Yield farming, liquidity mining, and staking have become common practices in the crypto market due to the remarkable growth the DeFi ecosystem has witnessed in recent years. These features enable users to earn interest on their crypto holdings by locking them as deposits for specific periods. The concepts sound appealing but there's one big risk: the potential decline in the valuation of the locked assets. In other words, users will see losses in U.S. dollar terms if the asset's value drops during the lock-in period. These shortcomings have raised "reflection tokens" as a viable alternative. In theory, reflection tokenomics remove …

NBA Top Shot is a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace that enables basketball fans to buy, sell and trade NBA-themed digital collectibles. These collectibles are "Moments" — NFTs of NBA video clips and digital art — available per their degree of rarity. In other words, users can trade NFTs that feature anything from a winning three-pointe from Luka Dončić to a dunk from Lebron James, depending on their availability. The concept is akin to traditional sports collectible where fans attempt to acquire the rarest of items associated with teams, with an aim to either collect or sell it later at a …

On Dec. 2, independent market analyst Stockmoney Lizards said Bitcoin (BTC) had entered the process of bottoming out inside its current $15,500-$18,000 price range, citing Wyckoff Accumulation. Wyckoff Accumulation is a classic technical analysis setup, named after Richard Wyckoff, a technical analysis pioneer in the first half of the twentieth century, who broke down the market cycle into four distinct phases. But is Wyckoff a reliable pattern, particularly for trading cryptocurrency? Let's find o. What is Wyckoff accumulation? Wyckoff accumulation is one of the four phases listed in the Wyckoff market cycle theory, with the other three being markup, distribution …

Cointelegraph’s director of video production Jackson DuMont dissected stablecoins in the latest episode of Cryptopedia. DuMont also explored and explained algorithmic stablecoins and the recent incident involving the TerraUSD (UST) and why it was unable to maintain its dollar peg. DuMont defined stablecoins as “a crypto whose value is tied to an outside asset such as the United States Dollar (USD).” According to DuMont, stablecoins are very vital to the crypto industry as they provide users with the ability to store their assets without worrying about the depreciation of the assets’ value. This function is useful in bear markets where …

Cointelegraph's Jackson DuMont tackles smart contracts in the latest episode of Cryptopedia. He explains how smart contracts work from the basics and provides examples of how they can be utilized in real-world scenarios. DuMont describes smart contracts as code within the blockchain that "execute when specific conditions are met." They are self-executing contracts built on blockchain technology and have the power to complete transactions without middlemen. As an example, DuMont explained the difference between transacting in a centralized exchange like Binance and doing the same transactions with a decentralized exchange (DEX) like Uniswap, which is powered by smart contracts. With …

The highly anticipated nonfungible token (NFT) project Akutars was marred by both an exploit and a bug on the weekend, causing over 11,500 Ether (ETH), worth nearly $33 million, to be locked forever within a smart contract, inaccessible even to the development team. The exploit, however, was conducted by someone trying to show a vulnerability in the project and not steal funds via a hack. The project went live on Friday with a Dutch Auction, a type of auction where the price lowers until it receives a bid, with the first bid winning the sale as long as the price …

In the newest episode of Cryptopedia, Cointelegraph's Jackson DuMont dissects Web3 and gives an insightful overview of how the next generation of the internet works. DuMont discusses the basics of Web3 and how it’s different from its predecessors Web1 and Web2. Web1 was the first version of the internet that occurred from 1991 to 2003. It involved static and read-only HTML web pages with simple design, and DuMont described Web1 users as only "consumers of content." On the other hand, Web2 brought innovations like images, videos, applications, games and ads. The second iteration of the internet relied on the exchange …

In the latest Cryptopedia episode, viewers can get a succinct and informative overview of decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs. Cointelegraph's Jackson DuMont believes DAOs have the power to "completely transform how work and social collaboration are organized." What makes this type of organization both decentralized and autonomous? The answer is smart contracts on the blockchain. Fundamentally, a DAO runs on the lines of computer code written on smart contracts that anyone can interacted with in the same way. DuMont described the three major steps necessary to launch a DAO. The first step is creating that smart contract. The second step …

Cointelegraph's Jackson DuMont, Director of video, tackles the topic of the "next big thing:" the Metaverse. He explains the who, what, why behind the Metaverse and deep dives into how its blockchain technology has the potential to alter the online lives of internet users. The term was originally coined by Neil Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash. Although not a new concept, recent increased activity and developments within the collaborative virtual spaces have turned it into a new economic virtual realm that rivals the current physical economy. "The metaverse is exactly like the current version of the internet," but …

How popular are trading bots in the crypto market right now? According to TradeSanta, demand for trading bots has increased substantially of late. The latest figures from the platform’s website suggest that it now has more than 100,000 active users, and over 3,200 active trading bots. More than 3.8 million deals have also been completed since the software launched. A range of technical indicators are provided by TradeSanta, and the software also allows large volumes of crypto to be bought and sold without causing prices to spike or drop. Trading bots can also be launched in just five minutes using …

What are the risks and limitations of AMMs? Bugs, improper pricing and impermanent loss Despite some positive qualities, AMMs present certain risks and limitations. Hacks and vulnerabilities have already affected exchanges such as Uniswap and Balancer, where some liquidity providers saw their money stolen due to complex smart contract interactions. On the other hand, traders are exposing their strategy for the world to see, enabling front-runners to get their orders in first and exploit legitimate users. Related: Figuring Out Who’s to Blame for DeFi’s Persistent Security Issues Automated market makers also cannot exist without traditional order book exchanges being relied …