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Shapeshift Market Positioning
Swiss-based cryptocurrency exchange, Shapeshift, is putting itself in a position to capture market share in a specific niche of the new concept of international currency. Cryptocurrency is backed by notable advancements in payment technology but still lacks the endorsement of a credible entity such as a large corporation or government.
Nonetheless, the company has leaped a long way in the last couple years as it has secured nearly $12 million in its last 3 funding rounds. Nine unnamed investors contributed an astonishing $10.4 million in its most recent Series A funding round back in March of 2017. The company never disclosed its current valuation at the time.
KeepKey Acquisition
In August of 2017, the Seattle based hardware wallet provider was acquired by Swiss-based cryptocurrency exchange, KeepKey, in an all-cash deal estimated by analysts to be worth north of $1 million. As previously mentioned, KeepKey is a piece of hardware used for storing a multitude of cryptocurrencies from Bitcoin to Dogecoin.
The fact that KeepKey is now compatible with Shapeshift means that traders will be able to utilize a trading platform that can export coins to hardware wallets, remaining as the greatest benefit in the acquisition. The acquisition came at an imperative time; right before Bitcoin soared above $19,000. Furthermore, the company was a prime target for acquisition while Shapeshift’s desperate need for security persisted after the 2016 hack that resulted in the theft of $200,000. Other than security, the infamous exchange knew that its next step needs to be attacking its fee schedule.
Bitfract Acquisition
A little over a week ago, Shapeshift AG bought the tool Bitfract, known for its ability to swap currencies in seconds without charging erroneous fees. In just seconds, investors can swap their ‘no name’ coins worth pennies for Bitcoin, or vise versa. Fees on the Shapeshift exchange are said to begin to decrease dramatically as the company looks to provide more efficient solutions to its customers in a competitive landscape for self-made crypto brokers.
The sentiment around the exchange may vary depending on who you ask, as the exchange sits under fire from the world in aiding the process of money laundering. In the process, Shapeshift has created the single fastest digital asset exchange in the world.
Final Thoughts on Shapeshift
The old saying definitely sees fit: “If you can’t beat them, join [buy] them!”. Without these two additions, it would have been hard to predict that Shapeshift would have survived. Right now the company sits atop its latest $10 million funding round, deciding which direction it should move next. If the startup has any aspirations in becoming a top-notch exchange, it should begin by trying to win over the appeal of governments other than Switzerland.
There’s a case to be made that the advantage over using the newly revamped Shapeshift is that once a cryptocurrency is converted to Monero, it’s impossible to crack down on money laundering. If Shapeshift’s leader and CEO, Erik Voorhees wants to scale his technology, then he may want to go against the company’s core values by initiating ‘know your customer’ protocols.
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Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Global Coin Report and/or its affiliates, employees, writers, and subcontractors are cryptocurrency investors and from time to time may or may not have holdings in some of the coins or tokens they cover. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency and read our full disclaimer.
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Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 25th January, 2021, // ChainWire //
Xeno Holdings Limited (xno.live ), a blockchain solutions company based in Hong Kong, has announced the listing of its ecosystem utility token XNO on the ‘Bithumb Korea’ cryptocurrency exchange on January 21st 2021.
Xeno NFT Hub (market.xno.live ), developed by Xeno Holdings, enables easy minting of digital items into NFTs while also providing a marketplace where anyone can securely trade NFTs.
The Xeno NFT Hub project team includes former members of the technology project Yosemite X based in San Francisco and professionals such as Gabby Dizon who is a games industry expert and NFT space influencer based in Southeast Asia.
NFT(Non-Fungible Token) technology has recently gained huge focus in the blockchain arena and beyond, making waves in the online gaming sector, the art world, and the digital copyrights industry in recent years. The strongest feature of NFTs is that “NFTs are unique digital assets that cannot be replaced or forged”. Unlike fungible tokens such as Bitcoin or Ether, NFTs are not interchangeable for other tokens of the same type but instead each NFT has a unique value and specific information that cannot be replaced. This fact makes NFTs the perfect solution to record and prove ownership of digital and real-world items like works of art, game items, limited-edition collectibles, and more. One of the ways to have a successful…
2020 has been an incredible year for crypto as investors have generated windfall profits and crypto projects have seen their businesses gain the spotlight they’ve been looking for. While Bitcoin has received most of the attention after major institutional investors announced they were accumulating the increasingly scarce asset, many altcoins have also seen their fair share of glory. When looking at all the big winners of the past year, the first project that probably comes to mind is Chainlink, having appreciated by more than 550% YTD and now valued at over $4.5 billion. But, the actual biggest winner of the year is HEX with a YTD return of over 5,000%.
I mention both of the above projects as they have each taken slightly different paths to achieve greatness. Chainlink has devoted resources toward building a fundamentally sound business with many strategic partnerships while HEX has spent vast sums of money on marketing and promotion. Both approaches are valid, but one thing is certain, it is absolutely imperative for crypto projects to let the crypto community know what makes them special. Of course, one of the reasons that makes crypto so valuable is the powerful blockchain technology that most projects are utilizing.
Cryptocurrency vs. Blockchain Technology
It’s important to make a distinction between blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. Although they are often used interchangeably, they are different. Blockchain technology and crypto were both created after the 2008 financial crisis, but cryptocurrency…
Altcoins
XENO starts VIP NFT trading service and collaborates with contemporary artist Hiro Yamagata
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 24th December, 2020, // ChainWire //
The XENO NFT Hub (https://xno.live) will provide a crypto-powered digital items and collectables trading platform allowing users to create, buy, and sell NFTs. Additionally it will support auction based listings, governance and voting mechanisms, trade history tracking, user rating and other advanced features.
As a first step towards its fully comprehensive service, XENO NFT Hub launched a recent VIP service to select users and early adopters in December 2020 with plans for a full Public Beta to open in June 2021.
“NFTs are extremely flexible in their usage, from digital event tickets to artwork, and while NFTs have a very wide spectrum of uses and categories XENO will initially focus its partnership efforts and its own item curation on three primary areas: gaming, sports & entertainment, and collectibles.”, said XENO NFT Hub president Anthony Di Franco.
He also added “This does not mean we will prohibit other types of NFTs from our ecosystem However, it simply means that XENO’s efforts as a company will be targeted into these verticals initially as a cohesive business approach.”
Development and Procurement Lead, Gabby Dizon explained, “Despite our initial focus, we found ourselves with a unique opportunity to host some of the works of Mr. Hiro Yamagata. We are collaborating with Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata to enshrine some of his artwork into NFTs.”
Mr. Yamagata has…
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