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Bitcoin mining difficulty has reached its maximum
As a result of the next recalculation, the difficulty of mining the first cryptocurrency increased by 6.47%. The indicator reached a record high of 61.03 T.
The average hashrate for the period since the previous value change was 465.6 EH/s. The interval between mined blocks is less than 9.5 minutes.
According to Glassnode, the smoothed 7-day moving average peaked at 469.9 EH/s on October 12. At the time of writing, it has corrected to 440.8 EH/s.
According to the Hashrate Index, the hash price is $59.8 per PH per day. Over the past 24 hours, the value has fallen 3.4% from $61.9, reached amid a sharp jump in the price of Bitcoin to $30,000.
Let us remind you that ForkLog collected the results of the activities of the largest Bitcoin miners for September in a traditional digest.
Crypto company Genesis has suspended withdrawals
According to recent reports, Genesis has suspended the ability to withdraw funds from its site. Cryptocurrency blogger Scott Melker recently reported that New York courts have approved a settlement agreement between Genesis Global and FTX.
This agreement eliminates certain claims made by FTX in the amount of $3.9 billion. According to the specialist, a number of FTX's creditors expressed dissatisfaction with the original settlement plan. According to some experts, the suspension of withdrawals by Genesis Global highlights the importance of the fundamental problems that occur in the cryptocurrency industry.
It is worth noting that the trial of former FTX head Sam Bankman-Fried is ongoing, which adds to the uncertainty.
In parallel, experts suggest that further interaction between the crypto lender and the bankrupt FTX platform will be of strategic importance for the long-term development of the entire crypto segment.
Since the beginning of 2020, cryptocurrency whales have gotten rid of Ethereum worth $3.2 billion
Analyst James Strathan analyzed the behavior of cryptocurrency whales who own at least 1000 Ethereum (ETH) or bitcoins.
Despite the bullish rally in the ETH market in 2021, since the beginning of 2020, rich people have gotten rid of 20 million Ethereum worth $31.2 billion at the current rate. At the same time, over the last year they sold 12 million ETH for a total of $18.7 billion.
In the Bitcoin market, cryptowits behaved differently. They continued to increase coin reserves until 2021, and sold BTC to lock in profits. And this year, millionaires again began to accumulate BTC.
Straten believes that these statistics signal a continuation of the bearish trend in the Ethereum market. With 202s-gypatovali, it was 81%, the same in extensively in the case of the need for the clocks of the UCPEX and the new %.
But it’s too early to give up Ethereum. The altcoin rate fluctuates within a contracting triangle and is approaching the lower line of the figure, which is currently at $1,500. Accordingly, after reaching the bottom in the area of $1500, we should expect a correction and a decrease in the level of volatility.
Hardware wallet maker Ledger cuts 12% of staff
In his letter, Pascal Gauthier reported on the unfavorable macroeconomic situation and the ongoing crisis in the cryptocurrency industry.
He recalled the collapse of companies such as FTX and Voyager Digital, and said that in order to “continue business” it is necessary to lay off employees.
“Macroeconomic problems limit our ability to generate income. In response to current market conditions and business realities, we must reduce our role in global business.
Unfortunately, this means that we have made the difficult decision to eliminate 12% of positions at Ledger,” the company’s CEO wrote. Gauthier emphasized that all employees affected by the layoffs will receive the company's full support in finding new jobs.
“But know that we will come out of this period stronger. I expect everyone at Ledger to become leaders. We are at an important stage in the development of our industry and it is our duty to act seriously and responsibly to get through these difficult times,” added Gauthier.
It was recently reported that Ledger would provide free hardware wallets to select Sotheby's NFT collectors as part of its business promotion.
OpenAI in early talks to collaborate with Jony Ive on AI rival to the iPhone
OpenAI intends to produce an artificial intelligence-focused equivalent to the iPhone, according to a report from the Financial Times on Sept. 28.
That report indicates that OpenAI is working with LoveFrom, a design company founded by British designer Jony Ive. Ive was formerly responsible for various Apple designs but ended his contract with Cupertino firm in 2022.
Current design brainstorming meetings aim to produce a “natural and intuitive” way for users to interact with artificial intelligence. The Financial Times‘ sources stressed that details have not been finalized. They said that a formal partnership may not be announced for months, and that a product may not arrive on the market for years.
Few if any other details have been publicized, and it is unclear how closely the device will resemble or share features with modern smartphones. OpenAI and LoveFrom seemingly intend to match the convenience of the iPhone rather than any specific functions.
OpenAI is also set to obtain funding from the Japanese banking giant SoftBank and its founder, Masayoshi Son. OpenAI will receive more than $1 billion in funding through that agreement, according to the report. The chip manufacturer Arm, a company in which SoftBank holds 90% stake, could become involved in the deal as well.
None of the above parties have confirmed their involvement publicly. The Financial Times instead obtained its information from three individuals familiar with the matter.
OpenAI is best known for its AI model, OpenGPT, and its related chatbot, ChatGPT. The company recently announced upgrades to ChatGPT that will allow it to handle images, video, and audio in limited ways. The app is also gaining access to the internet.
Other reports from late August suggest that the recent popularity of OpenAI will help the firm approach $1 billion in revenue in the coming year.
Apart from his artificial intelligence pursuits, OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman is involved in Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency-based biometric ID project.
A startup from a16z attracted $25 million in investments
Web3 company Bastion, founded by former a16z crypto executives, has closed a $25 million seed round of funding.
Investors include a16z itself, Laser Digital Ventures, Robot Ventures, Packy McCormick, Not Boring Capital and others.
The project is led by former a16z crypto CISO Nassim Eddekiouak and CTO Riyaz Faizullabhoy. They also worked for Meta Corporation for several years.
Bastion is designed to make it easier for firms to adopt blockchain-based technologies and attract new users.
“We see Bastion as the ideal place for consumer brands coming to Web3, like Nike and Starbucks, to create convenient and engaging experiences similar to Web2,” said startup co-founder Nassim Eddekiouak.
The company uses the funds received to scale its activities, attract new employees and obtain additional licenses for further diversification of services.
Bastion's "intelligent routing" system selects whether transactions occur on-chain or off-chain, providing scalability and efficiency for enterprise customers.
“Automatically routing off-chain interactions makes more transactions free, instant and completely private, ultimately leveraging the best elements of Web2 and Web3 for the ultimate user experience,” the project noted.
Previously, the blockchain startup Layer N raised $5 million in a seed round led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund venture company and the decentralized investment group dao5.
Let's remember that in the second quarter, Web3 startups attracted about $1.8 billion in venture funding - a figure decreased by 76% compared to the same period in 2022.
Google allows ads for NFT-based games from September 15th
Google has announced an update to its policy on cryptocurrencies and related products, including games based on unique tokens (NFTs).
As of September 15, 2023, advertisers offering non-gambling NFT games will be able to advertise those products and services on the Google Ads platform if they meet certain requirements and are certified by Google.
NFTs are unique digital assets that can represent various objects such as art, music, videos, trading cards, etc.
They are stored on the blockchain and can be transferred or sold to other users. NFT games are video games that use NFTs as game elements such as characters, items, rewards, etc.
Google banned ads for cryptocurrencies and related products in 2018, but relaxed its policy in 2021 to allow ads for cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets in the US, subject to financial registration and legal compliance.
However, Google still bans advertisements for initial coin offerings (ICOs), decentralized finance protocols (DeFi), and any advertisements related to cryptocurrency or NFT gambling.
According to Google, the updated policy aims to “balance innovation and responsible advertising” in the cryptocurrency space. Advertisers wishing to promote NFT games must apply for certification from Google and prove that their products and services do not violate local laws in any region they target.
In addition, Google does not allow ads for NFT games where players can wager or win cryptocurrency or other NFT prizes. It is also prohibited to advertise sites, aggregators or consultants for cryptocurrency or NFT.
Google has warned that violation of this policy may result in the suspension of an advertiser's account. However, Google will not enforce this measure without prior notice seven days prior to a possible suspension.
Nigeria Leads the World in Cryptocurrency Awareness
Nigeria is the leader in the world in terms of awareness of cryptocurrencies. This is indicated in a study conducted by ConsenSys. The survey was conducted among residents of 15 states.
The study was aimed at assessing the global perception of cryptocurrencies, NFTs, Web3, blockchain and the Metaverse. It found that 92% of respondents around the world had heard of cryptocurrencies, with Nigeria, South Africa and Brazil being the most crypto-savvy countries.
As a reminder, Nigeria is also developing its own AI development strategy.
The study highlights that 99% of respondents in Nigeria said they knew about cryptocurrencies. 90% of respondents indicated that they are ready to invest in cryptocurrencies. 70% of the country's residents also showed a decent understanding of blockchain technology.
More broadly, the study found that people in surveyed countries were not well aware of the concept of Web3. Only 8% of the respondents are familiar with this concept.
This points to a major gap in understanding of its ability to address issues such as privacy, identity, and digital property on the Internet.
50% of respondents believe Web3 adds value to the web, and 67% feel they should own the content they create online. Moreover, data privacy concerns were prominent, with 83% prioritizing data privacy and 70% believing they should share the profits made from their data.
Thanks to the study, it was possible to identify regional differences in relation to cryptocurrencies. In particular, European states, Japan and South Korea are showing considerable skepticism, associating cryptocurrencies with concepts such as fraud and money laundering.
And countries in Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa have shown a more positive attitude, viewing cryptocurrencies as a financial opportunity and protection against unstable local fiat currencies.
In these countries, inflation is high, and the population believes that cryptocurrencies will help to cope with it and the depreciation of national currencies.
Nansen experts report on problems in the NFT sector
Analysts at the Nansen research company have published a report on the situation in the market of non-fungible tokens (NFT), as of August 29, 2023.
They noted that between January 1, 2022 and today, Art NFTs have become the most efficient sector based on the Ethereum (ETH) network. They have been more successful than any other type, including the Blue Chips and the Metaverse.
Nansen specialists told how “weakened” each specific NFT sector is. They proposed a scenario in which an unnamed collector invested $1,000 in each NFT index on the morning of January 1, 2022.
The worst performer was Game-50, which represents various types of gaming NFTs, including GameFi and Play-to-Earn. That figure fell by 91%. Today, the investment would turn into $90.
As for Metaverse-20, today the investment would be reduced to $202. This means that the owners of digital lands are at a serious loss. The benchmark NFT 500 index would leave an investor with only $329 on their balance sheet. As for Social-100 or NFTs focused on social connections, today a collector would have only $362.
Speaking of Blue Chip-10 or the best and most famous digital collections, a $1,000 investment would turn into $405. Art-20 took the first place in the ranking of NFT indices. It includes the top 20 art collections by market capitalization.
With an investment of $1,000, there would now be $596 in the virtual account. According to Nansen researchers, this suggests that people really like digital paintings.
However, analysts noted that in January 2022, the value of ETH in US dollars (USD) was much higher than it is now. The $1000 invested then would have turned into $432 today. As of August 29, 2023, the Ethereum rate is fixed at around $1645.
1inch Deployed Protocols on Base L2 Network by Coinbase
On August 24, the developers of 1inch Network announced the deployment of the main networks of their project in Base, a second-layer solution supported by the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange.
Through the integration, 1inch users will have access to cheaper and faster transactions, as well as additional liquidity.
In addition, projects deployed in Base will be able to serve customers in the Coinbase ecosystem through internal products and fiat channels.
Recall that at the end of July, 1inch Labs released a SaaS test Web3 platform with access to the API for creating new products.
Former OpenSea executive sentenced to three months in prison
A Manhattan federal court has delivered a final verdict in the case of Nathaniel Chastain, former NFT OpenSea product manager.
Nathaniel Chastain was found guilty of what prosecutors called "the first-ever digital asset insider trading scheme."
“Nathaniel Chastain is on trial for breaching a trust placed in him by his employer and using confidential OpenSea information for his own benefit.
The court's decision should serve as a warning to other corporate insiders that insider trading in any form is unacceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.
As a result of the trial, Chastain was sentenced to three months in prison, a fine of $50,000, and three years of probation under the supervision of law enforcement.
Chastain's scam was exposed by a Twitter user named Zuwu in 2021. The expert expressed suspicion against OpenSea that its employee is buying up potentially profitable NFTs before their public presentation on the platform.
Daily trading volume on Coinbase International jumps to $287 million
On August 18, trading turnover on the Coinbase International crypto derivatives exchange reached a record $287 million, according to The Block.
The main share of activity falls on perpetual contracts based on Ethereum and Bitcoin. Instruments based on Litecoin and XRP form a small trading volume.
Coinbase launched the platform in May 2023. The firm has been licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
The decision was made amid an SEC investigation into the listing procedure on the exchange and its products - Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Wallet and staking service Coinbase Earn.
“We are working to bring new features and additional products to market in the second half of the year,” the letter to platform shareholders reads.
According to the company's vice president for institutional products Greg Tusar, from the beginning of the year to mid-August, the volume of trading in perpetual contracts based on digital gold on Coinbase International reached $4.7 billion, and similar instruments based on Ethereum - $2 billion.
In general, in the bitcoin futures segment, trading volume decreased from $1.3 trillion in March to $608 billion in July.
On August 16, 2023, Coinbase received an FCM license from the CFTC. This will offer select US clients access to cryptocurrency futures trading.
In 2022, the exchange acquired FairX, a CFTC-regulated crypto derivatives platform, which was renamed Coinbase Derivatives Exchange.
The platform is open to third-party brokers, FCMs and market makers.
Coinbase applied for a license in September 2021.
The launch of the service for selected users is expected in the coming weeks.
Ledger launches PayPal integration for buying BTC and ETH
Cryptocurrency security firm Ledger has announced a new integration that allows U.S. customers to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin using their PayPal account, the company said in a statement.
The Paris-based blockchain company said that U.S. customers using its Ledger Live app — although subject to “applicable state law” — will be able to purchase crypto without verification if they have already purchased the digital currency with PayPal.
“Both PayPal and Ledger are focused on creating secure, convenient and fast transactions wherever you are,” said Pascal Gauthier, Chairman and CEO of Ledger. “Ledger is committed to simplifying the world of cryptocurrencies, while PayPal is committed to making the movement of money as simple, secure and affordable as possible.”
Both Ledger and PayPal have been expanding their interests in crypto lately. PayPal recently launched a stablecoin in the US, and Ledger rolled out a new institutional trading network called Tradelink.
Founded in 2014 and best known for hardware wallets, Ledger is one of the largest crypto companies in Europe.
Head of Immutable on the development of Web3 games in Asia
According to Robbie Ferguson, president and co-founder of Immutable, Asians are making a big leap forward in the Web3 sector.
He noted that game studios from the region are "at the forefront of development" of projects due to the "very strong genre match" between products in the sector and what the continent has historically developed.
In an interview with TechCrunch, the entrepreneur emphasized that the citizens of Japan, South Korea, China and other countries have been very passionate about collecting for many decades.
According to Ferguson, it was the Asian game developers who "laid the foundation for mobile games." He recalled that they stood at the origins of the free-to-play concept.
The entrepreneur added that the popularity of collectibles in existing games in the region would be great with the integration of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into the Web3 sector.
According to him, the evolution of the gaming industry in the crypto industry is shifting towards Asia. Ferguson believes that "consumer response is likely to vary from region to region."
The head of Immutable made big bets on the development of the cryptocurrency games market. His organization released a platform for creating and scaling Web3 projects based on the Ethereum blockchain.
In addition, the organization itself is a design studio that develops and launches games through the Immutable Games division.
This site has also signed cooperation agreements with several partners. These included web studios and intellectual property owners such as GameStop, TikTok, Illuvium and the NFT marketplace OpenSea.
In March 2022, Immutable raised $200 million at a $2.5 billion valuation. In June of that year, management announced the launch of a developer fund and received $500 million in venture capital funding.
Tokens worth $425 million will enter the crypto market in August
In August of this year, an additional number of tokens will be released to the crypto market. According to TokenUnlocks, SAND, APT, IMX, INJ, LDO and AVAX will soon be added to circulation.
The DYDX, YGG and ID crypto project teams will also release a huge amount of crypto assets into public circulation. According to Wu Blockchain, the total value of these tokens is estimated at more than $425 million.
Notably, the popular online gaming platform The Sandbox is set to unlock 332.55 million native SAND tokens worth $134 million on August 14. Another 949 million tokens will remain locked.
Avalanche, the 18th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, will unlock 9.54 million tokens on August 26, worth about $120 million.
Similarly, the Tier 1 blockchain platform Aptos plans to issue 4 million APT worth $30 million on August 12. There are currently 170 million APT tokens unlocked and 829 million locked, which is 83% of the maximum supply of tokens.
IMX, Immutable X’s native Level 2 Blockchain Token, will hit the market on August 12 with 18 million tokens worth $13.77 million. Currently, 1.12 billion unlocked IMX tokens represent 55% of the maximum supply. In addition, there are 884 million locked IMX tokens, which is 44% of the maximum supply.
On August 17, the Apecoin team plans to unlock 15 million tokens worth $28 million. This new release means that APE will have more unlocked tokens (513.71 million) than locked ones (486.29 million).
Finally, INJ is set to release 2.8 million tokens worth $22.59 million on August 21, LDO will unlock 8.50 tokens worth $15.56 million. In addition, 12.22 million YGG tokens and 15 .15 million ID tokens worth 5.72 and $3.75 million, respectively.
As a result of three confiscations, the United States received 200,000 BTC
Currently, the United States federal government's Bitcoin assets include approximately $5 billion worth of coins.
According to the Wall Street Journal, three recent seizures that resulted in the discovery of more than 200,000 BTC have made the United States one of the largest holders of Bitcoin in the world.
Well-known Chinese reporter Colin Wu said that the seized bitcoins mainly belonged to cybercriminals associated with the darknet.
The coins are now stored in encrypted hardware wallets owned by government agencies, including the US Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice.
The Federal Government is now awaiting the final court decision on confiscation, which will give it legal ownership of the seized assets.
This will allow the US Marshals Service, which is responsible for the sale of confiscated assets, to conduct liquidations. Sometimes this process takes years.
The US government makes extensive use of intelligence information to track the illegal ownership of assets for their subsequent confiscation.
Cryptocurrency supporters and investors, seeing an increase in government assets, are very concerned about possible massive sales of BTC in the market. which will cause a rapid and deep drop in the exchange rate.
Galxe returns funds to victims
The Galxe team said it would return assets totaling $396,287 to affected users.
According to the report, the company will compensate all lost funds and pay an additional 10%. The assets are planned to be returned in stablecoins USDT on the Polygon network.
Galxe said the attack affected about 980 users.
The team also published a table showing all the addresses that were affected by the attack. The company urged users who believe they were affected, but are not on the list, to contact support with evidence to correct the situation.
On October 6, the Galxe team informed users that its website was down and urged them to limit interaction with wallets.
Analysts believe that the fall of the US dollar will attract interest in XRP
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In particular, analysts at the investment company Jefferies Group suggest that the US dollar could fall even further as the country struggles with its debt. The US recently reached a peak debt portfolio of $33 trillion, which worried financial industry participants.
The quantitative tightening of the Federal Reserve System and the increase in interest rates have raised concerns about the “debt spiral” of the currency. As a result, a negative economic situation may also lead to an increase in prices for crypto assets to the level of competition with gold.
As a result, the government will continue to print the dollar to save the situation, but this could lead to a further collapse of the currency. In this situation, investors will be forced to switch to crypto assets in order to protect themselves from the crisis.
Jefferies Group also notes that XRP, Bitcoin and Ethereum have attracted increased interest from institutions, led by the world's largest asset manager BlackRock, which has filed an application for a Bitcoin ETF in the US.
XRP became the focus of attention of organizations after the July victory of Ripple Labs in the court case against the US SEC. The judge's decision provided legal clarity on the status of XRP.
Hong Kong Crypto Exchange JPEX Launches DAO Stakeholder Dividend Plan Amid Scandal and Arrests
Hong Kong's troubled crypto exchange JPEX has announced plans to move forward with its DAO Stakeholder Dividend Plan.
This decision comes amid the ongoing investigation into the financial scandal worth over HK$1.5 billion ($191 million) and the arrest of multiple suspects associated with the platform.
The unfolding scandal first came to light when Hong Kong's securities watchdog identified JPEX as an unlicensed platform and raised concerns about suspicious activities.
JPEX had earlier floated the DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) Stakeholder Dividend Plan with its users.
The proposal was passed with 68% voting in favor, the exchange announced in a blog post.
Under the dividend plan, investors are given the option to convert their assets into DAO stakeholder dividends at a 1:1 ratio, with the ability to claim these dividends two years later.
The exchange says that users who add fresh assets to this plan can anticipate a potential doubling of their payouts.
These dividends will take various forms, including revenue generated from listing fees for new platform tokens, trading fees from spot and derivative products, and corresponding JPEX coins based on the shareholder's dividend proportion.
JPEX has committed to distributing 49% of the stakeholder dividends, totaling a value of $400 million.
What has raised concerns among users is the shift of their assets into JPEX's own digital currency, JPC (JPEX coin), without clear information about exchange rates and the inability to withdraw these assets.
The move has left some users feeling as though their assets have turned into "waste paper."
The proposed plan has received criticism from users and financial analysts who have questioned the economic viability of the plan.
The crypto exchange said that it is exploring options like peer-to-peer trading to boost platform revenue and enhance user involvement in shaping the platform's development and business strategies.
However, some users have claimed they were compelled to accept the plan, as there was no voting option against it within the platform's app.
Earlier, South China Morning Post reported that some users complained that with this dividedn plan in action, they are unable to withdraw their funds.
Experts and investors alike are now keeping a close eye on the evolving situation, hoping that law enforcement can halt the platform's operations and protect user assets.
As investigations continue and more suspects linked to the case are arrested, the future of JPEX remains uncertain.
Grayscale Investments has applied to launch a futures ETF on Ethereum
Grayscale Investments has submitted a proposal to the SEC to launch an exchange-traded fund based on Ethereum futures traded on the CME . The Wall Street Journal writes about this.
The announcement is subject to the Securities Act of 1933, which regulates commodities and spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Grayscale previously filed for a similar product under the Investment Company Act of 1940, under which most exchange-traded funds are registered.
In September, digital asset manager Hashdex submitted a proposal to the SEC to launch an Ethereum-based ETF and CME-traded futures based on the second-largest cryptocurrency. The document is based on the Securities Act of 1933.
Grayscale took the initiative to launch an exchange-traded fund based on Ethereum futures after the court granted its request to convert GBTC into a spot Bitcoin ETF.
The appeals court agreed that the agency never explained why spot and futures exchange-traded funds based on the first cryptocurrency are significantly different.
In June 2022, the organization filed a lawsuit against the regulator for refusing to convert GBTC into an ETF. The company submitted a proposal to the SEC to convert the product in October 2021.
Earlier, JPMorgan analysts said that the court's verdict in the Grayscale case could bring closer the final approval of a spot exchange-traded fund based on digital gold.
As a reminder, Grayscale asked the SEC to “expeditiously” approve a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Coinbase asks Indian traders to withdraw funds by September 25
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will stop serving Indian users who violate site standards. New users from India cannot register on the platform.
According to media reports, Coinbase sent emails to Indian traders saying that it would stop providing them with trading services after September 25th. By this date they must have time to withdraw all funds from their accounts.
Additionally, new users from India cannot register on Coinbase and are instead asked to download Coinbase Wallet.
A Coinbase spokesperson later clarified that the notice was not addressed to all Indian retail customers, but to those who no longer meet or have violated the exchange's updated standards.
The exchange representative noted that this will not affect the access of Indian citizens to Coinbase cloud services - they will still be able to use them through their account.
“It is possible that a recent routine review of our systems identified some accounts that no longer meet our updated standards.
Therefore, we will disable these accounts and customers can update their information later. Affected users' funds are safe and they can still withdraw their funds and send them to other cryptocurrency service providers until September 25th,” Coinbase said.
Coinbase opened a division in India in April 2022, but just a few days later the exchange stopped serving Indian users through the United Payments Interface (UPI) payment system due to pressure from local regulators.
Then Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was interfering with the operation of the exchange in the country.
Lido Finance needs $1.5 million in funding
The P2P developers who manage the deployment of Lido Finance on Solana have submitted a funding proposal to the Lido DAO community.
They are requesting an investment of $1.5 million. Funds are needed to maintain and develop the project, in order to avoid the termination of activities based on this blockchain.
“We have made significant progress in the evolution of our product product. However, in order to continue our efforts and take Lido Finance on Solana to the next level, we are turning to Lido DAO for financial support,” said Yury Medyakov, Senior P2P Product Manager.
Representatives of the organization assured that they do not need the entire amount immediately, but within the next 12 months. The $1.5 million includes a $200,000 quarterly development fee, a $600,000 annual marketing budget, and $100,000 in customer support.
The P2P team expects to capture more than 1% of the staking market share on Solana and continue to develop the product. If Lido DAO is unable to provide the requested financial support, then there is an alternative.
Otherwise, a decision will be triggered to initiate the offer closing process, similar to what happened with Lido on the Polkadot and Kusama networks. If this happens, then the protocol will cease to work in Solana by February 2024.
P2P is an active participant in the Solana ecosystem, operating the validator on the network and maintaining the infrastructure for projects based on this blockchain. The startup team believes that scaling Lido Finance operations will be beneficial as the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem grows on this blockchain.
According to DeFiLlama, Lido dominates the Ethereum-based liquid betting sector. The Total Value Locked (TVL) is about $14 billion, compared to only $50 million on Solana.
JPMorgan is going to provide cryptocurrency exchange services
Banking giant JPMorgan is going to provide cryptocurrency exchange services. JPMorgan Chase filed for the Chase Travel trademark.
The banking giant lists various services in the application, including virtual currency financial exchange and travel agency services.
In fact, the move is fitting in JPMorgan's quest to integrate cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies into its service offerings.
The application states that the trademark covers a range of services of various International Classes (IC). Specifically, IC 035 applies to credit card promotions with travel-related benefits, 24/7 travel and emergency customer support, and special promotions.
IC 036 covers financial services ranging from travel insurance to currency exchange services, both traditional and virtual. IC039 involves booking and ordering transport through a travel agency.
At the end of October 2020, the bank announced the launch of its stablecoin JPM Coin, the first cryptocurrency backed by a US bank and used to send cross-border payments, demonstrating its stance in favor of crypto innovation.
Also launched was Onyx, the world's first bank-led blockchain platform to develop innovative products, platforms and marketplaces.
Earlier in 2022, JPMorgan formally registered and patented the "JP Morgan Wallet" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
JPMorgan will provide services related to cryptocurrency transfers on the blockchain; cryptocurrency exchange services; crypto payment processing services, which include the processing of crypto payments through credit and bank cards, and services that include the creation and management of virtual checking accounts.
An interesting fact is that in 2017, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, declared Bitcoin a “scam” and stated that any employee caught trading it would be fired for “stupidity.” He also called crypto platforms “decentralized Ponzi schemes.”
Now the market situation has changed and JPMorgan is trying to become one of the leading players in the digital economy market.
Ethereum fees hit 8-month low
The world's largest smart contract platform, Ethereum (ETH), has become the "cheapest" to use in the last 8 months. The total daily fee paid by users for executing transactions on the network has dropped to 1,719 ETH ($2.8 million) as of August 27, 2023. This was the lowest since December 26, 2022, according to data tracked by analytics firm CryptoQuant.
This value has fallen by 89% compared to the annual maximum of 16.72 thousand ETH, registered on May 5 of this year. Platform analysts recalled that Ethereum uses a “proof of stake” consensus mechanism, in which validators, not miners, are used to create and verify blocks of transactions. Organizations that help secure the network by locking at least 32 ETH receive transaction fees.
They are rewarded with a priority fee or a tip that users add to the base cost to encourage them to prioritize. At the same time, that same base part is burned, removing a certain share of ETH from circulation and making the tokenomics deflationary.
A decrease in the total fees paid may indicate low network usage. This parameter is determined by user activity and is reflected in the number of pending transactions.
However, some market researchers have speculated that the multi-month low could be due, conversely, to the growing popularity of Ethereum's Layer 2 scaling solutions. This is a positive factor for the network.
“Ethereum L1 fees since the launch of the friends tech platform on August 10 are 25% lower than the average for the year up to this point. This is in sharp contrast to the days when non-fungible tokens (NFT) CryptoKitties appeared on the market, ”said David Lovant, head of research at FalconX.
“This comes amid the launch of L2 scalability solutions for Ethereum: Friends tech is built on Base using OP Stack,” the expert added.
The specialist spoke about the integration of Solana and Shopify
Decentralized payment protocol Solana Pay has received a new partner. Developers from Solana Labs announced the integration of the plugin with Shopify. This allows millions of companies around the world to get paid in cryptocurrencies on this e-commerce platform.
The second largest stablecoin USDC, with a market capitalization of $25.9 billion, will be the initial payment option. Josh Fried, a business development and partnership specialist at the Solana Foundation, told TechCrunch about this in an interview a few hours after the news of the signing of the agreement.
According to him, the choice was not random. Most merchants will be more willing to accept payment in a cryptocurrency pegged to the United States dollar (USD) than other digital currencies.
In addition, this virtual asset is regulated, unlike many altcoins, and has real collateral. He also stressed that the protocol will consider adding SOL and BONK cryptocurrencies in the future.
Shopify accounts for 10% of total U.S. e-commerce and $444 billion in global economic activity, according to official figures.
The Solana ecosystem has over 11.5 million active accounts. Solana Pay is already partnering with Circle and Phantom, as well as Checkout and Citcon.
Fried said credit card processing fees typically cost businesses between 1.5% and 3.5% per transaction. However, using the Solana Pay option is practically "free", the specialist noted.
The average cost on the Solana blockchain is $0.00025. He also talked about 100% network uptime in Q2 2023.
Several cryptocurrency teams and brands such as Helius, Mad Lads and MonkeDAO have already agreed to integrate Solana Pay into their Shopify stores, Fried shared.
The integration is designed to help merchants create loyalty programs, Freed said. Reward systems can be simple. If the consumer uses Solana Pay, the store will give him a discount.
Bitmain will pay compensation in case of a significant fall in bitcoin
Mining equipment manufacturer Bitmain has launched a protection mechanism against market volatility for its customers. This is reported by local media.
Within three months after the purchase of the S19j XP installation, the company undertakes to pay compensation in the amount of $1.89 for each Th of capacity if bitcoin quotes fall by more than 20%.
The funds will be credited to the client's balance and can be used to purchase any Bitmain products.
The program also applies to previously purchased units of the same model.
Earlier, Bitmain announced the new flagship Antminer S21, which will keep energy efficiency below 20 J/TH.
OpenSea will disable the tool for forced collection of royalties
Starting August 31, the OpenSea NFT marketplace will stop operating the Operator Filter on-chain tool, which collects royalties.
The platform introduced the solution in November 2022. Operator Filter allows collection creators to blacklist marketplaces that do not charge royalties when reselling assets.
According to the founder and CEO of OpenSea Devin Finzer, the tool did not receive the support in the ecosystem that the team was counting on. According to him, a number of marketplaces like Blur, Dew and LooksRare bypassed the Operator Filter by integrating the Seaport protocol.
The decision also faced opposition from some collection authors, who considered it an infringement on property rights, limiting NFT trading options.
“Unfortunately, the ecosystem did not accept the Operator Filter,” Finzer stated.
He noted that most trading volumes continue to shift into zero fees for creators.
“Royalties are just one of the many revenue streams available to Web3 creators, and our role in this ecosystem is to support innovation beyond a single use case or business model,” said the OpenSea founder.
After August 31, collections using the Operator Filter will be forced to collect fees until February 29, 2024. After this date, creator royalties will become optional. For new NFTs, this rule will take effect immediately.
In February, the OpenSea team switched the marketplace to an “optional collection” of royalties and temporarily canceled fees amid a confrontation with Blur.
Tether CTO talks about BTC mining
Paolo Ardoino, CTO of stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT), posted a lengthy post on Twitter (now X).
He said that his company is actively investing in the production of renewable energy with excess reserves and profits, and also supports the idea of mining bitcoin (BTC) in this way.
According to the specialist, despite the fact that there are many cloud services for mining the flagship cryptocurrency, he has never seen worthy ones among them.
Ardoino assured that almost none of these tools can be carefully customized, as well as get deep data analysis in real time, "tick by tick, to optimize processes."
Ardoino proposed to introduce a BTC cloud mining site that receives tens of thousands of visitors daily, and dozens of containers and thousands of other devices are connected to it.
According to the expert, this is actually a huge Internet of Things (IoT) project, where millions of data points are created every minute.
The specialist spoke about the Holepunch technology in the Moria project. According to him, this product is based on a scalable modular architecture.
It allows you to collect data from various types of devices, combine them and analyze them, including artificial intelligence (AI) predictive models. This makes it possible to collect the necessary information to optimize BTC mining.
Once everything is implemented, this software will be improved to manage part of the energy production. This includes solar panels, windmills, and more.
P2P data structures and streaming methods will allow Moria to scale to tens of millions of devices, "enabling dynamic grouping and orchestration," according to Ardoino.
Matrixport: US may give green light to Bitcoin ETF
Matrixport believes that the US may give a green light to an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for bitcoin, and, according to analysts, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may approve several applications for the launch of such a financial instrument at once.
Recall that among such applications there is a statement from the world's largest investment fund BlackRock.
According to Matrixport, such an expected decision by the SEC will be the trigger for a rally in the price of bitcoin. Institutional investors are also expected to invest “significant amounts of money in marketing when Bitcoin ETFs enter the market in order to attract funds from both retail investors and large investment capital from legal entities to these financial instruments.”
Recall that there is a Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) fund similar to a possible bitcoin ETF on the market, which attracted $43.5 billion at its peak, and also gave about $870 million annually in commissions collected by the management team of this fund.
There are currently nine bitcoin ETF applications pending before the SEC. For two of them, from GBTC and ARK 21Shares, an SEC response could be received next week. For the rest - during the first week of September.
According to market estimates, bitcoin-ETF will have a management fee in the range of 0.7% -1%, which can bring a total of $ 200 million to companies that launch such an ETF in the first year of operation of such financial instruments.
Matrixport noted that if by mid-September the SEC does not approve any application for Bitcoin-ETF in the US, then we can expect a downward correction in the price of the #1 cryptocurrency, which, according to analysts, will be short-term and interesting in terms of investors exiting with purchases. bitcoins at a bargain price.
NFT trading volume on Polygon is growing again
Amazon Prime subscribers can now get free NFT at Polygon. With over 200 million people worldwide using Prime, their growing interest in non-fungible tokens could have a significant impact on MATIC's price dynamics.
According to historical data, NFT trading volumes are closely correlated with Polygon price dynamics: when minting non-fungible tokens, users burn a small amount of MATIC. This takes the coins out of circulation, reducing the supply. Therefore, partnership with Amazon may have a positive impact on asset quotes.
As shown in the chart below, between July 26 and August 2, the volume of NFTs under $1,000 decreased by 75% from 10,523 to 2,668. After the Amazon deal was announced, it started to rise again and reached 4,400 in the last 2 days. and 4,800 respectively.
While the partnership with Amazon could benefit MATIC's price, major holders of the asset remain skeptical.
According to the Santiment platform, between July 15 and August 4, addresses with a balance of 10 to 100 million Polygon got rid of 46 million coins worth about $28.4 million. Such a significant outflow of funds in a short period could negatively affect the price of the asset.
Given the mixed performance of on-chain indicators, MATIC price action is likely to remain neutral in the coming days.
