A battle for currency supremacy is underway as China doles out millions of digital yuan.

Cryptocurrencies offer innovative payment and security solutions for commerce, supply chains, and manufacturing. They make global payments faster, safer, more efficient, and more transparent. For years, Washington has neglected or misunderstood this most promising U.S. innovation, leaving American start-ups lost in a maze of regulatory uncertainty. Now that blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions have entered the real economy, revolutionizing money and payments, regulatory confusion has set the cryptocurrency community ablaze.Meanwhile, the Chinese are poised to capitalize on US policy mistakes yet again.

The leading American innovators in blockchain solutions are on the verge of leaving the US in frustration.Why?Because Washington has failed to develop a clear regulatory framework that would keep them in the US and ensure American leadership.This is the declaration of the CEO of Ripple, Americas leading cryptocurreny firm, who says the US is losing the tech war to China.

While Americas Constitution supports the flourishing of new technology, the administrative state has killed many important innovations in the cradle. This happens as obsolete agencies look for new things to regulate and join forces with protected industries to stifle competition, the process of regulatory capture described by Nobel economist George Stigler. At least eight US federal regulatory bodies have asserted jurisdiction over new fintech and digital currencies.This is not to say there should be no accountability in financial innovation, but the right policy should focus on achieving the objective in the most efficient, least intrusive way. Policymakers should think intelligently about the function they are trying to perform, not copy-paste paper-based bureaucracy on anything new.

Other countries are not immune to capture, but they are smart enough to not kill the golden goose. They have developed market-friendly frameworks to welcome crypto innovation to their shores, but the talent and scalability of the US market made the risk worthwhile until now.Crypto entrepreneurs hoped that after their billions of dollars in investments and development of innovative products that Washington would wake up, but no. Meanwhile China has advanced to garner increasing share of US and global financial markets.

The coming year will make or break cryptocurrency in the US. It depends on whether Congress and the Executive Branch can resolve their conflicting views of financial innovation, stop the grab bag of regulatory enforcement, and build a coherent policy framework. Bad actors have always found ways to exploit new developments, but that is not an excuse to deny consumers the fruits of new technologies. Law enforcement exists to prevent and punish crime, not to stop enterprise. Indeed, digital currency can reduce certain financial crimes.

Sadly, the current administration, purporting to promote the interests of Main Street investors, has been at war with itself on cryptocurrency. Outgoing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton treated cryptocurrencies and other fintech startups like flies, swatting innovators with more than 50 enforcements. This contrasts with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce who sees crypto as the next great technology. Again, the issue is not that poor conduct should not be addressed; its a question of priorities. For years, the SEC has done busy work while the Chinese government has exploited Americas stock exchanges and US technology.

As a new report from Congress bipartisan U.S. China Commission (USCC) notes, 217 Chinese companies are listed on US exchanges with a total market capitalization of $2.2 trillion, including 13 Chinese state-owned enterprises. According to the USCC, these companies endanger US national security through censorship and surveillance, evade American standards of transparency, and jeopardize the wealth of American investors. The SEC has not been able to perform oversight on the audits of these companies because of systematic blocking by the Chinese government. Meanwhile the number and size of these Chinese companies traded in the US has ballooned. Failing to deal with the real threats to Americas financial system, the SEC has directed its energy to homegrown startups.

The US lost the race on Bitcoin, and China now controls 65 percent of the computing power to mine the currency. The next battle is underway as the Chinese government has piloted a program to distribute digital yuan, a digital currency backed by Chinas central bank.It is only a matter of time before Chinas digital currency is offered to billions across the globe coupled with Chinese payment solutions copied from U.S. innovators.The US wont be able to block the proliferation of digital yuan. It can only win by making a better solution and getting to market first.

The SECs Clayton will step down at the end of the year, providing an opportunity confirm a Chair who will recognize the value that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, will step up stop Chinas abuse of Americas exchanges, and put American consumers first. Americans, not the Chinese government, should be first in line for American technological innovation. The new SEC Chair will be critical to ensuring whether the U.S. dollar retains its position as the worlds reserve currency.US policymakers should promote crypto, not crush it. Otherwise and once again, China will pick up the technology that the US discards.

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The SEC Swats Cryptocurrency Flies While The Chinese Government Takes The Farm. - Forbes

On November 10, six members of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote to Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks raising concerns about the OCCs recent unilateral actions to regulate cryptocurrencies. In the letter, the members question the OCCs regulatory priorities. For example, the members highlight that, through recent actions, such as its advance notice of proposed rulemaking on digital activities (covered by InfoBytes here), the OCC has sought to serve those already-banked with better payments options while potentially overlooking opportunities for assisting the unbanked and underbanked to participate in the economy and the banking system. Additionally, the members note that the OCCs interpretive decisions, which authorize financial institutions to hold cryptocurrency and stablecoins for customers (covered by InfoBytes here and here), may have broad implications for the future of banking and are best made in collaboration with your fellow regulators and with Congress to ensure we avoid potential harms to institutional safety and soundness and equity and inclusion. In closing, the members ask the OCC to answer a number of questions, including (i) whether stablecoin reserves will be segregated from calculating the capital requirements of large banks; (ii) what consumer protections the agency will impose on stablecoin providers; and (iii) whether the OCC has collaborated with other federal regulators on their recent decisions.

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Representatives question the OCC's cryptocurrency and stablecoin efforts - Lexology

Cryptocurrency MarketResearch Report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the Keyword Industry for 2020-2026. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years and discussion of the Leading Companies effective in this market. Cryptocurrency Market has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of Keyword globally.

The Cryptocurrency market research study considers the present scenario of the Cryptocurrency industry and its market dynamics for the period 20202026. The report covers both the demand and supply aspects of the market. Cryptocurrency market research report provides market sizing, share, forecast estimation & approach, Covid19 aftermath Analyst view, strategic analysis, revenue opportunities, industry trends, competition outlook, insights and growth relevancy mapping, growth drivers, and vendor analysis.

Cryptocurrency Market reports under the Cryptocurrency industry are supported by various macro and microeconomic factors impacting the industry. We browse through historical data and provide an overview of the emerging markets and the next big opportunities for investors within the niche market. After COVID pandemic, there are increasing demand from emerging countries provides a good business opportunity for companies to invest in coming years. Our reports are updated with changing industry regulatory policies and offer insight depending on clients requirement.

The global Cryptocurrency market has been subjected to several regulatory compliances and crucial coding terminology over the years. Adherence to regulatory standards remains crucial for vendors.

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The study profiles and examines leading companies and other prominent companies operating in the Cryptocurrency industry.

List of key players profiled in the report:

Cryptocurrency Market segmentation as per below:

Based on Product Types:

Applications covered in this report:

COVID-19 Impact on Cryptocurrency Industry

The outbreak of COVID-19 has bought along a global recession, which has impacted several industries. Along with this impact COVID Pandemic has also generated few new business opportunities for Cryptocurrency market. Overall competitive landscape and market dynamics of Cryptocurrency has been disrupted due to this pandemic. All these disruptions and impacts has been analysed quantifiably in this report, which is backed by market trends, events and revenue shift analysis. COVID impact analysis also covers strategic adjustments for Tier 1, 2 and 3 players of Cryptocurrency market.

The competitive environment in the Cryptocurrency market is intensifying. The market currently witnesses the presence of several major as well as other prominent vendors, contributing toward the market growth. However, the market is observing an influx of local vendors entering the market.

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Vendors can consider targeting key regions such as APAC, North America, and Europe to gather maximum customer attention. Countries in the APAC region such as China, India, and Japan among others are expected to display significant growth prospects in the future due to high economic growth forecasts along with huge population statistics leading to high consumption of goods and products.

Regional Overview & Analysis of Cryptocurrency Market:

The changing regulatory compliance scenario and the growing purchasing power among consumers are likely to promise well for the North America market. New product development and technological advancements remain key for competitors to capitalize upon in the Cryptocurrency industry across the globe.

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Key Market Insights:

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Cryptocurrency Market Research Study including Growth Factors, Types and Application by regions from 2020 to 2026 - The Daily Philadelphian

Trying to come to grips with the nascent technology of cryptocurrency, with all its concomitant risks and potential, governments around the world have taken very different approaches toward cryptocurrency taxation and penalties for crypto tax evasion. It is not easy to strike the right balance. Yet it is also imperative to develop cryptocurrency taxation systems that are fair, continue to encourage innovation, close the loopholes on tax cheats and offer companies as well as investors clarity so that they can carry out financial planning and make informed investment and business decisions.

Clear and consistent regulation is needed for dealing with virtual assets, because in order to work with them companies need to understand the framework and the rulebook they are working under, Douglas Borthwick, chief marketing officer of digital assets trading platform INX, told Forkast.News. Without a clear-cut tax policy in place, Borthwick added, investors can hardly be expected to have faith in the value of both their own assets and those underlying the industry at large.

Recognizing that there are many issues, gaps and unanswered questions in the emerging field of cryptocurrency taxation, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published Taxing Virtual Currencies: An Overview of Tax Treatments and Emerging Tax Policy Issues in advance of its 2020 Global Blockchain Policy Forum taking place this week.

Today, the OECD blockchain forum will offer a special Deep Dive panel discussion titled, Crypto-tax Ensure a robust and transparent tax policy framework. The panels speakers will include a vice president of Coinbase, a U.S. Department of Treasury senior counsel and other tax law and policy experts.

The OECDs cryptocurrency tax report, which was presented to G20 finance ministers and central bank governors last month, analyzes how 50 jurisdictions treat crypto-assets. The report also surveys emerging issues such as the rise of DeFi (decentralized finance) and central bank-backed digital currencies (CBDCs), which has been rapidly gaining traction around the world this year with China, France, Australia, Cambodia and many other countries all now racing to develop their own.

One of the key findings of the OECD crypto tax report is the importance of a coherent policy toward cryptocurrency as well as the implications of crypto tax evasion, which until now are issues that have largely been neglected in favor of cryptos macroeconomic and anti-money laundering considerations.

The very nature of cryptocurrency is also what complicates its taxation. Crypto in its purest form is decentralized and anonymous, Borthwick said. While these qualities define its potential, they also engender possibilities for exploitation. The challenge facing tax authorities across the board, Borthwick said, is to see where they can use cryptos best attributes, while limiting its worst.

The most common way that countries have attempted to achieve this is by taxing all income from mining and cryptocurrency exchanges as capital gains, according to the OECD report. Few countries make a distinction between business and personal activity. Virtual currencies, according to the OECD, also form part of a taxpayers assets and are taxable under wealth and inheritance taxes.

See related post: How IRS treats crypto staking: tax issues every crypto investor should know

In its recommendations to policymakers, the OECD report emphasizes the need for providing clear guidance and legislative frameworks for the tax treatment of crypto-assets and virtual currencies, and allowing frequent updates as is necessary to keep up with such a fast-moving, innovative field. Accordingly, appropriate guidance is urged with regards to other blockchain innovations for which existing tax treatments may not be appropriate.

The OECD report also highlights the need to improve compliance and suggests simplifying rules of valuation as one way to do so.

Overall, the OECD recommends that the direction of cryptocurrency tax policy should correspond with that of other policies in related sectors, such as environmental impact. The report points out that cryptocurrency mining can be very energy-intensive. Tax policy should also align with the worldwide shift toward electronic payment systems as a replacement for cash, a trend that has accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Considerable scope remains to improve guidance on tax treatments, particularly in the emerging areas of stablecoins, proof-of-stake consensus mechanisms, and decentralized finance, Grace Perez-Navarro, deputy director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, told Forkast.News. The OECDs Taxing Virtual Currencies report considers these issues and stresses that clearer guidance would provide certainty for taxpayers and facilitate compliance.

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OECD shines light on the future of cryptocurrency taxation - Forkast News

Adam Bannister17 November 2020 at 14:40 UTC Updated: 17 November 2020 at 15:23 UTC

Project leads say legal action will not be taken against the culprit if they return the stolen funds

Origin Protocol is scrambling to recover $7 million worth of stolen Origin Dollar (OUSD) after the recently launched stablecoin project was hacked.

The San Francisco-based blockchain company disabled deposits to the vault after detecting a so-called re-entrancy attack that took place this morning (November 17).

Origin co-founder Matthew Liu, who tweeted news of the attack two hours after it took place, said the pilfered funds included $1 million deposited by Origin and our founders and employees.

The projects native token has shed 85.3% of its value in the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.

OUSD was launched in late September with the promise of generating yields while funds sit passively in wallets.

Stablecoins are pegged to cryptocurrencies, fiat money, or exchange-traded commodities to minimize price volatility.

Around four hours after the attack took place, Lius fellow Origin co-founder, Josh Fraser, said the company had made progress understanding the attack and tracking the flow of funds from the OUSD vault to the attackers wallets, and were actively working on measures in an attempt to recoup the funds.

He added: This includes working with exchanges and other third-parties to potentially identify the attacker and/or freeze funds from being liquidated.

RELATED Binance awards $200,000 bounty after cyber-attackers indicted in US

Liu said a compensation plan for affected OUSD holders would also be discussed.

Users have been urged not to buy OUSD, as the current prices do not reflect OUSDs underlying assets, and to remove funds from liquidity pools.

Liu promised that Origin would not pursue legal action against the culprit if they returned the stolen funds.

Fraser said the stolen funds, which had been washed using Tornado Cash and renBTC, had been traced to an Ethereum wallet containing 7,137 ETH and 2.249 million DAI.

Discussing the hack, the Origin co-founder said the attackers capitalized on a missing validation check to pass in a fake stablecoin, which was then called transferFrom... by the vault.

Read more of the latest cyber-attack news from around the world

This apparently allowing the hacker to exploit the contract with a re-entrancy attack in the middle of the mint.

The attacker withdrew funds after inflating them with a rebase event that gave them more OUSD than the contract had assets, said Fraser.

Liu offered his sincerest and deepest apologies to OUSD users and reassured them that this is not a rug pull or internal scam.

He added: This is a quickly moving process, and our entire team has been mobilized to tackle this crisis.

Liu said further updates would be posted to Origins blog, Telegram, Twitter, and Discord accounts.

Cryptocurrency platforms are a frequent and frequently lucrative target for financially-motivated cybercrooks.

The OUSD hack follows a similar re-entrance attack mounted only a few days ago against blockchain-powered pension fund Akropolis, which saw the offenders make off with $2 million worth of DAI.

In more positive news for the market, cryptocurrency exchange Binance last week awarded $200,000 to the investigative team that unmasked the cybercriminals behind a 2018 phishing attack and the subsequent theft of its users login credentials.

The Daily Swig has contacted Origin for further comment and will update this article if and when we receive a response.

RECOMMENDED Experiment reveals differences in secret leak detection on Git code repositories

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Origin Dollar cryptocurrency hacked to the tune of $7m less than two months after launch - The Daily Swig

This week two well known tech executives revealed they have been dabbling in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In a recent interview, Skype cofounder Jaan Tallinn detailed that he held bitcoin and ethereum in his personal finances, while the Intercom cofounder Eoghan McCabe tweeted on Sunday that hes jumped firmly onto the bitcoin wagon.

In 2020 a number of popular tech executives and CEOs from giant firms have revealed they hold a fascination for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum. On Friday, the cofounder of the telecommunications application Skype discussed a couple of donations he made in the past leveraging ethereum and bitcoin. Skypes cofounder Jaan Tallinn sent 350 ETH ($158k) to the London-based organization Faculty AI and in March 2020, Tallinn donated 50 BTC ($850k) to the group.

Faculty AI won $800k from the U.K. Home Office in order to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) system that detects terrorism through social media. During his interview, Tallinn explained that the reason why he donated cryptocurrency to the organization is because he keeps a majority of his wealth in crypto assets.

He opted to donate the crypto directly because if he cashed out the digital assets he would be liable for capital gains. According to the recent interview, Faculty AIs annual accounts note that the company sold roughly $144k from the stash of ethereum in 2019.

Following the interview with Tallinn, another well known executive told his Twitter followers on Sunday that hes jumped into the bitcoin space. On November 15, 2020, the chairman and cofounder of Intercom, a well known American software firm, tweeted about the decentralized crypto asset bitcoin. Intercoms Eoghan McCabe disclosed he is holding bitcoin after messing around with the digital currency for years.

I would like to announce that after years of dabbling, Ive jumped firmly onto the Bitcoin wagon, McCabe tweeted. In a tweet that followed, McCabe noted that hes been listening to the Pomp Podcast and one in particular that features the Bitcoin evangelist Robert Breedlove. Mad love for all the Bitcoin freaks, McCabe added in another tweet. A great number of bitcoiners welcomed McCabe into the space, and a few individuals told him that he was still in the early adoption phase of bitcoin.

The Tallinn and McCabe news follows a number of prominent executives getting into the cryptocurrency space and discussing the benefits of bitcoin in 2020. Executives like billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller, the Bond King Jeffrey Gundlach, the well known fund manager Bill Miller, billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones, and even the actor Kevin Hart jumped on the bitcoin wagon this year. Alongside this, the U.S. Senator, Cynthia Lummis, sees a lot of promise when it comes to the innovation provided by the crypto economy.

Even the traditional crypto naysayers are starting to discuss bitcoin in a more positive way. Former bitcoin doubter JPMorgans recent analysis shows institutional interest has been moving from gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to bitcoin. The infamous BTC hater, Nouriel Roubini (Dr. Doom), admitted that BTC might be a store of value in a recent interview with Yahoo Finance. With the way things are going, its likely a whole lot more popular tech and investor luminaries will be joining the cryptocurrency revolution. And maybe some former haters as well.

What do you think about Skype cofounder Jaan Tallinn holding most of his personal wealth in crypto and the Intercoms chairmans recent plunge into bitcoin? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Big Tech Execs and Bitcoin: Skype Cofounder Keeps Personal Wealth in Crypto, Intercom Chairman 'Firmly Jumps on the Bitcoin Wagon' | News - Bitcoin...

Coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic has impacted all over industries across the globe, and Cryptocurrency market is one of them. As the global market heads towards major recession, we are at In4Research, has published a brand-new latest research report which fully studies the impact of COVID-19 crisis on Cryptocurrency Industry and suggests possible actions to curtail them.Cryptocurrency Market report covers an in-depth analysis of the Cryptocurrency industry including statistical, quantitative, qualitative data points with emphasis on the market dynamics including the drivers, opportunities & restraints, market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth & revenue opportunities after COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, this Cryptocurrency market research report covers both the global and regional markets with a detailed overview of the markets complete growth forecast. This research also sheds light on the markets wide-ranging competitive environment. The study also includes a dashboard overview of top businesses in both historical and current contexts, covering their active marketing strategies, recent developments & trends, and market contribution.

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Cryptocurrency Market Segment Analysis:

The research report includes specific segments by Type and by Application. Each type provides information about the production during the forecast period of 2019 to 2026. The application segment also provides consumption during the forecast period of 2019 to 2026. Understanding the segments helps in identifying the importance of different factors that aid market growth.

Segmentation by Type:

Segmentation by Application:

There is coverage of market dynamics at the country level in the respective regional segments. The report comprises competitive analysis with a focus on key players and participants of the Cryptocurrency market covering in-depth data related to the competitive landscape, positioning, company profiles, key strategies adopted and product-profiling with a focus on market growth and potential.

Main Key Players:

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Regional Analysis:

Cryptocurrency market breakdown data are shown at the regional level, to show the sales, revenue and growth by regions.

Impact of COVID-19 on Cryptocurrency Market

The report also contains the effect of the ongoing worldwide pandemic, i.e., COVID-19, on the Cryptocurrency Market and what the future holds for it. It offers an analysis of the impacts of the epidemic on the international market. The epidemic has immediately interrupted the requirement and supply series. The Cryptocurrency Market report also assesses the economic effect on firms and monetary markets. Futuristic Reports has accumulated advice from several delegates of this business and has engaged from the secondary and primary research to extend the customers with strategies and data to combat industry struggles throughout and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Table of Contents:

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Cryptocurrency Market Trends And Opportunities By Types And Application In Grooming Regions; Edition 2020-2026 - The Daily Philadelphian

As the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, ethereum witnessed impressive growth in 2020. Since the beginning of the year, the ctyptocurrency's price price surged by a remarkable 230 per cent, drawing more and more attention from investors in times of economic uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

According to data presented by AksjeBloggen.com, ethereum was the most traded cryptocurrency in the third quarter of 2020, with 1.1 million average daily transactions, 3.5 times more than bitcoin.

As the world's leading cryptocurrency, bitcoin witnessed over 319,000 average daily transactions between June and September, revealed the CoinMetrics data. Other leading cryptocurrencies saw less than a tenth of the daily volume of ethereum. Litecoin ranked third with 56,000 average transactions per day in this period. Dash, bitcoin cash, and monero followed with 25,100, 17,200, and 12,000 daily transactions, respectively.

The BitInfoCharts data revealed the number of ethereum transactions jumped significantly since the beginning of the year. In the first quarter of 2020, the number of average daily transactions amounted to 537,900. After a slight drop to 463,100 in March, transactions continued rising in the following months.

Statistics show the number of ethereum transactions per day increased by 610,000 between June and September, a 131 per cent jump in three months.

Besides impressive growth in price and the number of transactions, ethereum also witnessed a surge in market cap since the beginning of the year.

In December 2019, the combined value of all ethereum coins amounted to USD14.3 billion, revealed the CoinMarketCap data. After peaking at USD30.8 billion in February, Ethereum market capitalisation slumped by 58 per cent to USD12.7 billion in the second week of March.

However, the world's second-largest crypto coin quickly bounced back, with market cap recovering to USD25.2 billion in June.

The increasing trend continued in the third quarter of 2020, with the combined value of all ethereum coins in circulation peaking at USD53.8 billion in September, a 102 per cent jump in three months. Statistics show the market cap of the world's second-largest cryptocurrency stood at USD50 billion at the end of last week, almost 150 per cent jump year-on-year.

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Ethereum was the most traded cryptocurrency in Q3 2020 with 1.1m average daily transactions, 3.5x more than bitcoin - HedgeWeek

San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (via Blockchain Wire) -Crypto Mondays, Dorado Genesis and the Act 20/22/60 Special Committee of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, today announced their first joint event, THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY, will be held on Monday, November 16, 2020. Cryptocurrency leaders will gather together for the 3-hour online event transmitted from Puerto Rico. The cryptocurrency and blockchain event will be powered by Zoom, starting at 5:00 PM AST as part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week.

Agenda topics will cover bitcoin, mining, stablecoin and staking fundamentals, no barrier entry, entrepreneurship opportunities in crypto, the 4th Technological Revolution and the future of the internet and the global economy.

Confirmed speakers include:

The event welcomes all attendees ranging from those new to the crypto world to expert crypto traders. Registration is available at https://futureofinternetandglobaleconomyzoom.eventbrite.com.

About the organizers:

Crypto Mondays seek to make Puerto Rico a world hub for investment and progress in blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital innovation. For over 2 years, Crypto Mondays San Juan has brought some of the brightest technological forerunners on the planet to Puerto Rico to discuss topics ranging from banking and finance, to digital identities, privacy, small businesses and women entrepreneurial empowerment.

ACT 20/22/60 Special Committee of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce serves as a bridge and liaison between the Act 20/22/60 community and the local business community by helping them integrate through professional, educational, networking and social activities.

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Cryptocurrency Leaders and Blockchain Legends Meet in Puerto Rico to Address the Future of the Internet and the Global Economy November 16 -...

In 2017, when everything concerned with cryptocurrency and blockchain still looked fresh and interesting, it seemed that there would be no day without a new revolutionary project or idea. Decentralized financial system, decentralized torrent tracker, decentralized office documentation system. Decentralized, decentralized, decentralized.

The overuse of terms like transparent, distributed and blockchain-based soon made most press papers look generic. The closer we got to the peak of the Bitcoin price at the end of 2017, the more absurd the names of new projects became: Ethereum-based payment system for slaughterhouse industry workers, decentralized blockchain-based dwarf horse breeding platform, peer-to-peer personal banking service for divorced blind people, and so on.

Who would ever need any of that, one might ask. Well, in many cases, nobody. Of the several thousand cryptocurrencies launched since the spread of blockchain technology, only about 30 are currently of any investment interest.

Following cryptocurrencies, many crypto exchanges launched on the wave of blockchain popularity are dying they just have nothing to trade anymore. The situation is especially visible on review platforms, which store cards of hundreds of closed projects, often together with angry user reviews.

Lets take a look at a few projects and analyze the reasons for their failure.

In late 2017 to early 2018, it was first reported that Telegram was planning to launch its own blockchain platform and native cryptocurrency.

Also known as Grams, the TON coins were intended to be based on Telegram Open Network, with the TON blockchain at the core of the platform. In the project white paper, the developers presented this future coin as a potential standard cryptocurrency that could be used for the regular exchange of value in daily life.

It was stated that while Bitcoin (BTC) was considered digital gold and Ethereum was a platform for token crowd sales, this new TON cryptocurrency would be a substitute for traditional money and traditional payment systems such as Visa and Mastercard. According to the white paper, other cryptocurrencies lacked the qualities required to attract a mass consumer. In its turn, Telegram would be able to implement a system eligible for mass use, given its expertise in encrypted distributed data storage, experience in creating user-friendly interfaces, and an enormous user base.

While the company did have a point in part of its claims, to me all of it looked like a huge PR campaign. Why should Telegram implement this new financial system and not some corporation with experience in the financial services industry? How would it be able to distinguish this new currency from other, similar products? How would it be any better than traditional financial systems being implemented by a large centralized company?

No answers were given. However, the Telegram initial coin offering, launched in 2018, was a huge success. The company was able to raise $1.7 billion from investor funds in two private token sale rounds, and that was really promising.

Related: Exclusive: New report reveals details of Telegrams TON blockchain

But it didnt end well. On May 12, 2020, Pavel Durov announced that Telegram would officially terminate its involvement with the project after a long legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Surely, the company didnt have the legal resources necessary for implementing such an ambitious idea. Most likely, technical difficulties and strong competition on the market also played a role.

Related: SEC vs. Telegram: Part 1 Key takeaways for now

For me, this case epitomizes the whole cryptocurrency hysteria of 2018 a company that gets involved in an enterprise for which it is not ready, either legally or technologically, without a clear positioning of the product. The end result is failure.

Petchains was presented as the future global information management system and trading platform for the pet market. According to its press papers, the system would allow its users to maintain and keep data of the animals living in homes and shelters. The presented project goal was to create a community of pet owners, experts, professionals, institutions, service providers and volunteers. The system was intended to be developed using blockchain and big data technologies as usual. The initial funding was going to be gathered through the process of an initial coin offering.

Its a good question if the world really needs a blockchain-based information and trading platform for the pet market. I wouldnt say there are many problems with over-centralization there. Pet shops are usually chosen by customers after analyzing brand reputation and online presence.

Some problems that customers on this market may face include unreliable information about the acquired animals health or previous owners. However, these difficulties comprise not a technical, but a legal problem that is unlikely to be solved using blockchain technology.

Moreover, since animal welfare laws vary between different countries, creating a unified international platform in this field is a legally challenging task, hardly suitable for a small technological startup.

The Petchain project team consisted mainly of no-names who had no proven experience in any serious projects. It was not even possible to say for sure whether these were real people some of the project advisors turned out to have been presented with fake photos.

Despite some marketing efforts, no serious funding was attracted to the project. At the moment, the official website of the project is inactive and its social media accounts havent been updated for more than a year. The link that used to lead to the projects white paper now contains a text describing in general terms the reasons for failures in the cryptocurrency industry.

One more dead project with an incoherent, not thought-through idea at the base of it.

Wiki token (WIKI) was an Ethereum-based, ERC-20 compatible token designed to be used as a means of payment at the so-called Crypto University. This future platform, built around the Bitcoin Wiki project, was described as a totally independent, decentralized, censorship-free educational system.

The learning courses for Crypto University were meant to be created by members of the project community. For writing articles and creating courses, these members would get the previously mentioned ERC-20 Wiki tokens. These tokens would be listed on various crypto exchanges and could be spent on other Crypto University courses.

I first noticed this project in 2018, and it didnt make much sense right from the beginning. First of all, what kind of secret knowledge is there in the cryptocurrency industry that it should be distributed using token-based payment systems? How would it compete with other content, available for free?

Theoretically, its possible to create a platform similar to Coursera based on blockchain. Crypto University, like Coursera, could become a platform that brings together creators and consumers of educational materials. But here, some difficulties arise.

The value of an educational product is usually based on the reputation of its creators. Most of the courses at Coursera are university education programs created by well-known, highly reputable institutions. These courses include interaction with a teacher, who is also a well-known education professional. Upon completion of a course, students usually receive certificates recognized by companies and educational institutions. All these factors add up to the value of the course, and its thanks to them that people are willing to pay for it.

In its turn, the Wiki token project could hardly offer any of the above. No collaboration with large institutions or renowned educators. Moreover, the highly specialized area of expertise (cryptocurrency and blockchain) chosen did not imply the presence of educational professionals who could potentially create valuable educational content. Why would it be any better than free YouTube videos or easily searchable internet articles?

What we see here is just another technical embodiment of a dubious business idea. Having neither a well-thought-out concept nor a product, the team rushed to implement it using fashionable technology. The result is a technical wrapper with no content and no interest outside of blockchain hysteria.

As of October 2020, the projects website is no longer available and its social media accounts have been dead for a couple of years.

The projects listed above did not in fact offer anything except technical execution that was fashionable at the time. Hastily launched on the wave of blockchain popularity, with no market or audience research, they were unable to offer any meaningful value to a potential customer.

One of the key marketing rules: Sell the problem to be solved, not the product you offer. Product developers should always think about consumer needs first. Otherwise, they risk ending up in the same way as the developers of the projects mentioned above creating only product packaging that has no intrinsic value.

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

Bert Kozma is a writer and an associate editor at Cryptogeek.info. Previously a sales and marketing expert, he has been an author covering cryptocurrency and financial markets for the last decade. He holds a bachelors degree in international business from Saimaa University of Applied Sciences.

Originally posted here:
The cryptocurrency sector is overflowing with dead projects - Cointelegraph