What is Maker (MKR) / Dai?
Maker (MKR) is a token that gives voting rights to the borrowing and lending system used to generate the decentralized stable coin Dai.
Stable Coins
Stable coins are cryptos meant to hold a stable value. They are generally pegged to $1 USD.
For example, Tether (USDT) and USDC are centralized cryptos whose value roughly mirrors the price of a dollar, while Dai is an attempt at a decentralized stable coin.
Some stable coins are backed by dollars like USDT and USDC, other stable coins use different mechanics to keep their peg (for example Dai is backed by crypto assets). Each stable coin is its own beast.
For exchanges that don’t deal in dollars, stable coins provide much needed liquidity and allow traders to go to a stable asset that mimics cash.
Details aside, suffice to say, in the volatile world of crypto, its nice to have some stability.
Rumors About Facebook WhatsApp Crypto Seem Legit
There have been a lot of rumors that Facebook is developing a cryptocurrency for WhatsApp (one of the world’s most popular messaging services globally).
JPMorgan is Creating a Cryptocurrency
JPMorgan is creating its own price-stable cryptocurrency (aka stablecoin) called JPM Coin for institutional customers.
How the Stable Coin Nubits Lost the 2018 Stable Coin Wars
2018 was the year of the stable coin. BTC and alts were out, price stable cryptos were in. That was great for almost all old and new stables alike… except for NuBits.
Facebook is Working on a WhatsApp Stablecoin
According to Bloomberg’s source Facebook is working on a stable coin for WhatsApp. The first focus will be on the remittances market in India.
Poloniex
Poloniex an exchange formally owned by Circle, is a global cryptocurrency exchange with a number of altcoin pairs.
Tether Struggles to Hold Peg After Becoming UnTethered
Although Tether mostly stabilized and nearly regained its $1 peg after becoming “untethered” on Oct 15 2018, it is still trading under $1. This has some notable implications.
A Recap of October 2018 So Far
A lot has happened in crypto in October 2018 despite the price of Bitcoin staying rather stagnant. Let’s do a quick review of October 2018 so far.
How to Short Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies
Those who think Bitcoin or an other cryptocurrency will go down, or want to hedge against a “long” position, can open a “short” position. Below we explain how to short Bitcoin and other cryptos.
Why Does Tether Tend to Get Printed Before Crypto Prices Go up?
Tether tends to get printed before crypto prices stabilize or go up. The simplest reason for this is because Tether acts as a dollar substitute, especially on exchanges that don’t use dollars, and prices go up when people buy crypto… especially with dollars / dollar substitutes.