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Showing posts from November 21, 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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Finiko Founder Doronin Offers to Testify Against 44 Accomplices at Crypto Pyramid

Kirill Doronin, mastermind of the Russian crypto Ponzi scheme Finiko, has proposed to testify against dozens of his former associates he claims violated his order to accept only cryptocurrency from investors. The founder of Russia’s largest financial pyramid in modern times has already provided detailed testimonies against a long list of accomplices, a media report revealed. Kirill Doronin Ready to Expose His Closest Finiko Associates The man behind the cryptocurrency pyramid Finiko has offered to cooperate with Russian authorities in a likely attempt to limit the repercussions for himself. Kirill Doronin, an Instagram influencer associated with other scams in the past, now wants to testify against 44 of his subordinates who, as he claims, “went against the precepts” of Finiko by taking fiat cash from victims, which he insists he never authorized. Doronin was detained as the Ponzi scheme crumbled this summer, and has since been moved from the Russian Republic of Tatarstan to the ca...
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Ethereum layer two TVL reaches all-time high

Layer 2 TVL has more than doubled over the past couple of months, hitting a new all-time high of $5.64 billion. The total value locked (TVL) on Ethereum layer two (L2) networks has surged to a new peak as gas fees continue to steadily rise driving further adoption.  Layer 2 analytics platform L2beat currently reports that the total amount of value locked across various L2 protocols and networks has reached an all-time high of $5.64 billion. L2 scaling solutions provide much higher transaction throughput and lower transaction fees, and they have surged in terms of adoption in November which has seen the highest average gas fees in Ethereum network history. Hitting new ATHs in $ETH locked in layer2 pic.twitter.com/0971sAdS16 — Evan Van Ness (@evan_van_ness) November 22, 2021 Arbitrum has the lion’s share of the L2 market with $2.67 billion locked up, or around 45% of the total. The dYdX decentralized derivatives exchange is in second place with $975 million in TVL, and ...
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RPG adventure game Illuvium boosted by $2M gaming guild fundraise

Polemos plans to expand into the burgeoning P2E gaming landscape with a strategic funding round dedicated to the launch of its Illuvium RPG game. Polemos, a play-to-earn (P2E) gaming guild specialized in NFT games, has raised $2 million in a strategic funding round to focus on its open-world role-playing game. Soon-to-be-launched as an open beta in Q1 2022, Illuvium is an open-world RPG adventure game built on the Ethereum blockchain. Players collect creatures called Illuvials that are represented as tradeable NFTs. The digital characters can be used to battle against other players and complete quests, becoming more powerful with each battle won. On Nov. 19, Polemos announced the funding round that was led by investment firm Delphi Digital and Framework Ventures. Other participants in the round included DeFi founders from Sushi, Aave, 1inch Exchange, and a number of others. Aiming to create a multi-layered network of players before Illuvium is launched, Polemos has partnered with ...
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Animoca Brands raises $5M for NFT marketplace, Quidd

The big funding came via private sale, pre-sale, and the token’s IDO, which sold out in under an hour. Quidd, a marketplace for digital collectibles and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, has raised a total of $5 million in private pre-sales and an initial DEX offering (IDO). The token sale took place on Polkadot project incubator Polkastarter on Nov. 18. The allotment of 2 million QUIDD tokens at a price of US$0.25 per token sold out in under an hour, raising $500,000. Earlier this month, the private sale of the Ethereum-based QUIDD tokens raised US$4 million from investors including Binance Smart Chain Growth Fund, Genesis Block Ventures, Kingsway, Mind Fund Group Ltd, Sanctor Capital, OneFootball, and other angel investors. During the Nov. 3 pre-sale on the Animoca Brands’ Launchpad, 1,001 vouchers sold out in 22 minutes. Each voucher cost around $500, bringing the total value of the pre-sale to $500,000. The vouchers can be used to redeem 2,500 QUIDD tokens after May 3, 2022. Fo...
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Fund Managers Increasingly Prefer Bitcoin Over Gold — Say It’s a Better Store of Value

A growing number of fund managers and institutional investors now prefer bitcoin over gold. They see the cryptocurrency as a better store of value and a better inflation hedge. “I think it’s probably going to be ten times better than gold over a long period of time,” said the founder of one asset management firm. Bitcoin vs Gold: Bitcoin Is a Better Store of Value Fund managers and institutional investors are increasingly opting to invest in bitcoin rather than gold, seeing the cryptocurrency as a better store of value and a preferred hedge against inflation. During his company’s Q3 earnings call last week, Galaxy Digital Holdings CEO Mike Novogratz talked about bitcoin being a better store of value than gold. While stating, “I still think gold was probably an okay asset to own in this environment,” he emphasized that “It’s just gotten crushed by bitcoin.” Novogratz added: Bitcoin is just a better version of a store value and it’s being accepted at an accelerating pace … There ar...
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Australian Senator says DeFi is 'not going away any time soon'

The Liberal Party Senator commented that DeFi “presents huge opportunities” for Australia to cement its place as a “front-runner for innovation.” Senator Jane Hume has stated that decentralized finance (DeFi) “presents huge opportunities” for Australia to cement its place as a “front-runner for innovation and economic progress.” Senator Hume spoke at the Australian Financial Review Super & Wealth Summit in Sydney on Monday, Nov. 22. She is the Minister for Women's Economic Security of Australia, representing the Liberal Party and the state of Victoria.  The conference was primarily about super and government retirement funds — both notoriously slow and steady investments. The comments on DeFi are more notable in this regard. Senator Hume called for industry and government to acknowledge that DeFi is “not a fad,” and to “tread cautiously, but not fearfully” because the technology is “not going away any time soon.” “If the last 20 or 30 years have taught us anything, it’s t...
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IRS Expects to Seize Billions of Dollars in Cryptocurrency Next Year — More Than $3.5 Billion in Crypto Seized This Year

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has revealed that $3.5 billion in crypto was seized during the fiscal year 2021. This represents 93% of all funds seized by its criminal investigation unit during the same time period. The agency expects to seize billions of dollars more in cryptocurrency next year. IRS Says It Could Seize Even More Than $3.5 Billion in Cryptocurrency Next Year The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation (CI) unit, the tas authority’s law enforcement branch, released the 2021 Criminal Investigation Annual Report Thursday. IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig explained that “CI agents are the only federal law enforcement officers with the authority to investigate criminal violations of the U.S. tax code.” The report details statistics, partnerships, and significant criminal enforcement actions from IRS-CI for the past fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2020, and ended Sept. 30, 2021. Among several major crypto cases highlighted in the report is “the longest-runnin...
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Crypto FOMO: Australia’s Largest Bank Sees ‘Bigger Risks in Not Participating’ in Crypto

The CEO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s largest bank, sees big risks in not participating in cryptocurrency. “We see risks in participating, but we see bigger risks in not participating,” he explained. Crypto FOMO, Banks Need to Get Involved, Says CEO of Commonwealth Bank Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Matt Comyn talked about the fear of missing out (FOMO) when it comes to bitcoin and cryptocurrency in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Sydney Thursday. Commonwealth Bank, or Commbank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the U.S, and the U.K. Comyn explained that although cryptocurrencies are “very volatile and speculative,” banks need to be involved in crypto and blockchain technology, citing the insatiable demand from customers to trade crypto. He said: We see risks in participating, but we see bigger risks in not participating. While emphasizing, “It’s important to say we don’t have a view on the asse...
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Top 5 cryptocurrencies to watch this week: BTC, AVAX, MATIC, EGLD, MANA

If Bitcoin rises above $60,000, select altcoins such as AVAX, MATIC, EGLD and MATIC may remain strong. Bitcoin ( BTC ) is witnessing a tough tussle near the $58,000 mark but that has not stopped select altcoins from hitting a new all-time high. This shows that traders are watching the fundamental developments on individual coins. One of the recent top performing major altcoins has been Avalanche (AVAX), which has soared more than 120% in November. The coin caught traders’ attention leading up to the announcement by accounting firm Deloitte which plans to build its disaster relief platforms on the Avalanche blockchain. Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360 In another step that shows growing crypto adoption, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced the launch of Bitcoin city , which will be powered by geothermal energy and initially funded by $1 billion worth of Bitcoin bonds. Could strong buying at lower levels boost Bitcoin above $60,000 and will altcoins p...
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Bitcoin Black Friday: Bitpay Reveals List of Merchants Offering Discounts and Special Promotions

While cryptocurrencies have seen their values rise significantly during the last three months many digital asset holders will be spending their tokens for holiday gifts and Black Friday deals. Bitcoin Black Friday will be on November 26 this year and the crypto payments firm Bitpay has announced a slew of merchants that will offer deals for shoppers paying with digital assets. Bitpay Merchants Offering Black Friday Deals The world’s largest cryptocurrency payments provider Bitpay has revealed a number of merchants the company is partnered with that will offer deals for Black Friday shoppers who prefer to pay in crypto. Bitcoin Black Friday has been celebrated for years now and bitcoiners have always been on the hunt for special deals every year it comes around. Bitpay has revealed a slew of merchants with special deals but some of the promotions will be unveiled during the course of Thanksgiving week until Friday. Bitpay merchants participating in Black Friday this year include Ace...
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El Salvador to Issue $1 Billion Bitcoin Bond to Fund ‘Bitcoin City’

President Nayib Bukele, of El Salvador, announced yesterday he would issue a $1 billion “Bitcoin Bond” to build the first Bitcoin City in the world. The city would feature no taxes of any kind except VAT, and it would be carbon neutral, with most of the energy powering it coming from geothermal sources. Bukele also announced that El Salvador would partner with Blockstream and use its liquid network to issue the aforementioned bond. Bitcoin City Announced in El Salvador El Salvador and its president, Nayib Bukele , have taken the next step that will integrate bitcoin further into the lives of its citizens. Bukele announced yesterday at the closing event of Labitconf, a Latam-based Bitcoin conference, the construction of the first Bitcoin City in the world that would be funded with the issuance of a $1 billion Bitcoin Bond. This city would be located at the east of the country, with its infrastructure being powered by geothermal energy. The city would also feature zero taxes for its...
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Funganomics Completes Its First Seed Investment Round to Accelerate Development of the NFT and Gaming Ecosystem

PRESS RELEASE. The Ethereum-based solution will be a premier, bespoke online community, bringing together NFT investors, partners, play-to-earn gamers and developers. While new NFT and PTE gaming sites are being deployed seemingly everyday, few if any have tied together in a seamless, intuitive way a truly robust and inclusive community that delights and rewards all key stakeholders. Funganomics , however, is building for “what’s next” in this new and exciting space, addressing the gaps in functionality and user experience currently challenging other platforms and their digital communities. Specifically, the new ecosystem will comprise several key functional areas that will work together symbiotically, including Fungatopia (NFTs), FGS Games (PTE Gaming) and Fungality (AR/VR Experiences) all completing successful registered trademark applications. The UK-based company announced on 18th of November successful completion of its initial seed round of funding, the source of which was...
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Avalanche Value Surges Reaching an All-Time High, AVAX Joins the Top Ten Crypto Markets

Cryptocurrency markets have started to recuperate from last week’s losses as bitcoin, ethereum, and a slew of digital assets have seen slight gains. However, the cryptocurrency avalanche has seen its value skyrocket this past week 46.9% higher over the last seven days. Avalanche has also crept into the top ten digital asset market valuations with its $31.5 billion market cap. On November 21, avalanche tapped an all-time price high at $144 per unit as the crypto asset has gained a whopping 3,795% in 12 months. Avalanche Value Spikes Over 20% Over the Last 24 Hours The crypto asset avalanche (AVAX) has increased a great deal over the last 24 hours jumping in value more than 21%. Besides gala (GALA), avalanche is the biggest crypto asset gainer during the last day. On Sunday, AVAX reached an all-time high (ATH) at over $144 per unit and has entered the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. AVAX’s market is just below the stablecoin market usd coin’s (USDC) $36.2 billion c...
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What is Mimblewimble and how does it work?

Mimblewimble is a spell that literally ties the target's tongue to keep them from exposing information on a given subject. It is well-known among Harry Potter enthusiasts. What is Mimblewimble?  Mimblewimble is a privacy-oriented decentralized protocol that uses a novel way of structuring and storing transactions on the blockchain. It was designed and introduced by an anonymous developer who went by the name Tom Elvis Jedusor, who was a French counterpart for “Voldemort” in mid-2016. How does Mimblewimble work? Taking its name from the Harry Potter books series’ well-known tongue tying spell that ties the victim’s tongue to prevent it from revealing specific information, Mimblewimble protocol literally works like a spell. It provides a framework for a blockchain that offers a new realm of potential in terms of scalability, fungibility, privacy and crypto anonymity, as the protocol allows cryptocurrency information to remain completely anonymous. Mimblewimble transactions'...
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Bitcoin avoids recent lows as BTC price eyes $60K into the weekly close

Things are looking up for Bitcoin bulls after the weekend delivers some much-welcomed relief after multi-week lows. Bitcoin ( BTC ) hovered near $59,000 as Nov. 21 came to a close after avoiding a retest of its recent lows. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView BTC challenges $60,000 Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView  showed BTC/USD almost hitting $60,000 before consolidating in a new higher range after sudden gains Saturday evening. The pair had hit lows of $55,650 during the week, these marking its lowest point in over a month, but further retests failed to materialize as sentiment improved. Adopting a calmer perspective into the weekly close, analysts thus looked to the long term to understand the overall health of the market. "Since breaking its black 200-day EMA, BTC rallied to new All Time Highs. Still over +50% above the 200 EMA, despite the recent retrace from ATHs," Rekt Capital summarized on the day. "Long-t...
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How liquid staking disrupts parachain auctions on Polkadot

Understanding the available data and current standings for different types of liquid DOT among the most advanced DeFi projects on Polkadot. A crowd loan is a Polkadot (DOT) crowdsourcing event in Polkadot that allows the community to support project bids in upcoming parachain slot auctions. Users contribute DOT, receive rewards in project tokens and get their DOT back in two years (a standard slot lease duration). This mechanic helps projects raise substantial capital in DOT tokens that may even exceed a few hundred million in dollar notion value. The obvious downside for users is the need to lock their DOT for two years where they don’t have access to their liquidity during this lockup period. In mainstream finance, there are private companies and initial public offering (IPO) lockup agreements. The lockup agreements prohibit company insiders — including employees, their friends, family and venture capitalists — from selling their shares for a set period of time. These shares are ...
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