institutions can easily and safely get exposure to crypto in a more legal-friendly manner
• Ease of use for those who are not very technologically savvy
• Ease of access for someone who doesn’t want to set up a Coinbase account
• Perceived trust in institutional platforms over something like Coinbase or Kraken
• Degen traders who just want access to the volatility ETHE provides that have no interest in crypto beyond that

So for example, I can set up an IRA at a brokerage account that has $0 trading fees. Then I can trade GBTC and ETHE all day without having to worry about tracking my taxes. All with the relative safety something like E-Trade provides over Binance.
As for how it benefits the everyday ETH holder? I think the supply lock is a positive. I also think this product exposes the Ethereum ecosystem to people who otherwise wouldn’t know about it.

Why is there a premium? Why is ETHE’s premium so insanely high compared to GBTC’s premium? 

There are a handful of theories of why a premium exists at all, some even mentioned in the annual report. The short list is as follows:

• ETHE is NOT redeeming shares and as such doesn’t have an effective arbitrage mechanism
• ETHE has a 1 year wait to be sold on the secondary market, again negating the ability to effectively arbitrage the premium
• People may simply be willing to pay a premium for the benefits stated above.

Why is ETHE’s so much higher the GBTC’s? Again, a few thoughts:

• ETHE hasn’t been around as long, so there is less secondary market supply to go around
• ETHE was listed at an insanely high premium to begin with
• ETHE might simply be more popular at the moment
• Could just be sheer stupidity (investors think ETHE is a 1:1 ratio not 1:11)

​

Are there any other differences between ETHE and GBTC? 

I touched on a few of the smaller differences, but one of the more interesting changes is GBTC is now a “SEC reporting company” as of January 2020. Which again goes beyond my scope of knowledge so I won’t comment on it too much… but the net result is GBTC is now putting out weekly / bi-weekly 8-K’s and annual 10-K’s. This means you can track GBTC that much easier at the moment as well as there is an extra layer of validity to the product IMO.

I’m looking for some statistics on ETHE… such as who is buying, how much is bought, etc? 

There is a great Q1 2020 report I recommend you give a read that has a lot of cool graphs and data on the product. It’s a little GBTC centric, but there is some ETHE data as well. It can be found here hidden within the 8-K filings.Q1 2020 is the 4/16/2020 8-K filing.
For those more into a GAAP style report see the 2019 annual 10-K of the same location.

Is Grayscale only just for BTC and ETH? 

No, there are other products as well. In terms of a secondary market product, ETCG is the Ethereum Classic version of ETHE. Fun Fact – ETCG was actually put out to the secondary market first. It also has a 3% fee tied to it where 1% of it goes to some type of ETC development fund.
In terms of institutional and accredited investors, there are a few ‘fan favorites’ such as Bitcoin Cash, Litcoin, Stellar, XRP, and Zcash. Something called Horizion (Backed by ZEN I guess? Idk to be honest what that is…). And a diversified Mutual Fund type fund that has a little bit of all of those. None of these products are available on the secondary market.

Are there alternatives to Grayscale? 

I know they exist, but I don’t follow them. I’ll leave this as a “to be edited” section and will add as others comment on what they know.
Per user Over-analyser (in comments below):

Coinshares (Formerly XBT provider) are the only similar product I know of. BTC, ETH, XRP and LTC as Exchange Traded Notes (ETN).
It looks like they are fully backed with the underlying crypto (no premium).
https://coinshares.com/etps/xbt-provideinvestor-resources/daily-hedging-position
Denominated in SEK and EUR. Certainly available in some UK pensions (SIPP).

As asked by pegcity - Okay so I was under the impression you can just give them your own ETH and get ETHE, but do you get 11 ETHE per ETH or do you get the market value of ETH in USD worth of ETHE? 

I have always understood that the ETHE issued directly through Grayscale is issued without the premium. As in, if I were to trade 1 ETH for ETHE I would get 11, not say only 2 or 3 because the secondary market premium is so high. And if I were paying cash only I would be paying the price to buy 1 ETH to get my 11 ETHE. Per page 39 of their annual statement, it reads as follows:

The Trust will issue Shares to Authorized Participants from time to time, but only in one or more Baskets (with a Basket being a block of 100 Shares). The Trust will not issue fractions of a Basket. The creation (and, should the Trust commence a redemption program, redemption) of Baskets will be made only in exchange for the delivery to the Trust, or the distribution by the Trust, of the number of whole and fractional ETH represented by each Basket being created (or, should the Trust commence a redemption program, redeemed), which is determined by dividing (x) the number of ETH owned by the Trust at 4:00 p.m., New York time, on the trade date of a creation or redemption order, after deducting the number of ETH representing the U.S. dollar value of accrued but unpaid fees and expenses of the Trust (converted using the ETH Index Price at such time, and carried to the eighth decimal place), by (y) the number of Shares outstanding at such time (with the quotient so obtained calculated to one one-hundred-millionth of one ETH (i.e., carried to the eighth decimal place)), and multiplying such quotient by 100 (the “Basket ETH Amount”). All questions as to the calculation of the Basket ETH Amount will be conclusively determined by the Sponsor and will be final and binding on all persons interested in the Trust. The Basket ETH Amount multiplied by the number of Baskets being created or redeemed is the “Total Basket ETH Amount.” The number of ETH represented by a Share will gradually decrease over time as the Trust’s ETH are used to pay the Trust’s expenses. Each Share represented approximately 0.0950 ETH and 0.0974 ETH as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

​

Hello all.
I have seen several people comparing ampleforth to bitconnect, so here is the simplified formula: (Oracle Price – Target Price) / 10 supply change every 24 hours.
Now so long as the price fluctuations are under this amount, we never run the risk of dropping into negative territory. Now, look at the chart. What are our fluctuations?
The biggest fluctuation was the 13 july 2020, from 3.46 to 1.86. Now, is this due only to the rebase? No. If you look up on the days before that, we had a massive run up. This looks like a normal market pattern cycle that got burst.
But did hodlers lose? No. The marketcap just keeps going up. So, what could cause the price to dip below $1? Well, if we reached $1, and the marketcap stagnated, then a whale *COULD* crash the market. However, there are several things to consider here. First, when we reach a stagnated market value, ampleforth will have taken a strong competitive edge against tether and usdc. That means its volume will be absolutely massive. Second, it requires more money to crash an asset than it requires to jack an asset's prices up.
Psychology lesson. Most people are bad traders because they treat risk and reward differently. They hold losing positions hoping the losing position will come back, and they hesitate to take winning positions if there is a chance of loss.
This risk adverse mentality has an application here. Also, the lower number of say .90 is a numerically lower number than say 1.15.
And trading lesson... the spot price of an asset is determined by active traders. Not by actual hodlers. Traders are necessarily reactionary. We cannot see the future. And when the price fluctuates, non market participants tend to become active market participants. This is why small price moves can spark feagreed runs.
At ampleforth's target price of $1, it is going to be difficult for any one trader to crash the market, and we will NOT see price drops to .5 as a normal occurrence. If we do, there is an arbitrage that traders like me WILL do if it happens. Basically since we know that below $1 the rebase is a negative event, we will do the opposite of current actions with trading. The current trading strategy that eliminates risk while at the same time maximizes returns is to jump in with tether 5 minutes before rebase, and jump out and crash the market with the new 10% supply. Under $1, the strategy would be to buy and jump in. Right before rebase, traders sell, and then buy back in after rebase.
People who are saying ampleforth is a bad investment are probably wrong. There are reasons it won't crash sub $1 when it has lots of users, and there are ways the market can remedy the situation.
Now.. the ampleforth rich list IS disturbing. Just like satoshi nakamoto holding 10% of bitcoin is disturbing. However, they are a respectable crypto company, and they have plans for at least coinbase and binance, and I do not see them flash dumping on the market. That isn't to say they might sell. I am saying that if they do sell, they will do it in a nice respectful manner that does not crash the market, and doesn't cause lots of slippage for them.

Hello humans,
I've been trading on binance for a while and have some profits to show. My issue is that I live in Canada and I cannot sell directly to my bank in fiat. Now, I expect some of my currencies will see major growth in the coming year and I want to be able to execute a quick deposit to my bank when I think my coins have hit their peak.
In order to sell my coins on binance I first have to convert to ETH or BTC and send to my coinbase wallet. From there I can sell to fiat in using PayPal (up to $3000 per transaction, which is low and I'll have to execute multiple transactions just to liquidate all of my crypto). I've withdrew some small "tester" sums to analyze this process, and it works. The issue is that the process takes a long time and there can be catastrophic market fluctuations while I am waiting for transactions to clear.
So I guess my question to experienced investors in Canada is:
If bitcoin rallies 400%(for example) and you want to cash out before it crashes, what is your process for getting the funds as quickly as possible to avoid losses?
Ps. I am using the terminologies here to the best of my knowledge but let me know if the syntax is inadequate for this query.
Thanks again!

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The QDAO DeFi community is helping us push the project to global success! The development of the platform continues, participants accrue daily income and new products are under development. Let’s share some important updates from last week.

Cryptocurrencies and DeFi coins market analysis

The situation in the crypto market has changed dramatically over the last week. It’s correction time! Market capitalization dropped to the $320 billion mark by losing almost 20% of its value. The reason is clear – a storm in the US stock markets.
Bitcoin lost 11.54% of its price and is now trading around the $10,050 mark. The breaking of $10,000 will be a strong signal for the whole community and could cause panic. The decline will continue towards lower figures.
The DeFi market reacted to the global sinking. In just one week, the total value locked in DeFi services dropped from the $9.5 billion height to $8 billion. Further decline is possible. Here are the week’s results of some popular DeFi coins:

• Chainlink: -26.65%
• Compound: -31.31%
• Aave: -24.53%
• yearn.finance: -31.88%

Now, the crypto market is vulnerable to the events in the traditional financial markets. If the crisis continues, we can expect a further decline.

DeFi news

The DeFi Market took a short break before the next race but remains in the spotlight of news outlets. Here are the most important news feeds of the week:

• SushiSwap got slammed! The highly anticipated project SushiSwap found itself crashed after a sharp increase in popularity. The project has been handed over to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. The decision happened after SUSHI fell from $9.5 to $1.13 in just five days.
• Binance enters the DeFi race. One of the biggest exchanges, Binance is launching an automated market maker called Binance Liquid Swap.
• Chinese users demand their DeFi freedom! Local Chinese DeFi exchanges cannot withstand the onslaught of customers. DeFi is one of the most demanded search queries – 900,000 daily!

QDAO DeFi updates

The QDAO DeFi team is working hard to ensure the wealth of the community. Only consistency and users’ support will help our project achieve global success.
We added a series of useful tutorials on our YouTube channel. You can learn many things about popular DeFi platforms, crypto wallets and the DeFi market:

• How to deposit stablecoins into the Curve platform: https://youtu.be/NP6a8Jb3brc
• Balancer tutorial for newbies, how to swap ETH for BAL: https://youtu.be/2801F2lkeGs
• Introductions for Uniswap – the automated liquidity protocol: https://youtu.be/7Z0Pc_VPsqg
• How to create a Metamask wallet and purchase Ethereum (ETH): https://youtu.be/5RuVhk4lSnI
• An Interview with Mr. Mohammed Naquib on the potential of the DeFi market (Part 1): https://youtu.be/hQgaF7_U46w

QDAO DeFi’s blog is full of crucial information. We launched a series of educational articles with one main purpose – to help you earn and share the knowledge! Recently, we added some articles of great value, check them out to improve your investor’s experience:

• How to use yield farming in 2020 wisely: https://qdefi.io/en/blog/post/placing-your-crypto-eggs-eng
• Why stablecoins are not so safe and how to protect your assets: https://qdefi.io/en/blog/post/stablecoins-article-eng
• An interview with Mr. Mohammed Naquib on the potential of the DeFi market (Part 1): https://qdefi.io/en/blog/post/defi-special-guest-part-1-eng
• Who the DeFi leaders are and how to earn using their services: https://qdefi.io/en/blog/post/who-the-defi-leaders-are-eng
• Yield Farming is evolution of DeFi or a bubble? https://qdefi.io/en/blog/post/yield-farming-en

The latest stats from QDAO DeFi PULSE

Number of active users — 7894
Total amount of users’ funds:
2691818.1984 XRP
885.110144209 ETH
201.37511519 BTC
12952411.606 ADA
…and more.
Current users’ interest balance:
70510.0591 XRP
16.0863086 ETH
2.85178881 BTC
123353.165 ADA
…and more.
Number of withdrawals made: 5769
Want to be the first to hear QDAO DeFi news and updates? Visit our website and stay in touch with us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Telegram and LINE (for the Japanese-speaking community).

I will be bringing you upcoming events/announcements every day. If you want improvements to this post, please mention houseme in the comments. We will make improvements based on your feedback.
 
https://kryptocal.com | /kryptocal | Android | iOS | Telegram Interactive Bot (add cryptocalapp_bot) | Telegram Channel @kryptocal
 

ADD AN EVENT

If you like an event to be added, click Submit Event, and we will do the rest.
 

NEXT DAY UPCOMING EVENTS

 
General

IOTA(MIOTA)	Dev Update	August 5, 2020
ChainLink(LINK)	AMA	August 5, 2020
Hydro Protocol(HOT)	AMA 41	August 5, 2020
Pundi X [NEW](NPXS)	Russian AMA	August 5, 2020
Nexo(NEXO)	Staking Deadline	August 5, 2020
CashBet Coin(CBC)	ProBit Exchange IEO	August 5, 2020
Hashgard(GARD)	Mainnet Launch	August 5, 2020
Vexanium(VEX)	AMA at BC Core Community	August 5, 2020
Fetch.ai(FET)	Second TV Interview	August 5, 2020
DOS Network(DOS)	AMA w/ Crypto Bharat	August 5, 2020
ChainX(PCX)	Election Deadline	August 5, 2020
ChainLink(LINK)	Global DeFi Summit	August 6, 2020
AdEx(ADX)	Implement & Audit Token	August 6, 2020
ZenCash(ZEN)	Weekly Insider #52	August 6, 2020
Stox(STX)	Binance AMA Series	August 6, 2020
Stox(STX)	Rebrand Crash Course	August 6, 2020
Bitcoin Green(BITG)	Halving	August 6, 2020
Harmony(ONE)	AMA with CEO	August 6, 2020
BOSAGORA(BOA)	AMA w/CryptoProfitCoach	August 6, 2020
Voyager Token(VGX)	AMA & Dev Update	August 6, 2020
Fetch.ai(FET)	Live Online Q&A	August 6, 2020

 
Exchanges

Kyber Network(KNC)	Huobi Perp Swap Listing	August 5, 2020
TomoChain(TOMO)	LBank Listing	August 5, 2020
Compound Coin(COMP)	BTC Markets Listing	August 5, 2020
DigitalBits(XDB)	BitMart Listing	August 5, 2020
DigitalBits(XDB)	BitMart Listing	August 5, 2020
Synthetix Network Token(SNX)	Indodax Listing	August 6, 2020
Prometeus(PROM)	Bithumb Listing	August 6, 2020
yearn.finance(YFI)	Indodax Listing	August 6, 2020

 
Conferences

ETHLend(LEND)	DeFi Conference 2020	August 5, 2020

 
Blockchains

Fetch.ai(FET)	Webinar	August 6, 2020

 
 

I will be bringing you upcoming events/announcements every day. If you want improvements to this post, please mention houseme in the comments. We will make improvements based on your feedback.
 
https://kryptocal.com | /kryptocal | Android | iOS | Telegram Interactive Bot (add cryptocalapp_bot) | Telegram Channel @kryptocal
 

ADD AN EVENT

If you like an event to be added, click Submit Event, and we will do the rest.
 

NEXT DAY UPCOMING EVENTS

 
General

IOTA(MIOTA)	Dev Update	August 5, 2020
ChainLink(LINK)	AMA	August 5, 2020
Hydro Protocol(HOT)	AMA 41	August 5, 2020
Pundi X [NEW](NPXS)	Russian AMA	August 5, 2020
Nexo(NEXO)	Staking Deadline	August 5, 2020
CashBet Coin(CBC)	ProBit Exchange IEO	August 5, 2020
Hashgard(GARD)	Mainnet Launch	August 5, 2020
Vexanium(VEX)	AMA at BC Core Community	August 5, 2020
Fetch.ai(FET)	Second TV Interview	August 5, 2020
DOS Network(DOS)	AMA w/ Crypto Bharat	August 5, 2020
ChainX(PCX)	Election Deadline	August 5, 2020
ChainLink(LINK)	Global DeFi Summit	August 6, 2020
AdEx(ADX)	Implement & Audit Token	August 6, 2020
ZenCash(ZEN)	Weekly Insider #52	August 6, 2020
Stox(STX)	Binance AMA Series	August 6, 2020
Stox(STX)	Rebrand Crash Course	August 6, 2020
Bitcoin Green(BITG)	Halving	August 6, 2020
Harmony(ONE)	AMA with CEO	August 6, 2020
BOSAGORA(BOA)	AMA w/CryptoProfitCoach	August 6, 2020
Voyager Token(VGX)	AMA & Dev Update	August 6, 2020
Fetch.ai(FET)	Live Online Q&A	August 6, 2020

 
Exchanges

Kyber Network(KNC)	Huobi Perp Swap Listing	August 5, 2020
TomoChain(TOMO)	LBank Listing	August 5, 2020
Compound Coin(COMP)	BTC Markets Listing	August 5, 2020
DigitalBits(XDB)	BitMart Listing	August 5, 2020
DigitalBits(XDB)	BitMart Listing	August 5, 2020
Synthetix Network Token(SNX)	Indodax Listing	August 6, 2020
Prometeus(PROM)	Bithumb Listing	August 6, 2020
yearn.finance(YFI)	Indodax Listing	August 6, 2020

 
Conferences

ETHLend(LEND)	DeFi Conference 2020	August 5, 2020

 
Blockchains

Fetch.ai(FET)	Webinar	August 6, 2020

 
 

Pssst! Hey you. Scroll down for commentary!
Important/Notable/Highlights:

• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/19/the-three-phases-of-global-digital-currency-adoption/
• https://news.bitcoin.com/wirex-approved-to-issue-mastercard-backed-bitcoin-debit-cards/
• https://cointelegraph.com/news/mastercard-expands-cryptocurrency-program-for-crypto-card-issuers
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/22/paypal-teaming-up-with-new-york-based-trust-company-to-launch-crypto-service-report/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/23/payments-giant-visa-reveals-roadmap-to-supporting-bitcoin-btc-and-cryptocurrency/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/23/etoro-quarterly-report-q2-2020-stablecoins-find-a-mainstream-use-case/
• https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-race-heats-up-bitcoins-dominance-ratio-drops-to-lowest-level-in-12-months/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/22/paypal-teaming-up-with-new-york-based-trust-company-to-launch-crypto-service-report/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/25/federal-court-rules-bitcoin-btc-is-form-of-money-under-d-c-financial-services-law-report/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/26/cardanos-highly-anticipated-shelley-upgrade-hits-launch-pad-hard-fork-countdown-underway/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/25/coinbase-ceo-says-bitcoin-and-cryptocurrency-must-evolve-to-reach-mass-adoption/
• https://news.bitcoin.com/steve-wozniak-sues-youtube-google-bitcoin-giveaway-scam/
• https://news.bitcoin.com/dr-seuss-crypto-cat-in-the-hat-lorax-horton-grinch/
• https://news.bitcoin.com/vegasbetting-com-study-found-us-sports-betting-market-is-leading-the-way/

Special Mentions:

• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/19/binance-burns-60500000-in-bnb-the-largest-in-crypto-assets-history/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/20/coinbase-ceo-cautions-newbie-bitcoin-btc-traders-says-monetary-policies-boosting-case-for-crypto/ (BULLISH)
• https://news.bitcoin.com/us-regulator-banks-cryptocurrency-custody/
• https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-race-heats-up-bitcoins-dominance-ratio-drops-to-lowest-level-in-12-months/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/24/chess-grandmaster-garry-kasparov-says-rising-popularity-of-bitcoin-btc-and-cryptocurrencies-is-inevitable/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/25/little-known-crypto-asset-skyrockets-10000-as-analysts-track-nascent-defi-market/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/23/top-us-regulator-says-banks-can-hold-bitcoin-btc-and-cryptocurrency-on-behalf-of-customers/
• https://news.bitcoin.com/us-regulator-banks-cryptocurrency-custody/
• https://news.bitcoin.com/ethereums-2020-defi-boom-doubles-active-ether-addresses-but-fees-skyrocket/
• https://news.bitcoin.com/leadership-feud-at-bitmain-10000-antminers-go-missing-in-inner-mongolia/
• https://btcmanager.com/confirmed-cardano-ada-shelley-mainnet-live-successful-final-weekend-tests/?q=/confirmed-cardano-ada-shelley-mainnet-live-successful-final-weekend-tests/&q=/confirmed-cardano-ada-shelley-mainnet-live-successful-final-weekend-tests/
  
  • https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/21/cryptocurrency-whitepapers-why-they-matter-and-how-to-write-them/
  • https://news.bitcoin.com/how-to-check-bitcoin-address-scam/
  • https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-security-101-how-to-create-a-2-of-2-multi-signature-bch-wallet/

You haven't had enough news? Here is some more:

• https://cointelegraph.com/news/worthless-coin-mcafee-says-he-never-believed-bitcoin-would-hit-1m GENTLEMENS AGREEMENT, EAT YOUR DICK MCAFEE.
• https://cointelegraph.com/news/nexo-finance-accused-of-being-behind-zeus-capital-and-chainlink-short
• https://news.bitcoin.com/german-court-rules-limit-authorities-access-to-peoples-data/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/21/whale-alert-uncovers-10000000000-in-bitcoin-btc-owned-by-mysterious-crypto-creator-satoshi-nakamoto/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/21/ethereum-based-crypto-asset-surges-2400-as-defi-tidal-wave-intensifies/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/26/ripple-director-or-product-launches-xrp-payments-and-e-commerce-platform/
• https://news.bitcoin.com/how-bitcoin-allows-cloudbet-to-offer-the-fairest-odds-in-socce
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/26/binance-reveals-five-most-heavily-traded-altcoins-as-xrp-makes-exchanges-list-of-worst-performers-in-q2/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/24/new-bitcoin-whales-emerge-as-2197000000-in-btc-exits-crypto-exchanges-in-just-seven-months/
• https://news.bitcoin.com/russia-shelves-plans-to-criminalize-bitcoin-transactions-for-now/

Speculation:

• https://cryptopotato.com/5-promising-cryptocurrencies-besides-bitcoin-that-can-break-their-all-time-high-in-2020/
• https://u.today/top-3-price-analysis-btc-eth-xrp-has-resistance-been-found-before-a-possible-decline
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/20/bitcoin-appears-ready-for-extraordinary-move-in-just-48-hours-according-to-morgan-creek-digital-partner
• https://news.bitcoin.com/analysts-claim-bitcoins-76-day-stability-bullish-hash-ribbons-cross-and-2016-patterns/
• https://cointelegraph.com/news/chainlink-utility-drives-link-price-but-a-correction-could-be-coming
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/22/whales-are-buying-three-altcoins-as-bitcoin-and-ethereum-tread-water-crypto-research-report/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/27/high-profile-crypto-strategist-says-bitcoin-targeting-50000-with-xrp-signaling-potential-bull-run/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/26/weiss-ratings-says-one-crypto-will-become-centerpiece-of-billion-dollar-revolution-and-its-not-bitcoin-btc/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/25/trader-who-saw-bitcoins-last-crash-coming-predicts-huge-bitcoin-bull-run-but-theres-a-catch/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/24/prominent-bitcoin-btc-whale-says-ethereum-may-never-return-to-its-all-time-high-heres-why/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/24/top-analyst-bullish-on-ethereum-and-five-altcoins-says-bitcoin-wont-lead-surge-in-crypto-market-cap/
• https://dailyhodl.com/2020/07/21/bitcoins-status-as-crypto-king-is-coming-to-an-end-predicts-blockchairs-nikita-zhavoronkov-heres-why/

You made it! :)
First up, SORRY! This has been a late post, I have my reasons don't question them (if you must know I'll be posting in the discord - one time only haha). Secondly, I am sure you can agree with me when I say "Wow!" What an incredible week it has been. Last week I thought it was going to take a couple more weeks for more moving price action when it had only taken a few days which has seen Bitcoin reach and pass the $10,000 region. We have also seen the total Market cap for cryptocurrencies increase from about 280B to over 300B (308B at time of writing) within just a few days. A huge injection of liquidity, about 40B, into the market and just to name a few of the best rises in the top 20 (on Coinmarketcap.com), the price of ETH BTC ADA have given good performances/positive responses (With this I will start adding screenshots at the end of each week for timestamp purposes).
This may be a combination from Binance, Mastercard, Paypal, Grayscale investments, VISA AND the DEFI sector. Let me explain... Last week we read about Binance integrating with the company Swipe (SXP) to issue there own debit card expanding the use and reach of cryptocurrency to 31 countries within Europe. ^Binance's Q2 scheduled token burn of $60.5 Million, this figure correlates with its exchange, margin and futures trading platforms where approximately 20% of profits get burned to increase the price of BNB token (careful as the price has been steady after the burn).
This week we find out Mastercard's expansion into the Cryptosphere as they expand and integrate with the Wirex team to issue a Mastercard-backed Bitcoin debit card, thus further extending the reach of cryptocurrency availability internationally.
"The cryptocurrency market continues to mature and Mastercard is driving it forward, creating safe and secure experiences for consumers and businesses in today’s digital economy " "...Our work with Wirex and the wider crypto ecosystem is accelerating innovation and empowering consumers with more choice in the way they pay"
Mastercard is also reaching out to other emerging cryptocurrency firms to apply to become principal members [Partners] with Mastercard as they have relaxed their digital assets program and look to expand into the Digital Assets and Blockchain environment.
Paypals expression of interest in cryptocurrency facilitiation may bear fruits as it is said Paypal has partnered up with stablecoin operator Paxos (who is already in partnership with Revolut in the US) to facilitate trading through a cryptocurrency brokerage which will enable other firms to integrate cryptocurrency trading functionalities with them. In my opinion this looks much more promising than the Libra association they pulled out from last October as regulations.
Grayscale Investments clears regulatory hurdle as they have been given the green light for its Bitcoin Cash Trust (BCHG) and Litecoin Trust (LTCN) to be quoted in over-the-counter (OTC) markets by US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
“The Trusts are open-ended trusts sponsored by Grayscale and are intended to enable exposure to the price movement of the Trusts’ underlying assets through a traditional investment vehicle, avoiding the challenges of buying, storing, and safekeeping digital Bitcoin Cash or Litecoin directly.”
^More green lights for Cryptocurrency in the US as regulators allow banks to provide cryptocurrency custody services (which may go further than just custody services). A little bit strange as it seems unnecessary and undermines one of the key factors and uses of cryptocurrency which is to be in complete control of your own finances... On another outlook this may be bullish as it allows US banks to provide banking services directly to lawful cryptocurrency businesses and show support for Bitcoin.
Visa shows support stating they have a roadmap for their further expansion into the Crypto sphere. Already working with Crypto platform Coinbase and Fold they have stated they recognise the role of digital assets in the future of money. To be frank, it appears to be focused on stable coins, cost effectiveness and transaction speeds. However they are expanding their support for crypto assets.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, DeFI! Our very own growing section in crypto. Just like the 2017 ICO boom we are seeing exorbitant growth and FOMO into the Decentralised Finance sector (WBTC, Stablecoins, Yield farming, DEXs etc). The amount of active addresses on Ethereum has doubled but with the FOMO on their network have sky rocketed their fees! Large use-cases of stable coins such as USDT ($6B in circulation using ERC-20 standard), DAI, TUSD, and PAX. $114M Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on their network acts as a fluid side chain for Bitcoin and DEX trade volume has touched $1.6B this month. With all this action happening on Ethereum I saw the 24HR volume surpass BTC briefly on Worldcoinindex.com
In other news, Bitcoin has been set as a new precedent in a US federal court in a case against Larry Dean Harmon, the operator of an underground trading platform Helix. Bitcoin has now legally been ruled as a form of money.
“After examination of the relevant statutes, case law, and other sources, the Court concludes that bitcoin is money under the MTA and that Helix, as described in the indictment, was an `unlicensed money transmitting business´ under applicable federal law.”
Quick news in China/Asia as floods threaten miners and the most dominant ASIC Bitcoin mining rig manufacturer Bitmain loses 10,000 Antminers worth millions alledgedly goes missing or "illegally transfered" with ongoing leadership dispute between cofounders.
Last but not least, Cardano (ADA) upgrade Shelley is ready to launch! Hardfork is initiated as final countdown clock is switched on. At time of writing the point of no return has been reached, stress tests done and confirmation Hardfork is coming 29/07 The Shelley Mainnet upgrade is a step toward fast, capable and decentralised crypto that can serve billions of people. With the Shelley Mainnet is ADA staking rewards and pools! Here is a chance for us Gravychainers to set up a small pool of our own. Small percentage of profits going into the development of the community, and you keep the rest!
If you read all of my ramblings thanks heaps! I appreciate it! I have added an extra piece of reading called speculation. Most you can speculate on by just reading the headline some others have more depth to them.
Another post next week for a weekly round up! Where do you think the market is going? What is in your portfolio? Let us know in the Gravychain Discord Channel
See you soon!

• DISCORD LINK: https://discord.gg/zxXXyuJ

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Big thanks to our Telegram and My Crypto HQ for the constant news updates!

• The Gravychain Collective: https://t.me/gravychain
• My Crypto HQ: https://t.me/My_Crypto_HQ

P.S.
Dr Seuss collectables on the blockchain HECK YEAH! and Bitcoin enters NASCAR, remember when Doge did this? it was like when Doge was trending on TikTok.
... Oh yeah did I also mention Steve Wozniak is suing Youtube, Google over rampant Bitcoin scams. Wait, what? Sydney based law firm JPB Liberty is suing Google, Facebook and Twitter for up to $300B. Just another day in the Cryptosphere.