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Worldcoin will mass-produce identification devices
The production and operation of Worldcoin's iris-scanning Orb devices could become decentralized. This was stated by the co-founder of the company Alex Blania in the podcast The Scoop.
According to him, production incentives will be woven into the tokenomics of the project. Nevertheless, the open production of Orbs carries the risks of unauthorized data collection by third parties, the developer noted.
Worldcoin has previously released design details for the verification devices, so other organizations could theoretically create their own versions.
“It will be similar to Bitcoin mining, which is mined to protect the network, where producers will also earn WLD with every Orb they create and put into production,” Blania explained.
Worldcoin will devote the entire next year to decentralization and mass production of retinal scanning machines. The project leader added that a range of manufacturers could be involved in the creation of devices: from small companies to technology giants.
The startup of the head of OpenAI Sam Altman announced the official launch on July 24th. Its flagship product, the World ID protocol, is based on zero-knowledge proofs. It is a mobile tool that allows people to be identified through a retinal scan or phone number.
Blania also talked about the launch of the WLD token. He noted that the project could not give away more than 10% of the coins, as this would be "unfair."
Worldcoin co-founder responded to criticism of the protocol's tokenomics. According to him, market makers are not interested in maintaining the price of WLD at a certain level.
According to CoinGecko, the asset is trading at $2.27 at the time of writing, down 1% overnight. Its capitalization is $266 million.
NFT Sales Reach Critically Low
According to Dune Analytics, monthly sales of Ethereum and Polygon-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the OpenSea marketplace have fallen to their lowest level. This indicator has been steadily declining since February 2023 and reached critical values by the end of July.
Information from the network data provider showed that monthly sales of NFTs minted on Ethereum in the market peaked at $659.02 million in the 2nd month of this year.
However, by the last day of July, this figure for the destination in 30 days is only $120.79 million. This is more than 5 times inferior to the best result. Thus, the drop in the monthly value of sales on the marketplace on OpenSea was 82%.
After Polygon's peak volume of NFT transactions of $109.12 million in February, that figure declined at a catastrophic rate in the following months.
OpenSea users were minimally interested in the deals. As a result, trading volumes by 92%. Over the past 30 days, they amounted to only $8.35 million.
In addition, the number of tokens that were purchased by collectors also fell. Only 258,798 Ethereum-minted NFTs were traded on OpenSea this month, according to Dune Analytics.
This is 43% less than 450,325 NFTs sold in June. However, similar statistics for Polygon showed the opposite result. Over the past 30 days, 296,343 NFTs have changed hands, up 29% from 228,859 a month ago.
Blur continues to dominate monthly NFT trading volume, according to DappRadar. According to official data, NFT trading volume amounted to $378.41 million.
OpenSea is significantly behind at $126M, posting a 25% drop in a month. At the same time, the number of traders there was greater - 305,295 people, then there were only 35,304 of them on Blur in 30 days.
Avalanche creates $50M stimulus program
The Avalanche Foundation will spend up to $50 million to purchase assets tokenized on the Avalanche blockchain to demonstrate the utility of creating digital representations of "real world" things on the web.
The program, called Avalanche Vista, will look at assets across the entire spectrum of liquidity, including stocks, loans, real estate and commodities.
“Asset tokenization is not only the future of capital markets, it is a major driver of the present,” Ava Labs President John Woo said in a statement. "The growth in momentum in institutions building networks has been amazing and the Avalanche Foundations is taking a big step forward with this initiative."
The initiative follows recent milestones in the area, including Securitize's tokenization of a stake in flagship fund KKR, the Avalanche Foundation said in a statement, also pointing to the launch of an asset-based securities market called IntainMARKETS.
"The $50 million allocation reflects the Avalanche Foundation's commitment to advancing a financial system that is more accessible, efficient, and cost effective through the use of Avalanche's new consensus mechanism, unique subnet architecture, and technical innovation," the foundation said in a statement.
“He intends to accelerate the growth of tokenization and its role in finance on the network by demonstrating the benefits of using blockchain rails in historically more manual and intensive use cases, including asset issuance, settlement, transfer and administration,” he added.
Avalanche Vista is not the first fund created to advance the blockchain ecosystem. In 2021, a $180 million DeFi investment program was launched with Aave and Curve to bring more assets and decentralized applications to the Avalanche blockchain.
Nigerian Central Bank Adds NFC Update to eNaira
The central bank is reported to have stressed that the addition of NFC technology will play a critical role in boosting the adoption rate of CBDC.
Despite the ex-governor's ouster nearly two months ago, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remains committed to its goal of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) project showing no signs of abandoning it.
According to local news outlet The Sun, the central bank recently enhanced the CBDC mobile app to include Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
This update allows mobile devices and payment terminals to communicate when they are in close proximity, facilitating eNaira's convenient and contactless payments.
While previous versions included QR codes, CBN reportedly stresses that the latest addition of NFC technology will play a critical role in boosting CBDC adoption. Joseph Angaye, deputy director of risk management at CBN, reportedly said the banking regulator is committed to using innovative technology to improve user experience.
Embracing the idea of using advanced technology, Angaye reportedly revealed that the CBDC will be equipped with programming features. He explained that these programming features could limit CBDC payments to only certain government programs, reducing the risk of fraud.
In a further explanation, Angaye reportedly stressed that the programmability of the CBDC allows targeted distribution of funds among farmers, allowing for specific tasks such as the acquisition of tools.
With this approach, funds transferred to their eNaira wallet become unusable for any unrelated purpose, ensuring strict adherence to the intended use.
According to reports, Angaye highlighted the numerous benefits of CBDC for retail users in the country, such as reducing settlement risk and ensuring fast transaction processing.
He emphasized that eNaira aims to address the issue of financial inclusion, and Nigeria's pioneering role in implementing CBDC provides valuable information for various economic players and organizations that can learn from the country's experience.
Nigeria launched its eNaira in 2021 to be part of an exclusive group of countries with a CBDC offering. However, adoption rates have been slower than expected, prompting the central bank to explore several options to encourage use.
The central bank has rolled out use cases in the transport sectors by including USSD functionality in the proposal. Due to poor adoption rates, former CBN governor Godwin Emefiele accused commercial banks of holding back eNaira's growth in favor of their profitability.
Bitmain Launches Filecoin Mining Rig
Cryptocurrency mining rig manufacturer Bitmain is entering the Filecoin mining market for the first time with a new model priced at $38,888 per unit.
According to the announcement, the machines have a hash rate of 4300T and users can list them on the Bitmain-affiliated Antpool mining pool platform to start earning rewards immediately after purchase.
Filecoin offers a unique combination of mining and staking to support its decentralized storage network. Storage providers provide their computing resources for storing and retrieving data, earning mining rewards based on storage capacity.
Meanwhile, token holders can stake FIL tokens to maintain consensus and manage the network, earning staking rewards.
In addition to mining machines, Bitmain introduces a delegated staking service for Filecoin with a monthly fee of 0.5%, which allows users to delegate their tokens to a third party such as Antpool.
Bitmain's Filecoin mining machines will go on sale on July 21st.
SEC chief disappointed with Ripple court ruling
The head of the SEC, Gary Gensler, said he was very disappointed with the court's decision that the security. According to him, now the situation is being studied. Despite the court ruling, the regulator will continue to try to bring cryptocurrency companies into compliance.
Gary Gensler also promised that the Commission will try to provide adequate protection to all investors. The SEC will continue to take enforcement action against companies that violate securities laws.
In the meantime, after Ripple's partial victory in the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) XRP court, the native token forms 21% of the total cryptocurrency trading volume.
Yesterday, Judge Analisa Torres of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York referred the case to a magistrate. Now there is a general pre-trial. This stage is usually necessary in order to raise objections on the merits of the case.
Generally, general pre-litigation is part of the dispute resolution proceedings. Lawyers suggest that the regulator is unlikely to appeal the decision of Judge Torres in the Ripple case.
The judge emphasized that XRP was being sold as a security when Ripple sold it directly to investors through a marketing scheme that highlighted several aspects of XRP that, according to the SEC, could cause investors to view it as a security.
At the same time, Judge Torres also stated that XRP sales to institutional investors could still be classified as securities transactions. This means that the company is waiting for the next legal obstacles.
The Torres decision marked the first time that a court favored a cryptocurrency company, ruling that some XRP sales were not compliant with U.S. securities laws. The ruling differentiated transactions on cryptocurrency exchanges, in which Ripple did not know the identity of the buyer, and direct sales to institutional investors.
Most likely, lengthy litigation will begin in the near future. They can go on for months or even years. So far, none of the parties in this case has not received a complete victory. It may not be, and the regulator and Ripple will somehow be able to resolve the dispute with each other.
Ethereum TPS to Spike Following Starknet Major Upgrade Quantum Leap
With a radical upgrade of its codebase, Starknet can now process transactions faster and cheaper than ever before. More phases of the current upgrade are set to be activated in the coming weeks.
Hotly anticipated network upgrade Quantum Leap is live on Starknet's main network. Its v0.12.0 upgrade is set to bring a complete rewrite of how Starknet processes transactions.
Starknet Sequencer, an element of its ecosystem responsible for broadcasting compressed transaction data to Ethereum (ETH) mainnet, is now written in Rust.
Also, the upgrade features two essential components: new virtual machine Cairo VM developed by LambdaClass, which executes Cairo code and the Blockifier mechanism by StarkWare, which assembles new blocks.
It replaces "Pending" transaction status with "Included in L2," which is equal to a transaction finalization message. With this feature, the transaction throughput of Ethereum (ETH) will spike to triple-digit values, the team says.
The next phases of the upgrade — starting from v0.13.0 — are set to introduce reduced gas fees, launch a fee market and lower block intervals further.
Also, the network will have better spam-resistance, as failed transactions will be subject to charges: no failed transaction will pay gas fees any longer.
In its current phase, the network has already achieved a stable 37 TPS benchmark. Cryptocurrency educator The DeFi Saint shared his own results of post-Quantum Leap Starknet testing.
According to The DeFi Saint, he managed to have his Ethereum (ETH) transactions finalized in just 15 seconds. In less than a minute, the balances of accounts participating changed, The DeFi Saint added.
As covered by U.Today previously, Starknet is a new-gen L2 scaling protocol for Ethereum (ETH) launched by blockchain veteran Eli Ben-Sasson. Starknet leverages its own programming language, dubbed Cairo.
Yuga Labs Demands Removal of Ethereum Punks Website and Content
The move entails the removal of all Ethereum Punks images and the deletion of tweets referencing Ethereum Punks, including the introduction of the Ethscriptions Protocol.
Yuga Labs has been a driving force in the non-fungible token (NFT) space. The Ethereum Punks website, which showcased a collection of unique digital art pieces inspired by CryptoPunks, gained considerable attention from the crypto community. However, it appears that Yuga Labs has decided to exert control over the use of their intellectual property.
The request from Yuga Labs has prompted the immediate removal of the Ethereum Punks website, leaving many enthusiasts and collectors surprised and disappointed. The website had served as a platform for artists and developers to showcase their own variations and interpretations of the popular CryptoPunks characters.
Ethereum Punks images hosted will be taken down. This move will undoubtedly impact the community of artists and collectors who had utilized the platform to monetize and display their unique creations.
the creator of Ethereum Punks has agreed to delete all tweets referencing Ethereum Punks, including the initial tweet introducing the Ethscriptions Protocol. This decision marks a clear effort to align with Yuga Labs’ request and respect their intellectual property rights.
The exact reasoning behind Yuga Labs’ request remains undisclosed. However, it is not uncommon for companies to protect their brand and maintain control over the use of their assets, particularly in the fast-evolving and competitive world of NFTs.
As the takedown progresses, the Ethereum Punks community is left pondering the future of their beloved project. Many are hopeful that Yuga Labs will provide further clarification or propose alternative ways to collaborate and showcase derivative works inspired by CryptoPunks.
Crypto exchange, HashKey Pro, applies for license upgrade in Hong Kong
HashKey Pro, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Asia, has applied for a license update from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) per the city-state’s new virtual asset trading licensing system.
According to regional news outlets, HashKey Pro, part of the digital asset financial services firm HashKey Group, does not anticipate any problems with getting its application approved. It hopes to begin providing services for virtual assets to retail crypto investors in the coming weeks.
The crypto exchange only supports a small number of digital assets at the moment, including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), and USD Coin (USDC). The license will allow the exchange to provide users with a larger selection of digital assets.
With Hong Kong making strides toward regulatory clarity, HashKey Pro sees an opportunity to establish itself as a prominent player in the crypto industry.
In May, the crypto exchange’s parent company, HashKey Group, made public its intention to raise up to $200 million to help it take advantage of Hong Kong’s resurgence as a potential crypto hub. It signified the firm’s confidence in its growth potential and the evolving landscape of digital assets.
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By securing substantial investment, HashKey hopes to develop its financial services further and expand its operations.
Reports indicate that the funds raised will likely strengthen infrastructure, enhance technological capabilities, and foster partnerships to provide a comprehensive and secure trading experience for the exchange’s users.
Hong Kong’s retail crypto trading licensing system, introduced in June, aims to regulate and bring oversight to the virtual asset trading platforms operating in the region.
Under it, virtual asset platforms must acquire insurance and ensure that “cold wallets,” which store digital assets offline, are protected by at least 50%.
On the other hand, the new law demands that the platforms provide 100% insurance protection for “hot wallets,” which store assets online.
Poly Network suffers attack, Neo assets safe but services paused
On July 2nd, Poly Network experienced an attack across 11 supported chains that has caused it to suspend its services until further notice.
The attacker managed to steal approximately 5,196 ETH – a value in the range of US $10M. The Neo blockchain was not compromised in the event, and Neo has advised that all Neo assets remain secure.
As a precaution, several Neo blockchain projects, including Flamingo Finance, O3 Labs, and GhostMarket have temporarily halted their services.
Poly Network announced the attack via Twitter on July 2nd. The protocol team suspended its services while engaging with relevant parties and assessing the extent of the affected assets. Poly Network further called on the support of cybersecurity professionals and the wider community in resolving the issue.
Poly Network has also initiated communication with centralized exchanges and law enforcement agencies and called on the attacker to cooperate and return the stolen user assets. It also urged project teams to withdraw liquidity from decentralized exchanges and advised users holding the affected assets to withdraw liquidity and unlock their LP tokens.
Upon news of the Poly Network attack, several projects on the Neo blockchain temporarily paused their services as the incident is being investigated and resolved.
Neo officially announced the temporary suspension of its cross-chain bridge service. It reassured users that all assets on Neo were secure and that it would closely monitor the situation and maintain communication with Poly Network.
Flamingo Finance, while investigating the potential implications of the attack, assured its community that the hack did not affect the Neo network or Flamingo itself. The only impact was the temporary pause of cross-chain functionality.
O3 Labs also temporarily suspended Poly Network-based cross-chain services within O3 Swap. It reassured users that their funds were secure and asked them to await the recovery of the cross-chain protocol.
GhostMarket took to Discord to communicate that it had paused all GM token contracts pending more information, promising to provide updates as soon as more details emerged.
As of now, Poly Network has not yet provided further information on how the attack was carried out or when the service may be resumed.
Poly Network was also the victim of an attack in October 2021, however Neo assets were similarly unaffected in the previous event.
Cristiano Ronaldo Announces Highly Anticipated Second NFT Collection, Exclusively on Binance
In a groundbreaking collaboration, renowned football icon Cristiano Ronaldo has unveiled his latest venture in the digital art realm. The current striker of Saudi club Al Nassr has joined forces with global crypto exchange Binance to create an exceptional collection of NFTs. Aptly titled "ForeverCR7: The GOAT," this collection marks the second collaboration between Ronaldo and Binance, following their initial release last November.
Scheduled for launch on July 3, Ronaldo's new collection pays homage to his illustrious career goals thus far. Collectors will have the opportunity to choose from a selection of 20 distinct designs, categorized into four levels of rarity. The super rare NFTs include six unique designs, with a total of 120 exclusive items available. Notably, each of such items comes with its own remarkable benefits, such as a soccer jersey personally signed by Ronaldo himself.
Reflecting on the previous collection's timing, it is evident that it faced challenging circumstances. The CR7 NFT Collection debuted just a week after the collapse of FTX, coinciding with a multi-year low in the crypto market. Consequently, NFTs struggled to generate substantial interest during that period.
Presently, the first collection showcases the following statistics: a floor price of $1.02, a 24-hour trading volume of $1,200, a total volume of $897,500 since its inception and ownership by 72,833 individuals.
As Ronaldo's eagerly awaited second collection prepares to enter the market, speculation arises as to its potential success amid more favorable market conditions.
Digital Asset Manager 3IQ Adds Ethereum Staking to Two of Its Funds
Digital asset manager 3iQ today announced a staking option with its two Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) products.
In a Wednesday announcement, the Canadian firm said The Ether Fund and The 3iQ Ether ETF would start offering staking to clients in August—making them the first ETFs in the world to offer such a service.
Staking, in the world of crypto, is the process of “locking-up” cryptocurrency to keep a blockchain’s network running.
Those who hold proof-of-stake assets—like Ethereum (ETH)—pledge it to the network by sending it to a specific blockchain address and can receive rewards for doing so.
“Through staking, the funds will earn rewards in the form of ETH, which will be reflected in the net asset value of the funds through accretive yield while augmenting the funds exposure to ETH,” the announcement explained.
It added that it would use Coinbase’s institutional staking infrastructure to support ETH staking in the products. Earlier this month, the SEC went after Coinbase—the biggest crypto exchange in the U.S.—for allegedly offering and selling unregistered securities via its staking service.
Canadian regulators have not gone after staking products like the SEC has in the States: In February the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also fined American crypto exchange Kraken $30 million for allegedly failing to register the offer and sale of its crypto asset staking-as-a-service program.
An ETF is an investment vehicle that tracks the value of an underlying asset, like gold, foreign currencies, or cryptocurrency. Toronto-based 3iQ offers clients ETFs which give investors exposure to ETH, the second biggest digital asset by market capitalization.
3iQ’s two Ethereum-based ETHs are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and are therefore available to Canadian investors—not American ones.
Polkadot $DOT Upgrades Bridge Hub After Successful Referendum
Polkadot, a heterogeneous multi-chain protocol, has recently undergone significant changes. Following a successful referendum, the Bridge Hub, a critical tool for blockchain interoperability within the Polkadot ecosystem, has been upgraded to runtime v9420.
As the primary facilitator for asset, message, and data transfers among different blockchains, the Bridge Hub greatly augments Polkadot's network functionality.
By making transactions and data from one blockchain accessible and usable by others within the Polkadot ecosystem, the Bridge Hub promotes cross-chain capabilities. It fosters compatibility and collaboration across various blockchain projects, significantly augmenting the scope and potential of Polkadot's network.
However, the impact of these changes on user acquisition remains to be seen. The success of upcoming referendums will be key in determining whether this protocol can achieve sustained growth moving forward.
Despite the potential uncertainty, Polkadot's high staking reward ratio might attract users. Blockchain data indicates that $DOT, Polkadot's native token, has outperformed other cryptocurrencies in terms of staking rewards, boasting a reward rate of 14.54% for staking DOT.
Interestingly, interest in DOT staking has waned somewhat, as evidenced by a 0.35% decrease in the number of stakers on the Polkadot network, according to Staking Rewards’ data.
elving deeper into the specifics of the Bridge Hub upgrade, it was a referendum to transition the Bridge Hub from v9382 to v9420. The prior call for this change failed because the Bridge Hub, operating on v9382 and therefore on XCM v3, expected an UnpaidExecution instruction before the Transact instruction, which Polkadot (on v9370 and XCM v2) could not provide.
Now that Polkadot has shifted to XCM v3, the correct XCM program has become possible. The call to execute on the Relay Chain is a Whitelist Call.
The weight parameters for this call, which influenced the Transact parameters, were as follows:
refTime: 229,363,000
proofSize: 3,556
These technical developments reflect Polkadot's commitment to continuous improvement and optimization of its multi-chain interoperability. With these changes, we may see an influx of new users, increased staking, or an improved general market sentiment toward $DOT in the coming weeks.
Binance Announces Zero Maker Fees for TUSD Pairs
Crypto exchange Binance has announced zero maker fees for all TUSD spot and margin trading pairs. During the promotion period, trading pairs BTC/TUSD, TUSD/BUSD and TUSD/USDT will also have zero commission.
All users will be able to use these privileges from June 30, while the standard fees for takers will continue to be charged.
In addition, Binance is extending the zero BUSD maker fee until December 31st, which applies to existing and new BUSD pairs for spot and margin trading, excluding BNB/BUSD, BTC/BUSD, and ETH/BUSD.
The TUSD stablecoin has grown in popularity since Binance bet on it due to problems with the BUSD stablecoin. Notably, TUSD issuer TrueUSD suspended issuance of the stablecoin through Prime Trust on June 10th.
The announcement comes amid a drop in monthly volume and pressure from regulators, which resulted in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing a lawsuit against Binance over allegations of violating securities laws.
Mike Novogratz: Bitcoin will hit $500,000
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz compared the recent fall in cryptocurrencies to the collapse of Lehman Brothers during the financial crisis of 2008-2009.
The industry should be legalized. In this case, it will become transparent, and the supervisory authorities will be able to ensure the safety of investors, the billionaire said at a summit organized by Bloomberg.
Regulators do not yet have enough leverage to control the movement of funds in digital currencies.
Novogratz said:
I don't know what the SEC [US Securities and Exchange Commission] should have done or could have done, but it did little to protect retail investors.
However, the CEO of Galaxy Digital shares the views of those experts who predict the long-term growth of bitcoin.
In his opinion, the BTC rate will eventually reach $500,000. In the context of the fight against inflation, the demand for alternative instruments will increase, one of which was BTC.
Voyager lawyers allowed the platform to be hacked after opening the withdrawal of funds
The platform of the bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital may have been hacked after the resumption of the withdrawal function on June 23, lawyers for the company said.
It was available for 30 days to recover client assets as part of a court-supervised liquidation process. Representatives of Voyager reported a possible violation to law enforcement officers for investigation.
After the platform was opened, users withdrew assets from it with a total value of about $490 million, which is approximately 80% of the amount available for payments.
Lawyer Darren Azman also told the court that a small number of users were affected by phishing attacks. The attackers created fake websites, ostensibly for a refund, where victims were asked to link their non-Voyager crypto wallets, after which all assets were withdrawn from them.
Judge Michael Wiles called the news of a possible hack a "shame" as the victims waited more than a year for their funds to be unfrozen.
Voyager stopped working and withdrawing funds on July 1, 2022 amid the bankruptcy of the borrower, the cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).
A few days later, the broker itself filed for bankruptcy with liabilities ranging from $1 billion to $10 billion. US regulators accused the company of making false claims about deposit insurance by a federal agency.
In September, the FTX crypto exchange won the auction to buy Voyager for $1.42 billion, but two months later it went bankrupt itself, after which the broker’s assets were going to be bought from the US division of the Binance exchange for $1.022 billion.
This deal was repeatedly opposed by regulators and the US Department of Justice, but all claims were rejected by the court. However, in the end, Binance US itself terminated the deal due to regulatory ambiguities.
After that, a decision was made to liquidate Voyager, and in May the court approved a plan to recover client funds. According to it, it was assumed that customers would receive 35.72% of the amount of claims, while payments could increase if Voyager reaches an agreement with FTX.
Paradigm Capital suspected of unloading MakerDAO stake
Venture capital fund Paradigm Capital was likely preparing to sell its $3.5 million MakerDAO (MKR) governance token, according to Arkham Intelligence
A total of 3,000 MKR was transferred from the Paradigm crypto wallet to an address marked as an OTC trading wallet. This comes after Andressen Horowitz’s (a16z) fund floated $7 million worth of MKR on the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange. Arkham data shows that the OTC wallet that received the Paradigm tokens has a history of receiving MKR and transferring it to Coinbase.
The two firms' deals come after MKR soared to its highest level since last August. Both funds were early investors in MakerDAO. In total, Paradigm acquired 5.5% of all MKR tokens in a $27.5M investment round from Dragonfly Capital at the end of 2019, while a16z acquired 6% of the MKR supply for $15M in 2018.
In May, Paradigm acquired 810,000 Coinbase shares at an average price of $61. As of mid-May, two divisions of the firm — Paradigm One LP and Paradigm Fund LP — owned a total of 4.5 million Coinbase shares.
This purchase was reported to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the co-founder of the fund, Fred Ehrsam. In total, he owns 1.1 million securities through the Frederick Ernest Ehrsam III Living Trust.
Last month, a16z decided to open its first cryptocurrency operation outside of the US. The Foundation has chosen London as its new home base. According to a16z partner Chris Dixon, the UK government sees the promise of Web3, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is ready to work with the industry to create policies that "encourage the decentralization of start-ups."
It is expected that the British division of the fund will support cryptocurrency startups not only in the UK, but also in continental Europe. That being said, the company remains willing to work with politicians and regulators in the US to achieve “greater regulatory clarity for crypto startups.”
ChatGPT predicts Polkadot's value will rise to $250 by the end of 2024
ChatGPT has analyzed the possibility of a rise in the price of DOT until the end of 2024 - according to its data, the value of the asset could increase by 50 times. However, experts doubt the reliability of the forecast.
ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-based system, based on historical data and current events in the crypto asset market, presented a forecast according to which the price of Polkadot (DOT) could reach $150 by the end of 2023 and $250 by the end of 2024.
At the same time, the results of the Polkadot Decoded conference, which took place in Copenhagen on June 28 and 29, were taken into account. At the event, Polkadot Founder Gavin Wood unveiled a new roadmap for the project, according to which among the changes in the Polkadot architecture, a transition from the current leasing model to a time selling model is expected.
“Overall, the Polkadot ecosystem is designed to drive innovation and collaboration across different blockchains. It provides developers with a flexible and scalable platform to build a wide range of decentralized applications,” the ChatGPT rationale states.
In the comments to the forecast, it is noted that, as of the end of the first quarter of 2023, more than 40 parachains have won new auction places on Polkadot. The ecosystem continues to expand as new parachain developments emerge, which should drive demand and increase pressure on the cost of DOT.
However, experts noted that the ChatGPT system is imperfect and can only be used conditionally to predict the prices of cryptoassets. Some of the results obtained turned out to be inaccurate or false, with large deviations from the real price data collected from TradingView.
In particular, the ChatGPT forecast did not take into account that over the past year the asset has been trading along a downward curve, which indicates that Polkadot bulls and investors are gradually leaving the market.
Ripple's New Partnership to Test CBDC Issuance and Stablecoins
A recent announcement published by Ripple reveals that it has partnered with Super How, a blockchain technology research lab, to collaborate on the Axiology project.
The goal of this project is to test and release cryptocurrencies, including CBDCs and stablecoins, and to increase the confidence of regulators that the use of these nascent assets is safe for all parties involved in the process.
Headquartered in Lithuania, Super How offers Ripple its experience in projects closely related to cryptocurrencies.
Axiology is an infrastructure system for trading and settlement of tokenized securities. This allows several layers of the current capital market infrastructure to coexist on the same technological level, improve the efficiency of all processes, launch a new business model, etc.
This partnership will allow Ripple to continue to spread innovative ideas and technologies to drive blockchain adoption in finance.
The Axiology project will provide more new use cases for enterprises to apply tokenization and use cryptocurrencies on this blockchain platform. It also works with tokenized securities.
Ripple’s VP of Central Bank Relations, James Wallis, said Ripple Labs is excited to partner with Super How and the Axiology project to create real use cases for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
Stablecoins and CBDCs are required for the settlement of tokenized securities. This is part of the recent DLT Pilot Regulation adopted by the European Union. Thus, Axiology will be a good opportunity for European banks to practice issuing and using CBDCs.
Piloting a DLT regime in the EU along with the MiCA (stands for Markets in Crypto Assets) regulation aimed at preventing fraud and AML, the European Commission has introduced a digital finance package. Its goal is to stimulate the adoption of cryptocurrencies and CBDCs.
In addition, it will facilitate the use of digital currencies for transnational payments, including faster settlement times. The blockchain pilot mode is the main component of this initiative, it will be a kind of sandbox for testing payments and settlements based on cryptocurrencies and CBDCs.
Sui accused of imitating on-chain activity
A sharp surge in user activity on the Sui Network has divided the crypto community into two camps.
An increase in the daily number of transactions or active addresses is usually associated with an increase in interest in a particular blockchain. However, some members of the crypto community believe that the project team is deliberately misleading users.
On Monday, the number of transactions on the Sui blockchain reached an all-time high, surpassing Solana.
However, the growth was driven primarily by the SUI 8192 game engine, which records each action as a transaction. According to Artemis, in just 10 minutes, players added 1,000 transaction blocks.
Analyst platform Artemis explained on Twitter that for Sui, it looks at blocks rather than individual transactions.
“The surge in data is not due to a large number of state updates in a small number of transaction blocks, but because the number of transaction blocks that users end up providing has increased significantly,” Artemis explained.
Members of the crypto community reacted to the growth of on-chain indicators of the network ambiguously. Well-known trader Andrew Kang tweeted:
“Sui pumps up the numbers. The chart looks good, but the market doesn't seem to understand the validity of trades."
Some crypto enthusiasts supported Kang and called the activity “inorganic and manipulative.” However, others still came out in defense of the blockchain. Smart contract developer BL0CKRUNNER commented:
“The purpose of this event is to reward early adopters in a fun and original way. Instead of airdropping like everyone else, Mysten released 380,000 Bullshark NFTs, allowing holders to participate in quests and share a pool of 5 million tokens. Obviously, after the event ends, the daily number of transactions will not be so high. So there is no need to worry."
Sui is a first-level blockchain (Layer1) created to serve high-performance decentralized applications. The operation and security of the network is ensured by the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm.
The developers launched the mainnet in May. Since then, the project has caused a lot of controversy for various reasons, and recent controversial events have only exacerbated the situation.
MultiversX launches on-chain two-factor authentication standard
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a tried and tested online security measure, and the technology is now being used as an additional transaction signing measure on MultiversX’s blockchain protocol.
MultiversX CEO Beniamin Mincu unpacked the protocol’s new guardian service in conversation with Cointelegraph. The feature makes use of Google Authenticator, Authy, Duo, Microsoft Authenticator or biometrics to provide a second signature for transactions before they are processed on-chain.
Mincu outlines the novelty of the approach, which allows users to make use of guarded transactions and accounts to act as a secondary security mechanism:
“What the chain sees is a guarded account, if it has the feature activated, and for that account, it requires that any outgoing transaction carry two signatures, one from the account owner and the second one from the guardian, through a guarded transaction.”
The guardian service requires users to create a guardian address to provide 2FA-controlled signatures. Part of the sign-up process sees the wallet prompt the user to finalize the registration by issuing a transaction to the MultiversX network, which will set the service-generated address as a guardian for their account.
After an account becomes guarded on-chain, transactions issued by the user require both the user’s and the guardian’s signatures. A valid guardian signature for the user transaction will be provided by the guardian service whenever a user that has a guarded account sends a transaction from their wallet and provides a valid 2FA code.
While the two-factor authentication does not strictly take place on-chain, transactions require 2FA codes to be executed. Mincu added that their approach to 2FA protection embedded in the protocol is yet to be carried out by other protocols.
“As opposed to existing solutions that provide extra protection for wallet accounts, Guardians don't require storing more private keys and don't add additional fragility to the backup scheme, which are important tradeoffs and barriers for users.”
Nevertheless, many cryptocurrency wallets and exchange services tap into 2FA as an added measure to confirm logins as well as transactions from users at an application level. However Mincu believes the fundamental principles behind the MultiversX Guardian approach are possible to be emulated by other blockchain protocols:
“The concept of using a device-based authenticator to enable 2FA protection could certainly cause a paradigm shift within our industry.”
Mincu added that additional security should not come at a cost to user experience and should be aimed at adding minimal friction to transaction signing.
2FA has been part and parcel of the cryptocurrency space for years, with exchanges like Kraken making the added security measure mandatory for its users in 2019 to secure logins attempts.
Grayscale and Fir Tree agree to resolve lawsuit over bitcoin trust
Fir Tree Capital Management and crypto asset management firm Grayscale Investments have reached an agreement to resolve a lawsuit the hedge fund filed against the firm last year, Bloomberg News reported.
Fir Tree Capital Management sued Grayscale for information in December to investigate potential mismanagement and conflicts of interest, according to Delaware court documents. As per the agreement announced Tuesday, Grayscale will provide documentation around the firm's flagship product GBTC.
The product, which is meant to offer exposure to bitcoin in the form of a security, often trades at a premium or discount to net-asset-value. Fir Tree's original complaint alleged that Grayscale investors have been harmed by "shareholder-unfriendly actions." It also called on the firm to allow for redemptions of GBTC.
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Tuesday, the firm said that Grayscale should conduct a tender offer for shares in GBTC. Grayscale would need approval from shareholders to allow for such an offering.
A Grayscale spokeswoman said the firm is "pleased to resolve Fir Tree Partners’ meritless lawsuit."
"It’s widely understood that the conversion of GBTC to an ETF is the best long-term product structure for all investors. At Grayscale, we are 100% committed to that endeavor, and look forward to the Court’s decision on the matter by the Fall of 2023," the spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.
Grayscale is also suing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to pave the way for the agency to greenlight its proposal to upgrade GBTC to an exchange-traded fund.
Mastercard Believes That Blockchain Potential Have Yet To Be Fully Realized
According to Jorn Lambert, the Chief Digital Officer at Mastercard, "the genuine inherent worth of blockchain remains untapped." Lambert refers to the programmable nature of transactions, the unchangeable nature of transactions, and the capacity to execute delivery versus payment and continuous forms of payments.
Lambert states that "until the capacity to genuinely develop financially-regulated applications on the blockchain emerges, the advantages will never reach the mainstream." Consequently, "regulated financial institutions play a critical role in enabling [tokenized blockchain money transfers] to achieve widespread adoption."
The foundational systems that facilitate global connectivity, interaction, and transactions for individuals, businesses, and organizations are transforming due to innovation. The global economy is shifting from an information-based system to one where the transfer of value takes precedence.
Despite blockchain acquiring a negative connotation after the cryptocurrency sector's disastrous performance in 2022, numerous experts maintain that the technology underlying digital assets and blockchain is headed toward becoming indispensable for storing and transferring money.
We are still hoping to permanently alter the flow of capital by enhancing the system's overall efficiency, programmability, and immutability.
According to Lambert, the global economy presently relies on commercial bank money and banks' balance sheets. He asserts that "commercial bank money," also known as "tokenized deposits," must be securely, reliably, and expansively migrated to the blockchain for blockchain-based money transfers to exert substantial influence.
Layer 1 Blockchain Conflux Network Partners with Carry Protocol to Expand Dominance In the Korean Market
In a groundbreaking development in the blockchain industry, Layer 1 blockchain Conflux Network has announced a strategic partnership with Carry Protocol, a leading player in the blockchain-based advertising sector.
This alliance is set to expand Conflux Network’s dominance in the Korean market, further solidifying its position as a leading blockchain platform in Asia.
Conflux Network is a state-of-the-art public blockchain system that can handle large-scale applications without sacrificing decentralization, security, or speed. It’s a Layer 1 blockchain that utilizes a unique Tree-Graph consensus mechanism to achieve high throughput and optimal security.
With its innovative technology, Conflux Network has been making waves in the blockchain industry, and its recent partnership with Carry Protocol showcases its growing influence.
In the digital age, advertising platforms have become critical tools for businesses to reach their target audiences. However, as we transition from Web2 to Web3, the traditional advertising model is undergoing a significant transformation.
Blockchain-based advertising platforms are emerging as a powerful solution, helping blockchain projects expand globally and facilitating the transition of Web2 users to Web3.
Carry Protocol, a trailblazer in the realm of Web3 advertising, is poised to revolutionize digital advertising by leveraging the robustness of blockchain technology.
With its commitment to fostering enhanced transparency, data privacy, and equitable rewards for users and content creators, Carry Protocol emerges as a dedicated advertising platform in the Web3 era. It is devoted to bolstering various Web3 projects while delivering efficient, smart, and secure services to its users.
In a strategic alliance with Conflux Network, a world of new opportunities is set to unfold for both entities. Conflux Network will have the opportunity to drive Web3 adoption via Carry Protocol’s advertising platform, thereby broadening its user base and extending its reach.
This partnership allows Conflux Network to access Carry Protocol’s expansive network and engage users who are primed for participation in the Web3 ecosystem.
UK Venture Capital Investments Plummet 70%, Web 3 Sector Offers Hope
Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z crypto led a UK blockchain-related artificial intelligence startup’s $43 million round in an otherwise bleak funding year for crypto.
At around $216 million, infrastructure investments accounted for crypto’s largest slice of VC money, followed by decentralized finance and gaming. Coinbase Ventures and Hong Kong’s HashKey Capital were the most active investors in the space.
Infrastructure investments led crypto funding in the past year | Source: RootData
After a16z’s $43 million investment in UK-based Gensyn, Mythical Games’ Series C1 followed closely with $37 million.
The Andreessen Horowitz crypto arm announced in June it would set up a physical presence in the UK. The unit will specifically fund UK-based Web 3 startups.
While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak sought to attract crypto investments in the UK by vowing to make the nation a crypto hub as chancellor, his attention has recently been diverted to the cost-of-living crisis plaguing UK citizens.
Inflation in May was well above 7%, causing the central bank to tighten monetary policy and stoke recession fears.
A Thursday press release revealed that King Charles III of the UK gave royal assent to a new bill recognizing crypto trading as a regulated financial activity. The approval follows the bill’s passage through the upper house of Parliament on June 19.
Economic Secretary Andrew Griffith states that the new law would permit regulatory sandboxes testing blockchain use cases in traditional markets.
“By repealing old EU laws set in Brussels, it will unlock billions in investment – cash that can unlock innovation and grow the economy.”
The bill defines cryptocurrencies as a “cryptographically secured digital representation of value or contractual rights.” Recent legislation passed in South Korea also defined digital assets explicitly.
However, how the new laws will play out remains to be seen. In addition to rising prices, Sunak’s focus has shifted to limiting societal fallout from artificial intelligence.
In a recent interview, his government supervisor Matt Clifford suggested that regulators must urgently curb AI’s existential threat to humanity, which could materialize in about two years.
Web3 Foundation Struggles for Clarity in Web3 Sector Legislation
In its ongoing pursuit of lucid laws within the Web3 domain, the Web3 Foundation recently organized a panel discussion as part of Polkadot Decoded. The session delved into the present state of web3 legislation in the European Union (EU), where the foundation’s flagship initiative resides. The panelists explored the benefits of web3 blockchain technology and its potential to address the challenges faced by Web2.
They unanimously agreed that web3 necessitates well-defined regulations that consider the practical usage of blockchain technology, emphasizing user behavior over technical intricacies. Moreover, the discussion highlighted how countries with more structured legal frameworks, such as the EU, are outpacing those with ambiguous definitions and jurisdictions, thus encountering fewer hurdles.
Educating government agencies about blockchain technology is crucial to the Web3 Foundation’s mission. It believes that regulations should align with the nature and activities of businesses. Encouragingly, some countries are trying to adapt their laws to the realities of technology. During the panel, Daniel Schoenberger, the Chief Legal Officer of the Web3 Foundation, cited the EU’s MiCA law as an exemplary instance of heightened awareness. “The EU’s recognition of utility tokens as a distinct class is a pivotal step in acknowledging the various types of tokens based on their functionalities,” Schoenberger emphasized.
The panel, titled “The Decentralized Web: How Much Regulation Is Necessary?” featured an array of experts, including Joachim Schwerin, European Commission Principal Economist; Paige Collings, Senior Speech and Privacy Activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation; Alfred Früh, Professor of Private Law at the University of Basel; and Ana Trbovich, Vice Chair of the Energy Web Foundation.
Joachim Schwerin, Principal Economist at the European Commission, remarked that blockchain represents a societal revolution. He further noted that the EU’s declaration of blockchain as its top innovation goal across all policy fields demonstrates an unprecedented recognition of decentralization and grassroots empowerment.
Ana Trbovich, Vice Chair of the Energy Web Foundation, compared with the programming language Python, stating that, like Python, blockchain should not be excessively regulated during specific applications of blockchain warrant attention in behavior regulation.
Paige Collings of the Electronic Frontier Foundation emphasized addressing behaviors rather than technologies regulating Web3 to mitigate privacy threats. She stressed that while decentralization exists, bad actors persist, necessitating the application of the same standards for privacy and freedom of expression that are upheld in the centralized web.
Professor Alfred Früh of the University of Basel discussed the potential of blockchain in protecting intellectual property rights, asserting that Web2 had disrupted the copyright system. He called for collaboration between blockchain entities and established authorities such as patent, trademark, and copyright offices to foster a cohesive ecosystem.
Through such insightful discussions, the Web3 Foundation strives to navigate the complex landscape of regulations to enable the flourishing of Web3 while safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders involved.
BlackRock and Coinbase combine for a blockbuster Bitcoin ETF application
A rocket has been tied to the Bitcoin price in the last week. Bitcoin bulls have ridden this wave to price levels above US$30,000. Since news of financial management behemoth BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF application became public, the price of BTC has risen by ~20.7%, from around US$25,000 to above US$30,500. Bitcoin has recently touched new highs for 2023, breaking the US$30,000 price level with conviction. This has been a key resistance level all year.
An ETF or exchange-traded fund is an investment vehicle that tracks the performance of a particular asset or group of assets. A Bitcoin ETF will track the price of BTC, the largest crypto asset by market capitalization. The advantage of a Bitcoin ETF is that it will allow investors to buy into the ETF, and therefore gain exposure to Bitcoin price action, without having to buy and custody the asset itself.
Speculation around whether a Bitcoin ETF would be approved has been a key driver of price action since the first applications began in 2013. Since then, asset managers including Van Eck, Ark Invest, Bitwise, and Grayscale have all had their applications rejected. In total, over 30 previous applications for Bitcoin spot ETFs have been denied.
Immediately before the filing of the financial product, the price of Bitcoin was hovering around US$25,000 before receiving a leg-up to push it to higher heights over the weekend. Optimism around the filing of a spot Bitcoin ‘ETF’ by asset management giant BlackRock is not unfounded. There are signs that the BlackRRock ETF is different and has the potential to finally open the door for BTC to become investable to as wide an audience as possible.
According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), BlackRock has $8.6 trillion of “assets under management” (AUM), as of December 2022. BlackRock is sometimes known as the ‘company that owns the world’. It is considered to be one of the Big Three index fund managers alongside Vanguard and State Street.
BlackRock’s portfolio is extensive and touches nearly every major industrial sector in the world, it has enormous equity positions in Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia to name a few. Its advanced trading algorithm called Aladdin, has shaped the world of trading over the past three decades. Vanguard and BlackRock are the top two owners of Time Warner, Comcast, Disney, and News Corp, together they own ~90% of the US media landscape. There is a feeling that what BlackRock wants, BlackRock gets.
The new BlackRock product is technically a trust, however, many experts suggest it will have the same functionality as an investor would expect a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) to have. Senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Eric Balchunas described the BlackRock Bitcoin trust as the ‘real deal’.
The BlackRock ETF, for example, is different from products available today such as the Grayscale Bitcoin trust. While the Grayscale Bitcoin product is only available to institutional investors and has to be purchased Over-The-Counter (OTC), the BlackRock product will be available to retail investors and will be listed on major ETF exchanges.
While some observers on Twitter have said that the BlackRock product is a trust and the market excitement is overwrought, Balchunas says the BlackRock product, while technically a trust will be considered an ETF by most investors. He said many structures fall under the ETF definition umbrella. He compares it favorably to SPDR’s Gold Trust, which in most investment circles is considered an ETF and at various points was described as the largest ETF in the world.
In further tweets he backed the BlackRock BTC trust for approval, pointing to BlackRock’s impressive 575 to 1, approval vs decline ratio when making filings with the SEC.
The Supreme Court upheld the right of Coinbase to consider disputes in arbitration
The U.S. Supreme Court sided with Coinbase Global Inc. in a solution that expands the ability of companies to submit customer and employee disputes to arbitration. By 5 votes to 4, the judges ruled that the suits filed in federal court should be shelved while the defendant files an appeal that will send the case to arbitration.
If the district court could continue pre-trial and trial proceedings while the arbitrability appeal is pending, then many of the alleged benefits of arbitration (efficiency, lower costs, less intrusive disclosure of information, etc.) would be irrevocably lost, said Judge Brett Kavanaugh .
The fact is that Coinbase is fighting the claims of Abraham Belsky, who said that the crypto company should compensate him $ 31,000, which he lost after that, as before gave the scammer remote access to his account.
In the second lawsuit, which was transferred to the Bepxovy Court, Coinbase is accused of conducting sweepstakes with Dogecoin in the amount of $ 1.2 million without proper disclosure of information about what the participants it was not necessary to buy or sell cryptocurrency.
Deutsche Bank AG applied for custody of digital assets
Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest lender, is the latest traditional financial institution to dive into the world of cryptocurrencies, filing on June 20 for a license to provide custody services for digital assets, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
David LYNN, head of the company's commercial division, said the move is part of a broader strategy to increase fee and commission income from corporate clients.
The initiative also reflects DWS Group's investment arm's interest in cryptocurrencies and the potential benefits associated with them, Lynn said.
Deutsche Bank announced its plans to develop crypto in February. It was then reported that the asset management group of German banking giant Deutsche Bank AG was in talks to invest in two German crypto companies, Deutsche Digital Assets and Tradias.
Investment plans in crypto companies are in line with the bank's roadmap, according to which Deutsche Bank will place its products on the blockchain with the possibility of creating a euro-based stablecoin.
FT: Hong Kong requires HSBC and Standard Chartered to accept crypto clients
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is forcing major banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China to accept crypto exchanges as clients, according to the Financial Times.
According to the sources of the publication, in May, the HKMA sent a request to banks: why cryptocurrency exchanges are not accepted as clients. Although banks do not have a ban on crypto clients, they refuse to work for fear of being held accountable if the platforms are used for money laundering or other illegal activities.
Standard Chartered told reporters that the company is in dialogue with regulators on any issues. At the same time, the company declined to comment on the FT investigation.
From June 1, Hong Kong introduced a new Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licensing regime that will allow local users to trade cryptocurrencies.
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has already developed additional guidance for banks on customer service dealing with crypto assets. By 2024, local regulators plan to work out a regime for licensing issuers of stablecoins.
However, HKMA Chairman Eddie Yue warned crypto companies that they should not expect any favors from regulators, despite the region's ambition to become a hub for digital asset development.
Recently it became known that the actions of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the Binance cryptocurrency exchange may force the latter to move to Hong Kong.
