research

Research report - employment trends in the digital asset industry commissioned by the Blockchain Association
The Digital Asset Human Capital Trends Report was commissioned by the Blockchain Association, an association of industry leaders advocating for the innovation and collaboration necessary to support American leadership of the digital assets industry. Read the brief here. For the avoidance of doubt, the firms included in the sample were independent of the Blockchain Association’s […]
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Jan 23, 2020, 3:22PM UTC

12 percent of America's 100 biggest charity organizations accept bitcoin
Relatively few of the United States’ biggest charities currently accept bitcoin, new research data shows. The Block’s research team found that 12% of America’s top 100 charities of 2019 accept bitcoin donations. And many of those donations are being routed through a popular payment processor, BitPay. Over 90% of these charities accept bitcoins through third-party […]
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Jan 11, 2020, 5:43PM UTC

North America saw the most crypto and blockchain investment in 2019
The Block Genesis published an overview of industry investment activity for the 2019 period this week, finding that a staggering majority of it occurred in Asia, North America and Europe. As shown in the graph below, these regions saw activity dwarfed the number of developments in Oceania, South America and Africa, which were also surveyed […]
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Jan 4, 2020, 5:50PM UTC

Analyst Conference Call | October 2019 Research Report
The Block research team will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time / 1:30 p.m. Pacific time, Nov. 21, 2019, to discuss the Genesis October report. The conference call is exclusive to Genesis members. A transcript will be available on the Genesis website the following day. If you are interested in participating, reach […]
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Nov 20, 2019, 4:00PM UTC

Genesis Research Report | October 2019 | Unlocked By Lukka
The Block’s monthly Genesis Research Report, a compilation of the prior month’s most relevant research and analysis accompanied by new insights from the research team, has been unlocked by Lukka. The Block research team will host a conference call at 4:30 pm Eastern time / 1:30 pm Pacific time, November 21, 2019, to discuss the […]
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Nov 15, 2019, 12:50PM UTC

Data suggests mass adoption of NFTs is still a long way off
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokenized, blockchain-based provably scarce, non-divisible collectible items. The first well-received game utilizing NFTs, CryptoKitties, boomed in popularity at the end of 2017. At its (short-lived) peak, CryptoKitties consumed around 15% of Ethereum and drove the median transaction fees to upwards of $3 — more than 20 times the current median fee. Source: DappRadar […]
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Sep 12, 2019, 3:00PM UTC

Analysis: Is bitcoin a ‘safe-haven’ asset during capital market turmoil?
Bitcoin enthusiasts insist on calling the cryptocurrency a “safe-haven” asset. But is that the case? All signs point to no, according to analysis from The Block’s research analyst Ryan Todd. Safe-haven assets are those that investors flee into during times of economic turmoil. Typically, those assets are less risky. Looking at the volatility of perceived safe […]
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Aug 20, 2019, 12:12PM UTC

BlockFi clinches $18.3M Series A led by fintech investor
BlockFi, the cryptocurrency lending company, has secured an additional $18.3 million in venture capital funding as the firm eyes an international expansion and the roll-out of new financial products.  The firm’s Series A included a number a previous investors, including Morgan Creek, Galaxy Digital, and Fidelity, but is being led by a new investor, Valar […]
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Aug 6, 2019, 12:35PM UTC

Blockchain analytics startup Elliptic, MIT researchers collaborate to detect money laundering in bitcoin using machine learning
Bitcoin’s association with illicit activities like drug trafficking and hacks is often brought up by critics, but detecting such activities in Bitcoin is much easier compared to physical cash because of its transparent and pseudo-anonymous nature.  Now, blockchain analytics startup Elliptic has partnered with researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and tech giant IBM […]
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Aug 2, 2019, 1:00PM UTC

Crypto exchanges and the America problem: Is a check-box enough?
Disclaimer: This essay is provided for educational purposes only. It is not intended or offered as legal advice. If you need legal advice, hire a lawyer! Also, these are my opinions only, and aren’t authorized by any past, present or future employer. Also, I might change my mind. I contain multitudes. If you’ve been following […]
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Jul 30, 2019, 5:16PM UTC

Lolli looks to add lending, could eventually issue credit cards
Crypto e-commerce platform Lolli has said lending is in the works, and could be on-boarded in the next few months, Lolli CEO Alex Adelman on a forthcoming episode of The Block’s ‘The Scoop.’ Adelman said lending is important to the understanding of bitcoin itself. His platform allows users to gain bitcoin rewards for shopping at […]
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Jul 24, 2019, 4:26PM UTC

Ray Dalio's new research note urges investors to find the 'next best storehold of wealth' when central banks devalue the fiat system
  Ray Dalio, billionaire investor and co-chairman of Bridgewater Associates, called on investors in a research note to prepare portfolios for the coming transition out of this decade’s central bank-led reflationary environment into a future met with unsustainably large liabilities and rising social and geopolitical tensions.    The note, titled Paradigm Shifts, is a summation of […]
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Jul 18, 2019, 12:00AM UTC

Blockchain job offerings growing consistently, research shows
In the first five months of 2019, there were almost as many blockchain job listings as for all of 2018, TeQatlas research has shown. The company has analysed the data on open vacancies for blockchain-related positions, looking into disclosed salaries. It also provided the list of the top-15 blockchain employers, with IMB grabbing first place […]
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Jul 9, 2019, 8:00PM UTC

US social media users unlikely to use Libra, survey shows
U.S. social media users say they are unlikely to use Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra, according to the research by financial services company Jefferies. More than 600 people have taken part in the survey, and four in five respondents said they were “Unlikely” or “Very unlikely” to buy the cryptocurrency. The survey respondents have pointed towards a […]
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Jul 1, 2019, 8:15PM UTC

Coinbase data shows Americans are Googling Bitcoin. A lot.
A new report from Coinbase shows Americans have Bitcoin on the brain, whether or not they’re invested. The term dominated Google searches, surpassing “royal wedding” and “election results,” as well as exceeding searches for Kim Kardashian three-fold in December, according to research conducted by YouGov. Coinbase said this indicates Bitcoin is headed to the mainstream […]
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Jun 28, 2019, 11:24PM UTC

Less than a third of stablecoin projects are live, research shows
Only 30 per cent of announced stablecoin projects are live, with the rest in development or already closed, research from blockchain analytics firm Blockdata shows. A great majority of stablecoins—65 per cent—are backed off-chain, either by fiat currencies or commodities.  With only 66 out of 226 stablecoins live, there are more than twice as many […]
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Jun 28, 2019, 6:45PM UTC

Casa and BlockFi enter into a new partnership; promotes access to crypto financial services with custody solutions
Custody startup Casa won’t provide financial products, but it’s now incentivizing those interested in crypto-backed loans and interest products to work with BlockFi. The custody service provider is partnering to offer membership benefits to customers, but keeping a wall between them and the lender. Those who are Casa members and utilize BlockFi can claim an […]
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Jun 26, 2019, 3:45PM UTC

Coin Metrics report: Blockchain activity shows Kik's claim that Kin is more widely used than Bitcoin or Ethereum is inaccurate
Cryptoasset data provider Coin Metrics has released a report showing Kik’s claims about its level of blockchain activity and adoption rates for its cryptocurrency Kin are inaccurate. The report, titled: “An Analysis of Kin’s On-Chain Activity” was released today. It analyzed Kin’s blockchain activity to address two specific claims made by Kik on its usage: […]
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Jun 24, 2019, 3:22PM UTC

Tax havens: A macro outlook at Bitcoin and how it could facilitate offshore banking services
Bitcoin. The word means many different things to many different people. As the world’s first and foremost decentralized digital currency, Bitcoin attempts to throw a wrench into the traditional monetary system. Here we will discuss the possibility that parallels exist between traditional tax havens used by the wealthy and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Estimates on the […]
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Jun 21, 2019, 10:01PM UTC