roadrunner

Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk has challenged Twitter’s CEO to a public debate over the platform’s fake accounts and spam bots. A recent poll conducted by Musk showed that nearly 65% of respondents do not believe that less than 5% of Twitter daily users are fake or spam. Musk Challenges Twitter’s CEO to Public Debate Tesla CEO Elon Musk has challenged Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal to a public debate about fake and spam accounts on Twitter. “Let him prove to the public that Twitter has less than 5% fake or spam daily users,” Musk wrote Saturday. The percentage of spam and fake accounts on Twitter has been material in the Tesla CEO terminating his $44 billion bid to buy the social media platform. Twitter has sued Musk to force him to go through with the buyout deal. The Spacex boss subsequently filed a countersuit, accusing Twitter of fraud. Musk’s Twitter Poll on Fake/Spam Users Musk put up a 24-hour Twitter poll Saturday asking his 103 million followers if they think that less than 5% of Twitter daily users are fake or spam. A total of 822,766 votes were counted: 64.9% picked “no.” While Twitter claims that less than 5% of its daily users are fake or spam accounts, Musk disagreed and has been trying to obtain data from the social media giant to conduct his own analysis with no success. Musk explained: “All indications suggest that several of Twitter’s public disclosures regarding its mDAUs are either false or materially misleading … The proportion of false and spam accounts included in the reported mDAU count is wildly higher than 5%.” Twitter defines mDAUs (monetizable daily active users) as “users who logged in and accessed Twitter on any given day through Twitter.com or Twitter applications that are able to show ads.” Twitter’s disclosures include those filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). ‘Materially False’ SEC Filings Musk claims that Twitter provided him with outdated data, offered a fake data set, and then provided a clean data set where they already suspended the malicious accounts. The Tesla CEO tweeted Saturday: If Twitter simply provides their method of sampling 100 accounts and how they’re confirmed to be real, the deal should proceed on original terms. However, if it turns out that their SEC filings are materially false, then it should not. Musk detailed in his countersuit that three days after he signed the agreement to buy Twitter, the social media company “restated and publicly disclosed that the mDAU figures in the 2021 10-K were false and that Twitter had overcounted mDAU by up to 1.9 million in each quarter.” Do you believe that less than 5% of Twitter daily users are fake or spam? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman says she supports ongoing 75 basis point interest rate hikes “until inflation is on a consistent path to significantly decline,” citing “a significant risk of high inflation into next year for necessities including food, housing, fuel, and vehicles.” The Fed governor also noted that crypto assets “could benefit from more regulatory clarity.” Fed’s Bowman on Rate Hikes, Inflation, Crypto Regulation Federal Reserve Governor Michelle W. Bowman discussed the U.S. economy and the Fed’s efforts to fight inflation in a speech Saturday at the 2022 CEO & Senior Management Summit sponsored by the Kansas Bankers Association. Referencing the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)’s decision to raise the federal funds rate by 75 basis points during its July meeting, she expressed her support for the increase and the FOMC’s view that “ongoing increases would be appropriate at coming meetings.” Emphasizing her support for “continued increases until inflation is on a consistent path to significantly decline,” the Fed governor opined: My view is that similarly-sized increases should be on the table until we see inflation declining in a consistent, meaningful, and lasting way. Bowman then explained her decision for supporting 75 bps interest rate hikes. She noted that inflation continued to climb in June, reaching 9.1% as measured by the consumer price index. “This is yet another concerningly high reading, and it set another 40-year record high despite the expectation of many forecasters that inflation had peaked earlier in the year,” she described. Noting the lack of “concrete indications that support this expectation,” she said: I will need to see unambiguous evidence of this decline before I incorporate an easing of inflation pressures into my outlook. She then outlined some underlying causes of excessive inflation, such as “supply chain issues, including those related to China’s Covid containment policies, constrained housing supply, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, fiscal stimulus, and limitations on domestic energy production.” Citing rising prices of food, housing, and energy negatively impacting Americans, she stressed: “It is absolutely critical that we continue to use our monetary policy tools until we are successful in returning inflation to our 2% goal.” Bowman reiterated that the Federal Reserve has a duty to bring inflation down to 2% as mandated by Congress. The Fed governor also pointed out that businesses are also suffering from elevated inflation through rising and volatile prices for inputs. Noting that she does not expect rents to decline anytime in the near future, coupled with high gas prices and continued inflation risk from motor vehicle prices, she cautioned: I see a significant risk of high inflation into next year for necessities including food, housing, fuel, and vehicles. Bowman also expects the Russia-Ukraine conflict to continue, adding that the effects of shipping disruptions of agriculture products and limits on energy supplies from Russia will remain a significant problem. Governor Bowman also mentioned cryptocurrency regulation in her speech, stating: Another area that could benefit from more regulatory clarity is digital assets, including stablecoins and crypto assets. “Some banks are considering expanding into a range of crypto activities, including custody, lending backed by crypto collateral, and facilitating the purchase and sale of these assets for their customers,” the Federal Reserve governor noted. “In the absence of clear guidance, banks should consult with their primary regulator and exercise caution when engaging with customers in these types of activities.” What do you think about the comments by Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. INTERNET CITY, DUBAI, Aug. 8, 2022 – LBank Exchange, a global digital asset trading platform, will list Drive Crypto (DRIVECRYPTO) on August 9, 2022. For all users of LBank Exchange, the DRIVECRYPTO/USDT trading pair will be officially available for trading at 23:00 (UTC+8) on August 9, 2022. As the first web3 mobility App developed using the Drive-to-Earn concept with GameFi/SocialFi elements, Drive Crypto (DRIVECRYPTO) enables users to earn cryptocurrencies while driving with unique and rare NFT cars. Its native token DRIVECRYPTO will be listed on LBank Exchange at 23:00 (UTC+8) on August 9, 2022, to further expand its global reach and help it achieve its vision. Introducing Drive Crypto Drive Crypto is the first web3 mobility App developed based on Drive-to-Earn concept gathering GameFi/SocialFi. It has been built around an essential daily task for most of the people: using a vehicle to move from one place to another. It’s the first crypto space project which effectively bring to life a concept of mobility and functional gain. Users equip themselves with NFTs in the form of electric vehicles and electric power that calculate each KM traveled while driving their vehicles. Through this activity, users will earn in-game currency which can be used in game or transferred to their wallets. Each NTF car is unique and rare as they are one edition only and there won’t be two of a kind, so they can be greatly appreciated. In addition to winnings through the Drive-to-Earn mode, NFT cars can also be used in the racing game mode to compete with other users in a Fast & Furious style race, and upon winning the race, the top three will be able to earn DRIVECRYPTO rewards. All the NFT car owners will be able to sell those NFTs on the first exclusive and car’s only marketplace – NFT-DriveStore. Its global ambassador — Alex Sperafico, ex-indy formula driver released his NFTs in DriveStore and they sold out in minutes. Drive Crypto also aims to contribute to the construction of the necessary infrastructure to meet the demand for charging electric vehicles, as part of the profit from Drive Crypto will be used to install physical charging stations for electric vehicles and thus contribute in combating climate change by generating carbon credits. It goes beyond and above a GameFi/SocialFi project to change environmental mindset through a long term web3 ecosystem. Public test download of the App drive to earn is already happening right now, users can easily find its information in DRIVECRYPTO website. About DRIVECRYPTO Token DRIVECRYPTO is the native token of the Drive Crypto ecosystem. Based on BEP-20, it has a total supply of 1 billion (i.e. 1,000,000,000) tokens, of which 7% is provided for private sale, 10% is provided for public sale, 30% is allocated for Drive-to-Earn rewards, 12% is provided for recharge stations, 2% is provided for advantages club, another 2% is provided for special prizes, 12% is allocated to the team, 0.5% is provided for liquidity pool, 15% will be used for marketing, 0.5% is provided for airdrop, 5% goes into the LP reserve fund, and the rest 4% is provided for staking. It taxes a total of 10% on each transaction, of which 2.5% is provided for extra liquidity, , 2.5% is provided for development, 2% will be used for marketing on each buying and 4% will be used on each selling, 2% is for reflection on each buying only and the rest 1% will be burned, decreasing the amount of tokens available. Token burning will take place until 50% of the offering is burned (500 million tokens). Once this burn is achieved, further burns will not occur. The DRIVECRYPTO token will be listed on LBank Exchange at 23:00 (UTC+8) on August 9, 2022, investors who are interested in Drive Crypto investment can easily buy and sell DRIVECRYPTO token on LBank Exchange by then. The listing of DRIVECRYPTO token on LBank Exchange will undoubtedly help it further expand its business and draw more attention in the market. Learn More about DRIVECRYPTO Token: Official Website: https://drivecrypto.io/en/ Telegram: https://t.me/drivecrypto_official Twitter: https://twitter.com/drive_crypto Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drivecrypto/ About LBank Exchange LBank Exchange, founded in 2015, is an innovative global trading platform for various crypto assets. LBank Exchange provides its users with safe crypto trading, specialized financial derivatives, and professional asset management services. It has become one of the most popular and trusted crypto trading platforms with over 7 million users from now more than 210 regions around the world. Start Trading Now: lbank.info Community & Social Media: l Telegram l Twitter l Facebook l LinkedIn l Instagram l YouTube Contact Details: LBK Blockchain Co. Limited LBank Exchange marketing@lbank.info business@lbank.info This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

The Brazilian voting authority (TSE), has publicly declared it is studying blockchain as a technology that might help the organization in its task of organizing ballots. Celio Castro Wermerlinger, coordinator of modernization of the institution, stated that this decentralized ledger tech was included in a research program called “Elections of the Future.” Brazilian TSE Is Researching Blockchain Tech Blockchain tech is being included in several solutions designed for various applications, including ballot and voting technologies. The Brazilian voting authority announced last month that they were researching blockchain tech and the different ways it might be included in ballots. Celio Castro Wermerlinger, who is the coordinator of modernization at the Brazilian voting authority, stated that end-to-end voting protocol, post-quantum cryptography, shared keys, and blockchain were part of the technologies being studied. This investigation is part of a program called “Elections of the Future,” that seeks more efficient and more economically viable solutions to be implemented in the electronic voting system. However, Wermerlinger did not offer a timeline for the application of these solutions and argued that the Brazilian voting system, which is now 100% national, was safe due to the electronic solutions that are implemented in every ballot. Blockchain and Voting While voting is listed as one of the possible applications of blockchain systems due to the trust and security it might bring, it has not been widely adopted apart from several pilot tests conducted in the U.S., and events in other countries. Voatz, a blockchain-based voting company, is one of the pioneers in this field, having helped residents of West Virginia outside of the state to vote using their mobile phones during the 2018 ballot. However, this pilot was criticized due to the security issues it might bring to the results of the election. Authorities in the state suspended its use citing security concerns in 2020. Even after that, the platform was used to organize a mock election in Chandler, Arizona with the intention of testing the platform and the reaction of the citizens while using this kind of app on a ballot. The pilot was recently deemed positive by the city clerk. Voatz has also been involved in elections in other countries, including Venezuela. The application was used to organize an unofficial referendum against Nicolas Maduro, president of the country, with millions using it in 2020. What do you think about the Brazilian voting authority researching blockchain tech? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently discussed what he thinks about the recent Ethereum proof-of-work (PoW) fork topic that’s been finding its way into a number of conversations within the crypto community. Buterin remarked at the ETH-Seoul conference over the weekend, that he believes the people introducing the forked token concept are basically a “couple of outsiders” that “mostly just want to make a quick buck.” Vitalik Buterin Gives His Opinion on the Proposed Ethereum PoW Fork Idea A lot of people within the crypto community have been discussing a possible ETH PoW fork (ETHW) that is unique from the existing Ethereum Classic blockchain. Bitcoin.com News reported on the influential Chinese crypto miner Chandler Guo, who initiated the ETHW conversation after explaining that he participated in the birth of Ethereum Classic (ETC). The idea then gained more traction, as a website called ethereumpow.org was published and a few exchanges decided to list the fork. Presently, the IOU tokens for ETHW are worth $138.69 per token, according to coinmarketcap.com metrics and against Tron’s USDD stablecoin, ETHW is exchanging hands for 142.27 USDD on Poloniex. This weekend, co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin discussed ETHW during a Q&A session at the ETH-Seoul conference. Buterin downplayed the possibility of a fork of this kind seeing long-term acceptance. “I’m not expecting it to have substantial, long-term adoption,” Buterin stressed. The Ethereum developer and co-founder also talked about Ethereum Classic (ETC) and Buterin complimented the ETC community. “I think Ethereum Classic already has a superior community and a superior product for people kind of with those pro-proof-of-work values and preferences,” Buterin stated. When Buterin was asked about the ETHW proposal, he explained that those involved with its creation are just a “couple of outsiders that basically have exchanges, and mostly just want to make a quick buck.” Buterin added: I hope that whatever happens, doesn’t lead to people losing money. Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert Discusses ETHW, Buterin Doesn’t See Fork Harming Ethereum’s Ecosystem Buterin’s commentary follows the statements the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), Barry Silbert, has made about the ETHW idea on Twitter. Silbert tweeted to the Galois Capital account on Twitter and said: “[For what it’s worth], our full support is behind [Ethereum proof-of-stake], in addition to [Ethereum Classic], and have zero intention to support any [Ethereum proof-of-work] fork. [Ethereum] miners should move to [Ethereum Classic] to maximize their revenue long-term. Simple as that.” Silbert has also made other statements on Twitter directly to some of Chandler Guo’s threads, and Guo asks Silbert in one tweet: “why only [Ethereum Classic]?” The DCG executive replied and said it is “the smart play for [ethereum] miners” and he also mentioned that Antpool is leading the initiative to support the Ethereum Classic chain. When someone told Silbert to stop engaging with Guo, Silbert responded and said: “I like and respect Chandler. Just disagree with him on this strategy.” Meanwhile, at this weekend’s ETH-Seoul conference, Buterin detailed that he doesn’t expect Ethereum (ETH) to be deterred by the possibility of another fork. “I don’t expect Ethereum to really be significantly harmed by another fork,” Buterin remarked. On Twitter, it’s business as usual for Buterin, as the software developer tweeted about stealth addresses for ERC721 (non-fungible tokens) NFTs on Monday. “A low-tech approach to add a significant amount of privacy to the NFT ecosystem,” the Ethereum co-founder said. What do you think about Vitalik Buterin’s opinion concerning the possible Ethereum PoW fork that has been discussed ahead of The Merge? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On Monday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s watchdog the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) banned the ethereum mixing application Tornado Cash. OFAC has cited that the mixer has helped North Korean hackers such as the hacking syndicate known as Lazarus Group. OFAC Sanctions Tornado Cash Mixing App OFAC has officially banned the Tornado Cash and Tornado Cash Classic websites alongside all of the digital currency addresses allegedly associated with the site. “The following entity has been added to OFAC’s SDN list: Tornado Cash,” OFAC’s Cyber-related Designation report says. The U.S. Treasury Department’s watchdog mentioned dozens of addresses that have held usd coin (USDC) or ethereum (ETH). With OFAC has adding Tornado Cash and the ETH addresses allegedly tied to the platform, it means that all U.S. persons and business entities are strictly prohibited from using the mixer. Since 2020, the U.S. has enacted legislation that can penalize any U.S. persons or entities that violate the Specially Designated Nationals list. Anyone who breaks the rule can face prison time and anywhere between $90,000 to $308,000 per violation. The news follows the recent Debridge Finance announcement when the project’s co-founder Alex Smirnov said Debridge’s team was attacked by the infamous North Korean hacking syndicate Lazarus Group. Additionally, in mid-April 2022, the former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for a presentation that gave North Korea ““technical advice on using cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to evade sanctions.” OFAC has already added a few crypto addresses to the SDN list back in April. The U.S. watchdog also assumed that the recent Ronin bridge attack (Axie Infinity) was connected to the hackers from Lazarus Group. What do you think about OFAC banning the ethereum mixing application Tornado Cash? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Vancouver, August 8, 2022 – Airswift, a fintech startup pioneering Web 3.0 native payment solutions, announced that it raised $2 million USD in a pre-seed funding round led by CE Innovation Capital (CEiC). The latest funding comes amid a bear market sentiment and uncertainty around crypto. It indicates that investors are confident about Airswift’s unique model, and optimistic about the future of payment solutions that power the use of digital assets. With blockchain technology at its core, Airswift is building a comprehensive payment infrastructure native to Web 3.0. This includes an easy-to-use on-chain payment gateway that allows merchants to accept both crypto and fiat currency, enabling frictionless purchases with digital assets. Airswift plans to launch its initial product by September 2022, making it one of the first full-stack payment gateway solutions that facilitate digital asset acceptance around the globe. “The raise from CEiC shows that investors are confident in our unique strengths in blockchain R&D, payment gateway operations, regulatory compliance, among other factors”, said Dr. Yan Zhang, Co-founder and CEO of Airswift. “The current challenge associated with enabling crypto payments lies with both technical areas and fund aggregation. Airswift is committed to solving these issues with a decentralized payment gateway that protects user privacy and supports a liquidity pool model powered by block-chain technology.” As a Fintech-focused global investor, CEiC firmly believes blockchain enabled payment solutions are a fundamental technological innovation that could create a paradigm shift in the financial services industry worldwide. The Fintech investor stresses that the market is in its infancy, with huge potential for growth. In 2021, the global volume of blockchain enabled payments reached $15-16bn USD, presenting only a small fraction of that year’s entire global digital payment volume of $7.5 trillion USD. The investor values Airswift’s unique advantages in its established and forward-looking CeFi and DeFi solutions and its team’s rich experience, business acumen and prudent regulatory mindset towards the payments and blockchain industries. CEiC is excited to partner with Airswift to create new payment solutions that could disrupt the trillion dollar global digital payment market. Airswift was co-founded by CEO Dr. Yan Zhang, a successful entrepreneur in crypto, eCommerce and Fintech. His team brings comprehensive expertise in blockchain R&D, having obtained more than fifty patents related to the technology. Airswift also has a significant background in payment gateway operations, achieving strong regulatory endorsements in North America, SEA, and EMEA. About Airswift Airswift is a financial technology company pioneering crypto payment solutions for businesses and consumers around the globe. It provides a web 3.0 native omnichannel payment gateway, crypto-funded prepaid cards, and on/off ramp services that connect businesses with consumers. Airswift is widely recognized as a leader in blockchain technology, with extensive operational experience in global digital payments and enterprise Web 3.0 financial infrastructure. Headquartered in Vancouver Canada, Airswift was established in 2022 with backing from leading industry investors. For more information, please visit https://airswift.io. News contact: Annie Lin PR@airswift.io +1-604-337-8738 This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

On August 8, the crypto exchange and lending platform Hodlnaut announced that the company has paused withdrawals, token swaps, and deposits. Hodlnaut joins a slew of crypto firms that have frozen withdrawals during the last three months, leaving customers little hope that they will see their funds again. Well before Hodlnaut’s withdrawal pause, the Terra whistleblower called Fatman warned people about Hodlnaut’s alleged issues. Another Crypto Platform Freezes Operations Citing Recent Market Conditions Another crypto exchange and lending platform, called Hodlnaut, has revealed it has suspended all operations including withdrawals, token swaps, and deposits. “Dear users, we regret to inform you that we will be halting withdrawals, token swaps, and deposits immediately due to recent market conditions,” the company tweeted on Monday. We have also withdrawn our MAS license application. Here is our full statement — Our next update will be on [August 19],” Hodlnaut added. Of course, the crypto community was not pleased with Hodlnaut’s decision and either criticized the platform or made fun of the business and its customers. The “not your keys, not your coins” adage is prominent in Hodlnaut’s Twitter announcement thread. In the blog post the crypto company shared on Twitter it notes that the company is focused on stabilizing “liquidity and preserving assets.” “We are actively working on the recovery plan that we hope to provide updates and details on as soon as permissible,” Hodlnaut’s blog post details. “We are consulting with Damodara Ong LLC on the feasibility and timelines of our intended execution plan and are strategising our recovery plan with our users’ best interests in mind.” Hodlnaut’s withdrawal pause follows companies like Celsius, Voyager Digital, Babel Finance, and Vauld freezing withdrawals as well. Prior to Hodlnaut freezing withdrawals, the Terra whistleblower Fatman warned people about the platform and stressed at the time that “these websites are not as trustworthy as you may think.” Fatman explained how Hodlnaut added Terra’s UST and LUNA (now referred to as classic coins) with high annual percentage yields (APY). Fatman further detailed that Hodlnaut told the public that it had no exposure to Anchor. When Terra collapsed, the platform temporarily suspended LUNA and UST swaps on May 9, and two days later Hodlnaut wrote: Hodlnaut is NOT all-in on UST as one particular rumour on Reddit has mentioned. This is a false claim. Crypto Whistleblower Accuses Hodlnaut Team of Taking in Deposits ‘Under False Pretenses’ Following the withdrawal pause on August 8, Fatman said that tweeting out the warning to people was worth it in the end. “Hodlnaut has now frozen all withdrawals,” Fatman said. “Genuinely hope everything is okay there. If there are major issues, a lot of good people will go under. Got tons of hate on my thread from Hodlnaut fans, but also got messages from grateful customers who withdrew, so it was 100% worth it.” Fatman added that he was allegedly threatened by lawsuits from the Hodlnaut team when he posted the Twitter thread about the firm at the end of June. “Hodlnaut has taken down their team page — It’s not that easy. Juntao Zhu stated he would be filing lawsuits against me for my Twitter thread. These lawsuits never came and never will. JT [and] Chang Teck Goh criminally took in more deposits under false pretenses and deserve jail,” Fatman insisted. The whistleblower also said he sent an email to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in June as well. He noted that he didn’t think it was a good idea for “Singaporean authorities to give Hodlnaut any semblance of legitimacy.” However, nobody from MAS responded to the whistleblower’s email and said he felt bad for possibly not pushing hard enough before the withdrawal pause took place. Fatman has become a very popular individual in the crypto community and his social media presence has managed to gain him close to 100,000 followers. What do you think about Hodlnaut’s withdrawal pause? What do you think about Fatman’s accusations? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Flow was in the green to start the week, as the token climbed to its highest point since May. The surge has seen prices rise by as much as 15% on Monday, as recent gains were extended. Polkadot was also higher, as it too cemented multi-month highs. FLOW FLOW was one of Monday’s most notable movers, with prices of the token increasing by as much as 15% in today’s session. After trading at a low of $2.59 on Sunday, FLOW/USD rallied to an intraday high of $3.13 to start the week. This move saw FLOW rise to its highest point since May 11, when prices were trading above $4.00. Looking at the chart, today’s peak comes as the token broke out of its long-term resistance at $3.00. The surge comes as price strength continues to climb, and as of writing, is tracking in overbought territory. Currently, the relative strength index (RSI) is at a reading of 75.28, which is close to its highest point since April. This could be a positive for bears anticipating imminent price declines. Polkadot (DOT) Whilst FLOW moved to a three-month high, polkadot (DOT) moved to its highest level in close to two months. DOT/USD raced to an intraday peak of $9.36 to start the week, less than 24 hours after residing at a low of $8.54. As a result of Monday’s surge, DOT moved briefly above its price ceiling of $9.30, which is one of the last lines of defense to a move above $10.00. Since hitting earlier highs, gains in polkadot have somewhat eased, as bulls likely moved to secure profits. This drop in momentum coincides with the 14-day RSI hitting a resistance level of its own near the 67 mark. Should DOT want to extend its move towards the $10.00 mark, then relative strength will need to overcome this obstacle. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Do you expect polkadot to surge to $10 this week, despite being overbought? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Veteran investor Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with billionaire investor George Soros, has warned about cryptocurrency, stating that “if and when all our money is on our computer, it’s going to be government money.” Nonetheless, he noted that his wife invests in crypto. Jim Rogers’ Crypto Warning Famed investor Jim Rogers shared his view about cryptocurrency in an interview with Bloomberg, published last week. Rogers is George Soros’ former business partner who co-founded the Quantum Fund and Soros Fund Management. “A lot of people I know are investing in crypto and having fun and making money. Many have already disappeared and have gone to zero,” he began, elaborating: My wife invests in crypto of all things, but I don’t invest in them because the bulls say they’re going to be money, and my answer to that is, if and when all our money is on our computer, it’s going to be government money. Rogers proceeded to explain that governments will not allow other currencies to compete with their currencies. Pointing to his phone as an example of electronic money, the veteran investor opined: “When the U.S. government says, ‘okay, this is money now,’ and every government is working on crypto money, they’re not going to say: ‘This is money, but if you want to use that [other] money, you can use that money.'” He stressed: That’s not the way bureaucrats think. That’s not the way politicians think. They want control. They want to regulate everything. “In my view, if they [cryptocurrencies] are just trading vehicles, fine, have at it. [But] I’m not going to trade, I’m not doing it,” he concluded. Rogers was asked if anything would change his mind about investing in crypto. He admitted that if things change then he will also have to change. For example, “If suddenly the euro is all denominated in crypto, well then I have to change,” he said. However, Rogers noted that he doesn’t see it happening. This was not the first time that the Quantum Fund co-founder warned about governments coming after cryptocurrency. In April last year, he said governments could ban cryptocurrencies. “If cryptocurrencies become successful, most governments will outlaw them, because they don’t want to lose their monopoly,” Rogers stressed. He also previously said, “virtual currencies beyond the influence of the government will be eliminated.” In addition, he warned last month that more bear markets are coming and the next one will be “the worst” in his lifetime. Noting that many stocks will go down 90%, he cautioned that investors will lose a lot of money. He also predicted the end of the U.S. dollar, fueled by the Russia-Ukraine war. Do you agree with Jim Rogers? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, declared that the speedy recovery of tourism in the country had to do with three elements, including surfing, bitcoin, and overall crime reduction. El Salvador was one of the 15 countries that managed to take their tourism incomes to pre-pandemic numbers according to data from the World Tourism Organization. Nayib Bukele States International Tourism Growth Is Powered by Bitcoin in El Salvador Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador and promoter of the adoption of bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in the country, shared his thoughts about the growth of the tourism income in the Salvadoran country. Bukele stated that this growth was the consequence of three key factors: bitcoin, the promotion of surf, and the reduction of crime. In a tweet, the president stated: Only a handful of countries have been able to recover its tourism to pre-pandemic levels. And that’s international tourism, so the reasons behind it are mostly bitcoin and surf. El Salvador was recently included in a list of countries whose tourism income has returned to pre-pandemic levels. According to the World Tourism Organization, El Salvador has managed to grow its tourism income by 6% when compared to 2019. This report is consistent with what the authorities have been reporting about the effect that the inclusion of bitcoin in the country since it was declared legal tender. In February, Morena Valdez, minister of tourism in the country stated that the tourism industry had risen 30% since this event. Statistics further show that El Salvador’s crime and homicide rate has dropped significantly since 2020. Moreover, in terms of surf, the El Salvador is home to some of the top rated waves in the world. National Tourism Also Growing However, the president also made reference to the growth in national tourism, stating: But internal tourism is growing even more, mainly because of our crackdown on gangs. Bukele’s government was criticized heavily due to the measure sit has taken to stop gang-related crime, declaring a state of emergency that resulted in more than 9,000 individuals being detained last April. However, Bukele claims this has pushed the growth of the national tourism industry. To support his arguments, Bukele also linked the Google Mobility Report, a compendium of data that shows the change in the number of visits that are happening to certain places. The report shows that the visits to retail and recreation places, grocery stores and pharmacies, and parks have all grown in the last three months. The government is also expecting new bitcoin investments that will bring more bitcoin supporters to the country. Milena Mayorga, ambassador of El Salvador in the US, recently announced that Bank Of The Future, a cryptocurrency investment platform, was going to invest $6 billion in the country. What do you think about Nayib Bukele’s view of the influence of Bitcoin on the growth of the tourism industry in El Salvador? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

On August 5, 2022, the American luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. announced that the company’s non-fungible token (NFT) mint called “Nftiff” sold out. Tiffany’s sold 250 Nftiffs for 30 ethereum per Nftiff raking in more than $12.5 million from the sale. The NFTs created by Tiffany’s have to be redeemed by August 12 and so far 94 Nftiffs have been redeemed. Tiffany & Co. NFT Sale Sells Out Gathering $12.5 Million in Ether Six days ago, Bitcoin.com News reported on Tiffany & Co. revealing an NFT mint called “Nftiff,” a new product crafted by Tiffany’s that combines non-fungible token technology and luxury jewelry. Since then Tiffany’s has hosted its sale and all 250 NFT units sold out, according to a tweet published by the company on August 5. Each NFT, otherwise known as Nftiff, sold for 30 ether or just over $50K per NFT on Friday. The combined value of the sale netted more than $12.5 million for the luxury jewelry retailer. “We are sold out of all 250 Nftiff. Until the next mint,” Tiffany’s wrote on Friday. Data stemming from Dune Analytics indicates that 94 Nftiffs have been redeemed so far by a total of 73 Cryptopunk NFT owners. On the same day as the sale, Tiffany’s said: Nftiff couldn’t be easier. Purchase your NFT through the Nftiff gateway, choose your Cryptopunk and Tiffany artisans will transform it into a bespoke pendant. Nftiffs Sell for Less Than the Original Sale Price on Secondary Markets Metrics from cryptoslam.io show the original Nftiff sale and secondary market sales has achieved the top NFT collection ranking by sales volume during the last seven days. There’s been 299 transactions to date from the 182 owners storing Nftiff NFTs on 48 active wallets. Cryptoslam.io data and nftgo.io metrics both indicate that there’s been some secondary sales set for under Tiffany’s original asking price. Both NFT analytics sites show Nftiff sales have dropped as low as 27 ether and some for 27.5 and 27.8 ETH per Nftiff. This means owners have sold Nftiffs at a loss on secondary markets, like Nftiff #42, which sold 19 hours ago for 27 ether or a hair over $46K. Currently, at the time of writing on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (EST), the Nftiff floor price is back to the 30 ETH value Nftiffs originally sold for during Tiffany’s sale. What do you think about the Tiffany & Co. Nftiff sale? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

A task force in Nepal has proposed legal changes allowing the country’s central bank to issue its own digital currency. The move comes after a study indicated that such an initiative is feasible and recommended certain provisions that would authorize the regulator to proceed with its realization. Nepal Central Bank Prepares Legal Ground for National Digital Currency The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) is ready with revisions to the law determining its powers and responsibilities that would allow the monetary authority to issue a digital version of the country’s fiat currency, the Nepalese rupee. The news follows a study concluding that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a feasible project. According to Revati Nepal, chief of the bank’s Currency Management Department, a task force has already drafted an amendment bill. “After internal discussions, we will send the bill to the government to table it in parliament,” he added, quoted by the Kathmandu Post on Sunday. The changes will be made to the Nepal Rastra Bank Act from 2002. The study on the matter was announced with the NRB’s Monetary Policy 2021-22 paper. A team headed by Revati Nepal suggested that before developing the CBDC, the regulator needed to introduce the legal provisions that would allow it to implement it. The experts have now proposed concrete steps to move ahead, including the preparation of a legal framework for the digital currency. “There are suggestions for technical and economic issues to be considered,” the NRB official said. The central bank intends to design a separate digital wallet for the CBDC through which digital banking transactions could be carried out. “Measures will also be taken to explore interoperability with the digital payment service providers,” Nepal elaborated. Kathmandu Not in Rush, Wants to See How China and India Are Doing With Their CBDCs The executive made it clear that the Nepal Rastra Bank is not in a hurry to issue the digital currency. The monetary authority of the Himalayan nation wants to first observe how neighboring countries in South Asia, including India and China, proceed with introducing their CBDCs. Nepal emphasized: We don’t want to take the unnecessary risk by rushing into introducing digital currency. The finance minister of Nepal’s southern neighbor, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced in February that the world’s most populous democracy was planning to launch a digital version of its currency during the next financial year, which began on April 1. Thus, it is set to become one of the largest economies to introduce a digital currency with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expected to roll it out in 2023. Nepal’s other powerful neighbor, China, has been exploring the potential of a CBDC since 2014 and is already conducting trials. Cities like Shenzhen, Suzhou and Chengdu became the scene of the initial launch of its digital yuan in 2020. The tests were then expanded to more regions, including Hainan province, Shanghai and a number of other cities in 2021. The People’s Bank of China offered athletes and visitors a chance to try the e-CNY currency at the Winter Olympics this year. Various types of digital currencies, including decentralized cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, have been in circulation for years now. However, most governments are in the early stages of developing state-issued digital currencies. According to a survey by the Bank for International Settlements released in 2021, 86% of central banks were researching the potential of CBDCs, 60% percent were experimenting with the technology and only 14 percent were deploying pilot projects. Nepal still has a long way to go but the NRB’s study produced a concept paper which is currently under review at the bank. “We will identify the way forward after the conclusion of ongoing discussions,” said Revati Nepal. “It will be good for Nepal to introduce digital currency with appropriate technology acquired from other nations,” added Prakash Kumar Shrestha, chief of the central bank’s economic research department who pointed to other important aspects that need attention such as cybersecurity. Do you think Nepal will catch up with its neighbors in the development of a national digital currency? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

In 43 days, the Ethereum network could finally see a full transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) via The Merge. Meanwhile, during the last 38 days, Ethereum’s layer one (L1) onchain transaction fees have dropped below the $5 mark and tumbled even lower by the end of July. At the time of writing, the average Ethereum network fee is 0.00086 ether or $1.46 per transfer. Median-sized fees are even less, as statistics show transfer fees have been as low as $0.21 to $0.576 per transaction on Sunday morning (EST). Ethereum Gas Costs Remain at the Lowest Rates Since December 2020, Ether Transfers Top Opensea’s Burn Rate For quite some time now, Ethereum data fees to transact on the network have been much lower than usual. In fact, today’s average Ethereum network fee is 0.00086 ether or $1.46 per transfer, a low not seen since December 12, 2020. Essentially, a gas fee is the quantity of ethereum (ETH) required to transfer data onchain, and the fee to simply push ETH is cheaper than the fees tied to transferring an ERC20 token and interacting with a smart contract. While the average Ethereum network fee is around $1.46 per transfer today, statistics from etherscan.io’s Gas Tracker indicate that gas fees are between 5 to 6 qwei per transfer or $0.21 to $0.32. The Gas Tracker also shows that the cost to execute an Opensea sale can be between $0.73 to $1.10 per transaction, and decentralized exchange (dex) swaps can cost anywhere between $1.88 to $2.82 per transfer. To push an ERC20 token like USDT or USDC, the transfer cost is estimated to be around $0.55 to $0.83 per transfer on Sunday morning (EST). Data from bitinfocharts.com shows Sunday’s median-sized fees are 0.00034 ether or $0.576 per transaction. Ethereum transfers are a large contributor to the burning of ETH that stems from Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559. Opensea was once the largest contributor to the 2,573,837 ethereum (ETH) destroyed so far. However, Ethereum transfers are now the biggest contributors to destroying ether with 232,233 ETH burned to date. As ETH’s supply growth jumps by 5.5 million per year, EIP-1559’s deflationary burn mechanism destroys around 0.2 million ether annually. Since EIP-1559’s inception, traditional ethereum transactions equaled approximately 156,422,214 transactions and roughly 649.79 ether was destroyed during the last 24 hours from ETH transactions and a variety of other types of data transfers. L2 Fees Offer Cheaper Ethereum Transfer Alternatives As far as layer two (L2) transactions are concerned, fees via L2 are much cheaper than L1. At the time of writing, Loopring and Zksync offer the cheapest L2 alternatives. Loopring fees are $0.01 per transaction, while Zksync fees are also a U.S. penny in value per transaction. The cost to swap tokens using these L2 platforms can cost a touch more, as the estimated Zksync swap fee is $0.02 today, but Loopring swapping fees are upwards of $0.42 per transaction. Optimism L2 gas costs are roughly $0.03 per transaction, while Arbitrum One can cost $0.05 per transfer. To swap via Optimism’s platform, estimates show it could cost a user $0.05, while Arbitrum swaps are estimated to be around $0.08 today. On August 7, L2 fees are also cheaper on Metis, Boba, and Aztec networks and Polygon Hermez as well. What do you think about Ethereum network fees remaining at the lowest gas rates since December 2020? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

After meeting the leaders of Ivory Coast and Senegal in July, the CEO of the cryptocurrency Binance, Changpeng Zhao, revealed in a tweet that he had recently met the President of the Central African Republic (CAR). Some of the topics discussed by the two were focused on “education, investments and crypto adoption in the Central African Republic.” ‘An Incredibly Important Step’ for the CAR As part of his latest effort to drive adoption in Africa, Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of the global cryptocurrency exchange Binance recently met the Central African Republic (CAR) President Faustin-Archange Touadéra. The meeting comes just a few months after the CAR became the first African country to make bitcoin legal tender. In a tweet in which he lauds the meeting, the CAR leader described his encounter with Zhao as “an incredibly important step” for his country. According to Touadéra, during the meeting, which he also called “a truly remarkable moment,” the Binance CEO shared “some brilliant ideas” based on his experience with the crypto exchange. Touadéra added: Education, investments, crypto adoption in the Central African Republic and the region and the Sangoproject vision, were some of the topics of the meeting. Better things are shaping up for what’s to come. CZ Meets Leader of Another Bitcoin Adopting Country In a tweet confirming the meeting, the Binance CEO said the two had “discussed education, investments, regulatory frameworks, and crypto adoption.” Before his latest meeting with the CAR leader, Zhao, who has previously said he is on a mission to drive adoption in Africa, met with the Presidents of the Ivory Coast and Senegal. Meanwhile, the Binance CEO’s meeting with Touadéra marks the second time Zhao has met with the leader of a nation that has legally adopted bitcoin. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is the first leader of a bitcoin-adopting country to host the Binance CEO. Meanwhile, despite the CAR’s ongoing efforts to bolster the uptake of Sango coin sales, the number of tokens sold was still below fifteen million at the time of writing. This indicates that more than 195 million Sango coins out of 210 million are yet to be acquired some two weeks after the token sale commenced. Register your email here to get a weekly update on African news sent to your inbox: What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

From ominous speculation about the potential economic fallout of military conflict between Taiwan and China, to markets being flooded with designer watches in the wake of a crypto downturn, to warnings of worse bear markets and soccer franchises pushing forward in the realm of metaverse ambitions, there’s once again never a dull moment in the world of cryptocurrency news. Without further ado, this is your bite-sized digest of the week’s hottest stories from Bitcoin.com News. Reports Say Beijing Attacking Taiwan Could Lead to ‘Far-Reaching Economic Consequences’ While the global economy remains gloomy and the war in Ukraine continues, there’s been significant tension between China and Taiwan. The American representative from California, Nancy Pelosi, plans to visit Taiwan this week and White House officials say China is preparing to carry out “military provocations.” Moreover, during the last few weeks, reports note that the global economy could crater if there’s a Chinese military attack on Taiwan. Read More Renowned Investor Jim Rogers Warns ‘the Worst’ Bear Market in His Lifetime Is Incoming Veteran investor Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with billionaire investor George Soros, has warned that more bear markets are coming and the next one will be “the worst” in his lifetime. Noting that many stocks will go down 90%, he stressed that investors will lose a lot of money. Read More Crypto Downturn Floods Market With Rolex and Patek Watches, Trading Platform Says The latest troubles in the crypto space have allegedly led to an increased supply of second-hand luxury watches, according to a leading trading platform. As a result, prices of sought-after models by major brands like Rolex and Patek have dropped, the company revealed. Read More Socios.com Will Invest $100 Million in FC Barcelona Metaverse Push Socios.com, a company dedicated to the development of fan engagement tokens for sports organizations, has revealed that it will invest $100 million in the digital business of soccer team FC Barcelona, Barca Studios. The investment will give Socios.com 24.5% of the stake in the digital division of the club and will allow it to reshape the metaverse and Web3 strategies of the division to include more revenue streams. Read More What are your thoughts on this week’s hottest stories from Bitcoin.com News? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Law enforcement in Kazakhstan detained members of a crime group suspected of forcing IT experts into operating underground facilities for cryptocurrency mining with threats and blackmail. The racketeers allegedly made up to half a million U.S. dollars a month from their business. Kazakhstan Busts Illegal Crypto Mining Organization, Detains Dozens Authorities in Kazakhstan have arrested a group of “criminally oriented individuals” and former convicts who pressured people savvy in information and crypto technology to run illegal installations for cryptocurrency production. Many of the apprehended 23 people had a background in debt-collecting and extortion, the country’s Interior Ministry said in a statement this week. The gang was making estimated profits in the range of $300,000 to 500,000 each month as a result of their unauthorized crypto mining activities, the department further revealed. During searches, police found a number of weapons, including pistols, ammunition and a Kalashnikov assault rifle. One of the gang members turned out to be an army serviceman. Investigators were able to establish that the undertaking was quite sophisticated, an indication that the group was not working entirely on its own, the news outlet Eurasianet noted in a report. Over the past few months, it has emerged that major mining operations in Kazakhstan were linked to high-ranking officials and powerful businessmen, added the online portal which covers developments in the region. Kazakhstan became a crypto mining hotspot after China cracked down on the industry in May, last year. Mining companies were attracted by its low electricity rates but their influx caused an increasing energy deficit. The government in Nur-Sultan responded by taking steps to reduce the consumption in the sector by cutting power supply to licensed mining enterprises on a number of occasions, increasing a tax levy, and going after illegal miners. This spring, the Financial Monitoring Agency discovered and shut down more than 100 underground mining farms. Commenting on the offensive, the agency remarked that among their operators were firms affiliated with Bolat Nazarbayev, brother of Kazakhstan’s ex-president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and Alexander Klebanov who heads the Central Asian Electricity Corporation. Some of the other closed down facilities were linked to Kairat Sharipbayev, who is the former chairman of the national gas distribution company Qazaqgaz and is believed to be married to Nazarbayev’s eldest daughter, Dariga. Yerlan Nigmatulin, brother of the former speaker of the lower house of parliament, is also suspected of having profited from unauthorized mining, the report details. Do you expect Kazakhstan to continue to clamp down on cryptocurrency mining? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

On August 4, Arbitrum One, the layer two (L2) Ethereum scaling solution, announced the protocol will implement a significant upgrade called Nitro in 25 days. The highly anticipated Nitro migration will take place on August 31, exactly one year after Offchain Labs, the Arbitrum project maintainers, launched the Arbitrum One mainnet. The Arbitrum team says that developers need to prepare contracts and users should get prepared for faster transactions and lower fees. Offchain Labs Reveals Migration Date for Arbitrum One’s Nitro Upgrade Two days ago, the official Arbitrum One Twitter page told its 275,200 social media followers that Arbitrum will be “migrating to Nitro on August 31st.” Arbitrum launched last year on August 31, as the L2 Ethereum scaling solution leverages optimistic transaction rollups that are transmitted via the Arbitrum One sidechain and Ethereum mainnet. The scaling makes ethereum (ETH) transactions faster and cheaper than transacting onchain via ETH’s layer one (L1). For instance, it costs roughly 9-10 gwei or between $0.32 to $0.36 to transact onchain on the Ethereum network at the time of writing, according to etherscan.io’s gas tracker Etherscan.io metrics further show that sending an ERC20 token like tether (USDT) will cost between $0.83 to $0.93 per transaction. On the same day on August 6, 2022, statistics from l2fees.info show that regular ethereum transactions using Arbitrum are estimated to cost roughly $0.08. Swapping a token via Arbitrum is estimated to cost around $0.12. Arbitrum is the third cheapest L2 protocol today as the L2s Loopring and Metis Network have cheaper fees to send ETH. However, in order to swap a token via Loopring, it is 258% more expensive than Arbitrum at $0.43. While Metis Network is half the price of the current Arbitrum token swap cost today at $0.06. With Nitro, both fees and transfer throughput are about to get a whole lot better, according to the introductory Nitro blog post, Offchain Labs published on April 6. “Arbitrum Nitro is the most advanced rollup stack ever built, and it enables massively higher throughput and lower fees,” the Nitro summary explains. The latest Arbitrum Nitro blog post, published two days ago, says the upgrade will add: Advanced Calldata Compression, which further drives down transaction costs on Arbitrum by reducing the amount of data posted to L1. Ethereum L1 Gas Compatibility, bringing pricing and accounting for EVM operations perfectly in line with Ethereum. Additional L1 Interoperability, including tighter synchronization with L1 Block numbers, and full support for all Ethereum L1 precompiles. Safe Retryables, eliminating the failure mode where a retryable ticket fails to get created. Geth Tracing, for even broader debugging support. Offchain Labs Insists Developers Need to Prep and Test Contracts Now Before Deployment The Offchain Labs’ Nitro blog post further explains that the team completed a successful implementation of Nitro on the Arbitrum Rinkeby testnet. Now is the time for developers to get fully prepared as the migration is only 25 days away, the Arbitrum team has stressed. “Developers, now is the time to ensure your contracts and front-ends are ready for the migration, preparing any necessary changes and testing as much as possible,” the Arbitrum development team’s blog post insists. “We strongly recommend deploying on an Arbitrum testnet if you haven’t already done so, with Arbitrum Goerli as our recommended, long-term option.” What do you think about the upcoming Arbitrum Nitro upgrade slated for August 31? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

While cryptocurrency markets have seen poor performances during the first two quarters of 2022, a recently published fundraising report authored by Messari researchers notes that $30.3 billion was raised by crypto projects and startups during the first half of 2022. The $30.3 billion raised across 1,199 fundraising rounds surpasses all the funding blockchain startups and projects obtained last year. H1 Crypto Ecosystem Funding Report Shows Capital Continues to Flow Despite Crypto Winter A significant sum of money has been injected into specific blockchain projects and startups within the crypto industry, according to the “H1 2022 Fundraising Report” published by Messari and Dove Metrics, a subsidiary of Messari Holding Inc. According to the report, centralized finance (cefi) outpaced decentralized finance (defi), as cefi captured more than $10.2 billion in H1. Defi managed to gather $1.8 billion, while Web3 and non-fungible token (NFT) projects and related companies raised $8.6 billion in the first six months of the year. $9.7 billion was injected into blockchain and crypto infrastructure sector and while Web3 and NFTs saw the third largest capital raised, the Web3-NFT sector saw the most fundraising rounds with 530 rounds during the first two quarters. Defi’s biggest month was the month of June, as a number of defi projects and businesses raised $624 million. “Despite DeFi’s maturity, seed rounds continue to dominate,” Messari researchers explain in the report. The most funds raised during a month for infrastructure was February, for cefi the top month was January, and the Web3-NFT sector’s best month was April. Ethereum-based defi projects and startups have received the most rounds and the highest dollar amounts, in comparison to alternative smart contract blockchains like Solana, Avalanche, and Polkadot when it comes to fundraising. Ethereum-based defi projects saw 54 deals in Q1 and 61 deals in Q2. In Q1, Ethereum-based defi projects raised $387 million while projects from alternative blockchains raised $309 million during the first quarter of 2022. In Q2, ETH-based defi raised $890 million while alternative chain-based projects gathered around $193 million. Messari researchers note that in the Web3-NFT sector, early-stage funding rules the roost and gaming eclipsed most of the NFT funding. Once again, Ethereum also dominated in the Web3-NFT industry, in comparison to alternative smart contract platform networks. Cefi, Infrastructure, Web3 Sectors Mature As far as centralized finance is concerned, cefi “continues to mature,” Messari’s report says as it highlights that $10 million+ funding rounds “make up 50% of activity.” Messari’s latest H1 fundraising report follows the recently published “4th Annual Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report 2022,” authored by the international professional services firm Pricewaterhousecoopers (PWC). The insights from PWC’s recent crypto study show that hedge funds injecting capital into cryptocurrency and blockchain projects have increased since last year. PWC researchers estimated that 21% of hedge funds participated in financing rounds tied to crypto, while this year’s participation rate is up to 38%. Messari’s fundraising report details that many sectors are “maturing” as Series A financing rounds or later made up 40%+ of H1’s crypto infrastructure dedicated rounds. Web3’s Series A rounds or later equated to around 30%+ of the fundraising rounds in H1 2022. Investors mentioned in Messari’s fundraising report include companies like FTX, Mechanism Capital, Pantera Capital, Sequoia Capital, Gumi Cryptos, Dragonfly Capital, Slow Ventures, Seven Seven Six, and around a dozen and a half others. What do you think about Dove Metrics’ and Messari’s H1 fundraising report? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin was trading lower on Thursday, ahead of tomorrow’s monthly nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report. The U.S. labor market has recently shown signs of slowing, following data this week reporting that nationwide job openings had fallen. Ethereum also dropped on the prospect of the NFP report, which is expected to come in at 250,000 jobs. Bitcoin After yesterday’s rebound in price, bitcoin (BTC) was back in the red on Thursday, as markets prepared themselves for tomorrow’s nonfarm payrolls report. It is expected that Friday’s report will show an addition of 250,000 jobs to the U.S. economy in July, which is lower than June’s figure of 372,000. As a result of this, crypto traders took a risk-off approach in today’s session, with the world’s largest token falling to a low of $22,790.66 as a result. The move sees bitcoin once again approach its price floor of $22,600, which when broken, usually sees BTC/USD bears push the token towards $20,000. So far this hasn’t happened, and as of writing BTC has marginally gained, trading at $22,907.09. Price strength continues to track at its floor of 53, however should this move towards 54, or even 55, we could see slight upside momentum return. Ethereum In addition to bitcoin, ethereum (ETH) was also back in the red, as bears pushed the token below its recent support level. ETH/USD fell below its support point of $1,620 in today’s session, as bearish pressure moved the token to an intraday low of $1,611.62. This low comes following Wednesday’s rebound in price, which saw ETH reach a high of $1,678.10. As of writing, and similar to BTC, ethereum is once again trading above its floor, with ETH/USD currently at $1,621.47. This comes as the 10-day moving average continues to be upwards facing, signaling that momentum in the short-term has yet to fully move into bear territory. However, this could soon change, as volatility between now and tomorrow’s report will likely continue to impact price action. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Will nonfarm payrolls beat expectations of 250,000 jobs? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

In this week’s Africa news highlights, the Nigerian central bank blames speculators for causing the local currency’s plunge to a new all-time low on the parallel market. In Kenya, the central bank has told financial institutions to cease having dealings with two Nigerian fintechs, Flutterwave and Chipper Cash. The Central African Republic’s token sale is off to a slow start with just under 13 million of the sango coins sold inside the first five days. Nigerian Currency Plunges to New Low — Speculators and Crypto Trading Blamed After seeing the local currency plunge to an all-time low of 710 naira for every dollar, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has accused speculators of causing the currency’s rapid depreciation. However, a leader of an association of foreign exchange dealers has said crypto trading is to blame for the naira’s fall. Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the CBN has implored residents to help the central bank in its efforts to halt the currency’s slide. Read More Kenyan Financial Institutions Told to End Dealings With Two Nigerian Fintechs The Central Bank Of Kenya (CBK) recently wrote a letter to CEOs of financial institutions which demanded they cease and desist from dealing with two Nigerian fintechs, Flutterwave and Chipper Cash. The CBK accused both Flutterwave and Chipper Cash of operating in the country without a license. According to the letter, all financial institutions are expected to confirm their compliance with the directive within seven days. Read More Central African Republic’s Token Sale off to Slow Start The Central African Republic (CAR)’s token sale appeared to have gotten off to a slow start after less than 13 million out of the 210 million sango coins were sold since the commencement of the sale on July 25. However, in a statement, the CAR’s sango coin promotion clarified that the token is fractionally backed by bitcoin. This implies the CAR’s treasury will consist of a bitcoin reserve fund. Read More Register your email here to get a weekly update on African news sent to your inbox: What are your thoughts on this week’s Africa-focused newsletter? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. As inflation soars & opportunities begin to diminish, an increasing number of individuals all over the world are turning to raffles, lotteries & other gambling endeavors as their only means of escape. The problem is, there is no way to prove beyond any doubt that any on the market are legitimate. A raffle is a method of raising funds by selling numbered tickets, one or more of which are then drawn at random, with the winner or winners receiving a prize. As such, DeHub has recently announced they have built & launched an NFT raffle protocol that is provably fair and on chain utilizing Chainlink VRF (Verifiable Random Function) through the world’s very first million dollar NFT raffle. Not only do players finally get the transparency they deserve, even losing ‘NFTickets’ still provide utility and access to DeHub’s d’apps. What’s there to know about DeHub’s raffle? Entering the raffle only costs $11 (BUSD) and participants stand a chance of winning a $1 million home (or equivalent value in stablecoins) in the United Kingdom. This is in fact the world’s inaugural house raffle based on blockchain technology, which also means that it is provably fair, verifiable and transparent.. This is important because more often than not, the vast majority of raffles and other types of prize draw-based events turn out to be scams and the participants usually lose their money and most don’t get their funds back either. Raffal.com reported it sold over 3.5m tickets in the last 18 months across 65 home raffles, yet only 17 exchanged hands. So far, DeHub has already sold over 100 ‘NFTickets’ for the first house being raffled, which is part of an 8-figure real estate portfolio that the team is also currently in the process of generating capital against through direct liquidations and pioneering, provably fair and random raffles. Why is the raffle important? Every year, millions of individuals in the United Kingdom fall victim to raffle scams. It is an unregulated industry that preys on the most vulnerable. As inflation further impoverishes the working and middle classes, a growing number of people will have no choice but to turn to these raffles out of desperation since they may not see any other way out of their current financial situation. However, the main issue is that there is no way to prove that a raffle is fair and reliable. To make matters worse, the U.K. government does not regulate raffles and it does not have the best track record with the crypto and blockchain industry either. DeHub has realized that there is a clear need for a raffle that is not only profitable, but one that is also trustworthy and dependable. By hosting the $1 million fair on-chain raffle using NFTs and Chainlink’s verified random function, DeHub is hence also solving a major problem in the world while simultaneously breathing new life into the industry and providing an innovative use-case for blockchain technology and NFTs. About DeHub DeHub strives to be the blockchain sector’s premier entertainment and lifestyle hub. By building real-world blockchain integrations in order to consistently improve user experience as well as offer enhanced protection across a wide range of different yet interrelated areas, DeHub is harnessing blockchain technology to build real world integrations that enhance lives globally while highlighting the importance of the technology. The platform’s native token, $DEHUB, can thus be used for various purposes such as accessing d’app features such as gaming arcades or staking, watching existing content and voting on content funding, renewals and cancellations on their censorship resistance streaming d’dapp. Users can also spend the token or any compatible stablecoin through DeHub’s cross realm digital & physical marketplace to obtain an array of products which are all secured and tradeable as NFTs. In addition, there are multiple ways to earn across the platform including but not limited to playing, watching, partner airdrops, engagement and staking, with more methods to be added as DeHub continues to develop the beta and alpha decentralized applications (dApps). For more information and regular updates, be sure to check out DeHub’s official website as well as the Twitter, Telegram and Discord channels. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

The National Power Administration of Paraguay has proposed to set a special mining fee for cryptocurrency mining operations in a decree project directed to the national economic team. Due to the immense losses the organization has faced, it has stopped supplying energy to some mining operations that were evading the payment of power bills, being illegally connected to the grid. National Power Administration to Change Power Billing Structure for Mining Operations in Paraguay The National Power Administration is proposing a new way of charging cryptocurrency companies for the electricity used in mining operations in Paraguay. The company has brought a new decree proposal to the national economic team that would collect the payments for these services in advance in U.S. dollars, and with an annual adjustment. This proposal would also create a new billing group for these activities. The head of the East Regional Management Division, Alfredo Argüello, stated that while inspecting different cryptocurrency mining operations, the group was able to detect irregularities in some of them that led to the loss of more than $400,000 monthly. Some of these irregularities included direct connections, bypass connections, and modified power meters, Argüello informed. As a result of this, the company is stopping the power supply to these companies until a new power billing structure is approved for these entities, an issue that’s already being discussed in the Paraguayan senate. Cryptocurrency Laws Ready The cryptocurrency mining activity in Paraguay has experienced a boom due to the cheap fees that the power companies are actually charging for electricity. Several companies have expressed their interest in establishing operations in Paraguay after the Chinese mining ban, which forced many mining operators to leave the country and search for new lands for carrying out their activities. The Senate passed a bill in July that, if approved, will bring clarity to these operations in the country. The law, which is still waiting to be sanctioned by the Paraguayan president, establishes that the energy provided to mining operations will still be subsidized, but will have to be set at a rate 15% higher than what other industries pay currently. About this, the president of the National Power Administration, Felix Sosa, stated: At that point, we believe that it has to respond to a cost structure so that it is viable for the installation of electrical energy supply. Furthermore, Sosa stated that he will propose a partial veto of this bill due to the proposals it makes regarding power billing to these companies. What do you think about the new proposal of the National Power Administration in Paraguay? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

A new study has ranked Nigeria as the country most curious about cryptocurrency post the April crypto market crash. The same study findings show Kenya as the second-highest ranked African country. According to Bobby Ong, co-founder of Coingecko, the countries topping the list seem more interested in buying the dip and this highlights “their long-term outlook for cryptocurrencies.” Nigerian Solana Searches Third Highest Globally After the cryptocurrency market crashed in April, a new study found Nigeria as the number one ranked country among English-speaking countries that are most interested in cryptocurrency. According to the findings of a study undertaken by Coingecko, Nigeria’s score of 371 surpasses that of second-ranked United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 101, and that of third-placed Singapore by 110. Elaborating on Nigeria — whose central bank directed financial institutions to block crypto entities from the banking ecosystem — a report released by the crypto price tracker Coingecko states: Nigeria topped the list for its population having the highest search levels for the phrases ‘cryptocurrency’, ‘invest in crypto’ and ‘buy crypto’ worldwide. Additionally, the population of Nigeria search for the cryptocurrency ‘Solana’ the third most worldwide. BTC and ETH Trending Cryptos in the UK After the West African nation, Kenya is the next highest ranked English-speaking African country with a score of 143. Overall, Kenya is ranked number 15. In the sixth-ranked United Kingdom (198), BTC, ETH, and polygon are all trending cryptocurrencies, the report said. With a score of 157, the United States — one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency markets — is ranked twelfth. Meanwhile, in his comments on the study’s findings, Bobby Ong, Coingecko’s COO and co-founder, said: “This year, we see a major correction from previous bull cycle highs, which have resulted in significant price drawdowns in an unforgiving macroeconomic environment. This study provides interesting insight into which countries remain most interested in cryptocurrency in spite of market pullbacks.” The COO added that countries topping the list seem more interested in buying the dip, therefore highlighting “their long-term outlook for cryptocurrencies.” Register your email here to get a weekly update on African news sent to your inbox: What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Several solutions can potentially improve cross-border payments significantly and central bank digital currency (CBDC) could be the “holy grail,” according to the European Central Bank (ECB). In a new report, the eurozone’s monetary authority also claims stablecoins, among other options, are “problematic.” ‘Holy Grail’ of Cross-Border Payments in Reach Through CBDC, European Central Bank Insists Cross-border payments should be immediate, cheap, universal, and settled in a secure medium, the European Central Bank remarks in a recently published report. For the first time, the “holy grail” of such transactions is within reach, thanks to declining data transfer costs, the birth of innovative concepts, and global collaboration aiming to enhance these payments, the regulator says in the recently published paper. The review, co-authored by ECB’s Director-General for Market Infrastructure and Payments Ulrich Bindseil and economist George Pantelopoulos, explores various ways to achieve these objectives. The experts have assessed several alternatives that are currently available, including cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, stablecoins, modernized correspondent banking, fintech solutions, and digital currencies issued by central banks, or CBDCs. Of these, bitcoin is the “least credible” and hence unlikely to be the “holy grail” of cross-border payments, they say, pointing to three main reasons for their conclusion: an inefficient proof-of-work mechanism, comparative advantages resulting from regulatory gaps that will be closed by authorities as they allegedly undermine anti-money laundering regulations, and the leading crypto’s unsuitability as a means of domestic payment as it’s “inherently unstable” in terms of purchasing power. Stablecoins, although they take an intermediate spot, can be even “more problematic” due to the employment of closed-loop solutions, their market power and fragmentation, the report notes. Currency substitution and the threat to monetary sovereignty have been listed as risks, too. Nevertheless, the authors admit they can be efficient as means of payment for several reasons, including their stable value bound to existing fiat currencies and their potential to have universal reach. Two other solutions, the European Central Bank insists, combine technical feasibility and relative simplicity while maintaining a competitive and open architecture by avoiding the dominance of a small number of market participants who would eventually exploit their market power. The central bank believes these are: The interlinking of domestic instant payment systems and future CBDCs, both with a competitive FX conversion layer, which may have the highest potential to deliver the holy grail for larger cross border payment corridors. All reviewed options require that progress is made in the field of AML/CFT compliance. The ECB says this will ensure straight-through-processing for the large majority of cross-border payments. The central bank raises the question whether financial authorities should develop both the interlinking of domestic payment systems and CBDCs, or dismiss one of them and “focus all efforts to implement the holy grail as soon as possible.” The European Central Bank has been working on a project to issue a digital version of the common European currency, the euro. Its investigation phase may take another year or so, President Christine Lagarde indicated last month. In an article co-authored with Board Member Fabio Panetta, she also marked key principles of the CBDC’s realization. Then, a group of economists suggested that limiting users’ access to the upcoming currency is necessary to preserve the current banking system. Do you agree with the ECB that central bank digital currencies can be the “holy grail” of cross-border payments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article