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Showing posts from December, 2021

Twitch Co-Founder Justin Kan Launches Gaming-Centric NFT Marketplace Fractal

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The co-founder of Twitch, Justin Kan launched a gaming-centric non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called Fractal on December 30. Fractal’s focus is on NFTs with video game utility and the project launched an NFT collection called “Fractals,” a 100,000 unique snowflakes that give users benefits while using the primary and secondary NFT marketplace. Twitch Co-Founder Launches Fractal NFT Market On December 30, the co-founder of Twitch, Justin Kan , told his 245,600 Twitter followers that he launched an NFT marketplace called Fractal . Kan also tweeted about the Fractals NFT collection that leverages the Solana (SOL) blockchain network. “Today, we are excited to launch our gaming NFT marketplace: Fractal,” Kan said . “We are also dropping our Fractal NFTs, the largest NFT airdrop in Solana history,” the entrepreneur added. In addition to Kan, Fractal was also founded by Robin Chan, David Wurtz and Mike Angell. Fractal hosts a number of digital goods from The Sandbox, Solchicks, Nyan

$2.2M Worth of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs Stolen — Victim Says Incident Was ‘Arguably the Worst Night’ of His Life

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According to reports, roughly $2.2 million worth of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) non-fungible tokens (NFTs) were stolen from a collector. The owner of the NFTs Todd Kramer said the incident was “arguably the worst night” of his life. Furthermore, there’s claims that the NFT marketplace Opensea froze the collectibles, and crypto advocates are complaining about the lack of decentralization. 15 BAYC and MAYC NFTs Stolen — Victim Begs Opensea for Help, Reports Claim NFTs Were ‘Frozen’ On December 30, 2021, a BAYC collector told the public that 15 Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs were stolen. “NFTX these apes and mutants have been stolen and flagged on Opensea . Please remove from your liquidity pool,” he added. Todd Kramer also listed all the apes that were stolen. Kramer also stressed in another tweet that it was “arguably the worst night” of his life. The 15 ape theft is one of the first NFT collection crimes since NFT collections l

100 NFT Collections Surpass $20 Billion in Volume — Cryptopunks, Bored Apes Capture Top Volumes

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Non-fungible token (NFT) assets were extremely popular this year and to date, there’s been more than $20 billion in volume recorded in terms of NFT sales among 100 collections. While many single NFTs sold for millions of dollars a number of NFT projects and collections saw hundreds of millions and even billions in all-time volume. According to defillama.com metrics, the popular NFT collection Cryptopunks captured $2.98 billion in all-time volume. 100 NFT Collections, 6 Chains, $20 Billion in Volume Numerous NFT collections have been very prominent in 2021 and have been the topic of various discussions. While Bitcoin.com News published the top ten most expensive non-fungible token sales this year, a large quantity of NFT collections saw significant trade volume and demand. Data from defillama.com tracks 100 NFT collections and so far there’s been $20.13 billion in all-time sales from these specific NFT series. The NFTs stem from blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, Immutablex, Bin

Donated or Inherited Virtual Assets to Be Taxed by South Korea’s NTS

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Starting in the year 2022, donated or inherited virtual assets will be assessed and taxed accordingly, South Korea’s National Tax Service has said. Dunamu, Bithumb Korea, Korbit, and Coinone are the new virtual asset service providers (VASPs) tasked with evaluating digital assets for such tax purposes. Virtual Asset Service Providers Tasked With Evaluating Crypto Gifts South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) recently announced that starting in 2022, digital assets that are inherited or donated will be taxed, a report has said. It added that such digital assets will be taxed at the average amount for each month before and after the date of commencement of inheritance or the date of donation. In a KBS report explaining the upcoming changes, the tax body also revealed the virtual asset service providers (VASPs) that are tasked with evaluating the property that is being inherited or donated. According to the report, these VASPs include Dunamu, Bithumb Korea, Korbit, and Coinone. Ob

Kazakhstan Mulls Nuclear Power to Deal With Electricity Shortages Blamed on Crypto Miners

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The government in Kazakhstan is considering building a nuclear power plant to overcome an electricity deficit allegedly caused by the booming crypto mining industry. Problems with power supply are driving away miners that saw the Central Asian country as a new home when China recently cracked down on the industry. NPP Project Revived Amid Short Supply of Energy for Crypto Mining Sector in Kazakhstan Authorities in Kazakhstan are now thinking of implementing a decade-old plan to construct a nuclear power plant ( NPP ) in order to solve the country’s pressing issues with a growing electricity deficit. With capped tariffs and a crypto-friendly attitude, the former Soviet republic attracted a throng of Chinese miners chased away by Beijing’s offensive against the crypto industry launched in May of this year. However, some of them are now leaving the country as their hardware is idling. Two locations are currently under consideration as potential sites for a nuclear station, Kazakhst

Bitcoin Treasuries List Claims 59 Companies and a Handful of Countries Hold 1.49 Million BTC

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304 days or roughly nine months ago, 42 companies held bitcoin on their balance sheet with an aggregate total of 1,350,073 bitcoin on March 1, 2021. Today, metrics indicate there are 59 companies, a few countries, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with 1,499,493 bitcoin held in treasuries. Private and Public Companies, ETFs, and Countries — Treasuries List Highlights 59 Firms With Bitcoin on Their Balance Sheets Over the last 12 months, a great number of companies have disclosed that they have added bitcoin ( BTC ) to the firm’s balance sheet and even countries like El Salvador are now storing BTC in their national treasury. On March 1, 2021, Bitcoin.com News reported that there were 42 firms that consisted of public and private companies, alongside bitcoin funds as well. At the time 1,350,073 BTC was held by the company’s and it represented 6.43% out of the 21 million maximum supply. Now similar to Microstrategy announcing a BTC purchase every so often, the Salvadoran preside

Indian Regulator SEBI Wants Mutual Funds to Stay Away From Crypto Investments Until Legislation Is Finalized

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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reportedly asked mutual fund companies not to get involved or invest in any type of crypto asset-based investments until the Indian government has come up with cryptocurrency legislation. SEBI Asks Mutual Fund Companies to Wait for Crypto Legislation The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Ajay Tyagi, reportedly said Tuesday that the market regulator does not want mutual fund companies to get involved or invest in any type of crypto asset-based new fund offers (NFOs) until the Indian government has come up with cryptocurrency legislation. There is currently no law governing cryptocurrencies directly in India. However, the Indian government is actively working on cryptocurrency legislation. A crypto bill was listed to be considered in the winter session of parliament but it was not taken up. The government is now reportedly reworking the bill. Last month, Indian asset management firm Invesco Mutual F

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Praises Dogecoin, Criticizes Bitcoin, Guesses Identity of Satoshi Nakamoto

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Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk says dogecoin is “fundamentally better than anything else” he has seen while he criticizes bitcoin. He also discussed the identity of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, and the official currency of Mars. Elon Musk Discusses Crypto, Dogecoin, Bitcoin, Mars’ Currency, and Who Satoshi Nakamoto Is Elon Musk shared his thoughts on cryptocurrency, dogecoin, bitcoin, and the identity of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, in an interview with Lex Fridman, published Tuesday. Musk, who has long been a supporter of the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE), revealed: Part of the reason why I think there is some merit to dogecoin, even though it was obviously created as a joke, is that it actually does have a much higher transaction volume capability than bitcoin. “The cost of doing a transaction, the dogecoin fees are very low,” the Tesla executive added. In contrast, he said: “Right now, if you want to do a Bitcoin transaction

Over 20,000 Bitcoin ATMs Installed in a Year

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The number of cryptocurrency ATMs around the world has grown exponentially in 2021, with over 20,000 new installations made since last December. That’s more than the total of all crypto teller machines put into operation in the previous seven years. Close to 34,000 Crypto ATMs Available Globally ATM locations offering users options to buy and exchange cryptocurrencies with fiat money are increasing at an unprecedented pace. Data compiled by Coin ATM Radar shows that their number towards the end of 2021 is nearing 34,000. In a year that saw crypto market all-time highs , over 20,000 new devices have popped up globally. According to the installations growth chart updated by the tracking website, bitcoin ATMs were fewer than 13,000 in December 2020 — that’s all ATM locations registered since October 2013 — while 12 months later they exceed 33,900. Crypto teller machines can be found in almost any corner of the planet but their spread is still quite concentrated. Around 30,000 of all

CryptoTaxCalculator Review: Simplify Your Cryptocurrency Taxes

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With the continued growth of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, millions of people around the world have started investing in the crypto market to take advantage of the unique opportunities it provides to generate income in different ways. CryptoTaxCalculator was created to help crypto investors in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and Australia, identify which taxes they are subject to when it comes to crypto investments easily and automatically. You can ensure that you don’t incur the IRS’s, or your local tax agency’s wrath in the future. As crypto investment grew, so did the oversight of governments around the world who started not only regulating access to cryptocurrency buying services but also decided to tax crypto holders as they would with other types of property. One of such countries was the United States, with the internal Revenue Service (IRS) classifying cryptocurrencies as property, making those investors who sold, traded, or used crypto as a paymen

S&P Global Ratings Study Predicts Crypto and Decentralized Finance Will Continue to Grow in 2022.

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S&P Global, an intelligence and data company, suggests that crypto and decentralized finance trends will continue to gather steam in 2022. In its latest report, the company examines the current state of the market and notes that, while there are still serious problems that could hinder adoption, the sector will keep growing by complementing traditional finance in the coming year. S&P Global Believes Crypto Will Continue to Grow in 2022 A new report prepared by S&P Global, an intelligence gathering and data company, predicts that the cryptocurrency and the decentralized finance sectors will keep growing in 2022. The report , titled Global Credit Outlook 2022, declares that while crypto institutional investments are still concentrated in a few companies, this could lead to other institutions following suit. The report states: Three companies–Block.one, MicroStrategy, and Tesla–hold almost 84% of corporate investments in bitcoin. Yet, growing interest from institutional i

Defi Portfolio Tracking Startup Debank Raises $25M From Sequoia China, Crypto.com, Circle

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The decentralized finance (defi) portfolio tracking startup Debank raised $25 million from investors according to an announcement on Tuesday. Following the equity financing round, Debank says it has an overall valuation of around $200 million. Defi Dashboard Debank Raises $25 Million 2021 was a good year for venture capital (VC) entering the crypto and blockchain space. Estimates show that VCs invested roughly $30 billion into the crypto industry. The $30 billion invested in crypto and blockchain is four times larger than the investments made in 2020. Debank has announced that just before the year ends, the defi portfolio tracking company raised $25 million in equity financing from strategic investors. According to Debank, the financing brings the firm’s overall valuation to $200 million. Debank revealed the investment in a tweet on Tuesday, and said the round was led by “Sequoia China, followed by Dragonfly, Hash Global, Youbi, and other angel investors, along with strategic

Report: Promise Of Polkadot’s Parachains is A Big Lure For Smart Money Investors

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Smart money investors are increasingly backing the Polkadot cryptocurrency DOT, which has emerged as the most commonly-held asset among the world’s top crypto funds, according to a report by the crypto market analyst firm Messari . The November report showed that dozens of venture capital funds, hedge funds and mercenary liquidity providers have thrown their money behind Polkadot at a time when investors are making big bets on the future of decentralized finance, NFTs, Web3 infrastructure and the Metaverse. One thing is clear, investors believe Polkadot has big potential to disrupt all three of those nascent industries. Designed and built by Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood, Polkadot is an attractive bet because it’s aiming to solve one of the biggest problems in the entire crypto sphere – the problem of blockchain interoperability. With hundreds of blockchains currently in existence, all operating independently of one another, there’s an urgent need to connect those disparate ecosy

RWA Market: The Aave Market for Real World Assets goes live

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Today the Real World Asset (RWA) Market goes live.  Built on Centrifuge and Aave, the RWA Market is the first diversified money market on Aave for real world assets, bridging DeFi to the infinite potential of the real-world. It is launching with 7 pools and is already allowing liquidity providers to deposit USDC. How does this work? The Aave Protocol allows money markets to be created where people can borrow tokens by depositing collateral. Interest rates go up and down depending on the utilization of the market. RWA Market is serviced by END_Labs and allows businesses to finance their tokenized Real Estate Bridge Loans, Trade Receivables, Cargo & Freight Forwarding Invoices, Branded Inventory Financing, and Revenue Based Financing using crypto. It allows investors to diversify their portfolio with uncorrelated, stable assets. With RWA Market, the world of TradFi is taking a step towards DeFi. Aave, one of the trailblazers in the DeFi space RWA in the form of this first permi

Crypto Scammer Arrested in Bangkok After Fleeing With 500 Million Baht

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A man allegedly behind a cryptocurrency investment scam has been arrested in Bangkok, Thailand. He lured people into investing in his fraudulent crypto scheme by promising high returns, telling investors they could earn a 400% return by investing in just 200 days. Alleged Crypto Scammer Arrested in Bangkok A 50-year-old man who allegedly scammed Thai and foreign cryptocurrency investors was arrested on Saturday in Bangkok, Thailand. He tried to flee with over 500 million baht ($15 million), the Bangkok Post reported . Major General Montri Thetkhan, commander of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), said Mana Jumuang, along with his Thai and Vietnamese accomplices, allegedly colluded to swindle investors in 2018 and 2019. He detailed that Jumuang claimed to be a cryptocurrency guru, duping investors into investing in Onecoin by promising high returns. The CSD chief noted that the suspect told investors they could invest and earn a 400% return in just 200 days. In addition, he and

Ethereum Hashrate Taps Record-Setting 1 Petahash as ETH’s Mining Profitability Remains High

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20 days ago, Ethereum’s network participants upgraded the protocol and implemented the Arrow Glacier upgrade. The move delayed Ethereum’s “Ice Age” proof-of-stake (PoS) transition for another six months and this week, the network’s hashrate tapped all-time highs. For the first time, statistics within the six-month range indicate Ethereum’s hashrate surpassed 1 petahash per second (PH/s). Ethereum Hashrate Taps 1 Petahash Ethereum (ETH) miners are making profits at the end of the year as a 1.5 gigahash per second (GH/s) ASIC device crafted by Innosilicon makes around $84 per day. On December 27, Ethereum’s network hashrate is coasting along at 992.59 terahash per second (TH/s). ETH ’s hashrate has been running hot and statistics within the six-month range show the network saw a high of 1.0122 PH/s. 1 petahash or 1,000 TH/s is a lot more than the 1.51 TH/s dedicated to the Ethereum network on March 21, 2016. That’s an increase of 66,125% since the first recorded hashrate on that da

Ertha Metaverse Raises $5.4M

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Ertha Metaverse , currently the most notable Metaverse and Play-to-Earn projects in BSC blockchain gaming, announced its list of key investors. They include the world-renowned: LD Capital Polygon Syndicate OKEx Blockdream Ventures Shima Capital GD10 Genblock Capital Dialectic Momentum 6 X21 Terranova AU21 Zen Capital & Many others. All have been instrumental to the continued success of the project. Xi – Partner of LD Capital, the leading investors of Ertha provided insights about the project: “We have no hesitation to invest in Ertha after first call with Ertha team. They have proven track record in both gaming and crypto industries. Coronavirus pandemic has forced governments to take various lockdown measures which placed a huge pressure on economies and businesses. At this challenging time, we believe Ertha is going to gain more adoption from traditional game players and start a new era of Play to Earn.” To date Ertha raised $5.4 million and recently launche

This Year’s Top 10 Crypto Asset Gainers Outshined BTC’s and ETH’s 12-Month Returns

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Digital currencies had a phenomenal 2021 as the crypto economy surged past a couple of trillion dollars in value this year. Over the last 12 months, bitcoin gained more than 90% in value and ethereum spike more than 540%. However, while those gains are decent, numerous digital assets outperformed those 12 month gains by a long shot, as a few crypto assets have increased a great deal against the U.S. dollar and other fiat currencies. 2021’s Top 10 Crypto Gainers At the time of writing, the crypto economy is worth $2.5 trillion in value as a great number of tokens swelled in fiat value this year. Many of the leading crypto assets saw decent gains, but a number of tokens have eclipsed the 12-month gains captured by leading digital assets like bitcoin and ethereum. The following is a look at the top ten crypto asset gains during the course of the last 12 months. Gala (GALA) — +212,036% — Market Cap Dominance: 0.16% According to statistics, the blockchain gaming platform token gala (GA

Pensioners of the National Oil Company Will Receive 2 Petros as a Gift in Venezuela

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The pensioners of the state-owned oil company of Venezuela, PDVSA, have started receiving a Christmas bonus in petros (PTR), the first national cryptocurrency launched back in 2018. The petro, which is backed by Venezuelan oil and other resources, can be traded in local exchanges for these pensioners to access fiat currency, as the reach of the currency as a means of exchange is still limited according to local reports. Venezuelan Pensioners To Get 2 Petros This Christmas A group of Venezuelan pensioners stemming from the PDVSA, the state-owned oil company, will receive a bonus paid in petro (PTR), Venezuela’s national cryptocurrency launched back in 2018. The pensioners will receive this bonus as a Christmas gift via the Motherland platform, where they will be able to manage the two Petro (worth approximately $120) that started being deposited on December 23. The pensioners destined to get this bonus will receive an alert via the platform so they can move their two PTR out of it.

Study Shows Market Share of Altcoins Surged Threefold Since 2014

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This week, bitcoin’s market dominance among the market capitalization of all 12,046 crypto assets in existence has been hovering above 38%, while ethereum’s overall valuation commands 19% dominance. A report published on Monday shows that since 2014, the market share of altcoins surged threefold from 21% in 2014, to today’s market share of 62%. Report Says ‘Tide Is Turning,’ Altcoins Are ‘Making Ground on Bitcoin’ A report published by tradingplatforms.com and author Edith Reads shows that altcoins have swelled in value over the last seven years. The author’s report explains that “the tide is turning” and altcoins are “making ground on BTC as their popularity continues to soar.” It is well known that since bitcoin’s inception, BTC ’s market dominance among all the other crypto assets in existence has been over 80% until February 2017. On February 26, 2017 , BTC had a market dominance rating of 86% and it’s never returned to above the 80% range since that day. “Since 2014, the m

Charles Hoskinson Discusses Cardano’s 2022 Plans, Founder Says Project ‘Needs Institutions to Have Stake in the Success of ADA’

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The digital currency cardano has jumped over 8% in value during the last 24 hours and 25% over the last seven days. The price move follows an update on Charles Hoskinson’s and IOHK’s plans for the Cardano network in 2022. Charles Hoskinson’s 2022 Cardano Outlook: ‘A Formal Open-Source Project Structure Is Going to Be Formed’ Cardano ( ADA ) supporters were pleased to get two updates from IOHK, the team behind the crypto project’s development. On December 24, the founder of Cardano, Charles Hoskinson, spoke for 30 minutes in a new video explaining some of his goals for the next year. “My goal for the second half of 2022 is to figure out how to put all the pieces together to get an end-to-end microfinance transaction on Cardano,” Hoskinson said during his video. Hoskinson further noted that a formalized open-source system would be introduced that would be similar to Linux. “A formal open-source project structure is going to be formed, kind of like Hyperledger to Linux,” the Cardano