In a social media post, Mark Karpelès, the former CEO of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, provided a status update on the recent situation. He assured followers that “everything is fine with MtGox” and revealed that the trustee is currently moving coins to a different wallet in preparation for a distribution that is expected […]
Bitcoin News
‘We Sold Everything Last Night’, Reveals Crypto Research Firm
Markus Thielen of 10x Research unveiled a significant shift in his crypto strategy in response to mounting financial pressures and market instability, as detailed in an investor note released earlier today. Thielen, an influential figure in the analysis sector, cited a concerning outlook on risk assets, which encompasses both technology stocks and cryptocurrencies, primarily driven by unanticipated and ongoing inflation rates.
According to projections from Bank of America, US CPI headline inflation is expected to reach 4.8% by the November 2024 election. Over the past three months, month-over-month CPI inflation has averaged 0.4%. An acceleration at this speed would mean the rate is more than twice the Federal Reserve’s inflation target of 2% by November.
Why 10x Research Sold (Almost) All Crypto And Risk Assets
In light of this, 10x Research’s decision to divest from risky assets was catalyzed by an adverse shift in economic indicators. Notably, the US bond market is currently projecting fewer than three Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, a significant adjustment from earlier more optimistic forecasts. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the majority of market participants now think that a rate cut by the Fed will not come before the mid-September FOMC meeting.
Additionally, the 10-year Treasury Yields have reached a peak of 4.61% this month, marking the highest rate since November 2023, further complicating the investment landscape for risk assets including technology stocks and cryptocurrencies.
“Our growing concern is that risk assets are teetering on the edge of a significant price correction,” Thielen stated in the note. “We sold all our tech stocks last night as the Nasdaq is trading very poorly and reacting to the higher bond yield. We only hold a few high-conviction crypto coins. Overall, we are bearish on risk assets.”
The bearish stance is further supported by the disappointing performance of US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs. Despite the SEC’s approval of nearly a dozen such ETFs in January, which initially spurred a surge in Bitcoin prices, the influx of capital has markedly slowed. This month, the five-day average net inflows into these ETFs plummeted to zero, a stark contrast to the nearly billion that flowed into these investment vehicles earlier in the year.
Thielen’s comments also touched on the broader implications of the upcoming Bitcoin network’s quadrennial halving, scheduled for April 20. This event will reduce the reward for mining a block of Bitcoin by 50%, from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. While such halvings have historically spurred bullish sentiment and price increases due to a perceived scarcity of Bitcoin, Thielen suggests that the current market conditions might dampen any potential rallies.
“It is essential to understand that trading is a continuous game with high-conviction opportunities. The key is to keep analyzing the markets and uncovering those opportunities when the odds are in your favor. There are times when we advocate for a total risk-on approach and when the priority is safeguarding your capital, enabling you to seize opportunities at lower levels,” Thielen stated.
In a notable exchange with Matthew Graham of Ryze Labs, Thielen defended his firm’s trading strategy amid criticism for what was described as erratic decision-making. Graham pointed to recent fluctuations in 10x Research’s stance on Bitcoin, citing a research note from early April that predicted a potential rally to ,000, followed by a more cautious view and the recent sell-off.
Thielen responded, “Actually, no. We have been cautious since March 8, and when the triangle breakout failed, we worked with the ,300 stop loss. This is simply risk-reward trading.” This defense highlights the volatile nature of crypto trading and the necessity for agile strategies in response to rapidly changing market conditions.
Thielen concluded, promising a strong re-entry into the market under more favorable conditions: “Will buy back with both hands at 52,000 – promise.”
At press time, BTC traded at ,045.
Bitwise CIO Predicts Bitcoin Bull Market Won’t End Early — Expects an ‘Everything Season’
The chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management has explained why the current bitcoin bull market differs from prior bull markets. He doesn’t expect the bull market or the alts season to “end early,” emphasizing that he expects to see “more of an ‘everything season,’” rather than a classic alts season. Bitwise’s CIO Predicts an […]
Bitcoin News
BlackRock’s XRP ETF Filing, Everything You Need To Know
Since Monday, discussions around the mysterious BlackRock XRP ETF filing that appeared in Delaware have dominated the crypto space. The news of the filing was initially debunked by Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas, but recent developments have raised suspicions that the filing was actually made by BlackRock.
BlackRock XRP ETF Could Be Filed By Anyone
One interesting revelation that has come from the BlackRock XRP ETF debacle is the fact that pretty much anyone can make an ETF Trust. Pro-XRP attorney Jeremy Hogan revealed this on X (formerly Twitter), saying that anyone could actually spoof an “XRP ETF” Trust.
Hogan explains that while the filing is real, it is fraudulent and could be cheaply made with just 0. Apparently, all that is needed for such a Trust to appear on the Delaware Corp. Commission website is to fill out two documents. These include the ‘State of Delaware Certificate of Trust’ and the ‘State of Delaware – Division of Corporations’ documents. Then once the 0 fee is paid, Hogan says the filing then gets “a ‘placeholder’ on the state website.”
The attorney reasons that whoever did this may have tried to replicate what happened when BlackRock filed for an Ethereum spot ETF. “criminal saw what happened with the Eth trust filing, files the XRP trust “filing,” buys 0k xrp on leverage, sells at 74 cents, and pockets 2-3 million dollars.” On the other end of this, Hogan also reasons that maybe “Blackrock has clients who want exposure to XRP and have begun the process.”
Details Of The ‘Fake’ ETF Filing
Another attorney, Fred Rispoli, also took to X (formerly Twitter) to give their own two cents on the BlackRock XRP ETF situation. Rispoli confirmed what Hogan said about anyone being able to fake such a filing and having it listed on the site. But other than that, the attorney went into the details of the filing.
The XRP Trust filing reportedly matches the BlackRock Ethereum ETF filing with the exception of the name being changed and the date of the filing being different. However, the XRP Trust has a different registered agent than the BlackRock Bitcoin Trust but shares the same one with the Ethereum Trust.
Rispoli adds that only the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin filing is currently listed on the SEC’s Edgar site, which is where filings with the regulator are listed. There is no trace of an iShares Ethereum and XRP Trust. “However, the Bitcoin Delaware filing preceded the SEC Registration statement by 7 days (6/8/23, 6/15/23),” the attorney said.
He also added that there were no trademarks filed by BlackRock for all its crypto trusts filed this year, including the Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP ones. However, this is not out of the ordinary since the asset manager does not trademark all of its products.
Finally, Rispoli explains that even if the BlackRock XRP Trust filing were true, it wouldn’t be the first one. That actually goes to Grayscale, which ran an XRP Trust between 2018 and 2021. However, the asset manager discontinued this trust after the SEC sued Ripple over alleged securities violations.
XRP Trust Filing Still Up
Even though Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas had said that an insider at BlackRock had denied that the asset manager filed the XRP Trust, the filing remained on the Delaware Corp. Commission website.
This raised skepticism among investors who began to speculate that maybe the asset manager may have made the filing after all. “If it was fake, it would’ve been delisted by now,” WhaleWire said on X.
It’s been over 6 hours, and the iShares $XRP Trust filing is still actively listed on the ICIS Delaware website. If it was fake, it would’ve been delisted by now.
Also, in order to apply, you must have TWO notorized witnesses & the Grantor MUST sign the documents, as well as… pic.twitter.com/Uup7wy0Xvp
— WhaleWire (@WhaleWire) November 13, 2023
At the time of this writing, there is still no official word from BlackRock on whether the filing is legit or not. However, Eric Balchunas has stated that a BlackRock spokesperson has confirmed the filing is fake.
Bank of Russia Digital Ruble Pilot Update: ‘Everything Going as Planned’
The Bank of Russia offered an update about the state of the digital ruble, the Russian central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is currently in a nationwide pilot. Elvira Nabiullina, governor of the Bank of Russia, stated that the pilot was “going as planned” and that more participants and use cases would be added next year.
Bank of Russia on Digital Ruble Pilot: ‘Everything Going as Planned’
The Bank of Russia has offered an update about the digital ruble and the pilot testing the functionalities of the Russian central bank digital currency (CBDC). During a forum, Bank of Russia governor Elvira Nabiullina explained the project was still ongoing and that the institution was getting feedback testing the various functionalities of this new currency.
Nabiullina stated:
We started the pilot project on the digital ruble with real operations and with real clients in August. Here everything is going as planned, we are testing operations, first of all the opening of wallets, transfers between citizens, [and] the payment of purchases via QR codes.
Furthermore, Nabiullina stressed the bank was watching the pilot results to determine which aspects needed to be fine-tuned.
Upcoming Pilot Expansion
Furthermore, Nabiullina gave information about the pilot extension for the upcoming year and how this expansion would be done. On this, she declared:
We are preparing to expand the project next year adding new participants, new clients, including transfers between legal entities.
Thirteen banks are involved in the current pilot, which includes activities in Moscow and ten more cities in Russia, with retail payments in Moscow’s subway, which has traditionally been a testing site for innovations.
Furthermore, while only 13 banks completed the necessary preparations and were approved to participate in this first phase, 16 more are to be included next year, according to the first deputy governor of the Bank of Russia, Olga Skorobogatova.
The idea of a digital ruble has been gaining traction, with more than half of all Russian citizens being open to storing some of their assets in the Russian CBDC, according to a recent poll ordered by the Russian SPB Exchange. Nonetheless, Only 2% of the users polled said they were ready to keep all their savings stored as digital rubles.
Skorobogatova and Nabiullina expect the digital ruble to reach mainstream adoption in Russia by 2025.
What do you think about the ongoing Russian digital ruble pilot? Tell us in the comments section below.
Bitcoin Price Trend At Stake: How September’s Close Could Change Everything
Renowned crypto analyst Rekt Capital has recently highlighted the pivotal nature of the Bitcoin price’s imminent monthly candle close. In a statement via X (formerly Twitter), he detailed that Bitcoin has tagged the ,000 monthly level from the underside, meaning it is acting as resistance for the time being.
He explained that “the upcoming monthly candle close is just around the corner. Bitcoin needs to monthly close above ,091 for this to be a fake-breakdown. Otherwise, the breakdown will be technically confirmed.”
To give this statement some historical context, the preceding month – August – saw a significant development for the flagship cryptocurrency. BTC registered a bearish monthly candle close, finishing below approximately ,150. This data point, according to Rekt Capital, effectively confirmed it as lost support.
Reflecting on this development at the time, the analyst had conveyed that it is possible BTC could surge to ,150, “maybe even upside wick beyond it this September. But that would likely be a relief rally to confirm 150 as new resistance before dropping into the ~000 region. 000 is the next major Monthly support now that ~150 has been lost.”
Is Bitcoin Following Historical Patterns?
Rekt Capital’s observations about Bitcoin aren’t made in isolation but are deeply rooted in Bitcoin’s historical price and cycle behaviors. Drawing parallels to previous patterns, he had previously shed light on Bitcoin’s tendencies around 200 days before a halving event.
“At this same point in the cycle (~200 days before the halving): In 2015, Bitcoin retraced -24% within a re-accumulation range, but price consolidated for months going into the halving. In 2019, Bitcoin retraced -37% as part of a downtrend that continued for months going into the halving.”
These historical retracements at a similar juncture have given rise to two essential insights, as stated by Rekt Capital. First, an immediate retracement has occurred at this same point in the cycle. Second, a repeated retrace of between -24% to -37% in 2023 would lead Bitcoin to retest its macro higher low, possibly pushing its price under the ,000 threshold.
The analyst didn’t stop there. Accentuating the ideal accumulation phases for investors, he noted, “The best time to accumulate Bitcoin was in late 2022 near the bear market bottom. The second best time to accumulate Bitcoin is upon a deeper retracement in the pre-halving period.”
Shifting the focus to potential future outcomes, Rekt Capital made an intriguing speculation about the potential of BTC’s price movement post-halving: “If ~000 was the top for 2023. Then the next time we see these prices will be months from now, just after the halving. Only difference between now and then? In this pre-halving period, BTC could still retrace from here. But after the halving, BTC would break out much higher from current prices.”
To summarize, the upcoming monthly candle close for Bitcoin could have profound implications for the asset’s short-to-mid-term trajectory. All eyes will now be on whether BTC manages to close above or below the critical ,150 mark – an indicator that could either confirm a technical breakdown or prevail over a historically untypical price rally.
At press time, BTC stood at ,687.
Twitter Gains Money Transmitter Licenses in Three States, Takes Steps Towards Becoming an All-in-One ‘Everything App’
Twitter made an announcement on July 5, revealing that it has been granted money transmitter licenses by three states: Missouri, Michigan, and New Hampshire. These licenses are a part of Twitter’s endeavor to secure money transmitter licenses in all 50 U.S. states. With these recent approvals, Twitter can now function as a payment provider within the three aforementioned states.
Twitter Secures Money Transmitter Licenses in Key States Amidst Meta’s Threads Launch Gathering 10 Million Users
The social media platform owned by Tesla’s Elon Musk has received three state money transmitter licenses, as stated in an announcement on Wednesday. Musk shared that Twitter aims to launch a payments system by the end of the year, following approvals from both the United States and international markets. These approvals were granted by Michigan, New Hampshire, and Missouri, enabling Twitter to operate as a payment provider in those specific regions.
In essence, a state-approved money transmitter license grants official authorization to an entity or individual to legally participate in the money transmission or payment instrument business. Twitter has the potential to explore various concepts such as issuing prepaid cards and providing remittance services involving foreign currencies. This strategic move is in line with Musk’s vision for “X” or the “Everything App,” as he previously stated in October that “Twitter is an accelerant to fulfilling the original X.com vision.”
The concept of the Everything App aims to become a comprehensive destination encompassing various functionalities such as social media, payments, news, messaging, and more, similar to China’s Wechat application. The state approvals for the money transmitter licenses arrive concurrently with Twitter’s implementation of rate limits on the platform. The recently imposed and controversial limits allow verified users to read up to 6,000 tweets per day, while unverified users are restricted to 600. Furthermore, new unverified users have a daily limit of 300 posts, and individuals who are not signed into Twitter are unable to access any tweets.
In addition, Meta’s Instagram has introduced a rival to Twitter known as Threads, and Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, asserts that 10 million users have already registered for the service. “It’ll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it,” stated Zuckerberg this week. “Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn’t nailed it. Hopefully, we will.” Meta has already secured Money Services Business (MSB) licenses in multiple U.S. states, commencing the process back in 2012.
What are your thoughts on Twitter’s push to become a payment provider and its ambition to evolve into an ‘Everything App’? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong: The SEC Told Us ‘Everything Other Than Bitcoin Is a Security’
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, explained how negotiations reached a standstill with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Armstrong detailed the changes in how the SEC approached securities regulation and how the exchange has tried to work with regulators since day one.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong on SEC Enforcement Actions: ‘Something Shifted About a Year Ago’
Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, one of the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges, explained the company’s journey before reaching a standstill in negotiations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Armstrong detailed the changes in the stance of the SEC regarding cryptocurrency enforcement and how the exchange finally came to face the government in court.
According to Armstrong, before the exchange was listed on Nasdaq in April 2021, the SEC reviewed its business model and greenlighted its application. Armstrong declared:
We go back to 2021, we wanted to become a public company, we described everything about our business, the assets that we list on our platform, how we do staking. The SEC at that point allowed us to become a public company.
However, things started to change. One of the first actions that Coinbase executed due to regulator feedback was the delisting of xrp from the exchange. Armstrong stated that, while the court case against Ripple is still pending, they wanted to collaborate with regulators and work with them.
About a year ago, “a totally different tone started to happen,” per Armstrong’s statements. He told the WSJ that:
We kind of got this information from the SEC that, well actually everything other than Bitcoin is a security. And we kind of said to ourselves well, that’s not our understanding of the law.
Possible Consequences of the SEC’s Actions
Armstrong commented that the company tried to work with the SEC, having more than 30 meetings with the organization during the last 12 months. While the SEC asked Coinbase “every question under the sun,” the exchange did not get regulatory clarity about how it could operate.
Armstrong stressed that the SEC’s strict and rigid posture is behind the current legal actions against the exchange, which Armstrong and many others believe are making crypto companies leave the U.S. On this, he stated:
The only sort of high-level statements they’ve made is that everything other than bitcoin is a security, which that’s not what it says in the law. That would also kind of mean the end of the crypto industry in the U.S.
What do you think about the statements of Coinbase’s CEO? Tell us in the comment section below.
Market Analyst Heralds the Collapse of ‘Everything,’ Calls for Hedging in Gold and Silver Before There Isn’t Any Left
Egon von Greyerz, market analyst and founder of Matterhorn Asset Management, is predicting the collapse of the central bank system in the next few years due to an increasing issuance of currency and debt. Von Greyerz states that in the face of an economy with no buyers, the only hedge will be tangible assets, including gold and silver.
The Collapse of ‘Everything’
Egon von Greyerz, the founder of Matterhorn Asset Management, has recently expressed his worries about the situation of the central banking system in an article titled “The Everything Collapse,” where he details how the economy could collapse in the coming years, calling for people to hedge their savings in gold and silver.
Von Greyerz states that the current macroeconomic problems are derived from the uncontrolled issuance of fiat money and debt, manipulated by the movements of central banks.
He believes that the 2008 market collapse, the subprime mortgage crisis, the wild swing in the rates of treasuries, and the inflation boom have all been produced by the current central banking system. Von Greyerz states:
The debt which has built up has now reached levels which means the financial system is now too big to survive.
Von Greyerz explains that central banks are vigilant to stop bank collapses, as evidenced by what already happened with Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. However, he believes the issued controls, like the insurance set by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures only 0.7% of the trillion in deposits, are posed to fail.
This means governments will have to start printing more money in order to save the system.
Gold and Silver: The Ultimate Hedge
In his article, Von Greyerz notes that all assets are priced at the margin, and while investors exit the stock market and other markets, like the real estate market, it is possible for assets to plunge by 70% or even to zero. He states:
If there is one seller and no buyer in the housing market, the price of all houses will go to zero. The same is true for the stock market. But as investors run for the exit, most will not get through since there will at some point be no buyers at any price.
In this hypothetical situation, Von Greyers recommends paying all debts in order to avoid suffering bank repossessions, and jumping to tangible assets. However, in the long run, he recommends a flight to safety by investing in precious metals like gold and silver, before the demands leave the current supply at zero. He concluded:
Currently, all production is absorbed and any increase in demand cannot be met by increased supply but only by much higher prices. We could reach a situation when there is no silver or gold available at any price.
What do you think about the potential collapse of the financial system discussed by Von Greyerz and the value of gold and silver as protection for investors? Tell us in the comments section below.
‘Self-Custody Should Mean the Ownership of Everything About You’ Says Sharering’s Tim Bos
According to Sharering, a blockchain-based platform enabling the creation and use of “self-sovereign” verifiable credentials, millions of potential world wide web users are still disconnected from the internet because they lack required or verifiable identities, among other things. Without such verifiable identities or credentials, many disadvantaged groups, including refugees, are thus precluded from accessing information from the web that may enhance their way of life.
Sharering on Proving ID Online
To help such disadvantaged groups overcome this challenge, tech entrepreneurs and blockchain startups like Sharering have proposed or created a technology that enables internet users to “prove who they claim to be online.” Known as self-sovereign digital identity, this technology also ensures that “individuals maintain control and security over their own data.”
While the technology is seemingly still in its infancy stages, a growing number of organizations including non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have fully embraced it. For instance, Unconnected.org, a United Kingdom-based social enterprise that “connects the unconnected” to the world wide web, recently said it had partnered with Sharering.
As explained in a recent press release, Unconnected.org, which is seeking to connect one billion people to the internet, believes that barriers which “add friction to the availability of data” can be overcome or resolved with self-sovereign digital identities which are verifiable.
Some critics have argued that such verifiable digital identities come with flaws or disadvantages that may nullify the perceived advantages. However, according to Tim Bos, the CEO of Sharering, through hard work and constant adjustments self-sovereign digital identities are ideal when seeking to verify online identities.
In written responses to questions sent by Bitcoin.com News via Telegram, Bos also offered his thoughts on what he thinks needs to be done to help regulators and governments understand what Sharering and others are trying to achieve with self-sovereign digital identities.
Below are Bos’ answers.
Bitcoin.com News (BCN): Sharering recently said it had become the official partner of unconnected.org, a social enterprise that seeks to “connect the unconnected” to the world wide web. The objective of this initiative is to connect 1 billion users to the internet. Can you tell our readers more about this partnership and why you support the goal to connect that many people?
Tim Bos (TB): I believe that everyone can agree to the fact that the internet is a realm of information that grows every day, serving people from all walks of life and connecting them to one another in a relatively frictionless way. However, as the web continues to evolve, so does the need for our digital identities, that is, how we are represented and recognized online.
Taking that statement into consideration, it was a natural response for us to reach out to unconnected.org, and support their organization. They have an ambitious mission to connect 1 billion users to the internet. However, most or if not all of these users are underserved, meaning they barely have the basic equipment to access the internet.
Sharering could potentially be that bridge between these underserved communities and their access to gated information and services online. Take refugees for example, their identities would be difficult to transfer from their country of origin, and thus they would require some form of identity infrastructure to assimilate into the new communities. This relationship with Unconnected.org ignites the conversations for exploring Sharering’s identity technology to bridge underserved communities to the web and establish recognition through their digital identities.
BCN: Supporters of self-sovereign digital identities often argue that self-custody of one’s identity is the future. What does self-custody in the digital identity realm mean, and do you foresee more people embracing self-sovereign digital identities in the future?
TB: There’s a lot of talk about people having self-custody of tokens, wallets, and things like that along with the usage of cold wallets, hot wallets, and so on. But we believe that self-custody should mean the ownership of everything about you. Your passport, your driver’s license, your medical certificates – all these documents that are used to create and build your digital identity.
We feel that society has gone too far in the direction of giving too much information about ourselves to large organizations. In doing so, we’re losing self-custody of our information. Over and over again, we’ve seen that information hacked or stolen and used for nefarious purposes.
BCN: As we have seen with crypto assets, how regulators understand or perceive blockchain-based self-sovereign digital identities may to some extent determine their fate. Therefore, what are you and other players in the digital identities space doing to ensure powerful organizations or individuals are fed the right information about your work and what you want to achieve?
TB: To start with, Sharering can’t do anything with anyone’s identity. One of our core values is to give users full control. Our mission statement is centered around removing friction from everyday interactions while enabling our users with a higher level of security, trust, and ownership of their information, so it’s not about us telling people what to do with their identities, but it’s about them controlling what they do with their identities.
We believe people should be able to access goods or services by sharing only a minimal amount of information. For example, when I sign up for a service, the website always asks for more information than what’s needed in order to provide me with that service. If it’s a service where I need to prove that I’m 18 or older, why do they need my full name, my address, my driver’s license, and my passport number?
What we believe is that we should be able to answer that simple question with “Yes, I’m over 18” without oversharing any other personal information. So users remain in control throughout the verification process, and anytime they share any information through Sharering technology, they’re always notified and asked before any information is actually shared, so they go into these processes understanding exactly what data or personal information they are sharing.
BCN: It has been said that self-sovereign digital identities not only add security and flexibility to users, but also allow them to share data only when they choose. However, critics point to the complex process of tracking personal data and permissions which may be beyond ordinary users. They insist that this and other cons outweigh the benefits of self-sovereign identities. What would be your response?
TB: We’ve started this journey with user experience at the core of everything we do. It’s taken a lot of hard work and a lot of testing to get to a point where we believe the solution that we have actually caters to the ordinary, everyday user.
When somebody needs to sign up for a service or prove something about themself, we ask a very simple question to them through the Sharering app, and they need to approve that request in order to answer the question. For example, do you want to send your date of birth to this company? Or do you want to tell this company that you’re over 18? All the user needs to do is put their thumb on the fingerprint reader on their mobile device in order to verify and approve the request.
We’ve seen a lot of blockchain-based, self-sovereign digital identity companies with systems that aren’t user-friendly. They assume users have a lot of existing knowledge and then users are required to set up a wallet, go through processes, and connect with things like Metamask. We want to remove those barriers. We want to make sure it’s easy for people. In fact, a new version of what we’re doing removes things like the recovery key, so you can sign up without having to think about a recovery key, and you just give your name and email address. There’s no need for a password; you just use your biometrics.
An exception is when you want to back up your Vault, at which point you’ll be asked to save and note down a recovery key. The identity part – where you scan documents to prove and verify your identity – you only need to do this the first time you use your digital identity. We call this the ‘adjusting time process,’ to make it easier for users to access the Sharering ecosystem since we’re removing this barrier from future data transactions.
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.