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Bakkt, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) crypto subsidiary, suffered its second high-profile executive exit last week after CEO Mike Blandina stepped down. While the rumored institutionalization of cryptocurrency remains a far-fetched vision, several empty promises and misplaced hypes question Bakkt’s integrity as a company. Third executive in four months As reported on Bloomberg, Blandia resigned the Bitcoin futures bourse after just four months on the job. He now joins J.P. Morgan to head its payments technology division. Interestingly, the U.S. investment bank was poised to develop its JPM coin in 2019, but not much has transpired on that front since. When Ethereum Blandia joined Bakkt as CEO in December 2019, he vowed to oversee the exchange’s expansion in key markets, explore newer product offerings, and even launch a retail application for everyday payments. Previously, Blandia had stints at PayPal and Google, both centered in the payments division. Bakkt’s new CEO is David Clifton, previously at ICE as head of M&A and integrations. XRP Adam White continues his role as company president, and no further announcements on the exchange’s future exist at press time. Promises, hot air, and zero substance Formerly, Blandia replaced U.S. senator Kelly Loeffler, who was recently in the headlines for gaining millions in the stock market based on insider information. Loeffler was extensively praised in 2018-19 for bringing in institutional tools for the cryptocurrency market before her administrative appointment. But Bakkt’s poor, non-existential performance in the recent months has begged larger questions — are institutions even interested in Bitcoin exposure at all? Crypto fanatics once regarded Bakkt as Bitcoin’s “killer app” — a so-called slang for products/services that revolutionize industries and rival products. Popular crypto commentator Scott Melker tweeted: The @Bakkt news is arguably the most bullish event for institutional investors in the history of bitcoin. PHYSICALLY delivered futures (require the holder to either produce actual bitcoin or take delivery from the exchange) backed by the New York Stock Exchange. We are maturing. The Wolf Of All Streets (@scottmelker) August 16, 2019 However, since its launch in September 2019, Bakkt has no substantial metric or use case to boast about. On the first hour of trading post-launch, only five contracts changed hands. At the end of the session, only 28 contracts were traded — a number smaller than the worse ranked crypto exchanges. The exchange’s main selling point — that of physical-settled Bitcoin futures — turned out a disappointing farce. Only 63 percent of contracts were reportedly settled in the digital currency. Myth: Bakkt futures fully backed by bitcoin. Reality: Bakkt futures 37% backed by dollars or treasuries. Alex Krüger (@krugermacro) December 2, 2019 Bakkt’s daily volumes continue to remain woefully low — only 200 June BTC contracts — and any developments about the much-hyped Starbucks application seem buried. Most who expected Bitcoin prices to rise substantially after the launch were in for a surprise, the currency fell 50 percent in the months to come, exactly a day after Bakkt’s launch. Among a rotating door of executives, low volumes, absent mobile applications, lies about daily Bitcoin settlement, a former executive involved in insider trading, and questionable margin statements – Bakkt comes across as an “institutional” leader no better than “unregulated” crypto exchanges.
Surely the greatest irony in the blockchain space is that there has never been any agreement on “the best” consensus model. Bitcoin and Ethereum are widely lauded for pioneering the concepts of blockchain and smart contract platforms respectively, but both also come under heavy criticism for their lack of scalability. The scalability challenge is largely due to their use of the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus method. Therefore, teams of developers have been focusing for years on devising a different method for achieving consensus among network participants. One that removes the bottlenecks caused by PoW, but still achieves the security of decentralization, while maintaining the right balance of incentivizing honest actors and deterring bad ones. So far, there have been dozens of attempts at solving this quandary. However, only a few have emerged as main contenders, namely proof-of-stake (PoS) and delegated proof-of-stake (dPoS.) However, a new horse just entered the race. It’s not a new consensus protocol – rather, a means of speeding up consensus. A blockchain project called Solana is developing a secure, scalable blockchain that can handle up to 50,000 transactions per second on its testnet. How does it achieve this? It uses a feature called Proof of History to determine the passage of time, which, in turn, considerably reduces the weight of consensus. Proof of History, Explained Proof of History (PoH) aims to lighten the load of the network nodes in processing blocks by providing a means of encoding time itself into the blockchain. In a regular blockchain, reaching consensus over the time a particular block was mined is as much a requirement as reaching consensus over the existence of the transactions in that block. Timestamping is critical because it tells the network (and any observer) that transactions took place in a particular sequence. In a PoW scenario, the successful block miner is the first to find the correct nonce, which requires a certain amount of computing power to perform. However, PoH uses a newer cryptographic concept called Verifiable Delay Functions (VDFs.) A VDF can only be solved by a single CPU core applying a particular set of sequential steps. No parallel processing is allowed, so it’s easy to define exactly how long it takes to apply those steps. Therefore, the passage of time is evident. PoH solves the time challenge, and thus reduces the processing weight of the blockchain, making it lighter and faster. Solana combines PoH with a security protocol called Tower Byzantine Fault Tolerance (Tower BFT), which allows participants to stake tokens so they can vote on the validity of a PoH hash. This protocol penalizes bad actors if they vote in favor of a fork that doesn’t match the PoH records. Furthermore, Solana deploys proof-of-stake (PoS) as a means of determining who can participate as a block validator. The Evolution of Blockchains So how does Proof of History stack up to its predecessors? Proof-of-Work There are some similarities between Proof of Work and the Proof of History feature. Mainly, that both methods rely on a defined expenditure of computing power to produce blocks, or hashes as they are known in PoH. Like Bitcoin and most other PoW blockchains, Solana also uses the SHA-256 algorithm. This may raise the question of whether an ASIC could significantly speed up solving the VDF function in PoH. Solana believes that this isn’t a challenge and that the processing power of most ASICs would be within an acceptable range of what’s available to the wider network. Because PoH removes the timestamping burden from the network, it results in a far lighter, faster blockchain than anyone has been able to achieve so far using PoW. The incentive mechanisms are protected by combining with Tower BFT. Regardless, PoH can work together with Proof of Work as well, thereby improving its scalability. Proof-of-Stake Proof of Stake (PoS) has been the long-promised solution to Ethereum’s scalability. In PoS, net...
Major cryptocurrency payment service provider BitPay has added support for the Lightning Network (LN), Bitcoin’s (BTC) Layer-2 scalability solution, granting users access to a faster and cheaper method of transacting their BTC. In an announcement shared with CryptoSlate today, BitPay co-founder Tony Gallippi noted: “BitPay’s integration with the Lightning Network offers customers more choice and merchants more ways to be paid leveraging blockchain technology.” Lightning, what is it good for? The Lightning Network is a so-called Layer-2 payment and communication protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. The solution allows transactions to be processed off-chain, taking the load off the mainnet and improving the network’s scalability. As a result, payments made via the LN can be processed not only faster but also cheaper thanks to lower fees. Following the integration with BitPay’s Payment Processing Platform, merchants can now receive transactions from crypto wallets that support the LN, including CashApp and Strike. In their turn, consumers now have a “low-cost alternative” when they make payments at BitPay-enabled dealers. Notably, BitPay merchants won’t need to make any changes to their existing setups to start accepting Lightning payments However, BitPay’s wallet app does not currently support the LN—at least “yet.” Another step toward mass adoption Meanwhile, American retail clothing brand Pacific Sunwear of California (PacSun) has become one of the first BitPay partners to accept BTC payments via the Lightning Network, the company’s CEO Michael Relich noted, adding: “The Bitcoin Lightning Network provides our customers with instant payments and exceptionally low network fees, and creates more opportunity for all holders of Bitcoin to shop online at [our store].” As CryptoSlate reported, the total value of BTC locked on the Lightning Network exceeded $130 million in late February—and that figure has already grown to just over $162 million since then. However, despite significant growth in 2021, the solution arguably still remains a niche product. But with giants such as BitPay adding support for it, perhaps this is about to change.
Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings plans to relocate its coal-powered Hardin mining facility in the US state of Montana to a more sustainable location. This is part of its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint by using non-carbon emitting sources of energy for its operations. Marathon Digital eyes sustainable energy sources According to the CEO, Fred Thiel, the company is dedicated to ensuring that it employs sustainable mining practices as soon as possible. “With the majority of our fleet already scheduled to be deployed at renewable power facilities and deployments currently underway, we believe it is an appropriate time to transition our legacy operations away from fossil fuel generation and towards more sustainable sources of power,” he said. Beowulf hosts the Hardin mining facility and owns the coal power plants powering them. According to Marathon, it plans to transition to a carbon-neutral energy source by this year’s third quarter. While the company did not provide information about where it’s planning to relocate or the kind of energy it will adopt, Thiel did state that its mining strategy is to deploy rigs close to sustainable energy producers, so they don’t have to be on the grid. The company has previously stated that it will deploy 199,000 Bitcoin miners in 2023 as part of its goal to reach 23.3 exahash per second (EH/s). It also said that it intends to deploy 100,000 miners in Texas that will be powered mostly by solar and wind farms. Marathon has also pledged that all its operations will be carbon-neutral by the end of 2022. Green energy comes to fore for Bitcoin mining The decision to transition comes at a time when Bitcoin miners are opting for sustainable energy practices. This is a direct result of the increased scrutiny from government and environmental organizations about the impact of mining practices on the environment. Stakeholders in Europe have also urged the governments in the region to ban blockchains dependent on the proof of work consensus mechanism. However, the European Union voted against that in its crypto regulatory framework. On Monday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report included crypto mining as a source of carbon emissions. Before then, Greenpeace launched a campaign “change the code, not the climate,” which aimed to reduce Bitcoin energy impacts by transitioning to a more energy-efficient consensus model. Although many have criticized this campaign, Bitcoin advocates still recognize the need for more energy efficiency. This is why more miners are working towards a sustainable environmental practice. However, some crypto advocates have opined that there has been too much attention on crypto energy consumption when Bitcoin CO2 emission is lesser than that of the global banking system and the gold industry.
Despite dipping below $41,000, Anthony Scaramuucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, a 17-year-old “alternative assets” investment firm, still believes the price of Bitcoin will hit $500,000 per coin. In a recent interview with Financial Review, he described why this has caused his firm to pivot into digital assets in 2021. SkyBridge now offers a digital innovation portfolio that includes securities he believes will correlate directly to the price of Bitcoin. In 2021, Scaramucci projected a $100,000 top for Bitcoin, which did not play out. He said he had not correctly assessed and accounted for the regulatory environment during the latter part of the year. Scaramucci believes we are still early in terms of adoption and compared current frustrations with web3 to the “clunky” internet experience of dial-up modems in the late nineties. He argued that within five years, we will be in a position where: “Virtually everyone in the Western world will have a [smart] wallet on their smartphone and they’ll likely be able to transact with every restaurant in the world.” He recounted how JP Morgan & Co. believes there are 53 million millionaires on Earth but a total supply of only 21 million Bitcoins. If every millionaire in the world wanted a Bitcoin, it would not be possible, Scaramucci said. He clarified that: “I’m just trying to explain to people the inelasticity of this situation and the likelihood of these prices heading to half a million dollars.” SkyBridge reportedly holds 15% of its money in Bitcoin from an initial 4% position. Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest has notoriously advocated for all companies to keep at least 5% of their treasury in Bitcoin. Such a move could push Bitcoin above $500,000 in the next few years. Ark also believes Bitcoin could reach $1 million per coin by 2030. We know that many factors move the markets, and we have to zoom out to see the bigger picture. However, on a monthly timeframe, Bitcoin has been on an upward trend since 2011. On a logarithmic scale, as shown below, a price of $500,000 would be in the top area of the blue rectangle. It would take a rise of around 1000% to see Bitcoin at this level. Since the crash in May 2020, Bitcoin is up just over 1000%. If Scaramucci’s prediction comes true, we will need to see another surge bull market to take us there.
Sky Mavis, the company behind blockchain-based game Axie Infinity, has successfully closed a new $150 million funding round led by crypto exchange Binance, according to a press release shared with CryptoSlate today. Always have, always will be there for our Labs family member! @SkyMavisHQ @AxieInfinity 🙌🫂 Looking forward to our LONG way ahead together. Binance Labs Fund (@BinanceLabs) April 6, 2022 Per the announcement, the fresh injection of funds, combined with Sky Mavis and Axie Infinity’s own balance sheets, should help the firm reimburse users who were affected by the recent $615 million hack of its Layer-2 Ethereum sidechain Ronin Network. Sky Mavis CEO Trung Nguyen explained: “Sky Mavis is committed to reimbursing all of our users’ lost funds and implementing rigorous internal security measures to prevent future attacks. With the support of Binance and other industry leaders, we will be able to quickly expand the validator set from five to 21 validators to ensure the security of the Ronin network.” Apart from Binance, the list of fundraiser participants also included companies such as Animoca Brands, a16z (Andreessen Horowitz), Dialectic, Paradigm, and Accel. Biggest hack in DeFi As CryptoSlate reported on March 29, Ronin Network, an Ethereum-based sidechain created by Sky Mavis to support its popular non-fungible token-based game Axie Infinity, has been exploited by an unknown hacker and lost 173,600 Ethereum as well as 25.5 million USDC. At the time, the Ronin chain comprised nine validator nodes, five of which were required to provide their signatures for any deposit of withdrawal to proceed. As part of their attack, the hacker managed to gain control over four such nodes and used an additional third-party validator run by Axie DAO to substitute the fifth. Sky Mavis recollected in its funding announcement: “The attack was socially engineered, and a thorough investigation is ongoing. The root cause of the breach was the small validator set which made it much easier to compromise the network. Sky Mavis will increase the validator group to 21 validators within the next three months.” Security overhaul Moving forward, the company now plans to combine the new funds with its own assets to “ensure that all users are able to withdraw and deposit freely.” Additionally, the Ronin Network will be undergoing a security upgrade and several audits over the next “several weeks.” “Once the Ronin Network bridge is open, all individual users will be able to withdraw their funds. The 56,000 ETH compromised from the Axie DAO treasury will remain undercollateralized as Sky Mavis works with law enforcement to recover the funds.” Finally, if the stolen funds won’t be fully recovered within the next two years, the Axie DAO “will vote on next steps for the treasury.” Can’t please everyone At the same time, not all Crypto Twitter users were happy with the fundraiser. For example, Bitfinex’ed, known for his long-standing criticism of USDT stablecoins, opined that Sky Mavis was “bailed out by fraudulent Tether exchange” and “if you’re holding crypto on Binance, you’re bailing out Axie,” adding: “It costs them nothing to bail out bad projects, and they can just make money by pumping and dumping the tokens.It’s only 1/4th of the loss. Not a problem. In reality, they’ll buy a few shitcoins, inflate the prices, and quickly quadruple the money by facilitating a few fraudulent pump and dump frauds.” Axie Bailed out by fraudulent Tether exchange. If you’re holding crypto on binance, you’re bailing out Axie. It costs them nothing to bail out bad projects, and they can just make money by pumping and dumping the tokens. Bitfinex’ed 🔥 Κασσάνδρα 🏺🇺🇦 (@Bitfinexed) April 6, 2022 Whatever the case may be, at least the regular users likely won’t have to suffer significant losses due the Ronin Network’s security breach—and that’s arguably a “win” by itself.
The Aventador is coming to the end of its production run as Lamborghini electrifies its entire line-up. But intent to go out with a bang, the Italian supercar builder is selling the last ever Aventador LP 780-4 Ultimae Coupé as a 1/1 NFT to be auctioned at Sotheby’s. Aventador NFT is Lamborghini’s last hurrah for petrol power The Lamborghini drop will be the world’s first NFT-physical supercar auction. Responsible for creating the NFT artwork and music are contemporary artists Krista Kim and Steve Aoki. In describing her artistic inspiration for the project, Kim spoke of “higher states of consciousness” meeting with “leading-edge technology & design.” While Aoki, who was tasked with the soundtrack, said the music reflects the “soulful energy — the vibe, the spirit, and the power” of the car. Not only will the winning bidder own the last ever V12 petrol-powered Aventador, but they will also become immortalized as part of the brand’s legacy and have access to a range of VIP benefits. This includes exclusive virtual previews of future limited edition Lamborghini models, a private tour of the Museo Lamborghini, and a virtual “Meet and Greet” with Aoki and Kim. The CEO of Lamborghini, Stephan Winkelmann, alluded to the NFT auction concept being an ideal way to usher in a new beginning for the firm. “we are projecting this car into the digital world. It’s an end of an era, but it’s also the start of a new beginning.” The death of the internal combustion engine The European Commission (EC) is set on introducing a zero-emissions target for vehicles sold after 2035. Commenting on this, Hildegard Müller, Head of Germany’s VDA car lobby group said: “That would not only mean the end of the internal combustion engine, but also the end of plug-in hybrids.” Although insiders had warned the EC was planning such a move before the announcement was made in June 2021, it still came as something of a surprise. Electric cars, and their associated infrastructure, have a long way to go in terms of rivaling the convenience of filling up with petrol. Also, how would people who live in flats, or have no parking directly outside their property, charge their electric vehicles? The EC seems to be ignoring the devastating environmental and social effects of mining for battery minerals. For example, Congolese miners describe slave-like working conditions and practices as they dig for cobalt, earning as little as 30p ($0.40) an hour. Also, locals report contaminated water supply due to the use of large amounts of groundwater to extract lithium. Nonetheless, Lamborghini, and other manufacturers, are falling in line with the EC and pushing for all-electric line-ups. Bidding for the Aventador NFT drop opens on April 19, with the auction set to close on April 21.
Lightning Labs, the company behind the Lightning Network, has developed a new protocol that can help introduce more use cases to the Bitcoin network, the company’s CTO Olaoluwa Osuntokun announced April 5, noting that he designed the protocol, dubbed Taro. According to Osuntokun, Taro’s integration will enable the issuance of assets and collectibles on the Bitcoin network. The protocol will also allow all Lightning Network participants to enjoy the benefit of Lightning’s nearly free, almost instant, global transaction capability. All this without having to put up with BTC’s current volatility. Essentially, the protocol will introduce assets like stablecoins to the Bitcoin network, letting BTC adopters increase or dial down their exposure to volatility. This feature will be especially beneficial for populations that have a low tolerance for BTC’s volatility, due to their socioeconomic status. Leveraging Taproot To unlock these functionalities, Taro will use Taproot — the latest update to the Bitcoin network that became active in November 2021. Taproot enhanced the security, privacy, and transaction throughput of Bitcoin. Additionally, it introduced smart contract capabilities to Bitcoin’s blockchain. By leveraging Taproot, Taro can also depend on Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus model to ensure the correct ordering of transactions and mitigate the risk of double-spending. Explaining why Lightning Labs seeks to integrate Taro, the company’s CEO Elizabeth Stark said, One of our core tenets at Lightning Labs is solving real problems for real people, and we’ve talked to myriad community members in emerging markets who’ve told us what a big difference stablecoins on bitcoin and Lightning would make in their economies. Slow but steady growth While protocol development maintains the Bitcoin fundamentals, conservative changes create room for what developers can build on Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. Taro’s relationship with Taproot demonstrates such changes. At the moment, BTC functions as a commodity. However, the combination of Taro and Lightning Network brings the flagship cryptocurrency even closer to serving as a means of payment. Recently, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said BTC would quickly become a means of payment. Her belief stems from the fact that BTC came out of a whitepaper that didn’t include means of payment. However, Lightning Network filled this gap by providing a payment method for BTC. To this end, Lummis believes such advancements will ultimately lead to further innovation in the payment space.
Continued global unrest may be crucial in a sell-off affecting both stocks and crypto. Several factors at play are causing uncertainty in the markets, which has been a driving factor in pullbacks since 2020. Investors historically move away from risk-on assets such as tech and crypto whenever the road forward is unclear. Today, Bloomberg is reporting that the “cost of insuring Russia’s government debt now signals a record 99% chance of default within a year,” according to CDS data. The impact of one of the world’s most significant economic powers going into default seemingly has the world worried. In addition, Russia having to pay its dollar debt in Rubles signifies an apparent issue with its liquidity due to sanctions. Bloomberg states: “Russia paid rubles for some of its dollar-debt obligations due this week after foreign banks declined to process payments of almost $650 million, raising speculation over a potential technical default.” A further uncertainty comes as Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once the wealthiest person in Russia, stated that Putin already views Russia as being at war with the West. He claims that Putin “thinks NATO is weak and that they will not defend the Baltics.” Given the support that NATO states have given to Ukraine, this line of thinking seems highly plausible. Following a White House statement yesterday that condemned China, India, and Brazil for not joining the sanctions against Russia, a worrying narrative is developing. The White House stated that “our expectation is not only that other countries will abide by, but that they will also be a constructive part of holding Russia accountable.” White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese said Wednesday that: The U.S. has told India that the consequences of a “more explicit strategic alignment” with Moscow would be “significant and long-term.” Putin may believe that he is already at war with NATO, China, India, and Brazil are now being warned by the US that they should not show any “strategic alignment” with Russia. It seems that Russia is almost certainly going into default within the following year. The next move will be critical for the crypto market and macroeconomic stability globally. Bitcoin has shown the closest correlation to the stock market in its history this year as it recently hit a 17 month high. On days like this, it isn’t easy to focus on technical analysis or crypto fundamentals. World events are always a factor in the price of Bitcoin, whether you believe it to be an inflation hedge or not. Today, markets seem concerned by their inability to predict what, politically, will transpire next. We will continue to report on events as they happen and how they affect the crypto landscape.
Texas-based Vantage Bank announced plans to offer employees a savings plan where a portion of each paycheck can be saved in Bitcoin. Commenting on this new program, Vantage Bank’s chief of human resources Eric Thompson said: “During this ‘Great Resignation,’ attracting and retaining top talent has been especially challenging. Focusing on our employees and the benefits we offer help make Vantage Bank Texas an employer of choice for current and potential employees.” Any Vantage employee who wants to step away from traditional savings will be able to participate in the new Bitcoin savings plan. The New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), which is offering asset management, custody, and execution services for digital assets, will hold the converted Bitcoin. In addition to the new savings plan, Vantage Bank is also educating its employees about cryptocurrency. Referring to the necessity of training, Thompson said: “As part of that [the savings plan], we are also providing associates with education about Bitcoin, sharing the risks and considerations that should be evaluated before directing their post-tax dollars to a Bitcoin Savings Plan.” Despite the modern approach to diversifying its employee’s savings plans, Vantage Banks does not facilitate buying, selling, or trading of crypto for its customers for now. Crypto adoption in Texas According to Thompson, the Bitcoin Savings Plan was a suggestion from one of the lender partners that had already started to apply it. In addition, the state has also been taking bold steps to increase crypto adoption. For example, in May 2022, the Governor of Texas, Gregg Abbott, signed a law that made it easier for businesses to use crypto as collateral for loans. Abbott also created the Work Group on Blockchain Matters, where industry leaders collaborate to lure crypto investors, developers, and miners to Texas. Recently, the Texas Blockchain Council wrote a draft bill to eliminate taxes on flared gas sales used to mine Bitcoins.
With a market cap of over $2 trillion, crypto has given birth to several billionaires since the first Bitcoin was mined. Although anonymity makes it difficult to determine who has what, a new report from Forbes has revealed some of the richest people in crypto and what they are worth. Topping the list is Binance CEO Chanpeng Zhao, with a net worth that is almost 3x higher than that of the next person on the list. Binace CZ tops crypto’s richest list According to Forbes’ latest estimates, CZ owns at least 70% of Binance, enough to make him the 19th richest man globally, with a net worth of $65 billion. In 2020, Forbes had put the estimate at $1.9 billion. Meanwhile, in January, CryptoSlate reported that Bloomberg News estimates CZ’s net worth to be around $96 billion, making him the 11th richest person in the world at the time. CZ‘s success is mostly tied to the strategic acquisitions and expansionist moves of Binance, which has the largest trading volume of all crypto exchanges. It is reportedly responsible for roughly two-thirds of the trading volume of centralized exchange transactions. Binance generated approximately $20 billion in revenue in 2021, according to a Bloomberg News analysis. Beyond his stake in Binance, Zhao also owns a vast amount of BNB, as well as some Bitcoin. However, the exact nature of his crypto portfolio is unclear. Others on the list The second richest person on the list is FTX exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Forbes estimates that he is worth $24 billion. His net worth includes about half of FTX and the $7 billion worth of FTT, which is the exchange’s native token, that he holds. Before the Bloomberg report, the common perception was that SBF was the richest person in crypto. However, more public information has shown that to be false. There are still several other billionaires on the list but none of them have a net worth higher than $10 billion. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong is the third richest person on the list, with $6.6 billion. He has a 19% stake in publicly traded Coinbase. Others on the list include Gary Wang, the co-founder of FTX, Chris Larsen of Ripple, and the Winkelvoss twins, who own Gemini. Not everyone on the list is a developer or founder of a crypto startup. Several names are those of investors and venture capitalists, including Tim Draper and Mathew Rosack, both of whom became billionaires through early investments in Bitcoin and other crypto companies.
This week, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak tweeted about payment regulation reform recognizing crypto stablecoins as a valid payment in the UK. In the same post, Sunak also linked a gov.uk page detailing other steps the government is taking to turn the UK into a “cryptoasset technology hub.” This includes: Legislating for a financial sandbox called “CryptoSprint,” which would be overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Developing a “Cryptoasset Engagement Group” as an interface between industry and government. Examining tax reforms that encourage competitiveness. Commemorating this new approach to digital assets by way of a specially commissioned NFT in conjunction with the Royal Mint. Given the uneasy relationship between the UK and crypto to date, the skeptical among you will wonder what’s going on. The UK is looking to crypto to regain a footing UK officials have generally taken a hostile stance towards crypto in the past. For example, as recently as December 2021, the Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey reiterated comments that cryptocurrencies do not meet the definition of a currency, have no intrinsic value, and warned that investors could lose all their money. Addressing the Financial Policy Committee at that time, Bailey played down the significance of digital assets, saying they aren’t a risk today but could be in the future. “It probably isn’t a financial stability risk today but it has all the makings of something that could become one.” Then there’s the FCA, which has been accused of taking a draconian approach in dealing with Binance as it seeks to register with authorities. The FCA said its approach corresponded with Binance’s failure to respond to basic queries. However, in an apparent turnaround, Chancellor Sunak is now signaling a pro-crypto stance. He said the efforts are part of a plan to keep the UK financial industry “at the forefront of technology and innovation.” What’s more, Chancellor Sunak also spoke about attracting businesses and jobs through this policy change. “We want to see the businesses of tomorrow – and the jobs they create – here in the UK, and by regulating effectively we can give them the confidence they need to think and invest long-term.” The EU is closing its doors The UK financial services sector brought in £165 billion ($215.7 billion) in 2020, accounting for 9% of the country’s total economic output. The City of London is traditionally seen as one of the world’s leading financial centers. But leaving the EU on January 31, 2020, meant losing jobs and businesses to competing centers. While the UK government acknowledged this, it also diminished the effect by saying the impact may not be as significant as initially thought. “The data so far suggests that jobs and business has been lost to other financial centres as a result of the UK leaving the European single market, but the impact may not be as big as initially feared by some.” Nonetheless, Patrick Hansen, the Head of Strategy & Business Development at Unstoppable Finance, recently commented that this change from the UK government directly responds to anti-crypto sentiment coming from the EU. He thinks the UK “wants to outplay” the EU and scoop up all the capital flight that’s set to leave the region should proposals on unhosted crypto wallets get ratified in law. With Brexit, the EU lost its biggest financial hub, the city of London. Seems like the UK wants to outplay the EU with regards to crypto too. The timing of this, just a few days after heavy public backlash against an EU vote on crypto, is certainly not a coincidence.. Patrick Hansen (@paddi_hansen) April 4, 2022
Filings in 2022 indicate that one thing about the metaverse is that it will be well fed and well dressed. Companies with a combined market cap of around $1.1 trillion have filed for trademarks related to metaverse and NFTs this year alone. If you include Meta in this discussion, the figure rises to almost $2 trillion. In addition, 1967 NFT-related applications have been filed in 2022 alone. This is already higher than the total for the whole of 2021. However, as we are well aware of Meta’s plans due to their rebrand, so lets focus on the lesser-known metaverse players. Brands such as Ralph Lauren, Chevron, McDonald’s, Monster, Colgate, WWE, Levis, Playboy, and many more are gearing up to enter the metaverse and protect their intellectual property. For some, registering trademarks in a new space will be a simple legal exercise to ensure their corporate image is protected. However, it is clear from the filings that this is not just about brand protection. Here’s a breakdown courtesy of trademark lawyer Mike Kondoudis. You can read the specifics of the trademarks by searching for the serial numbers at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. McDonald’s McDonald’s is coming to the metaverse. We first reported on this back in February. McDonald’s filed to use the names McDonald’s, McCafe, and the famous golden arches with a virtual world. They also plan to offer actual and virtual goods through their virtual restaurants. Therefore, it seems that you will be able to walk into a McDonald’s in the metaverse, order a BigMac and have it sent to your door in the real world. Victoria’s Secret In February, the international lingerie, clothing, and beauty brand, Victoria’s Secret, filed for several trademarks, including downloadable virtual goods, digital collectibles, virtual fashion shows, and online clothing, including undergarments. This one feels very NSFW, in all honesty, but what’s interesting is that they see an opportunity and a need to ready themselves for a deeper move into the digital world. Post-2020, it is easy to understand the potential market for virtual fashion shows. However, virtual underwear is something metaverse developers themselves may not have considered quite yet. Chevron This is the biggest company outside of Meta to be readying themselves for the metaverse. They have a market cap of over $300 billion and filed for trademarks directly related to NFTs this year. Their application covers NFTs, virtual gas, virtual stores, and virtual renewable energy products. Virtual gas will likely be a tool to run v vehicles in the metaverse. However, I hope brands cannot get a consensus from blockchain validators to add sponsorship to gas transactions fees. Can you imagine every Ethereum transaction forcing a Chevron advert to your wallet? Monster Energy The drinks and beverages brand has often looked to be at the forefront of trends. So their move into the metaverse is less surprising than most. Like McDonald’s, they are looking to use their brand to offer NFTs, downloadable virtual food, drinks, and clothing and create a marketplace for virtual goods. With Death Stranding, Monster Energy has already found its way into the gaming world. In the game, Monster is the only source of boosting stamina in the main character’s private room. Perhaps we can now expect similar deals with metaverse projects. Other notable brands There seems to be a clear trend within the current trademark applications. Food and beverage brands are all filing to protect their ability to offer virtual restaurants and virtual food. In-game food often relates to health bonuses or regeneration. The ability to be a recognized option for a player to regain their health should offer immense brand awareness among popular games. Dunkin, KFC, Pizza Hut, Hooters, Sonic, Red Bull, Burger King, and Arby’s are all restaurants we can expect to see in what is increasingly likely to be a Ready Player One-style metaverse of the future. Another apparent trend is con...
The world is marching on toward the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. This is evident in almost every metric one can look at when analyzing the crypto market, even in volatile times and during sharp downturns. Venture capital investments in crypto have surpassed $30 billion, with more than $10.5 billion invested in the last quarter of 2021 alone. Alongside institutions, retail investors have also begun realizing the potential of crypto and are flocking to it in record numbers. To find out more about what makes the crypto market tick and get an understanding of the broad makeup of its participants, Gemini conducted an ambitious survey of 30,000 people across 20 countries. The survey explored awareness of cryptocurrencies and crypto companies, the motivations for buying and trading, as well as barriers to owning cryptocurrencies. What the survey found was that 2021 was crypto’s breakout year—there have never been more people entering the market, more people interested in entering the market, and more people realizing the potential of cryptocurrencies. Identifying crypto curiosity and crypto ownership While it’s easy to quantify current market performance, predicting its future performance depends on a multitude of factors—the biggest being its participants. Gemini set out to discover just how much untapped potential there is outside of the crypto market by surveying people about their general curiosity about cryptocurrencies. According to the report, 41% of its global respondents said that they were crypto-curious. This means that they currently don’t own cryptocurrencies but plan on buying in the next year. Diving deeper into the geographic makeup of the crypto-curious reveals that a significant number of them come from Europe. Ireland led among the crypto-curious, both globally and in Europe, with 58% saying they were interested in purchasing cryptocurrencies in the near future. A significant number of crypto-curious respondents came from Germany, Colombia, and the United Arab Emirates—53%, 50%, and 49%, respectively. The data shows that the majority of the crypto-curious come from developed nations with stable financial systems, with the exception of Colombia. This, however, isn’t the case when it comes to crypto ownership. Gemini’s data shows that the least amount of ownership comes from developed nations—15% in Denmark, 16% in France, 17% in Germany, 18% in Australia, 18% in the U.K., and 19% in Norway. The exceptions to the rule are Kenya and Colombia, where only 15% and 16% of respondents owned crypto. The largest crypto ownership was identified in Brazil and Indonesia, where 41% of respondents said they owned cryptocurrencies. Approximately a third of respondents from Singapore and the U.A.E. owned crypto, while the ownership decreased to around a quarter in Israel, Nigeria, South Africa, Hong Kong, and Mexico. Crypto is the future of money for many The extremely high rate of crypto ownership in certain countries can be attributed to several correlating factors. People in countries with the highest adoption and the highest percentage of crypto curiosity tend to see cryptocurrencies as the future of money. This is due to the fact that these countries have seen their national currencies devaluate against the dollar over the past decade, drastically affecting both the quality of life and financial stability. Respondents in countries with 50% or more devaluation against the dollar over the past 10 years were more than 5 times more likely to say they plan to purchase crypto in the coming year, compared to those who experienced less than 50% inflation. A significant number of respondents saw cryptocurrencies as a way to protect against inflation—46% of respondents in Latin America and Africa said they were looking into the asset class as a way to offset currency devaluation. In regions where the local currency hasn’t experienced significant long-term devaluation, respondents were far less likely to see cryptocurrencies as ...
Francis Suarez, Miami’s mayor, believes the city’s success as an upcoming tech hub is partially due to adopting crypto. He said this during an interview with Maria Bartiromo of Mornings with Maria on Monday. According to Suarez, crypto is part of Miami’s transitional brand from a city that was great to visit or retire to what Financial Times refers to as the most important city in America. He added that Miami has been leaning into innovation through crypto. In doing so, it has helped get rid of the notion that some specified cities are the technological hubs of the US. Suarez further noted that Miami has seen its venture capital increase by 200% year-over-year after embracing crypto. Moreover, this approach has helped the city move over $1 trillion in assets under management companies to its jurisdiction over the past 16 months. Bitcoin 2022 Suarez added that Miami now hosts the largest crypto conference, Bitcoin Conference, after positioning itself as a crypto-friendly city. Bitcoin 2022, this year’s event, will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The event commences tomorrow and will run through April 9. The conference will feature keynote speeches from speakers like Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood, among others. Commenting on the event, which is just hours away, Suarez said, We are going to have 50,000 attendees and it’s going to be an economic development boom for our city, creating thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in economic incentives for our city. Suarez continues pushing for Miami to embrace crypto on a larger scale Suarez’s disclosure of the efforts that are helping shape Miami as a crypto hub comes as he continues advocating for the city to embrace crypto on a broader scope. As part of these efforts, he volunteered to become the first US politician to take his salary in Bitcoin (BTC). On top of this, he steered Miami toward launching MiamiCoin (MIA), the city’s native cryptocurrency, which seeks to fund municipal projects by generating additional yields. MIA generated a revenue of $21 million within the first three months of going live. Based on this performance, Suarez projected that the coin has the potential to rake in $80 million annually. As a result of MIA’s outstanding performance, Suarez recently said each Miami resident with a digital wallet would soon be eligible to receive BTC dividends earned through MIA.
The US Department of Justice had announced that it had secured the biggest cryptocurrency forfeiture after a South Florida resident forfeited $34 million worth of cryptocurrency tied to illegal dark web activities. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida filed the civil forfeiture complaint and were successful. US gets biggest crypto forfeiture This came after identifying the unnamed resident involved in the large-scale sale of illegal items on several dark web marketplaces. Not only that the person also hacked online account information of popular services such as Uber, Netflix, and HBO, among others. The statement from the DOJ further explained that the individual used The Onion Router (TOR) to access the Dark Web. They were able to hide the sources of the funds and almost launder successfully by using “tumblers,” which are cryptocurrency mixers. This, along with illegal money transmitters, made it possible for the person to perpetrate illegal activities. DOJ and other law enforcement agents show they can tackle crypto crimes While over 90% of crypto activities are legal, even if unregulated, many bad actors try to take advantage of the features that make crypto better. Also, the rise of ransomware attacks last year and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have led to an increased focus on crypto and its uses. Though the crypto community has assured that it would be almost impossible for Russia to circumvent the sanctions being imposed on it via crypto, law enforcement agencies and financial regulators, however, have chosen to intensify their efforts in policing the activities within the crypto space. This, inadvertently, would lead to a more secured and investor-friendly industry. Interestingly, the federal law agents recently arrested two men involved in the Frosties NFT rug pull and will be prosecuting them. Germany seizes Bitcoin tranche It’s not only the US that’s going after crypto linked to illegal activities. Just today, Germany announced that it has shut down the Russian darknet marketplace (DNM), Hydra, and seized Bitcoin worth $25 million. Hydra has been in existence since 2015 and per available data accounts for around 80% of the entire market share of DNMs. The marketplace has more than 19,000 vendors’ accounts selling everything from narcotics to fake identities to its 17 million customers. In 2020 alone, it had a trading volume of at least $1.2 billion. According to the BKA federal police, several institutions including US agencies were involved in the investigation which started in August 2021.
It seems that the more intense the chaos, the deeper the changes emerge from it. In the present post-Covid-19 chaos of supply disruptions, 40-year high inflation rates, and a war in Europe—we seem to be on the brink of a major monetary pivot. To understand its implications and how digital assets fit into it, we first must revisit the previous reset. World War II as the First Great Reset As World War II chaos was coming to closure in July 1944, it birthed a new paradigm we still live in today. In the Bretton Woods mountain resort, 44 nations set up a new international monetary system. The arrangement was simple. As the economic and military powerhouse, the US would become the monetary center, as other nations would peg their currencies to the dollar. In turn, the dollar itself would be pegged to US gold reserves, at $35 per ounce. Other nations would then contract or expand their USD supply within the 1% range of the fixed-rate, as investors used forex brokers to exchange foreign currencies. President Richard Nixon abandoned the gold peg in 1971—and effectively the Bretton Woods system altogether—framing it as “There is no longer any need for the United States to compete with one hand tied behind her back.” Yet, the Bretton Woods legacy remained. Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have served as key cogs for the post-Bretton Woods era – the petro-dollar. The US as the World’s Money Controller President Nixon was correct in that the gold peg hobbled US expansion. On both sides of the equation, the gold peg has a number of issues: Because the money supply was constrained by a fixed exchange rate, so too were the government’s expansionary policies. These ranged from unemployment interventions to military spending. Furthermore, the gold peg was a double-edged sword. Although countries that pegged their currencies to the dollar ceded some of their domestic economic policies, they could also redeem dollars for gold. While the gold itself is rare and expensive to mine, its supply is not fixed. Even so, its supply doesn’t match up with the economic growth of the global economy. If a nation falls into a deficit, when the government’s income is lower than its spending, it has fewer options available to right the course around the recession storm. Altogether, it was the last point that made Nixon cut off the gold peg. He needed the Federal Reserve to provide an inexpensive money supply via lower interest rates. In this way, the economy would be flooded with cash, meaning it would grow sufficiently to offset a recession, regardless of the dollar being devalued in the process. Sound familiar? We have certainly seen record-high stock market gains thanks to the Fed’s injection of trillions of USD, which triggered a new era of retail traders using commission-free stock trading platforms. Needless to say, with the stabilizing gold peg gone, the 1970s were a period of the Great Inflation, just as appears to be happening now. Nonetheless, things would have been worse without the USD growing into its petrodollar status. In a nutshell, the USD has become the world’s global reserve currency because the US spends nearly as much on the military as the entire world. With influence over Europe stemming from WWII firmly entrenched and its control over the Gulf states, the US has been using the petrodollar as a vehicle to offset the downsides of unlocking its money supply and relentless spending. Both OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and non-OPEC nations, such as Russia and Qatar, have been using dollars to trade oil and gas. Such a system holds a glaring vulnerability that the West punctured this March, as it took unprecedented financial moves against Russia. New World Monetary Order Emerging As a nation with the world’s largest landmass, Russia holds an abundance of energy reserves. Accordingly, Russia’s main exports are energy-related products, at 63%, of which 26% and 12% constitute crude oil and gas, ...
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, commonly referred to as CZ, believes Russia cannot use cryptocurrencies to circumvent western sanctions. He said this during a recent interview with Richard Quest, the host of CNN’s Quest Means Business. According to him, crypto is too traceable, a trait that makes it unsuitable for dodging sanctions. Zhao pointed out that governments across the globe are increasingly getting better at tracing crypto transactions. To this end, he believes an intelligent person would not try to use crypto for such purposes. Nonetheless, he said Binance observes the sanction rules closely and will block anyone on the sanction list. CZ added that Binance would also block the accounts of anyone that is remotely related to the people on the sanction list. However, he asserted that Binance considers freezing assets of normal Russian users illegal. As such, the exchange will stand by its decision not to ban all Russians. To show the organization’s willingness to adhere to rules, CZ said it is up to the governments to decide whose assets Binance should freeze or unfreeze. Standing up against the war, not the people Unlike many organizations unwilling to take a stand on whether Russia was wrong for invading Ukraine, CZ said Binance is against the war and the politicians that started it. He reiterated that Binance is not against the people because the war has impacted both Ukrainians and Russians. According to him, Binance seeks to help these people overcome their difficulties. Touting the firm’s efforts of helping those in need, he pointed out that Binance was among the first companies to pledge $10 million to aid Ukrainian refugees. CZ added that Binance has already given out most of this amount. This news comes after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange would not preemptively ban all Russian users. In a March 4 tweetstorm, Armstrong said Coinbase believes everyone deserves access to financial services unless the law says otherwise. He added that, Some ordinary Russians are using crypto as a lifeline now that their currency has collapsed. Many of them likely oppose what their country is doing, and a ban would hurt them, too. That said, if the US government decides to impose a ban, we will of course follow those laws.
When LooksRare started operating in January, it came with the promise of challenging OpenSea’s dominance in the NFT space. But three months down the line, it seemed to have developed a reputation for wash trading. According to CryptoSlam and cited by Bloomberg, about $18 billion or 95% of trading volume on the platform is wash trading. Wash trading is an act where a trader sells an asset belonging to them to another wallet controlled by them. It is usually an attempt to inflate the price of the asset and also give the impression of demand. But that’s not the only reason why LooksRare traders are doing it. LooksRare incentives indirectly promote wash trading The prevalence of wash trading on the marketplace is due to the incentives attached to active trading on the platform. While the concept of wash trading is frowned upon by many, there are no regulations that prevent it. But even if the intention of the wash traders is to earn tokens and not pump prices, there’s no doubt that the act masks the true state of things in the NFT scene. This has led many to describe it as market manipulation. According to David Silva, a lawyer with experience in crypto matters, it doesn’t matter whether it is stocks, bonds, or NFT, “Wash trading is a form of market manipulation in which an investor simultaneously sells and buys the same instrument to create misleading, artificial activity in the marketplace.” However, it appears that LooksRare’s attempt to wrestle some of the NFT market shares from OpenSea is gaining some traction. A senior data analyst at DappRadar, Pedro Herrera, noted that organic trading on LooksRare has increased as its lower fees and rewards are bringing in new users. But OpenSea remains the most prominent platform with about 10 times more daily users than LooksRare. Decline in NFT trades not affecting corporate interest Despite OpenSea still maintaining its dominance, the overall NFT trading volume has declined over the past two months. Since it hit a record of almost $5 billion in monthly trading volume in January, transactions have dropped significantly, and so has the number of new investors entering the space. The trading volume in March was around $2.5 billion. However, the decline in interest hasn’t discouraged corporate investors from getting into the metaverse space. Companies like JP Morgan and HSBC now have virtual venues on the blockchain. Other companies such as Meta and Google have also revealed plans to integrate NFTs into their products.
Premier League football club Liverpool is reeling after its six-day Sotheby’s auction ended on Monday, having sold just 9,721 out of an available 171,072 NFTs. The LFC Heroes Club Collection is described as cartoon avatar depictions of the Liverpool squad. Token holders are granted “access to a range of ongoing benefits.” “Holders have access to a members-only LFC Discord community chat channel where they can interact with other passionate LFC Heroes Club members. Additional benefits include virtual hang-outs, competitions, guest appearances, updates from the LFC Foundation and LFC retail discounts.” In addition, a percentage of the proceeds will go to the LFC Foundation. This independent charity provides support in the local area (and beyond) for sports activities, health and wellbeing, and youth interventions, among other aims. In recent times, gamers have made it clear they don’t welcome NFTs due to the potential monetization strategies they offer game developers. Based on the poor uptake of the LFC Heroes Club Collection, sports fans hold a similar view. LFC Heroes Club NFTs The LFC Heroes Club Collection was available as part of a two-tier auction. The “Legendary” auction featured 1/1 NFTs of the 23 squad members plus first-team manager Jürgen Klopp. All 24 Legendary lots were sold, with Mohamed Salah fetching the highest price, at $88,200. Followed by Lot 1: Jürgen Klopp raising $81,900. The “Hero Limited Edition” auction made up the remaining 171,048 NFTs. This range also features the squad, but each NFT varies according to the background color and “Match Mode, Fresh Mode and Super Mode traits.” The asking price for Hero Limited Editions was $75. And with 9,697 sold, revenue generated comes in at $727,275. Of which 10% will go to the LFC Foundation. The revenue generated by the Legendary auction comes to $745,290. Of which 50% will go to the LFC Foundation. All in all, LFC Heroes Club earned Liverpool Football Club a total of $1,472,565 ($1,027,193 after charitable contributions). This falls way short of the projected sales figure of $11.2 million. What does the community say? Liverpool Football Club was keen to stress that the LFC Heroes NFTs operate on the energy-efficient Polygon blockchain, making the Collection environmentally friendly. “We have chosen to mint all LFC Heroes Club NFTs on Polygon, one of the most energy-efficient blockchains. Creating an NFT on Polygon has the same carbon impact as sending just 2.5 emails, which means LFC NFTs consume 99.95% less energy than projects on Ethereum.” However, in conjunction with the charitable element, this wasn’t enough to rouse sufficient interest in the project. The Director of Centre for the Eurasian Sport Industry, Professor Simon Chadwick, claims that single buyers purchased multiple NFTs, making the sales figures even worse than initially thought. It appears that although just under 10,000 Liverpool NFTs have been bought, the number of buyers is significantly less than 10,000. In several instances, single buyers have bought multiple NFTs, further calling into question the number of people in total who have made a purchase Professor Simon Chadwick (@Prof_Chadwick) April 4, 2022 Football Journalist David Lynch said the club had been weighing up the pros and cons of releasing an NFT collection for some time. But in the end, they opted to go, ahead despite the drawbacks, for reasons of financial gain. Liverpool have spent a long time assessing external sentiment around NFTs in recent months and were warned about potential harms to investors/the environment but proceeded anyway. Presumably the financial gain outweighs any backlash as far as they’re concerned. David Lynch (@dmlynch) March 24, 2022 An examination of grassroots sentiment shows there is enormous skepticism towards digital assets. Common themes include NFTs being a vehicle for tax evasion, copying pictures is the same as owning the NFT, and this being a money grab for Liverpool Football Club.
Elon Musk bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter for $2.9 billion, making him the platform’s biggest shareholder. Recently, the Tesla CEO had slammed Twitter on the grounds of it “failing to adhere to free speech principles.” As a response to the problem, Musk teased the possibility of starting his own social media platform or even buying Twitter. However, few imagined he would follow through with either of these ideas. Nonetheless, analysts expect this acquisition of a stake in Twitter to be the start. What’s more, with Musk being a fan of Dogecoin, should we expect a collaboration between the two? How might Dogecoin fit in? Crypto markets are mainly flat today. However, among the large caps, Dogecoin posted the second-biggest gains in the last 24-hours, at +5%. NEAR Protocol leads the pack with +5.7% gains. Musk disclosed his crypto holdings to CNBC last year, saying he owns Bitcoin, Ether, and Dogecoin. On his reason for liking Dogecoin, he said: “That’s why I decided to support Doge — it felt like the people’s crypto.” Given Dogecoin’s response to the news, it’s clear that markets expect Musk to utilize $DOGE on Twitter in some capacity. But will that ever happen? Before the acquisition stake, as Musk was canvassing opinions on how to tackle Twitter censorship, one user posted a tongue-in-cheek comment saying Dogecoin, for sure, will be used as a tipping mechanism. To which Musk replied, “100.” “One of the best things about Elon Musk either buying Twitter or starting his own platform is you know there would be a Dogecoin tip jar!“ The initial use case of $DOGE was as an internet tipping currency. But as pointed out by this eight-year-old Reddit post, there are three barriers to preventing this from happening. One, tipping in meaningful increments, two, making Dogecoin easier to send and receive, and three, having a social media platform on board. “create widgets/apps that allow content creators on blogs/tumblr/twitter/etc to be tipped for their work at the click of a button.” What’s next for Musk and Twitter? Speaking to CNBC Squawk Box, Dan Ives, Analyst at Wedbush Securities, speculates that Musk may “take a more aggressive stance on Twitter,” which could eventually lead to a complete takeover of the company. Commenting on the situation, crypto influencer Layah Heilpern points out it reflects poorly on the Western world that Musk is single-handedly trying to “save freedom of speech.” Technically we are relying on @elonmusk to save Freedom of Speech. Quite incredible what western society has come to. Layah Heilpern (@LayahHeilpern) April 4, 2022 As an indication that he intends to shake things up at Twitter, Musk posted a humorous tweet asking whether users want an edit button. But Dogecoin holders want more information on Musk’s plans for the meme coin going forward.
Seven out of 10 crypto investors own a hardware wallet, out of which, 54% keep their backup phrases on paper, while 50% of these investors keep their full backup in one place, according to a survey by Ngrave. NGrave‘s 2022 Crypto Security Self-Audit report reveals that 50% of hardware wallet owners’ keys would be compromised if someone were to find their backup. The company’s CEO Ruben Merre commented on the report and said: “The results of our annual Security Self-Audit show that there are glaring gaps in the methods investors are using to ensure the security of their assets, especially at a time when high-profile and high-valueN breaches are becoming increasingly common.” He further elaborated: “It is clear that there is much to be done to secure the crypto assets of investors the world over, if the industry is to avoid the hacks that we have seen in recent months.” As attacks on wallets remain to be a serious problem for crypto holders, the community has been working on new methods to prevent irreversible losses and increase wallet security. Other Findings The study included over 2000 unique respondents from 87 countries, mainly Europe and North America. The numbers showed that almost half of the participants hold less than $20,000 in their portfolio, while one out of five investors has more than $100,000. 66% of the participants indicated that they prefer to buy and hold instead of trading. Merre referred to this percentage and said: “The behaviour of crypto investors remains stable compared to 2021. Given the nature of the survey, an overrepresentation of nontrader profiles was expected and confirmed.” When it comes to storage, the numbers indicate that 76% of the respondents have a part of their portfolio stored on an exchange, and almost all of them (92%) use a two-factor authentication method.
MicroStrategy’s spree of adding bitcoin to its balance sheet continues without rest. Announced in a tweet by the company CEO Michael Saylor, the IT-services company bought another 4,167 bitcoin (BTC). As reported by CryptoSlate on March 30, the purchase was expected after MicroStrategy announced the company had borrowed $205 million to buy more bitcoin. Aside from Saylor’s tweet, the company also, as required, filed a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC. MicroStrategy’s 129,218 bitcoin hoard MicroStrategy announced securing a loan with Silvergate Bank. Under the agreement, $205 million was issued, with bitcoin held by the subsidiary firm MacroStrategy (note: macro, not micro) collateralizing the deal. The press release also mentioned the payment of costs related to the loan and “general corporate purposes.” As per Saylor’s tweet, the company did not use the entire amount of the loan to buy bitcoin as MacroStrategy roughly $190 million at an average price of $45,714 per BTC. MicroStrategy first bought bitcoin in August 2020 and this latest purchase strengthens its position as the largest known corporate holder of bitcoin, which it has achieved through a mix of self-funding and borrowing. MicroStrategy’s bitcoin holdings now total 129,218 bitcoin acquired for $3.97 billion at an average price of $30,700 per bitcoin. Self-funding bitcoin buys from company reserves is one thing. But eyebrows were raised in July 2021 when the firm announced it was going through with a complex corporate bond to acquire more. This saw MicroStrategy borrow $400 million to buy Bitcoin. Bitcoin bounced over $47,000 on the news On the news of MacroStrategy’s purchase, the market price of bitcoin briefly bounced above $47,000 and is at press time trading around $45,800. The price of bitcoin has been fairly level the past week, after a dip down to $44,350 on April 1st, holding itself in a corridor between $46,000 and $ 47,000. According to crypto analysts IntoTheBlock, on-chain data shows that retail customers are accumulating bitcoin. Addresses holding 0.1-1 BTC have increased their balance by 1.47% in just 30 days. Moreover, since the January lows, all the clusters of addresses holding below 1 BTC have increased their holdings up to 5.51%. Since the all-time high at $60,044 set on November 10th, 2021, bitcoin is down 32.3%.
A pseudonymous user, known as “s27,” today lost roughly $570,000 worth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) after exchanging his Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) #1584 and two Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) tokens for fraudulent NFTs deceptively disguised as genuine. The exchange was first spotted by crypto enthusiast Quit thanks to his Discord server configured to track ape listings that are at least 5% below their floor price in Ethereum (ETH): “The pings are rare, but when they happen it generally means one of two things: somebody is panic selling, or somebody is compromised. When I saw the notification for #1584, I instantly knew it was the latter.” Indeed, according to NFT marketplace OpenSea’s records, BAYC #1584 as well as MAYC #13168 and MAYC #13169 were transferred from s27 to another address today — literally for free. Further, Quit discovered that not only did s27 transfer his valuable NFTs to a scammer, but he was also the initiator of the trade. As it turned out, s27 used Swap.Kiwi, a blockchain service that allows collectors to swap certain NFTs for others — preferably of equal or greater value — just like trading cards. But as usual, there was a catch. Do your own research Investigating further, Quit has tracked down the scammer’s NFTs that s27 received after the swap was made. All of them appeared as genuine BAYC tokens — but only at first glance. 6/ Well, the hacker used that to his advantage. Here are the apes that s27 received in return:://t.co/pIgu3mRGVY You'll see that each has the green check added directly to the image. quit (@0xQuit) April 5, 2022 In reality, the “green checkmark” Swap.Kiwi uses to verify that tokens are really authentic can be easily counterfeited via a simple image editor — and that’s exactly what the scammer did. Essentially, he downloaded some “jpegs” depicting a few expensive BAYC apes and added a fake watermark so that they would appear like the real deal when displayed on Swap.Kiwi. Of course, a deeper look into the scammer’s wallet would reveal that his tokens are anything but genuine, although a lot of crypto users oftentimes neglect such procedures, sadly. Shortly after receiving the BAYC and two MAYC NFTs, the scammer sold them for 98.85 ETH (currently around $350,00), 23 ETH ($81,000), and 25.25 ETH ($90,000) — worth a total of $521,000 at press time. However, these listings were lower than their corresponding floor prices, placing s27’s potential loss in the ballpark of $570,000, according to Quit. 9/ So what can you, the tradoooor, do to protect yourself? Well, there are a few things. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.– Close your DMs. Negotiate in public.– Always assume everybody is out to get you. They probably are.– Independently verify EVERYTHING quit (@0xQuit) April 5, 2022 Meanwhile, NFT holders are seemingly becoming the prime target for scammers of all sorts who, in their turn, keep coming up with increasingly inventive schemes for their endeavors. As CryptoSlate reported, crypto users discovered a new wave of Discord NFT scams just yesterday, April 4. And it is very unlikely that bad actors are planning to dial down their activity any time soon.
Contrary to the belief that gamers are leaving the popular play-to-earn game Axie Infinity because of the recent hack, available information shows that the platform had lost nearly half of its users even before the heist, Bloomberg News reported. Axie Infinity loses gamers In the week of March 28, CryptoSlate reported that Ronin Network, the bridge side chain that facilitates crypto transactions for the game, lost over $600 million to hackers. This led to the developer temporarily suspending withdrawals for gamers on the platform leading to speculation that this might have affected the number of users on the platform. However, according to data provided by Sky Mavis, the developer behind the play-to-earn project, the number of its daily active users (DAUs) was falling even before the March 23 heist. Per the data, the game had lost around 45% of its DAU, which was now about 1.48 million users. A far cry from its all-time high of over 8 million users in November 2021. Explaining the slide A data journalist at Nansen, Martin Lee, opines that one of the factors behind the drop in usage is the huge market offsetting of the game’s native currency, Smooth-Love Potion (SLP), which happened in December and led to a dip in price. The decline in the players’ earnings & rewards inadvertently led to a drop in their interest. Lee further states that the price decline too created fear for users who bought the currency at higher rates. Also, most players are awaiting the game’s new patch named “Origin,” which they hope will revive the game. It is also noteworthy that the platform’s inability to provide a timeline for repayment may further lead to a decline in players’ activity. as they may no longer trust the platform’s ability to recover the stolen funds, refund them, or even their general security. Players might be tempted to port to other identical games instead. Hacker begins transferring assets According to another CryptoSlate report, on-chain data shows that the hacker has begun moving some of his stolen assets in an attempt to cover his tracks. Per the report, the hacker transferred over 1,000 ETH to Tornado Cash, but there are indications that the hacker might not be able to convert the assets into fiat because only centralized exchanges would have sufficient liquidity to run such amounts.
Germany’s Central Office for Combating Cybercrime (ZIT) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) have successfully seized the server infrastructure of the world’s largest illegal darknet marketplace Hydra. Per a press release published by the BKA today, the law enforcement agencies have also confiscated approximately €23 million worth of Bitcoin. “Among other things, there is a suspicion of the commercial operation of criminal trading platforms on the Internet, the commercial procurement or granting of an opportunity for the unauthorized purchase or the unauthorized sale of narcotics as well as commercial money laundering.” What is Hydra? Launched around 2015, Hydra was hitherto the most prominent Russian darknet market and “likely the largest darknet market in the world”—despite operating mostly in CIS countries, according to crypto intelligence firm Ciphertrace. Namely, the marketplace served customers in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Moldova. In total, around 17 million customers and over 19,000 seller accounts were registered on the marketplace. Hydra ran out of heads Naturally, trades on Hydra — the lion’s share of which reportedly involved illegal narcotics — were conduсted using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, the BKA pointed out, adding: “According to ZIT and BKA estimates, ‘Hydra Market’ was probably the illegal marketplace with the highest turnover worldwide. Its sales amounted to at least 1.23 billion euros in 2020 alone. In particular, the Bitcoin Bank Mixer, a service for obfuscating digital transactions provided by the platform, made crypto investigations extremely difficult for law enforcement agencies.” Following Hydra’s closure, a special banner was placed by the agencies on its website, notifying users that “the platform and the criminal content have been seized by the Federal Criminal Police Office on behalf of Attorney General’s Office in Frankfurt am Main in the course of an international coordinated law enforcement operation.” As CryptoSlate reported, despite being of Russian origin, Hydra wasn’t actually used to evade the western sanctions that followed the country’s armed conflict with Ukraine, according to blockchain data platform Chainalysis. And now it never will be, apparently.
