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Showing posts from August 3, 2021

MLB Team Washington Nationals Partners With Terra Blockchain Community, Ballpark Plans to Accept UST

On February 9, the American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C., the Washington Nationals, announced the team has partnered with Terra, the open-source blockchain platform and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The Washington Nationals detail that the team is a “leading innovator” and is “consistently introducing new technologies to enhance the fan experience.” Washington Nationals Ink Long-Term Deal With Terra Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Washington Nationals has partnered with the blockchain platform and DAO Terra, according to an announcement published by the team on Wednesday. The deal with Terra follows a slew of sports-related deals with crypto firms, but the MLB team will be the first to partner with an open-source blockchain project. In addition to the partnership, the algorithmic stablecoin UST that’s issued on the Terra blockchain will be “accepted as a payment method at Nationals Park as early as next season.” “The Nationals continue t...
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Venezuela’s Maduro Wants to Offer Crypto-Based Loans to Agricultural Producers

Nicolas Maduro, president of Venezuela, stated the country could offer cryptocurrency-based loans to the agricultural sector, in addition to the traditional loans in several fiat currencies. He also stated that Venezuela has worked with petro and other cryptocurrencies for three years, pioneering the use of this kind of asset in Latam. Government Hints at Offering Cryptocurrency Loans in Venezuela Maduro hinted at the possibility of giving loans in cryptocurrency to the agricultural industry in an announcement made in a cabinet meeting last Thursday. He stated the country would look for new ways to finance domestic agriculture and also stated these loans would feature low interest rates to benefit farmers. Elaborating to his ministers, Maduro noted: I ask you personally to lead the public banking sector and summon the private banks to multiply loans and financing under the mildest conditions for all food producers in the country. The proposal also introduces the idea of giving ...
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FTX launching NFT sports platform, backs LCS esports league with 7 year deal

FTX is teaming up with Dolphin Entertainment to create an NFT marketplace that will target brands within sectors such as sports, entertainment, gaming, esports, and charity. FTX is launching an NFT platform centered on sports and entertainment and has also stitched up a new sponsorship with professional esports league, the League Championship Series LCS. According to Variety, FTX U.S. is teaming up with Dolphin Entertainment to create a “large scale” NFT marketplace that will target brands within the sports, entertainment, gaming, esports and charity industries to name a few. We're beyond excited to team up with Dolphin Entertainment to create an NFT marketplace for major sports and entertainment brands—including film, television, music, gaming, eSports, culinary, lifestyle and charity industries. Dolphin Entertainment FTX https://t.co/RgKXuWfViF — FTX (formerly Blockfolio) (@blockfolio) August 2, 2021 “We are excited to build marketplaces with Dolphin, both because of t...
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Alchemy Pay and Binance Partner to Drive Binance Pay Merchant Integration

PRESS RELEASE. Singapore, August 3, 2021 – Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has partnered with crypto-fiat hybrid payment solutions provider Alchemy Pay to build a payment bridge between crypto and fiat through the Binance Pay wallet. Binance Pay is a contactless, borderless, and secure user-to-user cryptocurrency payment feature on the Binance App . Launched as beta in February, Binance Pay’s functions allow users and merchants to send and receive crypto payments around the world without incurring special handling fees for using crypto. Supported by Alchemy Pay’s fiat-crypto integration, Binance Pay is available for both peer-to-peer payments and merchant-based transactions. Users and merchants can choose their preferred options for paying and getting paid with 40+ supported cryptocurrencies. “Alchemy Pay was founded in 2018 by a team of fiat payment gateway veterans with a shared vision to build a practical bridge between fiat and crypto,” said Alchemy Pay CEO, Joh...
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China crypto crime: Still ‘top ranked’ for illicit activity but crime is falling

Chinese wallets both sent and received more than $2 billion worth of crypto associated with illicit activities between April 2019 and June 2021. A new report from Chainalysis has found that while China’s share of global criminal crypto flows has been falling since the third quarter of 2019, the country still represents a disproportionate amount of illicit cryptocurrency activity. In its August 3 Cryptocurrency and China report , Chainalysis stated that more than $2.2 billion worth of crypto had been sent from Chinese wallets to addresses associated with illicit activity between April 2019 and June 2021. Chinese addresses also received more than $2 billion worth of digital assets tied to nefarious activity such as scams and darknet marketplaces . Despite this, the report says crime has fallen significantly: “China’s transaction volume with illicit addresses has fallen drastically over the time period studied, both in terms of raw value and in relation to other countries. Much of t...
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Survey Shows 40% of US Crypto Owners Forget Their Password, 20% Write Passwords on Paper

According to a recent study on crypto asset storage and passwords, a survey that polled over 1,000 digital currency owners shows 39.7% have forgotten their passwords. The study produced by cryptovantage.com indicates that users unable to recover their passwords lost an average of $2,134. Survey Polls 1,000 US Crypto Owners, Respondents Invest $7,245 on Average Since the inception of Bitcoin in 2009, a number of people have lost coins along the way and this has spread to the myriad of crypto assets in existence today. Just recently, researchers at cryptovantage.com published a study that polled 1,021 cryptocurrency owners residing in the United States. The study called “ Coin Storage Security: A Closer Look at Crypto Storage and Passwords ” shows that 39.7% of cryptocurrency owners had lost their password at one time. On the positive side, 95.6%% were able to regain access to their crypto investments, but on average those who could not access their passwords lost over $2K. “A who...
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Square’s value could 5X thanks to Afterpay deal: Pomp

“Maybe you don't simply get a 20X the value of the business, but could you two, three, four or five X the business? Absolutely,” said Anthony Pompliano. Morgan Creek Digital co-founder and Bitcoin proponent Anthony Pompliano thinks Square’s value could increase to $1 trillion following the firm’s acquisition of Afterpay. Square, headed up by CEO Jack Dorsey, this week announced its acquisition of the Australian buy now pay later (BNPL) business for $29 billion on the same day it reported $2.7B in Q2 revenue from Bitcoin sales on its Cash App. Pomp analysed the move on his “Best Business” show on Aug. 4, which was posted on YouTube under the rather clickbaity heading “Square is going to be worth $1 trillion dollars.” In the video itself he was much more conservative in his estimates. In Pomp’s view, he thinks that a two-to-five times increase in value is a real possibility for Square due to the combined potential of both firms. According to Yahoo Finance, Square currently has ...
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Top Shot to sell exclusive NFT moments at live basketball games

Three exclusive Top Shot NFTs will be minted to commemorate this weekend’s NBA Summer League games. NBA Top Shot, the popular pro-basketball NFT collectibles from Dapper Labs , will sell exclusive tokens at NBA Summer League games scheduled in Las Vegas for next week. The tokens will be the first Top Shot NFTs, dubbed “moments,” made available for exclusive purchase from a physical location and they mark the first time that moments have been sold at an NBA game. The exclusive NFTs will commemorate a highlight of each game on August 8, 9, and 10 respectively. Each edition will see a minimum of 1,000 copies minted, while the total number of moments minted will be determined according to demand. Fans are limited to purchasing 10 tokens daily per person. Match attendees will be able to pre-order the yet-to-be-created tokens from a Top Shop kiosk in Las Vegas's Thomas & Mack Center for $5 each. The NFTs will then be transferred to the Top Shot accounts of buyers after they ha...
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Porsche to Sell Exclusive Design Sketch as Non-Fungible Token

Porsche has announced its first NFT auction following the recent launch of the token-based Fanzone platform. The German high-performance car maker will sell a unique design sketch as part of the pilot project. The proceeds will be used to fund a noble cause. Porsche to Auction NFT of New Design by Peter Varga German sports car manufacturer Porsche is launching a pilot project for non-fungible tokens ( NFTs ). Between Aug. 2 and 6, collectors and fans will be able to participate in an auction to buy an exclusive design sketch by Porsche Director of Exterior Design Peter Varga as an NFT, the auto company said. Quoted in a press release, Varga commented: Drawing a design sketch which is then traded online as a digital object was a completely new experience for me. The designer revealed that the sketch combines the Taycan Cross Turismo with the 911. “It links the design language of our iconic sports car with that of the youngest member of the model range. I look forward to seeing th...
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CryptoPunks clone PolygonPunks booted from OpenSea marketplace

PolygonPunks have been removed from leading NFT marketplace OpenSea, likely at the behest of CryptoPunks' creator Larva Labs. Leading NFT marketplace, OpenSea, has delisted the successful Polygon-based copy of CryptoPunks, Polygonpunks. According to screenshots of the marketplace taken shortly before the NFT collectibles were removed, PolygonPunks had emerged as the second-most popular collection on OpenSea by volume with roughly $37,000 worth of trade in 24 hours. With upset users vocal on social media, OpenSea’s Nate Chastain took to Twitter to explain the marketplace’s action, describing the incident as a “buyer safety issue.” Chastain notes that OpenSea does not verify projects deemed to comprise “light homage” or “derivative collections,” stating that it defers to the judgment of “the original IP creator” as to whether or not projects like PolygonPunks should be removed from the marketplace. “It’s a buyer safety issue where verifications get easily misconstrued as indica...
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Finder’s Experts Predict Dogecoin Price Should Hit $1.21 by 2025 and $3.60 by 2030

A panel of experts has shared their price prediction for dogecoin for the end of the year as well as in 2025 and 2030. Individually, the experts are divided on the future price of the meme cryptocurrency. Some noted that the price of dogecoin is heavily dependent on Tesla CEO Elon Musk promoting it. Experts Share Price Predictions for Dogecoin Finder, a major product comparison website, published the result of its July 2021 survey on the price prediction of dogecoin last week. To determine if the meme cryptocurrency is “about to jump in price, or has this joke finally reached its use-by date … we asked our 42-expert panel what’s in store for the coin,” the company detailed. The experts were asked about their price forecasts for dogecoin for 2025 and 2030. The company explained that according to the panel: Doge should see its value hit an average value of US$1.21 by 2025 and US$3.60 by 2030, according to the panel average. However, Finder pointed out that the high value was due...
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Google running crypto ads again as new policy goes into effect

Under Google’s new policy that went into effect on August 3, advertisers offering cryptocurrency exchange and wallet services are once again allowed to market their products. Google is running crypto ads again after its updated financial products and services policy went into full effect on August 3. The multinational giant banned crypto and Initial Coin Offering (ICO) related advertisements back in June 2018, and the updated policy allows regulated crypto entities to market their services once again. ICOs have been left out in the cold, however. Google’s crypto ad policy revision was first outlined in June and stipulates that “advertisers offering cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets” targeting U.S. consumers are allowed to advertise their services and products if they meet specific requirements. The move will provide additional sales for Google’s parent company Alphabet, although crypto ads will likely be just a drop in the ocean of the company’s $147 billion in advertisin re...
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This key Bitcoin price indicator shows pro traders buying each dip

Derivatives data shows Bitcoin whales added to their leveraged positions after BTC price topped out at $42,600. Bitcoin ( BTC ) might have failed to sustain the $42,000 support, and for many, this is a slightly bearish sign. Interestingly, the downward move occurred shortly after Saudi Aramco, KSA's largest oil exporter, denied claiming to start mining Bitcoin . Top traders at exchanges seized the opportunity to add leverage-long positions, a clear bullishness indicator. Furthermore, margin traders have been increasing their stablecoin borrowing, indicating that whales and professional traders are expecting more upside from cryptocurrencies. The 24% weekly rally that took Bitcoin from $34,000 to its highest level since May 20 was fueled by a 30% surge in the number of "active entities," according to Glassnode. This indicator could have triggered these savvy traders to increase their positions despite the lackluster price performance. Pro traders are using leverage t...
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Payments Giant NCR Acquiring Libertyx to Offer Complete Crypto Solution

NCR Corp., a global leader in ATM software applications, has announced that it is acquiring Libertyx, the crypto company that claims to be “America’s first and largest network of bitcoin ATMs, cashiers, and kiosks.” NCR Acquires Libertyx NCR Corp. (NYSE: NCR), a leading enterprise technology provider, announced Monday “a definitive agreement to acquire Libertyx, a leading cryptocurrency software provider.” Libertyx claims to be “America’s first and largest network of bitcoin ATMs, cashiers, and kiosks.” Its software runs on ATMs, kiosks, and point-of-sale (POS) systems, allowing customers to buy BTC at more than 20K retail stores and 9,500 traditional ATMs. NCR’s website states that the company is the number one “global provider of multi-vendor ATM software applications and middleware” and “the world’s #1 ATM brand,” with more than 650K ATMs installed globally. The company also claims that more than 15 million consumers are using its digital banking solution. NCR’s products are d...
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Bitcoin and Submarine Sandwiches: Quiznos Restaurant to Pilot Payments via the Bakkt App

On Tuesday, Bakkt Holdings revealed a partnership between the national quick-service restaurant (QSR) Quiznos. The company Quiznos is a brand based in Denver, Colorado, and the restaurants specialize in offering submarine sandwiches. According to the announcement, Bakkt and a Quiznos location in Denver will be launching a pilot that allows customers to purchase food with bitcoin by leveraging the Bakkt application. Denver Airport’s Quiznos Plans to Pilot Payments via the Bakkt App in Mid-August Bakkt has revealed that it is collaborating with the company Quiznos and plans to launch a test pilot at the Quiznos located at the Denver airport. The pilot will allow customers to pay for goods and services at Quiznos using bitcoin ( BTC ) via the Bakkt App. According to the announcement the Denver airport Quiznos sees a lot of traffic and the pilot will start in mid-August. The president of REGO Restaurant Group, which owns Quiznos and a number of national QSR chains, believes partnering ...
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Ergo (ERG) Token Is Now Listed on Bitcoin.com Exchange

PRESS RELEASE. Bitcoin.com Exchange is ecstatic to announce the listing of ERG, being available to trade on the 3rd August 2021 at 10:00AM UTC. Ergo was created by its team to build advanced cryptographic features and radically new DeFi functionality on the rock-solid foundations laid by a decade of blockchain theory and development. ERG will start trading with BTC and USDT pairs. What is Ergo? Ergo is designed for developing decentralized applications with the main focus of providing an efficient, secure and easy way to implement financial contracts. Ergo’s advanced cryptographic features and radically new DeFi functionality complement tried and tested principles with the latest peer-reviewed academic research in blockchain, consensus models and digital currencies. The ecosystem is powered by Multi-Stage Contracts using Ergo’s native language, ErgoScript. With its signature Σ-protocols (Sigma-protocols) and use of NIPoPoWs (Non-Interactive Proofs of Proof of Work), ErgoScrip...
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Breaking: BSV reportedly suffers ‘massive’ 51% attack

“After an attempted attack yesterday, some serious hashing power was unleashed today at 11:46AM and attackers are succeeding,” said Lucas Nuzzi of Coin Metrics, referring to the Bitcoin SV chain. Bitcoin SV has reportedly suffered a “massive” 51% attack beginning around 11:45 am Tuesday, resulting in up to three versions of the chain being mined simultaneously. Analytics provider Coin Metrics confirmed Tuesday afternoon that its Farum risk management platform had identified the 51% attack. FARUM has identified a 51% attack today on the BSV network at around 11:45AM EDT. https://t.co/Oy19UDw53t https://t.co/T3MMRHqPe8 — CoinMetrics.io (@coinmetrics) August 3, 2021 Information about the attack was further corroborated by Lucas Nuzzi, a network data product manager at Coin Metrics. “Someone is seriously trying to destroy BSV,” he tweeted, adding: “For over 3 hours, attackers were able to take over the chain. All exchanges that received BSV deposits during that time might have ...
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Ethereum’s London hard fork expected to arrive on Thursday, ushering in EIP-1559

Think Ethereum is going to morph into a deflationary asset over night? Not so fast! Ethereum’s London upgrade is set to activate on Thursday, according to the countdown available on Ethereum.org. “The London upgrade is scheduled to go live on Ethereum in August 2021, on block 12,965,000,” Ethereum.org reads. “It will introduce EIP-1559, which reforms the transaction fee market, along with changes to how gas refunds are handled and the Ice Age schedule.” Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1559, or EIP-1559, will directly affect how the network handles transaction fees. Going forward, each transaction will burn  a base fee, thereby decreasing the asset's circulating supply, and give users the option of including a tip to help incentivize speedier confirmations proportionate to network demand. The London fork will also introduce other EIPs, such as EIP-3541, according to a blog post from the Ethereum Foundation in mid July. Twitter user korpi pointed out a number of notable poi...
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Terra (LUNA) price rallies 162% while Bitcoin and altcoin prices drop

Steady fundamentals and rising demand for UST and LUNA are just a few of the reasons why the altcoin has gained 162% in the past two weeks. Bitcoin ( BTC ) price appears to have faked out investors with its move to $42,000 last week and while the digital asset struggles to hold above $38,000, altcoins with strong fundamentals and real-world applications are gaining momentum.  Terra (LUNA), a blockchain protocol that backs the fiat-pegged TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin, is one such project that has managed to buck Bitcoin’s downtrend and climb higher since the start of August LUNA/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of LUNA has rallied 162% from a low at $5.53 on July 20 to an intraday high at $14.51 on Aug. 3 as its 24-hour trading volume increased from $137 million to $774 million. Three reasons for the surge in interest include LUNA's rapidly expanding ecosystem, the addition of a wrapped form o...
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HSBC Becomes Latest Bank to Suspend Payments to Crypto Exchange Binance in UK

HSBC has reportedly become the latest British bank to announce that it has suspended payments to cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Citing a consumer warning by the country’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the bank told its customers: “We’ve made this decision due to concerns about the possible risks to you.” ‘We’re Suspending Payments to Binance,’ Said HSBC British bank HSBC has reportedly become the latest bank to suspend payments to global cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Several people have shared on Twitter a notice they claim to have received from the HSBC Banking Team in the U.K. The notice, titled “We’re suspending payments to Binance,” reads: We wanted to let you know we’re stopping payments from our credit cards to Binane wherever possible. We’ve made this decision due to concerns about the possible risks to you. “We take our duty as a responsible lender seriously and want to do everything we can to protect you. We’ll continue to monitor the...
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'Nakamoto's innovation is real,' says SEC Chair Gary Gensler

Gary Gensler describes Satoshi Nakamoto as an important innovator in cryptography and that their "innovation spurred the development of crypto assets and the underlying blockchain technology." Gary Gensler, chair of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, believes that the blockchain revolution started by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 is more than just a fad, but a real value proposition for the future of the internet.  In an interview with the Aspen Security Forum on Tuesday, Gesler talked about his role at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology teaching about the intersection of finance and technology: “[...] in that work I came to believe that though there was a lot of hype masquerading as reality in the crypto field, Nakamoto’s innovation is real.” SEC Chairman @GaryGensler on #Bitcoin   pic.twitter.com/jhqkbZrnob — Documenting Bitcoin (@DocumentingBTC) August 3, 2021 Gensler noted that, while some within the public sector wish that crypto...
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Smart contract automator Gelato brings liquidity management to Zerion

The partnership enables Zerion’s retail users to provide liquidity without the fear of volatility. Gelato Network, a protocol that automates smart contract executions on Ethereum ( ETH ), has integrated with DeFi aggregator Zerion to help users better manage liquidity when interacting with decentralized exchanges like Uniswap.  The partnership enables Zerion’s over 200,000 monthly active users to have their Uniswap v3 positions managed automatically, Gelato Network announced Tuesday. “With this integration, Zerion has become the go-to DeFi aggregator to natively offer fungible Uniswap v3 LP positions at a massive scale,” they said. Gelato Network has been designed to address liquidity challenges in cryptocurrency markets emanating from extreme price volatility. Wild price swings, like the kind we saw in May, make it difficult for retail liquidity providers to offer concentrated liquidity on decentralized exchanges without opening themselves up to significant risks. The company...
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Russian court orders Sber to unblock account used for Bitcoin trading

According to the court, Sber had no reason to keep the account service blocked after the client provided detailed information about his Bitcoin trades. The state of cryptocurrency regulation in Russia has taken another twist as a local court has ordered the country’s largest bank to resume account support for a Bitcoin ( BTC ) trader. Sverdlovsk regional court, a court in Russia’s fourth-largest city of Yekaterinburg, has ordered Sber, formerly known as Sberbank, to unblock account services to a client involved in Bitcoin trading, according to an official announcement on Monday. The client’s bank accounts processed multiple transactions associated with trades on cryptocurrency exchanges from May to August 2020. Sber blocked the individual from access to their bank accounts, citing suspicious transaction activity and Anti-Money Laundering policies. The bank also refused to resume the service after the client attempted to regain access to their accounts by providing detailed informa...
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