PRESS RELEASE. ZelaaPayAE, with a vision to build and improve the financial structure, introduces a Crypto Debit Card with the ability to be swiped not just in UAE but also globally.

Partnering with Baanx, ZelaaPayAE is providing Mastercard enabled Debit Card featuring personalized cards with a low monthly fee and extreme accountability. What makes it stand out is the true ability to support a unique 5 multicurrency BIN which would enable you to spend in 8 currencies (USD, CNY, JPY, GBP, and others) with Mastercard Spot price i.e., Zero Forex mark up.

The Fundamental utility is not in the FX or global transaction, it is its ability to support ZPAE, DGB, KLV, TRX, and BTC. Making transacting from Cryptocurrency to Fiat a breeze, there are many crypto to fiat debit cards out there but they eventually require you to preload them. Omnibus Account Framework for ZelaaPayAE Debit Card by Baanx allows you to just seamlessly spend without having to preload, through APIs for seamless spending thus promoting the transactional framework in a way how a transaction in its truest form should be.

Swipe Wallet’s card functions in a similar way but SXP stakes are required and also most of the categories have FX markups. Catching up this trend Crypto.com and Binance are not too far behind, offering crypto debit cards but yet again lacking the proprietary tech and the omnibus Account framework and personalization ability. Swipe, Binance, and Crypto.com have VISA-enabled debit cards thus the usage gets restricted in some regions.

ZelaaPayAE stacks above both of them in terms of global coverage (being partnered with Mastercard, Visa and China Union Pay through Baanx; thus, unrestricted global usage). Providing the flexibility of a virtual card and removing the need to preload the card, ZelaaPayAE have managed to make innovation as customer-centric as possible.

Baanx has a successful track record of catering to a high potential fin-tech market and is also working with the project of the visionary Akon, Akoin.

The real standing out feature is and will always be ZelaaPayAE’s vision to build the infrastructure for the future of transaction and money. The ability to bridge the gap between fiat and crypto on top of having it backed by technology, belief, and Vision, ZelaaPayAE x Baanx Debit cards have and will always manage to stay at the forefront of Innovation in Financial Services.

Media contact: info@zelaapay.ae

This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not 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 the press release.

Use Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash to play online casino games here.

Pundi X (CURRENCY:NPXS) traded 0.6% lower against the US dollar during the 1-day period ending at 0:00 AM ET on December 29th. During the last week, Pundi X has traded down 7.9% against the US dollar. Pundi X has a market capitalization of $40.50 million and approximately $2.36 million worth of Pundi X was traded on exchanges in the last 24 hours. One Pundi X coin can currently be bought for approximately $0.0002 or 0.00000001 BTC on major cryptocurrency exchanges.

Here is how related cryptocurrencies have performed during the last 24 hours:

Pundi X Coin Profile

Buying and Selling Pundi X

Pundi X can be bought or sold on these cryptocurrency exchanges: Coinall.com. It is usually not possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as Pundi X directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to acquire Pundi X should first purchase Bitcoin or Ethereum using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Gemini, GDAX or Changelly. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Bitcoin or Ethereum to purchase Pundi X using one of the aforementioned exchanges.

Twelve years ago, Hal Finney, one of the most important people in the history of Bitcoin, published the very first tweet related to the world's largest cryptocurrency.

Finney was the first follower of Satoshi Nakamoto, who is famous for receiving the very first Bitcoin transaction on Jan. 12, 2009.

Some of Finney's other famous tweets include the one about adding more anonymity to Bitcoin and reducing the CO2 emission from mining, a problem that is now on many environmentalists' minds.

In October 2009, Finney disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. After a five-year battle with the disease, he passed away on Aug. 28, 2014. There is a ton of speculation as to whether or not Finney himself created the cryptocurrency due to the timing of Satoshi's disappearance and the fact that he lived in the same town as Dorian Nakamoto, the Japanese-American man who was misidentified as the man behind Bitcoin by a Newsweek journalist.

On the weekly chart, ICX Crypto was in a bearish trend and got a pullback in Tuesday’s trading session. The price went up to $0.7146 on January 10, 2021, due to the coin’s heavy buying, and it set a mark of a 7-day high. By breaking above the resistance zones created in the past. The ICX/BTC pair is in an uptrend with a value of 1.17% in Tuesday’s trading session (0.00001728).

The weekly technical chart of ICX crypto highlights a positive trend after a pullback in Tuesday’s trading session. The price is currently sitting at $0.6221, with a resistance zone of $0.6300. Following the support zone of $0.5583, the price formed a bullish trend by giving a pullback from the strong support and may breach the resistance soon in the upcoming trading session. Price also touches back the 50 days exponential moving average EMA and above 200 days EMA indicating a positive trend.

On diving into the weekly chart of a 15-minute time frame, a belt hold bullish candle is formed, indicating a buy signal in the coin.

The Volume (1.159M) indicates heavy buying. Also formed massive green volume bars in the coin on Tuesday’s trading session.

The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) had a bullish crossover signal line on January 12, 2021, trading session. This indicated a buy signal in the coin. Could also observe a few green bars in the Histogram.

Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) with a value of 53 indicates that the coin is neutral for now. Forming an ascending channel pattern in the index and soon may move towards the overbought region.

Concerning, The Schaff Trend Cycle (STC) with a value of 54.58 had a positive crossover at 25, reflecting a green buy sign in the coin.

Icon (ICX) crypto price is in an uptrend with a pullback from its healthy support level of $0.5583. If It breaches above the resistance level and sustains above $0.6300 and 50 days, EMA is also being broken. One can further expect a bullish trend till the price of $0.6866.

Resistance: $0.6300

Support: $0.5583

50 EMA: $0.6093

Get this news hand-delivered to you on Telegram. Join our Telegram for similar News and Information related to CRYPTOCURRENCY, BITCOIN, BLOCKCHAIN NEWS, and Price prediction.

In recent weeks, Bitcoin values have shown volatility not seen since the cryptocurrency's 2017 crash. January has seen record highs before the worst decline since March 2020, with a 20 percent drop in just two days earlier this month. The dramatic fluctuations have worried investors ‒  and warnings from legendary economist Burton Malkiel about the cryptocurrency’s future appear increasingly relevant. 

Writing in the latest edition of his iconic book ‘A Random Walk Down Wall Street’, Mr Malkiel explains how upward spikes in prices have often accompanied periods of international tension.

He claims holders of Bitcoin tokens “often reside in countries with weak rules of law” and “tenuous property rights” while noting that the cryptocurrency could be looked on favourably in North Korea.

Indeed, several economists have previously argued that the growth of Bitcoin has been called an “index of money laundering”.

However, Mr Malkiel appears to see the writing on the wall as he explains how legislation could burst the bubble.

We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

He writes: “Governments can be expected to crack down on the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for illegal transactions.

“In 1933 US President Franklin D Roosevelt made it illegal for Americans to hold gold.

“All governments have rightly been very particular about their sole right to issue and control currencies.”

Mr Malkiel also explains how Bitcoin’s reliance on energy usage could prove problematic while presenting a window of opportunity for any government intent on clamping down on the cryptocurrency. 

He adds: “Governments can shut down the exchanges on which cryptocurrencies are traded.

“Since Bitcoin mining operations use considerable computer power and are energy-intensive, restrictions can be imposed on the computers that run the public distributed ledger central to the transactions network. 

“Creating a single token requires as much electricity as the typical American house consumes in two years.

READ MORE: Bitcoin uproar as investors warned of 'rapid collapse' in value

“The total network of computers comprising the Bitcoin network consumes as much energy each year as some medium-sized countries.”

And if the market isn’t targeted by national or international government legislation, Bitcoin could collapse if someone breaks the underlying encryption system.

Mr Malkiel concludes: “There would be no time to update the system’s protocol so as to keep everyone’s money safe.”

His forecasts are not time-sensitive, though, and Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano predicted that by the end of 2021, the cryptocurrency will hold a value of $100,000 (£73,000).

Mr Pompliano explained his prediction, made in August 2019, to CNN's Julia Chatterley.

He said: “Whenever we get to a recessive period or kind of slowing growth, central banks have kind of two tools:

"They can cut interest rates and they can print money (quantitative easing).

"And so, when they do both of those things, it usually takes anywhere between six to 18 months to feel the effect of those tools, and what it’s going to do is it’s going to coincide with the Bitcoin halving."

Bitcoin "halving" is when the cryptocurrency being mined by users is slashed in half every ten minutes.

Mr Pompliano added that Bitcoin has some benefits over gold.

He continued: “The difference is, between Bitcoin and gold, with Bitcoin, we know exactly how many are getting created, so 1,800 Bitcoin are going to be created today.

"The second thing is we know the total supply available, which is 21 million. So, it’s not: ‘Hey I wonder how much is in the ground.’ We know exactly how much it is, and we can actually go and audit or verify the software code of the system."

Just last week, Mr Pompliano predicted that the cryptocurrency will one day reach a value of $1million (£734,000).

He tweeted: "Bitcoin is a 10x improvement on gold. We will one day see a $1M Bitcoin price, which is only 2x the gold market cap.

"Everyone is underestimating Bitcoin’s potential."

However, Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned: “If consumers invest, they should be prepared to lose all their money.

"Some investments advertising high returns from crypto assets may not be subject to regulation beyond anti-money laundering.

“Significant price volatility, combined with the difficulties valuing [Bitcoin] reliably, place consumers at a high risk of losses.”

Express.co.uk does not give financial advice. The journalists who worked on this article do not own any Bitcoin.

Burton Malkiel’s ‘A Random Walk Down Wall Street’ was published by W.W. Norton & Company Inc. It is available here.

Bitcoin Ticker: BTC= Price: $36,765.37

Bitcoin smashed through $37,700 to hit a new record high on Thursday helping to lift the total value of the entire cryptocurrency market above $1 trillion for the first time.

The digital coin hit an all time high of $37,739.08 at around 1:44 p.m. Singapore time, just a few hours after blowing past $36,000, according to data from Coindesk.

The Easy Way to Make Money from Crypto

The cryptocurrency is up about 29% since the start of 2021 and in the past 12 months has surged over 380%.

Meanwhile, the value of the entire cryptocurrency market, which is made up of bitcoin and other digital coins like ether and tether, surpassed $1 trillion for the first time early on Thursday, according to data from Coinmarketcap.

Many bitcoin bulls say the cryptocurrency is akin to “digital gold,” a potential safe haven asset and a hedge against inflation. In a recent research note, JPMorgan said bitcoin could hit $146,000 in the long term as it competes with gold as an “alternative” currency. The investment bank’s strategists noted that bitcoin would have to become substantially less volatile to reach this price, however. Bitcoin is known for wild price swings.

The idea of bitcoin as a hedge against inflation has continued to gain steam as governments around the world embark on large-scale fiscal stimulus programs. Analysts argue this could cause a spike in inflation.

Overall, the bias in prices is: Upwards.

Note: this chart shows extraordinary price action to the upside.

By the way, prices are vulnerable to a correction towards 25,609.09.

The projected upper bound is: 40,229.86.

The projected lower bound is: 34,173.23.

The projected closing price is: 37,201.55.

A white body occurred (because prices closed higher than they opened). During the past 10 bars, there have been 9 white candles and 1 black candles for a net of 8 white candles. During the past 50 bars, there have been 31 white candles and 19 black candles for a net of 12 white candles.

Three white candles occurred in the last three days. Although these candles were not big enough to create three white soldiers, the steady upward pattern is bullish.

Momentum is a general term used to describe the speed at which prices move over a given time period. Generally, changes in momentum tend to lead to changes in prices. This expert shows the current values of four popular momentum indicators.

One method of interpreting the Stochastic Oscillator is looking for overbought areas (above 80) and oversold areas (below 20). The Stochastic Oscillator is 91.5864. This is an overbought reading. However, a signal is not generated until the Oscillator crosses below 80 The last signal was a sell 4 period(s) ago.

The RSI shows overbought (above 70) and oversold (below 30) areas. The current value of the RSI is 84.22. This is where it usually tops. The RSI usually forms tops and bottoms before the underlying security. A buy or sell signal is generated when the RSI moves out of an overbought/oversold area. The last signal was a sell 42 period(s) ago.

The Moving Average Convergence/Divergence indicator (MACD) gives signals when it crosses its 9 period signal line. The last signal was a buy 22 period(s) ago.

FOREX BTC= closed up 890.320 at 36,820.922. Volume was 1% above average (neutral) and Bollinger Bands were 228% wider than normal.

Short-term traders should pay closer attention to buy/sell arrows while intermediate/long-term traders should place greater emphasis on the Bullish or Bearish trend reflected in the lower ribbon.

FOREX BTC= is currently 160.0% above its 200-period moving average and is in an upward trend. Volatility is high as compared to the average volatility over the last 10 periods.

Our volume indicators reflect very strong flows of volume into BTC= (bullish). Our trend forecasting oscillators are currently bullish on BTC= and have had this outlook for the last 22 periods. Our momentum oscillator is currently indicating that BTC= is currently in an overbought condition. The security price has set a new 14-period high while our momentum oscillator has not. This is a bearish divergence.

The cryptocurrency market entered the new year of 2021 on a positive note and was driven by bullish trends. Bitcoin (BTC) reached over 68% of the total market dominance while reaching new highs and scoring the latest ATH of 41,000$. At the same time, Bitcoin got past the value of 20,000$ for the first time in the history of crypto and BTC, doubling the value in a month from that point. How are BNB, ICX, ADA, and NEO doing in the market in the past seven days?

Image credits: Cover photo taken from Naldz Graphics

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.

as always, the market newsletter is split into two parts: Bitcoin outlook by Joseph Young and on-chain analysis by Cole.

The market sentiment around Bitcoin is still overwhelmingly positive despite the abrupt overnight drop.

On Tuesday (January 5), Anthony Scaramucci, the White House Director of Communications, announced his hedge fund SkyBridge bought $300 million worth of Bitcoin from November to December 2020.

Institutions are continuing to show more interest in Bitcoin as an inflation hedge, and this is evident in the trading activity of key institutional trading platforms.

The open interest of the CME Bitcoin futures market remains the biggest in the world, surpassing Binance Futures and OKEx.

Grayscale now has $22.8 billion in assets under management, with $19.1 billion parked in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

Grayscale is an important gauge of the institutional interest in Bitcoin. Unlike Canada, there is no Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is the only alternative to a Bitcoin ETF that is available in the U.S.

Source: bybt.com

But, one flawed argument is that “institutions never sell” or “high net worth investors never sell.”

Bitcoin is up nearly 9-fold since the March crash and large investors who bought early on could take profit and rebalance their portfolios.

For example, DeVere Group CEO Nigel Green said he sold half of his Bitcoin holdings at $25,000.

Bitcoin sold off heavily yesterday and it dropped 16% in six hours.

Source: TradingView.com

Right before the drop, South Korea’s biggest exchange Bithumb saw a $100 million deposit.

I talked to several major fund managers in South Korea. They all agreed that it was probably a team of whales trying to arbitrage the Kimchi Premium.

Yesterday (January 4), Bitcoin was trading 5% higher in South Korea. Coincidentally, that is when $100 million was moved to Bithumb.

Bitcoin dropped quite hard down to $28,100 during the Asia session. But, as the U.S. came online, Bitcoin began to recover.

The Coinbase premium reappeared as Bitcoin began to recover, which is a good sign.

This means high-net-worth investors in the U.S. took advantage of the drop and began to buy Bitcoin.

I swing longed $29,113 yesterday, as I wrote on Twitter, but I closed it at $32,000.

Bitcoin’s fast recovery from $29,000 confirms that the momentum is too strong for a big correction to happen.

The Bitcoin futures market was very over-leveraged and overcrowded before the drop.

Now, the market is less overheated, as shown by the funding rates.

Source: Bybt.com

The Bitcoin futures funding rate is fee traders have to pay every 8 hours. If the market is dominated by longs or buyers, then buyers pay sellers a fee, and vice versa.

The funding rate normally averages at 0.01%. So the market is not as overheated as before.

So what do I see in the market?

Personally, I like to use 5-day, 10-day, and 20-day moving averages (MAs) on the 4-hour and daily candle chart to gauge market structure and momentum.

I think that Bitcoin has another go at the $34,300 resistance level eventually.

But, there is big selling pressure continuously coming from Asia. Hence, the range would likely be $29,500 to $34,300.

$34,300 is a resistance area because many sell orders are stacked up at that level.

Binance currently shows $34,300 to $34,500 as a big sell area.

Source: Material Indicators

Alex Wice: [Top trader on FTX leaderboard] shorted the top, said funding was too high. Probably closed.

Alex Wice @AWice

Ki Young Ju: [CryptoQuant CEO] “The bull market isn't over and the funding rate seems to return back. So I just bought more $BTC and $ETH.”

Kyle Davies: [Three Arrows Capital co-founder] “$ETH shorters will be fried into a fatty bacon”

Bitcoin Jack: [Predicted $4k bottom, called $19k rally] “Spot bid is back up - speculators shorting again Idk - wild dynamics We probably return back to 34K, flush everyone once more and then go on a mindblowing rally.”

CL: [High ranking trader on Binance Futures leaderboard] “20% move a day, keep the mental stability away.”

Theta Seek: [High-profile options trader] Predicted the top. Said “Taking most of the profits on ETH, BTC and other longs here. Local top IMO” on Jan 3.

Light: [Well-recognized large-size trader] “Reset derivatives premium”

The crypto market is entering an unprecedented growth phase, with Bitcoin leading the way as it plows through all supposed resistance levels and begins closing higher time-frame candles above key levels — like $30,000.

This growth is far different than that seen in year’s past, with a relative absence of retail mania signaling that individuals are not the main force backing this movement, but rather so-called “smart money” like institutions.

A dive into on-chain data supports this notion, and also provides some insights into the sustainability of this movement over several time frames.

As has been mentioned in previous editions of this newsletter, miners have immense influence over Bitcoin’s price action, making spikes in selling activity from these groups potentially dire for the cryptocurrency’s price action.

CryptoQuant data, however, shows that there have been no abnormal spikes in selling pressure from these groups. In fact, a closer look even shows a tempered decline from activity seen just a couple of months ago.

Source: CryptoQuant

The lack of any abnormally large spikes (which are typically seen once or twice each month) signals that miners aren’t too keen on offloading their BTC at the moment.

This is likely due to Bitcoin’s immense strength.

Whales naturally play a large role in guiding Bitcoin’s price action, and a look at the cryptocurrency’s Whale Map (courtesy of Whalemap.io) shows that BTC is currently trading at a pivotal price region.

The three short-term levels with significant whale activity are: $29,300, $32,200, and $32,900.

Source: Whalemap

BTC is currently trading between the latter two of these levels, making this a pivotal region that could offer serious insights into where the entire market will trend over a short to mid-term time frame.

As Bitcoin’s price swings grow wilder and wilder, the derivatives market is playing a heightened role in market movements.

This may be the primary cause behind the immense volatility seen as of late, with BTC seeing multi-thousand dollar price swings on a daily basis.

Data from CryptoQuant indicates that funding swings in both directions are now providing directionality for swings.

For instance, aggregate positive funding for long positions spiked to one-year highs yesterday right before Bitcoin’s price nuked below $30,000.

Source: CryptoQuant

Going forward, traders ought to watch for drastic funding swings for insights into short-term price movements.

About Us:

Joseph Young is a cryptocurrency analyst who has been in the space since 2014. He contributes to Forbes, CoinTelegraph, and a host of other top crypto news sites. Over his 6+ years in the space, he has built countless connections with industry leaders and has amassed over 100,000 followers on Twitter.

Nick Chong is a passionate crypto researcher who specializes in identifying and extracting conclusions from trends within the rapidly emerging DeFi-space. He has been involved in the crypto markets since 2016, and sources deals for a Vancouver-based crypto venture fund. 

Cole Petersen first learned about Bitcoin in 2013, and began working in the space in 2017. While on a gap year as a student at the University of California, Irvine, he now leads LINKPAD, a DAO-owned venture capital fund and does part-time work as an associate at BlockVenture.

Pepe of the Day:

Pepe the Frog has become the unofficial mascot of the crypto markets, so we feel it is only fitting to add a “Pepe of the Day” section highlighting only the finest and rarest Pepes.

Today’s featured Pepe: “The future of finance is run by green frogs and anime girls”

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to log in.

It look like I have to pay more attention to the funding rate levels, could have been a great short :) Always learning, great article guys!

Pundi X believes that the complexity of blockchain and the irrelevance of digital assets in real life keeps most people away from cryptocurrency. By allowing users to trade cryptos and pay with cryptos on phones and PoS devices, Pundi X reduces the complexity whilst increases the relevance. Effectively, it will bring more people into the world of cryptocurrency and thus will become more valuable itself.

After you register in NovaDAX, you can start to buy and sell Pundi X quickly and easily!

Decide the fiat or crypto currency amount your want to deposit, such as Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM), then go to the Deposit and Withdraw page in the main menu.

Follow the step by step to create a deposit order. For information about approval deadlines, CLICK HERE.

Click on the PRODUCTS option at top menu bar to trade Pundi X with EUR or Crypto-Crypto exchange.

photo creds: https://decrypto.netKorea’s ICO Ban: What It Means & How It Affects ICON x DeblocknaxyBlockedUnblockFollowFollowingFeb 8There have been many discussions expressing fear or concern regarding South Korea maintaining its stance on ICO bans due to results found in a survey conducted by South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service, and what it exactly it means for ICON.Why is South Korea Maintaining its ICO Ban Policy?In light of recent news of the South Korea government maintaining its current ban on all Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) from domestic companies, many will argue that this is not an ideal situation for the blockchain industry.So, why were ICOs banned in the first place in Korea? In short, ICO bans are a way for the government to protect investors from potential scams until a better framework for ICO regulations and policies are set in place.The reason why Korea is maintaining its ban on ICOs is due to the results of a survey conducted by South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of 22 local companies holding ICOs abroad. Majority of the companies surveyed failed to provide adequate transparency and would not disclose essential or accurate information for investors (company profile, business contents, financial statements, etc). Additionally, marketing materials and whitepaper in the Korean language were discovered indicating that companies were soliciting funds from Korean investors.South Korean Government Continued Support for BlockchainTwo important things to note that many people tend to forget:Not all companies, projects, and startups require ICOs to raise funds.Despite many people interpreting the ban on ICOs in Korea as the government being against the development of blockchain projects, an ICO ban is not a statement by the government on its stance on blockchain.From the same press release of the survey conducted by the FSS, the South Korean Government have multiple initiatives to expand its support for blockchain technology and startups:Expand the public pilot project from 6 in 2018 to 12 in 2019.Double the investment in blockchain research and developments.Provide tax benefits for blockchain research and developments.Vitalization of the blockchain industry by training 10,000 blockchain professionals by 2022.How Does Maintaining the ICO Ban in Korea Affect ICON x Deblock?Deblock, a VC firm and accelerator founded by ICON Foundation, mainly focuses on projects and teams based in Korea. With the results of the survey conducted by the FSS, one concern many people had was whether or not ICON or Deblock had any affiliations or involvement with any of the teams or projects that violated the prohibition of ICOs in Korea. Managing Partner of Deblock, 오현석 (Hyun Oh), was able to address this concern:“No, we have not involved ourselves with any teams that engaged in these types of practices.”While many see the ban on ICOs in Korea as something detrimental to the partnerships and relationships with ICON and the Korean government, Oh is more optimistic regarding the situation, and provides insight on Deblock’s future plans on working with the Korean government regarding blockchain startups in Korea.“Deblock is going to invest in blockchain startups, not just ICOs, and we are in the planning phase to set up an acceleration program in collaboration with a government acceleration entity to invest and accelerate early stage blockchain startups.”Although ICOs are still banned in Korea, DApps and other projects in Korea can still be built on the ICON platform without violating any laws. Security Token Offering (STO) also provides a possible legal alternative for blockchain companies to raise funds that is becoming evermore prevalent in not just Korea, but worldwide.It’s also reassuring that the ICON team seems to be well-aware of this shift in token offerings by providing support for STO as seen below in their roadmap:With STOs potentially becoming the new standard for fundraising, accelerator programs and partnerships spanning across the globe, Seoul Metropolitan Government and other government entities already applying loopchain, and general support for blockchain from the Korean government, ICON shows no signs of slowing down its growth of its ecosystem.

With the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, there’s also an increasing need for secure wallets. Storing your cryptocurrencies online may not be the best idea, however, hardware wallets are truly reliable when it comes to keeping huge amounts of crypto. That’s why this Ledger Nano X review might be exactly what you’re looking for. 

In this Ledger Nano X review, I will provide you with all the details regarding this hardware wallet, including information about the company, Ledger Nano X supported coins, pros and cons as well as additional details. 

By the end of this review, you should be able to decide whether or not the Ledger Nano X wallet is suitable for your needs. 

Without further ado, let’s jump into details about the company and Ledger wallet.

Verdict at a Glance: Ledger Nano X is the leading cryptocurrency hardware wallet in the market. It offers ultimate security, supports more than 1,100 cryptocurrencies, can be managed from your mobile device and offers a more comfortable design compared to the company’s previous version. Even though Ledger Nano X is relatively expensive, its new features are completely worth it. 

Ledger was founded back in 2014 by eight specialists that have expertise in cryptocurrencies, embedded security, entrepreneurship and other safety solutions for blockchain applications. Currently, the company has more than 130 employees in Paris, Vierzon and San Francisco. 

Interesting fact: Ledger is so popular that it has already sold more than 1 million devices. Impressive, right? 

Ledger wallet is highly recommended for people who are crazy about security. It’s so much more reliable than software wallets that are connected to the internet and can be hacked at any time. Being a cold wallet, all of the assets that are transferred to Ledger Nano X are held offline. I’ll get more into details when talking about security in this Ledger Nano X review. 

Let’s begin this Ledger Nano X review from the positive aspects. Make sure to consider each of them before making the final decision.

“Is the Ledger Nano X safe?” - that’s one of the main questions that cryptocurrency enthusiasts keep asking before purchasing this device. For this reason, I want to make this super clear once and for all. 

Ledger Nano X can provide you with ultimate security. It’s a hardware wallet (also known as a cold wallet), meaning that all of your Bitcoins, Litecoins and other altcoins will be securely stored offline. That being said, a hacker simply cannot access it online. 

Since only public data is transferred via Bluetooth and your private keys and seed never leave the device, there’s no reason to worry about that. The company highlights the fact that even if someone would hack Bluetooth connection, Ledger Nano X features Secure Element (SE) that would ask for your permission before making any changes.  

What is more, it’s important to mention in this Ledger Nano X review that the company developed a unique operative system called BOLOS that integrates a secure chip for the Ledger wallet line. Ledger is the only wallet in the market that offers such technology. 

Moreover, once you receive your Ledger Nano X device, you’ll have to create a pin code of at least 4 digits. Make sure to keep this code to yourself. In case you forget your pin, there’s a 24-word recovery phrase that you’ll be given in order to create a new pin. That being said, you shouldn’t be asking “is the Ledger Nano X safe?” because it’s one of the most secure cryptocurrency wallets in the market.

Now, since Ledger is a hardware wallet, it’s crucial to consider its protection against physical damage. The good news is that Ledger Nano X is made using the highest-quality materials that can protect the device from physical damage. Since the cover is made of stainless steel, it’s completely protected in case you drop it. 

Software wallets (also known as hot wallets) work entirely differently. They can usually be downloaded on desktop or mobile devices. Many people choose hot wallets because most of them are completely free (except for fees) and are super easy to use. In most cases, even people who are using them for the first time can figure things out.

However, what’s important to understand is that you should never keep huge amounts of cryptocurrencies in software wallets - a hacker can install malware into your device and infect it using a keylogger that allows stealing your wallet’s private keys and possessing your cryptocurrencies. Doesn’t sound too safe, am I right? 

Of course, I’m not saying that all software wallets are bad; they’re simply not as reliable as hardware options. That being said, you should only store an amount that you wouldn’t be too sad to lose in them. 

If you’re not into the mainstream cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, but rather prefer less popular options, it’s crucial to be aware of Ledger Nano X supported coins. After all, there’s no such device that would support all the existing cryptocurrencies. 

Ledger Nano X supports more than 1100 coins and tokens, including the most popular cryptocurrencies: 

Ledger also supports other, less popular altcoins, so even if you’re into less mainstream cryptocurrencies, I bet that you’ll be able to find your coin.

Appearance-wise Ledger Nano X is almost the same as the company’s first model - Ledger Nano S. The only few differences are that it’s slightly heavier and has a wider screen, however, you can still fit it in your hand easily. 

The navigation buttons are located next to the screen, just like in the previous model. If you want to press “enter”, just hold the two buttons together. 

All in all, it’s safe to say that Ledger Nano X design is more advanced compared to the S version. Since you have a bigger screen, it’s easier to see wallet addresses and all the other needed details. 

Moving further, if you want to connect Ledger Nano X to your computer, you can do that using USB-C cable, however, there’s also a possibility to use your wallet using a smartphone. The latter option is so much more comfortable as you can move your funds to the hardware wallet instantly. However, it might also raise some security concerns (due to Bluetooth connection) that I mentioned earlier in this Ledger Nano X review. 

Thus, Ledger Nano X comes with some truly amazing updates that make an entire process of using this hardware wallet way more enjoyable. 

Even though Ledger Nano X comes with some great features, there’s also something that you should take into consideration. 

When it comes to hardware wallets, one of the main problems is that you have to actually buy them. Even though their prices tend to vary, Ledger Nano X is one of the more expensive options. 

While the price is one of the main reasons why people choose software wallets (most of them are free), security should always come first when it comes to storing cryptocurrencies. Just imagine losing all the coins you store in your software wallet, just because you didn’t want to purchase a hardware wallet. ‎

I keep saying that Ledger Nano X is a new and improved wallet that can provide you with even more features, however, how is it different from the Ledger Nano S? 

For the sake of clarity, I would like to provide you with a quick comparison of these two devices. 

As you can see, there are a few main differences when it comes to Ledger wallets. Ledger Nano X can support up to 100 apps, has a bigger screen that improves usability, and provides Bluetooth compatibility that allows you to manage Ledger wallet from your mobile device. 

While Ledger Nano X is twice as expensive, it comes with features that are completely worth the price. 

Ledger Nano X comes with a package that contains 5 elements, including:

Even though further in this Ledger Nano X review you’ll find all the needed information on how to use the device, there’s always a starting leaflet that will guide you through the process. 

There are six steps to follow when setting up Ledger Nano X. 

Step 1: Get Ledger Live. 

When you'll download an app, add an account that will allow you to manage crypto. 

Step 2: Set up as a new device. 

To set up a new device, you need to turn it on first. Just press and hold the button next to the USB port until you see the Ledger logo. Once it’s done, you’ll need to read the on-screen instructions. You can proceed by pressing the right button and go back by pressing the left one. When you’ll see “Set up as a new device” on the screen, you need to press both buttons simultaneously. 

Step 3: Choose a PIN code.

After performing all the previous steps, it’s time to choose a PIN code. Simply press both buttons simultaneously until you see “Choose PIN code” on the screen.

Use any of the buttons to select a digit and press both buttons simultaneously to validate it. Your code should consist of 4-8 digits, so once you’re done, press “✓”. Re-enter the pin to confirm it. 

Step 4: Write down your 24-words recovery phrase.

After entering the pin code, you will see the recovery phrase on the screen. Since it will be provided only once, you have to make sure to write it down carefully. To begin, press both buttons and you’ll see word #1. Write it down and press the right button to move to word #2. Continue until you have all 24 words. Once again, press both buttons to proceed. 

Now, using the right and left buttons, you need to select the #1 recovery phrase. Continue until you confirm all 24 words. And, your device is ready! Press both buttons and access the Dashboard. 

Step 5: Install apps.

Once your device is ready, you can install applications on your device. To do that, simply go to the Ledger Live Manager and choose the needed apps. All of the most popular cryptocurrencies are available, you can find Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin and many other apps. 

Now you can access the Ledger dashboard.

To receive crypto assets, you first need to make sure that you have Ledger Live together with a created account as well as the needed app. For example, if you want to receive Ethereum, you need to install the Ethereum app. After it’s done, follow these steps: 

Step 1: Press the Transact tab that you can find at the bottom of the app. 

Step 2: Tap “Receive”.

Step 3: Choose the account to use.

Step 4: Confirm that the address that’s shown in Ledger Live matches the one that you can see on the device. 

Step 5: Copy the address and share it with a person that will send you funds. 

Even though we already figured out is Ledger Nano X wallet safe, you should still be careful and make sure that the address you share with other people is the same as it was provided initially.  

Before sending funds, you need to enter transaction details. Here’s a quick guide on how to do that: 

Step 1: Press on the Transact tab that you can find at the bottom of the app. 

Step 2: Tap “Send”.

Step 3: Choose the account that you want to send funds to. 

Step 4: Enter the recipient address. You can do that either manually or by tapping “Scan QR Code”. 

Step 5: Enter the amount that you want to send. 

Step 6: Press “Continue”.

After entering transaction details, you will need to verify and sign. Here’s how you can do that: 

Step 1: Check the transaction details and if they’re correct, tap “continue”. 

Step 2: Make sure that your device is turned on and unlocked and then select the Ledger Nano X to send with. 

Step 3: Open the crypto app and tap “continue”.

Step 4: Go through all transaction details and make sure they’re correct. Once you’re ready to verify it, press two buttons. 

Step 5: Your transaction is verified! 

It might seem slightly challenging to use this hardware wallet, however, if you followed this Ledger Nano X review that shouldn’t be an issue. 

Therefore, Ledger Nano X is one of the most reliable hardware wallets in the market. Since it’s a cold wallet and your private keys are held offline, hackers have no access to it.  

Moreover, compared to Ledger Nano S, the newer model provides better usability. Not only it allows you to use a mobile app to manage crypto assets, but also has a bigger screen that makes it more comfortable to navigate. 

When it comes to Ledger Nano X supported coins, the device is compatible with more than 1,100 cryptocurrencies. That being said, you’ll be able to store not only the most popular but also less known coins and tokens. 

I hope that this Ledger Nano S review was helpful and you manage to find all the information that you were looking for. Whatever you decide, always know that cold wallets can protect your cryptocurrencies best.  

Leave your genuine opinion & help thousands of people to choose the best crypto wallet. All reviews, either positive or negative, are accepted as long as they’re honest. We do not publish biased reviews or spam. So if you want to share your experience, opinion or give advice - the scene is yours!

Cryptocurrency contract trading has been around for almost a decade now, Litecoin being one of the top 7 ranking cryptocurrency can be traded using The Bityard contract trading, spot exchange and copy trade just like any other coin.

In this article, we answer questions on how Litecoin can be traded on Bityard contract trading, spot exchange as well as copy trading.

What is Litecoin?

Litecoin (LTC) is an open-source Decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that enables secured instant transaction with almost near-zero cost of payment, Litecoin is an early bitcoin spinoff (Altcoin), it’s considered to be an advanced form of Bitcoin with an average block-time of 2.5 minutes.

Litecoin was released by Charlie Lee (a former Google employee) on 7th October 2011 via an open-source client on GitHub, Litecoin is licensed under MIT License and uses the script based network algorithm in its proof-of-work.

From the onset of its release till date Litecoin has experienced a tremendous rise both in its price and in the total market cap, the price of Litecoin analysts have been estimated to surpass $500 before the end of 2022, thereby surpassing its all-time high (ATH). 

 LITECOIN PRICE STATISTICS

Litecoin         $146.40 (as of the time of writing this article)

Market Dominance                         0.95%

Market        #7

Market          $9,688,989,939.15

All Time High (Dec 19,2017)         $375.29      61.05%

All Time Low  (Jan 14,2015)       $1.11       13023.49%

Litecoin ROI          >

Circulating Supply                          66,289,591 LTC

Total          66,289,591 LTC

Maximum Supply                            84,000,000 LTC.

Website Litecoin Block query Explore

QUESTIONS/ANSWERS ON HOW TO TRADE LITECOIN ON BITYARD CONTRACT TRADING, SPOT EXCHANGE, AND COPY TRADING.

First of all, To proceed with any trading on Bityard you have to register using this Link this will take only 30 seconds.

What Is Bityard?

Bityard is a worldwide renowned cryptocurrency/Derivatives trading platform based in Singapore, they offer contract trading, spot exchange, and copy trade services for both cryptocurrency pairs and Derivatives. It provides a safe, simple, and very fast cryptocurrency trading environment and is available in more than 150 countries around the world.

REGULATION

Bityard offers a well-leveraged market for investors (up to x100) and is also fully regulated and compliant with international Laws.

What are the cryptocurrency pairs supported by Bityard?

Cryptocurrencies contract trading pairs supported by Bityard includes;

Bitcoin (BTC/USDT), Ethereum(ETH/USDT), Litecoin (LTC/USDT), Ripple(XRP/USDT), Dash (DASH/USDT), BitcoinCash (BCH/USDT), Chainlink (LINK/USDT), Ethereum Classic (ETC/USDT), Tron(TRX/USDT), Cardano(ADA/USDT), EOS(EOS/USDT), Cosmo Atom (ATOM/USDT), Polkadot (DOT/USDT), Kyber Network(KNC/USDT), Uniswap (UNI/USDT), Stellar Lumens (XLM/USDT), Ox (ZRX/USDT), Tezos (XTZ/USD), Basic Attention Token(BAT/USDT).

Derivatives contract trading offered by Bityard;

These include:

Natural Gas, Nasdaq 100, China A50, Silver, Crude Oil, Mini Dow, Gold, Copper, DAX, Nikkei225, Hang Seng.

What is Litecoin contract trading?

Litecoin Contract trading is a type of strategic trading whereby investors are allowed to trade in any direction of the cryptocurrency securities (Litecoin) in other make a profit based on the settled price difference between the opening and closing trade prices without actually holding the asset (Litecoin).

With these method investors tend to make more profit faster than when they actually hold the asset (Litecoin), investors are also hedged from the risk of possible devaluation of the cryptocurrency (Litecoin).

How to trade Litecoin on Bityard contract trading?

Firstly, Download The Bityard app, then register using the Link (less than 30 sec), you are now few steps away from trading the Litecoin/USDT pair (LTC/USDT) on Bityard contract trading.

The Bityard contract trading for Litecoin involves speculating the direction of the price movement of the LTC/USDT pair within an estimated period(customizable), thereby making profit based on the settled difference between the opening and closing prices of your initial entry without actually holding the Litecoin.

To be able to trade, following registration, the investor needs to make a deposit into their Bityard Accounts by;

NB; – Deposit the right cryptocurrency into its own address.

-Deposit addresses may change, so always confirm the deposit address on the deposit page before each deposit.

– All Deposits on Bityard are made using cryptos.

– Cryptocurrency deposit requires network node confirmation; Different currencies require different confirmation time (Normally 10-60 minutes).

After confirmation of deposit, investors can now trade LTC/USDT pairs using the following steps;

NB; this determines the quantity of Litecoin assets you can be allowed to buy or sell.

NB; This determines the quantity of Litecoin (Qty LTC) you want to buy or sell at the moment using XUSDT.

NB; To keep your order open, Tick the overnight toggle box.

                   TRADING RULES FOR LTCUSDT PAIR.

Trading hours      7x24hours

Leverage               5x – 50X

Holding Time       Permanent

Closing Time        Auto closing at 05:55:00 SGT.

Fees                      Trading fees calculation = Margin X Leverage X 0.05%

Overnight fee calculation = Margin X Leverage X 0.045%

NB; overnight fee is free at 05:55:00 SGT (within 12hrs).

NB; you can monitor your entry using the Live position, Trade History, pending order, and Transaction History at the bottom page.

Open trade TP&SL Ratio can be changed anytime, by clicking on the trade and then on the settings icon.

How to trade Litecoin on Spot Exchange.

Bityard also offers Litecoin Spot exchange to its users, this involves the immediate direct exchange of LTC (at its current market price) with another coin (usually USDT), The spot exchange is usually an instant trade.

The spot exchange option is not yet available for mobile users, Therefore mobile Users have to change their mobile browser into the Desktop version in other to make use of the spot exchange on Bityard.

NB; mobile users can change to the desktop version by (1). using a browser (chrome)and then (2) touching the browser option icon, after which you (3) click on the “Request Desktop site”.

Steps on how to trade Litecoin using spot exchange;

NB; To monitor your LTC Open orders, scroll down to the bottom page to your Open Order, Order History, Trade History, and Funds.

Open Orders can also be closed instantly by clicking on any of the Open Orders and then clicking on the close icon.

How to trade Litecoin using the Bityard Copy trade,

Copy trade is the latest development on Bityard platform, This allows users to automatically copy trades executed by other investors on Bityard financial market.

The main aim of this copy trading is to enable beginners or investors who are too occupied to be able to trade and make profits while paying a little percentage of the profit they have realized

from the trade to the investors there are coping from.

The following steps show how to trade Litecoin using the copy trade on Bityard;

NB; Traders can be filtered based on (1) Style, (2) P/L Ratio in 30Days, (3) trading days.

How to unfollow copied traders

You can unfollow traders by clicking on the traders’ edit icon, then click the unfollow icon (The same for both mobile and desktop users)

How is the copy traders paid?

The traders are paid at the end of the day, from the profit realized by the copier after copying from them based on the transaction fee they opt for in their copy trade account.

CONCLUSION;

Bityard is a highly regulated global renowned trading platform that offers a safe, simple, and very fast contract trading, spot exchange, and copy trade on both cryptocurrency and Derivatives.

The Bityard platform is very easy to use (User friendly and concise), giving most novice traders access to the crypto contract world.

Litecoin, one of the top 7 ranking cryptocurrency can be traded on Bityard using “The Bityard contract trading, spot exchange, and copy trade”, This enables investors to make more profit even in the slightest movement of the price (contract trading), or by the immediate exchange of Litecoin (at the current market price) to another coin within a given period of time (spot trading). These hedges investors from the risk of potential devaluation of Litecoin if they were actually in possession of the coin.

Bityard has also incorporated into their system “THE COPY TRADE” which is a groundbreaking innovation, as this shows that Bityard actually has its investors at heart, this will enable beginners or highly occupied investors to be able to trade and make a profit by copying from the professionals in the trading world.

Bityard has a wide reached coverage that includes over 150 countries around the world, they are highly regulated and also compliant with international laws.

Depositing and withdrawing from Bityard is made using cryptocurrencies and it’s also as simple as ABC.

For more info log on to Bityard (complex contract made simple and transparent)

Danal Fintech, a subsidiary of Danal, one of the largest payment companies in South Korea, today announced that they are joining the ICON blockchain ecosystem, the largest decentralized network in Korea by market capitalization. Danal Fintech will integrate ICON’s cryptocurrency ICX into Paycoin, its global payments and remittance app. This will allow Paycoin’s 750,000+ users to pay in ICX at any of Danal’s 60,000 merchant partners, including 7-Eleven, KFC, and Domino’s Pizza. “With PayPal recently announcing its plans to support cryptocurrencies, we’re starting to see major acceleration in crypto adoption by payment apps and fintech companies in Asia,” said Min Kim, ICON project Founder. “Now with Paycoin, it’s easier than ever for people to buy and spend their ICX at thousands of Danal’s merchant partners.” “Paycoin is one of the first virtual asset apps being used commercially in Korea and ICON is one of the largest blockchain projects in Korea. Through this partnership between the two projects, we expect to bring virtual assets one step closer to our daily life,” said Ted Hwang, CEO of Danal Fintech. “We will continue to expand business scope through various partnerships in the future.” Danal Fintech will also become an ICON Public Representative, or P-Rep, the title given to consensus and governance block validators on the ICON Network. P-Reps like Danal Fintech play key roles in the ICON Network such as block creation and verification, decision making on network policy, and expansion of the overall ICON ecosystem. P-Reps are elected by delegation of stake by the ICON community, and help keep the network stable with technical infrastructure support. Danal Fintech is part of Danal Co. Ltd, one of South Korea’s largest payment companies. Danal provides integrated payment solutions to its partners, from credit and debit cards to mobile billings and more. With more than 20 years in business, Danal accounts for half of the market share in mobile billings, equivalent to $5.5 billion USD annually. Danal Fintech focuses on blockchain-based payment solutions, and launched Paycoin in 2019 as one of the first apps for using virtual currencies in retail payments. Danal’s Paycoin app reduces intermediaries in existing payment processes, lowers transaction fees, and speeds up settlement cycles; all in a safe and convenient payment environment. The app makes it easy for ICX holders to spend their cryptocurrency at both online and offline retailers all over South Korea. Shortly after joining as a P-Rep, Danal Fintech will start the integration of ICX into the Paycoin payment application. At its completion, ICON users will be able to deposit and spend their ICX with the Paycoin app.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

In this lesson we will detail what a cash and carry trade is, and how a trader can use one to capture the difference between the spot price and the futures price of bitcoin. This type of trade is often referred to as basis trading.

If you have ever traded futures contracts, you will no doubt have noticed that they tend to trade at a slightly different price than spot markets. Although it is possible for the futures price to trade below the spot price (also known as backwardation), it is far more common for the futures to be trading at a price higher than the spot price (also known as contango). When the market is in contango, it is possible for a trader to capture this premium on the futures contract by executing a cash and carry trade.

In a cash and carry trade the trader will purchase the underlying asset (e.g. bitcoin) in a spot market. They will then short the same asset using a dated futures contract that is currently trading at a premium. This corresponding short position means there is no exposure to price movements in the underlying asset. All the trader then needs to do is wait for the difference between the spot price and futures price to decrease.

The big advantage the trader has when executing a cash and carry trade is the knowledge that the futures contract has a fixed expiry date, at which time the futures contract will be settled using the spot price (or some index that is an average of spot prices). So they know that by the expiry date at the latest, the premium of the futures contract will reach zero.

No trader can know for sure exactly what the price of an asset will be on any given date in the future, but they do know that the difference between the spot price and the futures price will tend towards zero as the time to expiry approaches zero. In fact it’s not uncommon for it to reach zero or close to it well before the expiry date, allowing the trader to book the profit early. More on that later.

The following chart displays the percentage premium of the Deribit December 2019 bitcoin futures contract (BTC-27DEC19) over spot prices. This chart shows the 6 months leading up to 27th December 2019, which is when the contract expired.

As you can see the premium moves around quite a bit over the life of the contract, but clearly tends towards zero as the days to expiry decreases. This is a very typical looking futures premium chart for bitcoin, so if you study other futures dates you will see similar behaviour.

The aim of a cash and carry trade is to open the trade when there is a nice premium on the futures contract (the peaks on the chart), wait until the premium decreases to zero, and then close it. In doing so, the trader will have captured the premium while never being exposed to price movements of the asset itself.

At time of writing, the BTC spot price on Coinbase was trading at around $8,800 while the June futures contract on Deribit was trading at around $9,190.

As you can see on the chart this results in a dollar premium of about $390 and a percentage premium of about 4.4%.

You can learn how to create these charts in this Deribit blog post.

So let’s look at an example of how to capture that premium.

The execution of a cash and carry trade is relatively simple but involves two separate transactions.

1) Purchase the underlying asset. 2) Short a futures contract for the same asset.

Here the trader purchases 1 bitcoin for $8,800 on the spot exchange. They then short the June futures contract on Deribit with a position size of 1 bitcoin, which on the June futures contract is $9,190.

All that remains is to wait for the difference between these two prices to decrease, then the trade can be closed for a profit. It doesn’t matter whether the underlying price goes up or down overall, just that the difference between the future price and spot price decreases.

Let’s assume the trader has waited a few weeks since opening the position, and the premium has now reduced to zero i.e. the June future price equals the spot price. The following chart displays the total value of the trader’s funds at the end of this trade in both USD and BTC, depending on what the underlying price of bitcoin is when the trade is closed.

The trader initially used their $8,800 to purchase 1 BTC. They then used this 1 BTC as collateral to open a short on the Deribit June future. As you can see on the chart, this results in the amount of BTC the trader has at the end of the trade varying according to where the price of bitcoin moves. If the price moves down, the short position will of course make a profit, and if the price moves up the short will make a loss.

Notice though that the total value when measured in USD is always $9,190 no matter where the price moves.

For example, if by the time the trader closes the positions, the BTC price is $5,000, then the futures short will have made a profit of 0.838 BTC (formula included below) resulting in a total balance of 1.838 BTC. As the BTC price is now $5,000, the trader can sell this 1.838 BTC for $9,190. This is calculated as 5000 * 1.838 = 9190.

If instead the BTC price had risen to $10,000 before the premium reaches zero, then the futures short will have made a loss of 0.081 BTC, resulting in a total balance of 0.919 BTC. As the BTC price is now $10,000, the trader can sell this 0.919 BTC for $9,190. This is calculated as 10000 * 0.919 = 9190.

PNL in BTC for the futures short can be calculated as:

(Entry Price / Exit Price -1) x Position Size in BTC

To open the trade, the trader used USD to purchase BTC, and they also shorted the BTC futures contract. Closing this position then, involves buying back the futures position, and selling all the remaining BTC back into USD.

In this example, the trader was short the futures contract on Deribit with a position size of $9,190, so they close this leg of the position by buying $9,190 of the same futures contract, reducing their position to zero.

Then they sell all the remaining BTC back into USD on a spot exchange. As we showed previously, as long as they close the cash and carry when the futures premium is at zero, the BTC will be worth exactly $9,190.

The trader began with $8,800, and no matter what price BTC moved to over the course of the trade, they are left with $9,190 at the end of it. They have therefore successfully captured the $390 premium, all while taking no directional risk.

There is very little risk involved in this kind of trade. Although you have purchased the asset, your short completely hedges this long exposure, so you’re not exposed to price movements. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that you do have at least some of your funds stored on an exchange to use as collateral for the futures short, so you do have some counterparty risk.

This is where leverage comes in handy. By utilising the leverage available you do not need to move 100% of the BTC onto Deribit to use as collateral for the futures short. You can store whatever you’re not using as collateral for the futures position in your own wallet. That does not mean it’s a good idea to open the short position using the maximum leverage available though, because you don’t want the liquidation price of your short to be too close to the current price.

The higher the percentage of your funds you keep on the exchange as collateral for the short, the higher your liquidation price will be. At the extreme if you place 100% of the funds on the exchange, you will have no liquidation price. For more on this see our lesson on “Hedging USD Value By Shorting 1x” here.

Placing just 33% of the funds on the exchange will still give you a liquidation price 50% higher than the current price. This should be plenty of room to give you time to deposit more of the funds if it becomes necessary, without having to have all your funds in someone else’s possession.

In our example the trader waited until the premium reached precisely zero, and indeed this is the simplest and most common way to execute these trades. This will happen at expiry regardless, but it is often not necessary to hold the position into expiry. Sometimes the premium of the futures contract over the spot price will move down to zero (or close to it) well before the expiry date, and even become negative on occasion, giving the opportunity for extra profit.

When the premium reaches zero well before expiry, the trader can close just as they would at expiry. Buy back the futures position and sell all the remaining BTC into USD.

When the futures premium becomes negative, this means the futures contract is trading at a discount i.e. the futures price is lower than the spot price. If a trader still has a cash and carry trade open, this is the perfect time to close it!

A great example of this occurred on 24th September 2019. The following is the price action (based on the close of 15 minute candles) of the Deribit December 2019 bitcoin futures contract (BTC-27DEC19) and the Deribit BTC-Perpetual.

As you can see, earlier in the day the futures contract was trading at a higher price, as usual. At a little after half past six the price of both instruments began to drop fast. Importantly for any traders with cash and carry trades already on, the futures price dropped several percent further than the perpetual and spot prices. This resulted in the following percentage premium/discount during that same time period:

This discount on the futures contract lasted quite a while, and so presented the perfect opportunity for any traders who were still in any cash and carry trades, to close them three months before the contract expired, and for several percent extra if timed well.

This type of quick change in the premium will typically happen when the price drops far and fast. You may wish to set alerts that let you know when this type of price action is occurring.

We mentioned earlier that to close the trade, you buy back the futures short position then sell all the remaining BTC back into USD. It’s worth mentioning though that if there is already another attractive cash and carry trade available on the next futures contract, you can instead skip out the selling it back into USD step, and open a new short on the next futures contract instead.

As the trading fees on derivatives exchanges tend to be lower than that of spot exchanges, and you will also avoid having to do any transfers/withdrawals, rolling the position to the next month will often work out cheaper than closing the position entirely.

Whether rolling it forward is attractive or not, will of course depend on what sort of percentage is available on the available futures contracts when you wish to close the current trade. You will also have to decide whether you want to tie up your funds for another few weeks or months.

This type of trade is capital intensive as you’re not using leverage (except to minimise counterparty risk), and the percentages you’re likely to make are far smaller than if you had instead made a correct prediction on price direction over the same time period. The trade off being that you can’t be ‘wrong’ about a cash and carry trade. The futures premium will eventually close even if you have to wait until expiry for it to happen. So in comparison it is an extremely low risk trade.

You’re effectively earning a few percent interest on your funds for the life of the trade, so to consider if the trade is worth it for you, you must consider the opportunity cost of having your capital tied up. For example, if you spot a cash and carry trade that is offering a 2% premium but the time to expiry is 9 months, you may be able to beat this by putting your capital to better use somewhere else.

We mentioned earlier how it wasn’t necessary to keep 100% of the funds on the exchange where you’re shorting the future. Using leverage allows you to keep the rest of the funds somewhere else, for example on a hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger. It is far preferable to keep the funds in your own wallet because you are in complete control of it at all times, and should you need to deposit any more of the funds to the exchange, you don’t have to wait for another exchange’s withdrawal processing times.

When using leverage, there is also a reason why Deribit specifically is a great platform to place this type of trade, and that is the trading bandwidth limits that Deribit uses. In short, the trading bandwidth limits stop any trades that are outside a certain percentage band around the mark price from executing. This greatly reduces the severity of any temporary spikes like liquidation or stop loss cascades, as it stops them from moving more than a certain distance from the mark price.

Not every exchange has this type of feature, and those that don’t represent a riskier proposition for using leverage. For example if your liquidation price is 50% above the current price, and you know the current trading bandwidth limit for the future on Deribit is say +/-8%, you know your position is safe even if there is a liquidation cascade on Deribit. As mentioned earlier though, this doesn’t mean using the absolute maximum leverage possible is wise. Give yourself some wiggle room.

Cash and carry trades are very simple, low risk trades, so as you would expect they usually offer relatively low percentage gains. However, while they are capital intensive, they are not time or effort intensive. With the help of alerts (or automation), you could spend as little as an hour per quarter actually executing this trade and still make a reasonable return, leaving you with plenty of time to spend doing other productive activities.

So if you tend to have any funds sitting around in fiat or stable coins for any length of time, you should consider adding cash and carry trades to your repertoire.

ARTICLE BY:

Cryptarbitrage

MrJozza

.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 :not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link) , .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 :not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):after {color: #15c8b1;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 :not(.fusion-rollover-title-link):not(.fusion-breadcrumb-link):hover, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 efore, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 fter {color: #1bcfbe;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 .pagination a.inactive:hover, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 .fusion-filters .fusion-filter.fusion-active a {border-color: #1bcfbe;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 .pagination .current {border-color: #1bcfbe; background-color: #1bcfbe;}.fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 .fusion-filters .fusion-filter.fusion-active a, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 .fusion-date-and-formats .fusion-format-box, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 .fusion-popover, .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 .tooltip-shortcode {color: #1bcfbe;}#main .fusion-fullwidth.fusion-builder-row-4 .post .blog-shortcode-post-title a:hover {color: #1bcfbe;}

EXPLORE DERIBIT TOOLS:

Deribit Position Builder Understand how multiple positions and the changing value of BTC or ETH could affect your portfolio.

Deribit Testnet Practice your trading and avoid risking real capital.

RECENT & RELATED ARTICLES:

The post Cash And Carry Trades appeared first on Deribit Insights.

>> View on Deribit

Join us on Telegram

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on Facebook