What is it?

Kava SAFU Fund is an on-chain community pool that will increase the overall safety of the Kava platform by protecting against unforeseeable black swan events while giving users assurity that their funds are safe. The Kava SAFU community pool’s main function is to make users whole after events like unforeseen bugs, exploits, hacks, liquidation failures or other technical issues that result in lost user funds.

These types of events haven’t happened on the Kava platform because of Kava’s architecture, robust testing, audits, and market monitor infrastructure. Now Kava is introducing the latest component in its security and reliability infrastructure; the Kava SAFU Fund. Designed to counter the unique threat of black swan events.

The Kava SAFU Fund will be created through a one-off inflationary event where 10% of Kava’s current token supply will be minted and held within the Kava SAFU Fund.

“Over the long run, the creation of the Kava SAFU fund is a net positive for the overall DeFi ecosystem. By giving assurance on compensation in the case of a black swan event helps instill further confidence for Kava’s DeFi platform.” — Michael Ng, Co-founder of StakeWith.Us

Motivations

Now that the Kava platform has grown to hundreds of thousands of users and has hundreds of millions of dollars in collateral deposits, Kava Labs as a centralized entity cannot and should not take responsibility for unforeseen events for following reasons:

1. As a US company, we must collect KYC/AML and run OFAC checks before transferring funds to any users. Even if we wanted to, due to regulations we cannot send funds to many users around the world. In the spirit of creating an open and decentralized platform for anyone, anywhere in the world to use, the Kava platform needs to have an on-chain way to make users whole in the event of loss that is free of censorship and regulation.
2. Collecting KYC/AML of all the users on the Kava platform is the opposite of what DeFi is all about. Kava Labs would have to do exactly this if a global black swan event occurs that impacted funds across all users on the Kava platform.
3. Now that the collateral deposits are hundreds of millions of dollars in size, it’s simply not possible for Kava Labs to play a role in making users whole in black swan events. The Kava platform network needs a better solution that can scale with its increasing size.

Historical Context and Comparables

Inspiration for the Kava SAFU Fund comes from traditional finance where margin trading platforms have a rainy day fund to cover losses. In crypto, we have several notable examples with Bitmex’s Insurance Fund that ensures liquidations of margin positions go smoothly and Binance’s all purpose SAFU Fund which has been used to make users whole after serious hacks and exploits have occurred.

More recently, the Cosmos Hub has adopted a community pool which has several purposes, including that of being a SAFU fund for users. Similarly other Cosmos-SDK based blockchains like Akash and Terra have adopted different forms of community pools.

Qualification for Covered Incidents

Many events can impact user funds. Events like upgrade errors, defaults, and critical bugs that result in lost funds will qualify to be reimbursed by the Kava SAFU Fund subject to governance approval. Below is a example non-exhaustive list for illustrative purposes of the type of events which may impact users funds and may be covered by the Kava SAFU fund, however it is critical to note that any and all actions taken on behalf of the Kava SAFU fund is made by the Kava governance community alone.

• Network downtime resulting in loss of users funds (e.g. via inability to re-supply)
• Critical network bugs which result in loss of users funds (e.g. inaccurate accumulation of interest)
• Critical network exploits which result in loss of users funds (e.g. exploited vulnerabilities in business logic)
• Critical cross-chain software bugs or exploits which result in loss of user funds (e.g. cross-chain double spends or multi-sig wallet compromise)
• Critical bugs or exploits in auxiliary network services (e.g. oracle software exploits)
• Market manipulation which results in loss of user funds (e.g. driving massive liquidations by manipulating price feed or associated reference market price)
• Application service defaults in the event of massive liquidation events (e.g. under-collateralization of Kava of Hard application services resulting from system debt not being met at auction)
• Network upgrade critical bugs which may result in loss of users funds
• Network upgrade rollback procedures which may result in loss of users funds

The Funding the Pool

There are many ways to fund the pool, including a one-off inflationary event or a continuous inflation schedule which adds to the pool overtime.

For the purposes of providing an adequate SAFU Fund for the current levels of collateral and debt managed by the Kava platform, 10% of total Kava supply should be created in a one-off inflationary event and put towards the Kava SAFU Fund initially. This will be more than adequate for the foreseeable future.

Should the platform grow orders of magnitude larger or if Kava SAFU Funds are disbursed after an event, it will be up to the Kava governance community to decide how to ensure the Kava SAFU Fund is appropriately re-capitalized from that point forward. This can occur from a redirecting of various platform fees, another one-time inflationary event, or a continuous inflation contribution to the Kava SAFU Fund going forward.

It’s great that we’re implementing an insurance pool. Binance SAFU fund has helped Binance users immensely in the past and also served as a safeguard for PR damages.

The initial one-off inflationary event seems reasonable given that we’d need significant time for the SAFU fund to be filled should we allocate a proportion of the network inflation to the pool instead. — David Park, CMO of Cosmostation

Usage and Disbursement of Pool

It will ultimately be up to the Kava token holder group to vote on each SAFU-spend proposal/request and determine if the case qualifies for distribution.

If a SAFU-spend proposal passes successfully, the number of KAVA encoded in the proposal will be transferred from the Kava SAFU Fund to the address encoded in the proposal, and this will happen immediately after the voting period ends.

“In a world overrun by hacks, exploits, and rug pulls, Kava by contrast is quickly becoming the most trusted platform by exchanges, institutions, and crypto applications around the world thanks to its robust security and safety practices. The Kava SAFU Fund will further position Kava’s DeFi platform as the most trustworthy solution in the emerging DeFi space as it gives further assurance that user’s assets are safe even in unforeseen black swan type events.” — Brian Kerr, CEO of Kava Labs

Source: https://medium.com/kava-labs/introducing-the-kava-safu-fund-security-of-assets-fund-for-users-bd8a7005a28f

Despite the fact that governments have been kept out of Bitcoin since its inception– they can still influence prices.

For many investors, Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies signify a highly speculative asset that can not only provide exceptional ROI, but also allow the opportunity for investors of any level to hone their skills at trading. Trading opportunities continue to grow, as DeFi continues to pave the way for institutional interest, while retail and new investor friendly exchanges like Bitvavo.com allow space for nascent parties

For any investor, with any level of expertise and with any amount of investment will need to keep a keen eye on market happenings, as the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is known for wild swings in either direction, with one of the biggest influencers being that of governments. Despite the fact they have little control over how the coin is priced or distributed.

Crypto Steers Clear of Politics

Despite cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin being built in such a way that they defy political and regulatory manipulation, prices still tend to correlate with certain political moves. Bitcoin price is based on the economic principle of “artificial scarcity”, which means that the supply of Bitcoin is strictly regulated. There are 21 million Bitcoins in existence and more can never be made. The release of the coins is also regulated by the mining process– as transactions are validated, Bitcoins are released as a reward for adding transactions to the public ledger, the blockchain.

Because of this tight control of supply and release, it is impossible for political interference to directly affect the price of the asset. This was in-built into the original design of the coin by its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. In the original whitepaper, Nakamoto alludes to the fact that centralized currencies are subject to nefarious manipulation by issuing agencies. Something that Nakamoto aimed to avoid by using cryptocurrencies as a more democratized option for financial engagement.

The decentralized nature of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies assures that no one hub of power would ever function as a gatekeeper for the networks. The decentralized network remains as such due to the validation method described above. Decentralization means that not only can there be no political influence on the coin, but that no one can interfere with the distribution or function of the coin. However, there are still many social and political occurrences that do influence the price of cryptocurrencies.

How Crypto Markets Still Correlate with Political Climate

Despite the fact that government agencies have no direct control over the functionality of bitcoin, certain political actions and climates can still severely affect its price. If given its head, governments can discourage investment through three main regulatory actions:

• Regulating price assets

When governments tightly regulate the price of other assets, such as fiat or bonds, through moving value amongst international markets, this can diminish the exchange value of cryptocurrencies. When other assets increase in value, it can dilute the price of associated markets.

• Overregulate and increase costs of affiliated business

By putting an increase of restrictions on crypto-associated business, or adding excessive licensure or accreditation requirements, the price of doing business can soar, making it a less lucrative opportunity for investors, which can dampen the resolve of startups and entrepreneurs.

• Imposing controls and affecting supply

By adding import restrictions or high rates of taxation can also dissuade users from engaging with a particular asset. That’s because it becomes cost prohibitive, particularly for retail investors, to invest.

Despite these classic legislative tactics on controlling the price of unregulated assets working well in other markets, bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are less likely to fall prey to these practices. Because of the decentralized nature of bitcoin mining and validating, it also becomes a borderless and extra-national asset. Which means that it would require a huge coordinated effort on behalf of multiple large governing agencies in order to make an impact on the thriving adoption of cryptocurrencies that is being seen.

Moreover, governments can also unwittingly improve prices and encourage enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies by engaging in other types of political action that can decrease trust in fiat currencies and other national securities.

• Engage in efforts that would result in hyperinflation

As seen in countries like Venezuela, governments that have engaged in legislation that results in uncontrolled hyperinflation, citizens have chosen to turn towards cryptocurrencies in order to protect existing assets against loss of value.

• Any fall in economic trust or value

As seen with the impact the novel coronavirus wrought on economies throughout the world, causing cash and coin shortages and propelling the globe closer to a cashless society left many with renewed skepticism about many national fiat systems, resulting in a greater adoption and acceptance of cryptos.

• Political instability

In many places, where political instability means that fewer people have access to stable financial processes, finding a better way to both move and protect personal wealth becomes even more important for many. In these areas, cryptocurrencies have presented a viable option for the un- and underbanked.

How would you like to get your hands on a custom built Tesla Roadster?

Bitcoin Latinum, a digital asset associated with award winning movie studios and globally renowned insurance brokers, is offering you that chance.

The digital asset, which has been described as the “next generation of Bitcoin fork” for its ability to “break barriers… that have prevented some virtual currencies from achieving… real-time use”, sold out of its initial public presale in November 2020.

To celebrate it coming to the market again later this year, Bitcoin Latinum is giving away eight custom Tesla Roadsters and you’re not even required to buy anything to be in with a chance of winning.

You can enter the draw over on shop.bitcoinlatinum.com.

You can enter until the end of April and the draw will be made later this year when the Bitcoin Latinum hard fork is launched.

This highly anticipated Bitcoin Latinum has been in the news already over the last few months, being slated as the “world’s largest insured digital asset”. Globally renowned brokers Marsh and McLennan’s Asia division has been appointed for it.

Its association with movie studio, Cross Creek Media, also hit the headlines. The studio, who made Oscar winner Black Swan, has adapted the asset.

Its CEO, Timmy Thomspon discussed this move, stating: “Cross Creek’s portfolio of new media technology investments perfectly positions us to take advantage of the digital asset sector in media and gaming.”

Recent news from global cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has seen the platform announce user support for the Russian Ruble (RUB). This latest development will mean that Huobi users can now withdraw and deposit in Russian Rubles. This is, of course, great news for the long-term success of the exchange itself and also users there who have been waiting for RUB support on the platform.

This is not the only new announcement made by the company though. They have also released details of users now being eligible to buy top digital currencies, such as BTC, LTC, ETH, BCH and DASH with Rubles. These new innovations will work in conjunction with AdvCash, which is one of the most respected payment solutions around in the crypto world.

RUB deposits and withdrawals in Huobi – how does it work?

Huobi Global has confirmed that both crypto buying and RUB deposits/withdrawals will be conducted through AdvCash wallets moving forward. This will come with a minimum deposit/withdrawal limit of 200 RUB for users. There has also been a maximum limit introduced for deposits of 100,000 RUB and 50,000 RUB for withdrawals.

It seems that the process of making transactions in RUB via AdvCash wallets on Huobi will be pretty simple. Users will be asked to provide identification details first, which will then be verified by AdvCash. People will then simply log into their Huobi Global Account and find the ‘Deposit-Exchange’ option under ‘Balances’. Once there, you would just find ‘RUB’ on the list of eligible currencies to fund your account with them.

Verification of KYC also needed

At this point in the process, users will also have to complete and submit their KYC for verification, if not done already. When this is all sorted, you can then choose ‘AdvCash Balance’ as your method of payment and choose how much you want to deposit. You then choose ‘Pay’ and get sent to the AdvCash platform where you set up an account or log in to continue.

After this, the whole payment procedure can be finished by using any of the options in your wallet. Once the payment is completed, you will be sent back to the ‘Deposit’ page and be able to carry on using Huobi Global as usual. Security is assured as all transactions made to and from your Huobi account are recorded.

Special RUB promotion period

Those who decide to use RUB in the current promotion period can save 0.99% on deposit fees and 2.49% on fees for withdrawals. It is also expected that Huobi Global’s decision to bring RUB into their platform will pave the way for other FIAT currencies to follow.

Source: Pressat

Cryptocurrency is a relatively recent invention, especially when we compare it to a traditional currency, which has been around as long as humans have lived in organized societies. But with any new development, there is a natural hesitancy in acceptance of change, especially from those who are in control of the old ways. But does this hesitancy translate into cryptocurrency being illegal? Let’s take a closer look at the legality or otherwise of cryptocurrency today.

Property or Currency?

Since cryptocurrency is an alternative to national currencies, and they don’t comply with the same regulations that a central bank would enforce on official currencies, governments are hesitant to acknowledge them as real currencies. In many places, the legal establishment has deemed cryptocurrency to be property rather than currency. But why does this matter? It makes any legal complaint concerning being treated unfairly as a different procedure. Any sale is deemed to be an exchange of goods rather than a financial transaction.

Criminal Activity

The link to criminality tarnishes the view of the cryptocurrency in the eyes of the general public. But we need to consider that in most places, it is not the use of the cryptocurrency that is the illegal activity, rather what the currency is used for. There are a far higher number of criminal transactions using regular money than using crypto. Why is this is not used as an argument to ban all use of money? We cannot ignore that there is a reason for criminals to use cryptocurrency, and that is how difficult it is to trace transactions.

Purchase Protection

As we mentioned earlier, with crypto coins often not recognized as real money, you don’t receive the same payment protection as with other payment methods. A good example is the chargeback procedure when buying large-value items with a credit card. You can get around this by opting to buy USDT with a credit card rather than a bank transfer.

Trading & Profits

How do you track profit and loss when trading in cryptocurrency? It is tempting to leave these transactions off your tax return, and given the nature of tracing these payments, you would almost certainly get away with it. But that’s not to say you should try and get away with it. If you are to do things by the book, you only really profit when you transfer your coins to regular currency. Before this moment, you should consider them Capital Assets and lodge them in your accounts as such.

Banned

Although we have talked of cryptocurrency not being illegal, this is only true in most places. Some countries have made it illegal to purchase cryptocurrency, such as Namibia. It is essential to be mindful of these laws when traveling internationally or trading internationally to avoid criminal charges or freezing of your funds.

This article has been contributed on behalf of Paxful. However, the information provided herein is not and is not intended to be, investment, financial, or other advice.

Huobi Futures has just celebrated over $2.6 trillion in cumulative trading volumes since its launch just over two years ago.

Its launch date was December 10, 2018 and ever since then, the trading platform has gone from strength to strength, now being considered one of the go-to places for derivitace product options.

A constant look towards the future and a aim to expand its product options have helped its growth. For instance, USDT-margined Swaps, Coin-margined swaps and futures are among the services that are central to Huobi’s offering currently.

This is demonstrated by USDT-margined Swaps accounting for almost 23 percent of the trading volume of all units as of December 3rd. Huobi’s coin-margined futures trading, which includes 13 major crypto assets, also has had a unilateral turnover of $1,907bn since its launch.

Not only that, but Huobi’s coin-margined swaps is the no.1 coin-margined swaps market globally.

Its trading volume of USDT margined perpetual swaps is also growing, with a cumulative total of over $60.5 billion as of December 4th, 2020. Earlier this year, Huobi further demonstrated their ability to offer an excellent service, by launching USDT-quoted options whereby users could trade without worrying about the risk of liquidation.

A statement from Huobi aimed to explain their success, citing the following: “The fact that Huobi Futures has achieved this success in just two years is largely due to its continuous efforts to launch innovative products that continuously enhance the user experience while ensuring that users can trade securely, consistently, and at a low cost.

This has a profound impact on two aspects for users. Since Huobi Futures started the operation in 2018, it has been able to provide users with a safe, stable and low-cost trading experience.”

It all started in the December of 2017, when the whole world acknowledged Bitcoin to be the viable tool for investment. All this was due to the price of BTC hitting a +$17K tag. Since then there has been much criticism, attempts of derailment and various regulations to slow crypto revolution down. Although today, these attempts proved to be futile, because at this point, Bitcoin is yet again around the same price tag, and it’s universally considered to go even higher. Whether you’d like to invest in crypto or you’re considering Bitcoin Gambling, the indisputable fact is that everyone is primed to make massive profits by dealing with cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin Investment

Around half a year ago, the price of a single Bitcoin was around 6,000 USD. Anyone who invested in BTC during that time is experiencing an insane +300% gain on their investment, because the price right now is almost $18K. Investment is an easy process, one just needs to seize the opportunity when it’s right in front of the eyes. All you have to do is visit the trusted crypto exchange website of your choice and convert FIAT into cryptocurrencies and wait for the right moment. It’s important to stay informed about the current events in the crypto industry to get the edge over everyone else.

BTC Gambling

Although it’s a controversial assumption, Bitcoin Gambling can really be a form of investment when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Just as with the stock exchange, you have to have a certain skill and a bit of luck to succeed, but it’s definitely highly possible to profit from BTC Gambling. At the end of the day, stock exchange and crypto trading is a form of gambling as well, although not as adrenaline driven and fun. Probably the best feeling in the world is making money while having fun, and that is exactly what the Bitcoin Gambling websites provide to their users. And the best part here is that your money accumulates in value while just sitting on your casino account, because as mentioned before, in 6 months the price of a single bitcoin rose by more than 300%.

What are the best Bitcoin Gambling sites?

Just as with the investment, it’s crucial to find the website that can be 100% trusted. The issue of trust is not exclusive to the internet, but it’s extremely important when dealing with large sums of money. It’s relatively easy to find the right BTC Gambling site for yourself if you consider checking out review websites like BitcoinGamblers, where you can get all the in-depth, detailed analyses of all pros and cons and various offers of different top dogs of the crypto gambling industry.