From the miner exodus and the flippening question, to blockchain gaming and crypto tax law, to the federal election check: This is what awaits you in the new edition of the crypto compass.
Ethereum: The New Bitcoin?
When it comes to awareness and market capitalization, Bitcoin is still the undisputed top dog in the crypto forest. At the time of going to press, Bitcoin accounts for 42 percent of total market capitalization. In other words: Bitcoin dominance is 44.5 percent. However, a look at the development of Bitcoin dominance reveals a clear downward trend that began on January 1 – despite the all-time high that BTC set above USD 60,000 in April.
Conversely, this means that in the past few months the capital has mainly flowed into the altcoin sector. This is particularly impressive with Ethereum. The smart contract pioneer has been able to significantly increase its share of total market capitalization since the beginning of the year. At the time of writing, almost every fifth US dollar in the crypto space is invested in ETH: The ether “dominance” is 19 percent. Against the USD, ETH rose by a whopping 650 percent between August 26, 2020 and August 26, 2021, while ETH / BTC also rose by an impressive 100 percent. Because of this development, some market observers are already predicting the “flippening” of ETH and BTC.
In the Coin of the Month, Christopher Klee clarifies the chances of an accession to the throne.
Zora in the test – this is how you create your own Non-Fungible Token (NFT)
It is now clear – 2021 will be the year in which non-fungible tokens made their breakthrough. In 2020, the world’s largest NFT trading platform had a trading volume of just $ 24 million. Since the beginning of 2021, NFTs worth over one billion US dollars have been traded. The sector is currently in an exponential growth phase. Nevertheless, there are still large gaps in knowledge, especially with regard to the “mechanics” of the tokens.
If you’ve always wanted to know how to actually create an NFT yourself, then you shouldn’t miss the Zora review by Leon Waidmann.
Blockchain Gaming: The Gambling of the Future?
For a long time it was the same picture over and over again. Long queues with thousands upon thousands of people impatiently waiting to be admitted to the Cologne exhibition center – some of them even disguised as elves, magicians or Jedi knights. That was the usual picture when the largest video game fair in Europe – Gamescom – called gamblers from all over the world. In the two years before the pandemic, the organizers even reported new visitor records. 370,000 people made a pilgrimage to the Rhine metropolis to catch a glimpse of the latest video games and to try out one or the other title in advance.
As in other parts of the event industry, Gamescom had to contend with the aftermath of the virus. Last year, the decision was made to hold a digital event at short notice – this year too. The pandemic, on the other hand, did not affect the gaming market. In Germany alone, the Corona year 2020 meant a new sales record of 8.5 billion euros for the gaming industry – almost 2.1 billion more than in the previous year. It is hardly surprising that the blockchain gaming sector also benefits from these numbers.
Daniel Hoppmann will reveal for you which titles stand out in particular from the blockchain gaming landscape and anchor the technology in the video game industry in an innovative way.
Crypto Crime: Inside BMF – Crypto investors are threatened with tax disaster
In Germany, the blockchain and crypto-assets phenomena have so far not received an independent legal framework, but according to the BMF they are covered by tax law. The BMF takes the position that one is only interpreting an existing legal situation. The courts will have to decide whether this is the case. A ministry cannot play the role of legislator. In any case, the result is more than sobering. Impressed by the numerous statements from associations and practitioners, the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) promised to take a closer look at individual controversial topics such as airdrops or forks in the crypto tax draft. The direction is clear: The taxation of crypto currencies should reach a maximum.
In a guest article, tax lawyers Martin Figatowski and Thorsten Franke-Roericht explain what investors need to pay particular attention to when making their tax returns.
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