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Showing posts from August 10, 2021

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary becomes FTX spokesperson, will be paid in crypto

Mr. Wonderful has signed a multi-year deal to serve as a brand ambassador and spokesperson for FTX and will be paid in crypto assets and take an equity stake in FTX. Shark Tank host Kevin O’Leary has become an official spokesman for Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange and will be paid in crypto and receive equity as part of the deal. According to an Aug.10 announcement, the partnership with FTX Trading Ltd. and West Realm Shires Services Inc. (owners of FTX.US and FTX.com) will see O’Leary take an equity stake in both firms. The venture capitalist also known colloquially as “Mr. Wonderful” signed the multi-year deal to serve as a brand ambassador and spokesperson. He asked to be paid in crypto assets to increase his holdings. Finally solved my compliance problems with #cryptocurrencies I'm going to use FTX to increase my allocation and use the platform to manage my portfolios https://t.co/yaoRUnXy14 — Kevin O'Leary aka Mr. Wonderful (@kevinolearytv) August 10, 2021...

BENQI and Avalanche Launch $3M Liquidity Mining Initiative to Accelerate DeFi Growth

PRESS RELEASE. BENQI , an algorithmic liquidity market protocol, and the Avalanche Foundation are collaborating on a joint liquidity mining program to celebrate the launch of the BENQI protocol on the 19th of August and the next phase of growth within Avalanche’s DeFi ecosystem. $3MM of AVAX will be allocated as liquidity incentives for BENQI users, with additional incentive programs coming soon. The AVAX will be offered as rewards to users who are lending and borrowing AVAX, ETH , LINK, wBTC, USDT , and DAI on the protocol with BENQI. AVAX is the native token of Avalanche. It’s a hard-capped, scarce asset that is used to pay for fees, secure the platform through staking, and provide a basic unit of account between the multiple subnets created on Avalanche. BENQI recently closed a $6MM fundraising round backed by the Avalanche Foundation, Mechanism Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Arrington XRP Capital, & the Spartan Group. BENQI and Avalanche Brings High-Performance Borrowing and...

Man who minted 14M ICX tokens due to a bug can pursue lawsuit to keep them

A flaw in an upgrade to the ICON blockchain in 2020 allowed a user to repeatedly mint millions of ICX tokens. A cryptocurrency enthusiast who exploited a bug in the ICON network to mint a large amount of its native ICX token can pursue entitlement claims according to a California federal judge. On Monday, Aug. 9, U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick said that the case raises novel questions about digital property. He added that plaintiff Mark Shin had adequately alleged that the ICON Foundation was wrong to freeze his crypto asset accounts after he took advantage of its flawed code. According to Law360 , the allegations were enough to allow the case to go forward, with Judge Orrick denying the bulk of ICON Foundation's motion to dismiss the claims. According to court filings , Shin discovered a bug in the ICON Network's code after a software update in August 2020. When attempting to transfer staked tokens, Shin discovered that 25,000 new native ICX tokens had appeared in ...

Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Stealing Nearly $7 Million of Crypto in Israel

Afek Zard, a resident of Israel, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for embezzling a large sum of cryptocurrency that belonged to a friend of his. The man, who refused to cooperate with the investigation, will have to pay a hefty fine as well. Israeli Resident Sentenced for Cryptocurrency Theft The 27-year-old Zard received the sentence from the Be’er Sheva District Court, Israeli news outlet Ynet reported this week. According to the website, Zard stole 75,000 DASH worth an estimated 22 million Israeli shekels ($6.8 million). The fiat equivalent dates back to the time the theft took place. The coins’ current value is almost twice as high. Zard, who has not returned a single dash to this day, has been convicted of theft in aggravating circumstances and other offenses. The court has also imposed a fine of five million shekels (approx. $1.55 million) and a maximum compensation of 258,000 shekels (almost $80,000). The crypto thief, a resident of Eilat in Southern Israel, t...

Venmo enables users to automatically buy crypto with ‘cash back’ rewards

Paypal-owned payments firm Venmo has expanded its crypto support by enabling credit cardholders to convert their cash back rewards into four digital assets hosted on the platform. Paypal-owned payments firm Venmo has launched a new crypto 'cash back' feature that includes zero transactions on crypto purchases. According to an Aug. 10 announcement, Venmo’s “Cash Back to Crypto” service went live yesterday and enables credit card customers to spend their cashback rewards on digital assets hosted on the platform. Say hello to Cash Back to Crypto with the Venmo Credit Card, rolling out to eligible cardholders over the coming weeks. Learn more → https://t.co/zvQfMxIZl5 pic.twitter.com/wcroWuaapW — Venmo (@Venmo) August 10, 2021 Venmo offers its credit cardholders between 1% and 3% cash back on select purchases, and the new feature also includes free transactions on any crypto purchases —while conversion fees for swapping between assets are built into each monthly transac...

Ethereum supply flips briefly into deflation as gas fees spike

A spike in gas fees and ETH burn rates has produced almost 800 deflationary blocks so far. The theoretical deflationary properties of Ethereum’s London upgrade last week have already been seen in action on the blockchain with almost 800 "deflationary blocks" produced. A spike in the Ethereum transaction fee burn rate has resulted in at least two hours when the supply was deflationary. The network has come under heavy load over the past couple of days which has resulted in a lot more gas being burnt. Around four hours ago (as of 22.00 UTC), the ‘ETH Burn Bot’ recorded an instance when 545 ETH was burnt within a one-hour period. With Ethereum issuance reported at 532 ETH per hour, it resulted in the asset seeing deflation of minus 13 ETH for that brief period. A larger deflationary burn was detected by the ETH Burn Bot a couple of hours later in which 945 tokens were burnt within the hour resulting in a temporary negative issuance of -417 ETH. It calculated this as an annu...

Fake vax certificates renew calls for blockchain-based solution in Australia

Experts are demanding the introduction of a blockchain-based vaccine registry in Australia as counterfeit Covid passports proliferate online. With counterfeit Australian coronavirus vaccination certificates circulating online, local experts are calling for the national rollout of a blockchain-based vaccine passport to ensure the efficacy of the country’s “Covid certificate” system. A report in The Australian cites fraudsters who claim to have sold more than 200 fake COVID-19 certificates for $120 or more each and received interest from at least 900 other prospective customers. The fraudsters promote their products as being so convincing that “You’ll be the only one to know you’ve not been vaccinated” and claim they can arrange for doctors to enter false vaccination records into the Australian Immunization Registry. The fraudsters are not without competitors, with another vendor of fraudulent Covid certificates claiming to have partnered with doctors across Australia, Europe, the U...

Commissioner Criticizes SEC for Taking Enforcement-Centric Approach to Crypto Regulation

A commissioner with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has criticized the securities watchdog for focusing on enforcement actions in its oversight of the crypto industry. SEC Commissioner Slams Agency for Focusing on Enforcement Actions in Regulating Crypto Assets SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce criticized her own agency Monday after it announced an enforcement action against cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex . She noted that the SEC’s action against the exchange “doubles down on the Commission’s enforcement-centric approach to crypto.” The securities watchdog alleges that Poloniex operated without being registered and planned internally to be “aggressive” in listing more assets in 2017 despite saying publicly that it would not list securities. The regulator said that in 2018 the exchange let users trade assets it deemed “medium risk” of being classified securities. Peirce, also known as “crypto mom,” argued that the SEC was taking its time in dealing with cryptocur...

Coinbase's Q2 profits top $1.6B as ETH volume surpasses BTC’s for the first time

Coinbase beat analyst estimates in Q2, after it generated $2.23 billion in revenue compared to estimates of $1.78 billion. Coinbase generated $2.23 billion of revenue for the second quarter of 2021, as Ethereum (ETH) trading volume surpassed Bitcoin (BTC) for the first time on the platform. Coinbase posted its Q2 report on Aug. 10 and the crypto exchange’s revenue beat analyst predictions — with industry standard financial estimators Refinitiv forecasting $1.78 billion in expected revenue for the firm. Coinbase’s earnings per share came in at $3.45, compared to estimates of $2.33. The trading platform posted a net profit of $1.6 billion in Q2, a whopping increase of 4,900% compared to the $32 million recorded in the same period in 2020. For the first time in Coinbase’s nine-year history, ETH flipped BTC in trading volume, with the assets representing 26% and 24% of total volume respectively. BTC trading volume declined 39% compared to Q1, while ETH increased 23% within that time...

Helium (HNT) gains 40% after $111M fundraise and 100K active nodes milestone

HNT price hit a 3-month high after the network’s active nodes surpassed 100,000 and the project raised $111 million through a token sale. Among the more than 11,000 listed cryptocurrencies exist a few projects that offer a revolutionary use case capable of improving the way society operates through the integration of blockchain technology. One such project is Helium (HNT), a decentralized peer-to-peer 5G wireless network that made headlines on Aug. 10 thanks to the successful completion of a token sale that raised $111 million from multiple investors, including Andreessen Horowitz. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that HNT price spiked 30% from a low of $14.03 to an intraday high at $18.14 following the fundraise announcement. HNT/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView Three reasons behind the growing strength of the Helium network include a continually expanding ecosystem of nodes that provide coverage for the network, new companies and partner...

$1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Passes Senate With Troubling Crypto Requirements

The U.S. Senate has passed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill with a crypto reporting requirement provision that has been described as “unworkable.” Senator Ted Cruz warned: “This infrastructure bill has in it a portion that is designed to obliterate crypto. That would be a tragic mistake.” Senate Passes Infrastructure Bill With ‘Unworkable’ Crypto Tax Provision The U.S. Senate voted 69-30 to approve the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill Tuesday without a crypto amendment. Many people have raised concerns about the cryptocurrency provision in the bill. Senator Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania called it “ unworkable .” Two amendments were put forward to rectify the situation. On Monday, the senators who sponsored the two amendments reached an agreement with the Treasury Department and a compromise crypto amendment was born. The Senate voted on the compromise amendment Monday afternoon. However, it required a unanimous consent agreement and Senator Richard Shelby from Ala...

Paypal’s Venmo Launches ‘Cash Back to Crypto’ Feature to Auto Purchase Cryptocurrencies

Venmo, a Paypal service, has introduced the “Cash Back to Crypto” feature to allow credit card customers to automatically buy four types of cryptocurrencies with their cash back without incurring transaction fees. Cash Back to Crypto on Venmo Payments giant Paypal announced Tuesday a new feature on its Venmo platform called “Cash Back to Crypto” that enables Venmo credit card customers to “use monthly cash back in their Venmo account to auto-purchase cryptocurrency of choice, with no transaction fees.” The announcement details: Starting today, Cash Back to Crypto will be rolling out to Venmo Credit Cardholders, offering more ways to use cash back and expanding on Venmo’s crypto functionality, which launched earlier this year. Cash Back to Crypto will be available to all eligible Venmo Credit cardholders in the coming weeks, the company noted. Venmo launched crypto trading on its platform in April, allowing over 70 million users access to four types of cryptocurrencies: bitcoin...

Cardano price is hot, but data shows pro investors haven't warmed up yet

ADA has gained 57% in the past 3 weeks but derivatives data shows pro investors aren’t bullish yet. Cardano ( ADA ) has been in the spotlight lately and this is partially because of its early 2021 price performance and the fact that its huge fan base has been anxiously awaiting the launch of the network's smart contract capability in the upcoming Alonzo upgrade. While the rise of DeFi took place and the total value locked in decentralized finance applications soared above $76 billion, Cardano investors have been waiting nearly four years to the project to deliver on all its promises. Traders are now trying to determine whether the 50% rally since July 21 was backed by positive expectations or fundamentals. The movement could have been a "return to the mean," signaling that previous bearish trades were closed after two month negative performance. ADA/USDT. Source: TradingView Cardano has been performing negatively partially because of the failed estimates from Ca...

VanEck takes new approach with SEC, files for Bitcoin Strategy ETF

SEC chair Gary Gensler recently hinted he would be more open to accepting ETFs based on crypto futures rather than through direct exposure. Asset manager VanEck is filing for a Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund after it unsuccessfully attempted to launch a similar fund four years ago. According to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC records, VanEck filed a prospectus for a Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund, or ETF, on Aug. 9. Unlike its Bitcoin ( BTC ) or Ether ( ETH ) ETFs currently under review by the federal agency, the proposed fund would not invest in BTC directly, but provide exposure through Bitcoin future contracts, pooled investment vehicles, and other exchange-traded products. VanEck said the Bitcoin Strategy ETF would allow exposure through crypto ETFs listed and traded in Canada — purportedly including those from Purpose Investments and Evolve Funds Group. A Cayman Islands-based subsidiary of the asset manager will make the investments. Thoug...

EQIFI, the DeFi in Partnership With a Global Bank Now Available on the Bloomberg Terminal

PRESS RELEASE. EQIFI, a regulated and licensed decentralized platform for pooled lending, borrowing and investing Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and select fiat currencies, has announced that its native token, EQX, has been enlisted on the Bloomberg Terminal under the EQX ticker symbol. Bloomberg’s influential audience of financial and business decision-makers will now enjoy access to the price data of EQIFI’s fungible ERC-20 EQX token, which bestows numerous benefits and rewards to users on the platform. Jason Blick, Chairman of EQIFI, said: “We are delighted to see institutional investors gain access to EQX data, and thus open up the world of decentralized finance to a wider audience that very few DeFi protocols have access to. Providing exposure to global financial hubs is just the next step in positioning EQIFI to become an industry leader.” EQIFI operates under a community-focused, decentralized standard through its native EQX token, which allows community member...

Teller Finance deploys mainnet on Polygon, migrates 2,200 NFTs

Polygon allows Teller Finance to port its solutions onto a scalable network, thereby overcoming many of the current challenges associated with Ethereum. Teller Finance, a non-collateral lending protocol for the DeFi market, has officially deployed its mainnet on Polygon, marking a significant milestone in its quest to offer scalable, user-friendly solutions. With the launch of Teller’s Polygon mainnet, users can begin making deposits and funding liquidity pools immediately, the company disclosed Tuesday. The Teller protocol continues to be available for use on the Ethereum ( ETH ) mainnet. Teller’s Polygon deployment is part of a broader strategy to broaden the mainstream appeal of digital assets without the bottlenecks of slow transaction speeds and higher fees. Ryan Berkun, Teller’s CEO, credited the success of DeFi to Ethereum, but also noted an immediate need to address some of the network’s shortcomings. He explained: “Teller wants to remain blockchain agnostic and [Ethe...

Bitcoin Network’s Mining Difficulty Expected to See Largest Increase in Over 2 Months

Bitcoin’s hashrate has been steadily climbing after dropping to 69 exahash per second (EH/s) on June 28, as it reached a high of 117 EH/s on Tuesday morning (EDT). The rise in hashpower will likely lead to the highest difficulty expansion in 89 days as estimates currently show a 7.39% increase is due in two days. Bitcoin Block Rewards Expected to Be More Than 7% Harder to Find in 2 Days In a touch more than two days’ time, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty is expected to jump over 7.3% as the crypto asset’s overall hashrate has improved a great deal. Since June 28, Bitcoin’s hashrate has jumped 69.56% and has been rising higher following the lift in market prices. Bitcoin hashrate over a 1-year zoom on August 10, 2021. On July 15, Bitcoin’s hashrate hit a high of 130 EH/s holding just below that zone for the last 25 days, and once in a while, it has tried to surpass the metric. Bitcoin’s mining difficulty makes it more difficult for miners to find blocks and during the last epoch, it ...

Every dog has its day: Dogecoin and Shiba Inu fetch 50% gains as altcoins rally

New use cases and a massive token burn signal that the dog days of summer could be over for DOGE and SHIB. Momentum the wider cryptocurrency market appears to be on the upswing this week after bulls pushed Bitcoin price to the $46,700 and Ether price to $3,150 on Aug 9. The growing optimism has also translated into a bounce in dog-themed meme coins like Dogecoin ( DOGE ) and Shiba Inu (SHIB), which have both seen their prices rise by more than 55% over the past three weeks. DOGE/USDT vs. SHIB/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView Dog-themed meme coins caught fire earlier in the year after Dogecoin became the altcoin of choice for influencers like Elon Musk and Mark Cuban. Ethereum ( ETH ) co-founder Vitalik Buterin further rocked the boat on May 14 when he liquidated trillions of SHIB and donated the proceeds to charity. At the time, investors viewed this as further bullish validation but have both projects had been in a rut since the Bitcoin-led...

Poly Network Hacked for More Than $600 Million — Hacker Trolls Project Saying ‘It Could Have Been a Billion’

On August 10, the decentralized finance (defi) project Poly Network suffered a loss of over $600 million according to various reports. The hack follows a recent Ciphertrace report on how defi-related hacks and fraud in 2021 have already surpassed 2020. The Poly Network hack on Tuesday is well above the entire year’s worth of defi hacks. $600 Million Drained, Poly Network Defi Hack Eclipses 2021’s Defi Hacks This week, the blockchain analysis and intelligence company Ciphertrace published a report that shows $474 million was lost to defi-related hacks and fraud. The findings highlight how defi hacks have hit record highs but the Poly Network hack on Tuesday takes the cake. Around 9:00 a.m. (EDT) the Poly Network’s official Twitter account tweeted about the massive hack. “We are sorry to announce that Poly Network was attacked,” the Twitter account said and explained that the hacker was able to access funds on various chains. Poly Network hacked for over $600 million across Ether...

5G blockchain company raises $111M in Andreessen-led token sale

Andreessen Horowitz is behind yet another major blockchain funding round. This time, Helium Inc. has raised significant capital to expand its decentralized 5G network. Helium Inc., a provider of decentralized wireless infrastructure, has concluded a $111 million token sale led by some of the biggest venture firms in the blockchain industry. The sale, which centered around Helium’s native token, HNT, was scooped up by several venture capital firms, including Andreessen Horowitz. Alameda Research, Multicoin Capital and Ribbit Capital also contributed, according to BNN Bloomberg. General partner at Andreessen Horowitz Ali Yahya told Bloomberg that new cryptocurrency protocols like Helium will “challenge centralized incumbents” and compete with bigger telecommunication service providers. Yahya tweeted Tuesday that his firm will work with Helium to create a "grassroots telecom network" of the future. We're beyond excited to announce that we're partnering with @a...