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Cryptoys, an NFT-based startup, announced it has raised $23 million in a Series A funding round led by a16z. The company, which seeks to mix NFTs with the world of gaming and virtual toys, will create what it calls a “cryptoyverse,” in which it will also implement play-to-earn features and issue its own tokens. Cryptoys Raises $23 Million in Series A Round The NFT market is facing a slump phase that is affecting prices and the popularity of NFT projects recently. However, there are projects that have managed to stay afloat and even thrive. One of them is Cryptoys, an NFT startup that has announced the completion of a successful funding round. The Series A funding round, which raised $23 million, was led by a16z crypto, with the participation of other companies and firms including Mattel, Dapper Labs, Draper & Associates, Acrew Capital, Coinfund, Animoca Brands, and Sound Ventures. The company will use these funds to further develop its own platform, dubbed “cryptoyverse,” which aims to entice a younger crown to engage with NFTs and play-to-earn services on top of the Flow blockchain, the same tech used by Dapper Labs to deploy its well known NBA Top Shot app. About the inclusion of younger users in this play-to-earn and gaming platform, Cryptoys’ CEO Will Weinraub stated: You have to take a step back from all of this Web3 maximalism. You’ve got to take baby steps to getting millions and millions of people to these new paradigms. Arianna Simpson, a general partner of a16z, who also participated in the seed round of the company, stated: The high caliber of creative and storytelling from the Cryptoys team is primed to delight and excite the next generation of consumers and collectors. Operations and Partnerships The company also announced that it would pursue alternative activities, including gaming activities where users can win NFTs to get onto the platform. For monetization, the platform is planning to issue a pair of tokens, Toyken and Binary Dust. Cryptoys recently entered a partnership with Mattel, which also contributed to this funding round, to bring some of the classic toy lines of the company into its world. According to reports, these IPs might include toys like Hot Wheels, Barbie, and Masters of the Universe, but none have been confirmed as of yet by the company. These will be sold as avatars to be used in Cryptoys’ cryptoyverse. What do you think about Cryptoys’ $23 million Series A funding round? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested two men who participated “in a violent plan to break into a family’s home in the middle of the night” to steal bitcoin worth tens of millions of dollars,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice. They could go to prison for 20 years. 2 Men Charged for Planning to Steal Bitcoin The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday the unsealing of an indictment charging Dominic Pineda and Shon Morgan with a “plan to commit home invasion robbery for tens of millions of dollars in bitcoin.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested the two on Thursday in Virginia. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams detailed: The defendants participated in a violent plan to break into a family’s home in the middle of the night and force its residents to provide the code to what the defendants believed was tens of millions of dollars in bitcoin currency. According to the court document, the defendants participated in the plan from May 18 to May 24, 2020, “to break into a home in Irvington, New York and rob its residents of cash and cryptocurrency.” Around the time of the planned home invasion, bitcoin was trading at about $10,000 per coin. BTC peaked at an all-time high price of $68,892 in November 2021. It has since dropped in value and is currently trading at $20,892. The Justice Department described: Pineda, 21, of Manassas, Virginia, and Morgan, 21, of Centreville, Virginia, are each charged with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, which carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. The Hobbs Act defines robbery as unlawfully taking another person’s property “by means of actual or threatened force.” What do you think about this case? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, says bitcoin is a commodity. He emphasized that the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and banking regulators will collaborate to oversee the crypto sector. Gary Gensler: Bitcoin Is a Commodity SEC Chairman Gary Gensler clarified his position on cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin, in an interview with Mad Money host Jim Cramer on CNBC Monday. “This is a highly speculative asset class. We’ve known this for a long time,” Gensler said when asked about cryptocurrency. Citing the “ups and downs of this speculative asset class,” he explained that when people invest in “bitcoin and hundreds of other crypto tokens,” they hope for a return, “just like when they invest in other financial assets” that are securities. Chair Gensler stressed that many of these “crypto financial assets” have “the key attributes of a security.” He added: “Some of them … are under the Securities and Exchange Commission.” In contrast, citing what his “predecessors and others have said,” he described: Some, like bitcoin, and that’s the only one I’m going to say … are commodities. The SEC chief noted that besides BTC, he is not going to discuss other crypto tokens specifically. Gensler’s statement agrees with the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Rostin Behnam, who said last month that bitcoin (BTC) is a commodity. However, Behnam further said ether (ETH) is also a commodity. Bitcoin proponents welcome Gensler’s clarification. Digital assets manager Eric Weiss tweeted: “Gensler is the 2nd consecutive SEC Chair to declare that bitcoin is a commodity, making it all but impossible for this classification to be altered in the future. Very significant indeed.” The pro-bitcoin CEO of Microstrategy, Michael Saylor, opined: “Bitcoin is a commodity, which is essential for any treasury reserve asset. This allows politicians, agencies, governments, and institutions to support bitcoin as a technology and digital asset to grow the economy and extend property rights and freedom to all.” The Nasdaq-listed software company has amassed 129,218 bitcoins for its corporate treasury. SEC, CFTC, Banking Regulators Collaborating on Crypto Gensler proceeded to comment on the SEC collaborating with other federal regulators to oversee the crypto sector, including the CFTC and banking regulators. He emphasized that many crypto tokens are currently trying to operate in a non-compliant way. The SEC chief then mentioned stablecoins, noting: There’s work to be done there around stablecoins … There’s a lot of work to be done to really protect the investing public. Last week, Gensler proposed “one rule book” for the regulation of the crypto sector. During the interview Monday, Cramer brought up Fidelity Investments allowing bitcoin as an option for 401(k) plans — the decision that has troubled the Labor Department. The Mad Money host asserted that it makes people “feel very comfortable with the asset that is bitcoin.” He asked Gensler, “are we too comfortable” with bitcoin? “There’s a lot of risk in crypto” and “there’s also a lot of risk in classic securities markets,” Gensler replied, elaborating: In the U.S… we have market regulators like the CFTC and the SEC to help protect the public against fraud and manipulation in the markets. Gensler added that there are currently thousands of crypto tokens that do not comply with the laws, noting that when a group of entrepreneurs is selling something to the public, there must be “full and fair disclosures.” The chairman stressed: “That’s what the SEC does. That’s what we do really well.” What do you think about the comments by SEC Chair Gensler? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The Moroccan central bank is presently working on a cryptocurrency regulation framework bill and according to the bank’s governor, Abdellatif Jouahri, this is set to be introduced soon. The regulatory framework being worked on will result in Morocco’s money laundering and anti-terrorism financing regulations being upgraded. Crypto Regulation Best Practices A Moroccan central bank committee is working to put in place an appropriate regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM) governor Abdellatif Jouahri has reportedly said. The governor also revealed his institution has engaged both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank over the benchmarks that will be used. Before Jouhari’s latest remarks, Bitcoin.com News reported in March 2022 that the Moroccan central bank was in talks with two global financial institutions as well as with the central banks of France, Sweden, and Switzerland. At the time, The talks, according to the central bank, were focused on what would be the crypto regulation best practices. Balancing Innovation and Consumer Protection Meanwhile, a Mapnews report stated BAM’s mooted regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies is expected to strike a balance between the need to foster innovation and the welfare of consumers. In addition to addressing issues around the regulation of cryptocurrencies, Jouhari hinted that the framework being worked on will also see Morocco’s money laundering and anti-terrorism financing regulations being upgraded. While the central bank has in the past conceded that Moroccans will likely adopt cryptocurrencies, BAM, alongside the Ministry of Finance and the Moroccan Capital Market Authority, has repeatedly warned of the risks that are associated with the use of cryptocurrencies. What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The prominent rap stars Eminem and Snoop Dogg released a new music video that showcases the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The duo’s latest single called “From the D 2 The LBC” debuted at this year’s Apefest, an annual gathering for BAYC and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) owners. From the D 2 the LBC: Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Bored Apes The new Eminem and Snoop Dogg music video has been trending on Youtube and at the time of writing, the video has gathered 8.85 million views. The official music video for the “From the D 2 The LBC” single highlights the popular BAYC NFT collection. Snoop and Eminem have animated their Bored Apes for the video which was shown at the Apefest event. Apefest had a number of high-profile music performances from Lil Wayne, Future, LCD Soundsystem, The Roots, Haim, and Lil Baby. While the new single features a whole lot of spliced BAYC imagery, the song is mostly about smoking cannabis. Snoop Dogg owns BAYC 6,723 and Eminem owns BAYC 9,055 and both were purchased for six figures per NFT. The song and video on Youtube have been very popular and there’s a large number of comments from listeners. “It’s great to see these two legends squash their beef and now make drop some joints together for us,” DJ Skandalous wrote in the comment section. As far as the media is concerned, publications like the Verge downplayed the video and said: Snoop Dogg and Eminem’s Bored Ape music video is here to try and sell us on tokens. Apecoin Down 82% From ATH, BAYC NFTs Still Command the Top Floor Values The Snoop and Eminem video follows the recent lawsuit filed by the BAYC creators’ Yuga Labs against the artist Ryder Ripps and several associates. Furthermore, the crypto token apecoin (APE) has increased in value by 15% this past week and 21.6% during the past two weeks. However, APE’s current $4.76 value at the time of writing, is 82.2% lower than the all-time high (ATH) of $26.70 per unit. BAYC NFTs have the largest floor price at 89.49 ETH or $106,289 for the least expensive BAYC on the market today. There are no BAYC NFTs that sell for under six figures but MAYC’s floor value is 17.57 ETH ($20,868) for the least expensive MAYC on the market today. During the past seven days, Bored Ape Yacht Club 8,522 sold for 233.33 ether or $262,958. Bored Ape Yacht Club 2,896 sold for 166 ether or $205K and BAYC 7,381 was sold for 147.25 ether or $182K. What do you think about the new Eminem and Snoop Dogg single featuring Bore Ape avatars? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to reports, the Russian Federation has defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time since 1918. Bondholders told the press that they had not received payments from the transcontinental country. However, Russia’s finance ministry denies the allegations and says the country made the payments via the Euroclear monetary system. Russia Is Accused of Foreign Debt Default, Moscow’s Finance Ministry Claims the Country Paid Bondholders Media reports are claiming that Russia has defaulted on its foreign currency debt for the first time in more than 100 years. Financial sanctions against the transcontinental country have made it difficult for Russia to access the international payment systems. On Sunday, a $100 million interest payment was allegedly missed after the U.S. Treasury blocked a method that allowed the Kremlin to pay its debts by converting rubles. Now that the grace period is over, bondholders will have to agree on whether or not it is officially a default against the loans. Reuters claims Russia’s move to not pay is “an act of political theatre at bondholders’ expense” and default makes them “political stooges.” The Kremlin, however, claims otherwise and says that the default is a “farce” because Western sanctions blocked the country’s payments. Russia’s finance ministry said it had made the payments to bondholders denominated in euros. Russia Blames Financial Blockade — Kremlin Spokesperson Says It’s ‘Not Our Problem’ The Russian government entity says the default claims are artificial, it has the funds to pay and sanctions are the only reason why institutions do not have the ability to accept funds from the country. The last time Russia defaulted on foreign debt was in 1918 during the Bolshevik Revolution. An NBC report has quoted a Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, who told the reporters that the payment was blocked by Western sanctions and because of this fact, Peskov said it’s “not our problem.” Reports further show that the Russian Federation claims it leveraged its onshore National Settlement Depository (NSD) and the Euroclear monetary system. The Kremlin insists that despite the financial blockade it had fulfilled its obligations to foreign investors. Reuters reports that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin codified a decree that picks specific banks to handle the bondholder payment obligations. Furthermore, Putin aims to travel to Tajikistan on Tuesday as it will be the president’s first trip since the start of the ongoing war. What do you think about the media claims that say Russia defaulted on its foreign debt? Do you agree with the Kremlin’s statements? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Last month was a crypto rollercoaster. Bill Gates said crypto is based on greater fool theory. The market has lost more than $1 trillion dollars since November, and there are still signs of further damage, including Celsius’ pause on withdrawals. The wild west of finance is clearly suffering, and the whiplash pace of recent headlines is likely to leave most investors full of uncertainty and anxiety. Pionex’s trustworthy crypto trading bots can help investors weather the crypto storm. Despite the recent maelstrom of bad news, the fundamental innovations behind crypto are sound: reimaging finance as more decentralized, independent, digital, and accessible. So as investors wade through the current moment, there are simple steps they can take with Pionex to weather the storm and reduce risk. Pionex makes the risk management tactics of big institutional investment houses and hedge funds accessible to every investor. Using three simple tactics, investors can succeed in even the most volatile of markets. Pionex takes emotions out of the equation Emotion can easily derail the most carefully planned investment strategy. Especially with the tailwind of bad news currently swirling through crypto, panic and fear can dictate investment choices. However, the reality is that those emotions don’t lead to good decisions. That’s why the top investment firms have teams of people to monitor the market and make quantitatively-sound choices. For the average individual, though, it’s harder to see how to remove emotions from investment decisions. That’s where Pionex’s crypto bots can help. By investing with a bot, investors have an extra layer of protection against emotional decisions. Bots can faithfully execute a trading strategy under any market conditions, leaving investors protected from the fallout of emotional investing. Trading bots help you maintain your investment plan Investors must stick to the plan of when to buy and sell. But fully managing a portfolio is time-consuming, especially for a market that operates 24/7. The speed at which the markets change leaves little margin for error in reaction time, leaving those that engage in activities such as working a job, sleeping, eating, having friends, and well, doing the things that it means to be human, at a disadvantage in the crypto marketplace. The solution to successfully investing in a volatile market while not letting investments consume your life is crypto trading bots. A cryptocurrency trading bot is an automated program that buys and sells when specific, pre-defined market conditions are met, and Pionex is one of the global leaders in crypto trading bots. With Pionex’s trading bots, investors set their trading strategy and define their risk parameters, but after the initial decision, the execution of the trading strategy is left to the bots. Pionex offers many types of crypto trading bots, including Moon bots, which intelligently recommend BTC/ETH Moon parameters based on the current currency price. As the currency price fluctuates, the Moon bot earns grid profits. Moon bots are easy to set up and require no monitoring. Other popular bots include grid bots, which allow you to set your upper and lower price margins and the bot automatically trades as prices fluctuate. Pionex also offers rebalancing bots that ensure your portfolio remains diverse. These bots keep your investment strategy on course, allowing you to weather the storm of a crypto meltdown successfully. Pionex allows you to live your life no matter the market Successful investors play the long game. As the markets move, it’s important to accept that you might experience temporary losses, but faithfully following your investment strategy will pay dividends. However, rolling with the waves of the crypto markets can be stressful and time-consuming. By allowing Pionex bots to handle the execution of your investment plan, you can weather market turbulence with confidence, knowing your assets are secure. While you engage in life, bots are trading for you, monitoring the market, managing your assets, and investing at the most optimal time to generate revenue and stave off losses. Bots move faster than humans and make quick decisions devoid of emotion. While it is common for humans to have their decision-making clouded by fear of loss, incorrect market predictions, excitement about the latest trend, and fear of regulatory changes, bots do what is best for your assets in the current market. Crypto trading bots come in many shapes and sizes, but they all share one common goal: to optimize your trading while mitigating risk by working on the market 24/7. Risk mitigation tools have been available to institutional investors for a long time. With Pionex, they’re now freely available to even the most casual crypto investor. Rather than having to manage each of your assets directly, trading bot platforms like Pionex allow you to set your plan, select what type of bots you wish to utilize, and let AI handle executing your investment strategy. With 11 free trading bot tools, Pionex has empowered over 100,000 traders to trade in over 250 cryptocurrencies with the security of knowing their assets are expertly managed. Pionex’s bots implement proven risk management strategies that can help even the smallest investors succeed. So take that vacation, turn off your phone, or schedule that night out with friends. With Pionex bots, you can live your life knowing your investments are continually monitored and optimized to generate maximum returns. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

DOGE was trading higher on Monday, as prices rose to their highest level in almost 20 days. TRX was also in the green to start the week, as prices continued to climb, following a recent streak of bullish momentum. Dogecoin (DOGE) DOGE was a notable mover during today’s session, as prices rose to their highest point in nearly 20 days. On Monday, DOGE/USD rose to an intraday high of $0.07839, which came less than 24 hours after trading at a low of $0.07184. As a result of today’s move, the meme coin collided with a price ceiling at $0.07830, which is the highest point DOGE has hit since June 10. Since hitting this peak, bulls have vacated earlier positions, pushing prices lower in the process, giving bears a green light to re-enter. Although still up almost 6% from yesterday’s low, DOGE is currently trading at $0.0756, which is marginally below earlier highs. This comes as the 14-day RSI hit the 53.9 level, which is its highest reading since April 26, and also a point of resistance. Should DOGE eventually overcome this point, then we may see further gains in price. TRON (TRX) TRX was also trading higher to start the week, as prices continued to rise, following a recent streak of upward momentum. Following a low of $0.06415 on Sunday, TRX/USD surged to a peak of $0.07005 earlier in today’s session. This move saw prices climb to their highest point since June 13, when TRON was making its way down to a then one-year low at $0.04700. Since then, prices have been in an ascending triangle, hitting a streak of higher highs in the process, with today’s the latest one of these climbs. In order to climb further, we might need to see price strength push through an upcoming resistance level on the RSI indicator. This point, at 50, is one of the only current obstacles in the way of the token recapturing its long-term resistance level at $0.07560. Do you expect TRX to reach this level in July? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Cryptocurrency-related lending has become a black smudge for the industry these days and according to a recent report, bitcoin’s low price has put billions in mining loans under stress. The report, which quotes the co-founder of mining company Luxor Technologies, Ethan Vera, says that roughly $4 billion in loans backed by crypto mining rigs are extremely close to running a risk of default. Analyst Says Miners ‘Are Nervous About Their Loan Books’ The price of bitcoin (BTC) is 21% lower than it was two weeks ago and the price drop has hurt BTC miners a great deal. According to a report from Bloomberg, analysts say that a number of loans backed by mining machines are underwater. Luxor’s Ethan Vera estimates that around $4 billion in loans backed by mining rigs are under stress. “They are nervous about their loan books, especially those with high collateral ratios,” Vera explained to Bloomberg’s David Pan. Using current BTC exchange rates, only 14 SHA256-based mining rigs are profiting with an electrical cost of around $0.05 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), according to asicminervalue.com statistics. The top mining machines manufactured by Bitmain and Microbt, gather between $2 to around $4.50 per day with an electrical cost of around $0.05 per kWh. The report notes that miners are selling BTC to bolster operational costs and it highlighted that in May, Core Scientific Inc. sold over 2,000 BTC for operational expenses. “Bitcoin miners, broadly speaking, are feeling pain,” Luka Jankovic, head of lending at Galaxy Digital detailed in the report. “A lot of operations have become net IRR negative at these levels. Machine values have plummeted and are still in price discovery mode, which is compounded by volatile energy prices and limited supply for rack space,” Jankovic added. JPMorgan Analyst Says Bitcoin Miners Continue to Put Pressure on the Price Traditionally, during bear markets, bitcoin miners are forced to sell off holdings which puts even more pressure on the price. Another report, quoting JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou explained that bitcoin miners that need to sell will keep weight on the current downward pressure affecting BTC markets in recent times. Panigirtzoglou and his group of strategists at JPMorgan believe that privately-held miners may have sold a large share of block subsidies to help operational costs. A number of reports had shown that miners have been selling large quantities of BTC since February 2022. “Bitcoin miners have been net distributors since the recent sell-off,” the team of onchain analysts at Glassnode detailed on June 2. “Miners balances have recently declined at a peak rate of 5k to 8k BTC per month ($150M to $240M at $30k BTC).” During the past few weeks, a handful of crypto lenders have also been under severe stress and some are dealing with liquidations. The crypto lender Celsius has been under the crypto community’s scrutiny for alleged liquidations and rumors about restructuring and insolvency. Loans tied to the BTC mining industry may force miners to sell even more BTC if prices go lower than today’s current exchange rates. What do you think about the pressure bitcoin miners are feeling from the lower bitcoin price? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin remained close to a ten-day high on Monday, as prices consolidated following gains from the weekend. Although ETH was lower to start the week, it was also able to remain close to Sunday’s peak around the $1,280 level. Bitcoin BTC was consolidating during today’s trading session, as bulls appear to have secured some profits following recent gains. Coming from the back of a high at $21,783.72 on Sunday, BTC/USD rose to an intraday low of $20,965.11 on Monday. This decline sees bitcoin start the week trading almost 2% lower, however still close to recent highs, as some bullish sentiment still remains. In terms of upwards sentiment, this can be seen in today’s action, with prices bouncing back from earlier lows, and as of writing they sit at $21,261.87. As outlined during the weekend, one of the hurdles that could have prevented BTC from further gains was that of the 36.45 ceiling on the RSI, and this has turned out to be the case. Looking at the chart, today’s fall comes as price strength was unable to break out of this point, and as of writing the indicator is tracking at 36. Ethereum There was a similar story for ethereum in today’s session, as price slipped, whilst also remaining close to recent highs. ETH/USD dropped to an intraday low slightly below $1,200, at $1,199.41, however as the session progressed, ethereum managed to regain some momentum. As of writing, ETH is now trading at $1,217.17, which is roughly 3.17% lower than yesterday’s peak at $1,272.13. Bulls seemed set on recapturing the $1,300 level during this past weekend, however like BTC, this desire was not realized, due to hurdles from the RSI indicator. The 39.80 ceiling on the Relative Strength Index was impenetrable this weekend, and as such, bulls decided to liquidate earlier gains. However, it is likely that traders may make another run at this level in coming days, which would see prices re-enter the $1,300 region. Will we see any further spikes in price before the month ends? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Meta, the metaverse-based platform, has announced the launch of a new wallet directed to support value interaction in the metaverse. Meta Pay, a rebrand of the former Facebook Pay service, will keep fulfilling the same functions that Facebook Pay did in the past, but will be developed as a universal way of paying for goods and services using digital identities in the metaverse. Facebook Pay Rebrands to Meta Pay Meta is trying to solve the problem of transaction and value interactions in the metaverse. The company announced the launch of a new digital wallet that will support the economy of users in the upcoming iteration of Meta’s metaverse. The wallet, dubbed Meta Pay, will be an evolution of what’s known today as Facebook Pay, still supporting the array of payments it handles currently, but with a new focus on digital identity and proof of ownership. According to Meta (formerly Facebook) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Pay will be a solution to two issues in the metaverse: accessibility to digital goods and proof of ownership. About this, he stated: In the future, there will be all sorts of digital items you might want to create or buy — digital clothing, art, videos, music, experiences, virtual events, and more. Proof of ownership will be important, especially if you want to take some of these items with you across different services. Portability and Standardization in the Metaverse Zuckerberg stated that ideally, everything purchased in one part of the metaverse should be available on another platform, with the same functions and traits. This is one of the goals that Meta seeks to reach with Meta Pay: a sort of Web3 identity that links purchases of digital items to a singular digital identity. Zuckerberg explained: This kind of interoperability will deliver much better experiences for people and larger opportunities for creators. That is, the more places you can easily use your digital goods, the more you’ll value them, which creates a bigger market for creators. Furthermore, Zuckerberg argues that a universal payment method across the whole metaverse will be an opportunity for content creators, as more consumers will be available to purchase their content. However, this can only be achieved with a certain degree of standardization. The company recently partnered with Microsoft and other companies such as Epic Games to launch an open standards group for all things metaverse, working towards establishing common points to make metaverses more interoperable in the future. What do you think about Meta Pay? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. TAMPA, Fla., June 27, 2022 / — Pocket Network, an infrastructure middleware protocol which facilitates decentralized multichain blockchain access to developer applications in Web3, including Ethereum, Polygon, Gnosis Chain, Avalanche, Solana, Fuse, Fantom and Near, recently marked a significant milestone in its multichain strategy with 50 supported blockchains on its network after integrating Moonbeam and Moonriver blockchains. Pocket has its sight on the century mark – with 100 blockchains supported by the end of 2022. “As we see developer demand drive more activity and apps to a wider variety of blockchains, interoperability challenges, as well as latency and reliability, from centralized infrastructure providers will continue to grow,” said Michael O’Rourke, Co-founder and CEO of Pocket Network. “With our multichain strategy, we are positioned to cement Pocket as the true decentralized, full-node RPC protocol in the industry.” The real breakthrough of a multichain network is in the utility this brings to Web3 developers. This is especially true with the streamlined Pocket Portal that developers can access to deploy apps to any of Pocket’s 50 supported blockchains. This interface vastly simplifies developers’ abilities to connect with any chain of their choosing and provides a one-stop RPC solution with an instantaneous process to get an endpoint, an analytics dashboard, and app notifications to monitor performance. Regardless of blockchain, users and developers no longer have to pick between speed and security, efficiency and decentralization, and uptime and latency. Being resilient, faster, cheaper, more secure, and better for developers has been the winning formula to Pocket’s scale and dominance. This way, Pocket’s chain-agnostic mission is imperative for the development of decentralized infra. About Pocket Network Pocket Network, a blockchain data ecosystem for Web3 applications, is a platform built for applications that uses cost-efficient economics to coordinate and distribute data at scale. It enables seamless and secure interactions between blockchains and across applications. With Pocket, the use of blockchains can be simply integrated into websites, mobile apps, IoT and more, giving developers the freedom to put blockchain enabled applications into the “pocket” of every mainstream consumer. For more information visit pokt.network. Media Contact: Hanna Yakimets, hanna@pokt.network 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

Binance has chosen a new payments partner amid the suspension of direct fiat deposits and withdrawals in Brazil. The company stated it will now work with Latam Gateway, a payments processing company that has been in the payments intermediation business since 2019. Binance reported it would be working to normalize the fiat deposit and withdrawal situation shortly. Binance Partners With Latam Gateway for Payments Processing Binance, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges by volumes traded, has announced a new partnership to solve the problems it had been facing with fiat movements on its platform in Brazil. The exchange stated that it has enrolled the services of Latam Gateway, a payments processing company that will substitute its earlier partner, Banco Capitual. In a blog post, the exchange told that Latam Gateway has been a payments processing company in Brazil since 2019, being founded by executives with experience in the field since 2014, when they also founded Boa Compra, another payments processing company. About the importance of the country for the exchange, Binance stated: Brazil is an extremely relevant market for the company and that it will continue to invest and expand services for local users, as well as contribute to the development of the blockchain and crypto ecosystem in the country. For Binance, this is a temporary measure to let its users use its platforms normally, as the exchange is currently in the process of acquiring Sim;paul, a company regulated by the securities watchdog of Brazil. Earlier Woes Binance started having problems with fiat deposits and withdrawals earlier this month, when Capitual, its former payments partner, started implementing stronger KYC measures, adapting its platform to comply with the requirements of the Central Bank of the country. While Binance announced that it would be exerting legal actions against Capitual, the payments company rebutted stating that Binance had not adapted its platform to deal with the new requirements coming from the Central Bank of Brazil. According to reports from Capitual, which also lends its processing services to other exchanges in the area, like Kucoin and Huobi, these other companies did adapt their platforms and continue to operate normally. Binance hopes to coordinate the integration of the services offered by Latin Gateway soon to normalize the status of direct fiat deposits and withdrawals in Brazil, which are still paused at the moment, though customers can still use alternative ways of getting funds in and out of the exchange. What do you think about the new payments partner presented by Binance in Brazil? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Tencent, the Chinese technology and entertainment giant, announced the creation of its own metaverse-driven division. The division, named the extended reality unit, will be the one tasked with encompassing all metaverse-driven efforts, including hardware and software developments. According to reports, the company aims to employ over 300 in this unit, with Tencent giving it big importance even among executing cost-cutting measures. Tencent Officially Announces Metaverse Division Tencent, one of the biggest Chinese software companies, has taken another step toward getting into the metaverse. According to Reuters, the Chinese tech and entertainment giant announced the creation of its extended reality unit, which will encompass all of the initiatives that the company will run with the goal of entering the metaverse-driven market. The division will be led by the current Global’s Chief Technology Officer Li Shen, and will be part of the entertainment division of the company. While there is still not much information about the direction that the unit will take, sources state that the company will produce both software and hardware products for the metaverse, This means that Tencent might be poised to be a strong contender for companies like Meta and Microsoft in the east with the hypothetical production of AR and XI hardware. Putting the Weight on Top The extended reality unit does not seem to be just another unit in Tencent’s corporative structure. The unit supposedly has been under wraps since earlier this year. The company aims to have a staff of more than 300 people dedicated to different metaverse-driven projects. This speaks volumes about the importance that Tencent is given the metaverse and extended reality projects even when the company has been executing cost-cutting measures and slowing down hiring efforts due to the macroeconomic conditions of the market, with the unit being considered a passion project of the founder of Tencent. But sources also indicated that this vision might change in the future according to the focus and performance of the unit. Other companies, like Meta, have also been investing in metaverse devices and platforms to get the upper hand when it comes to metaverse hardware and software, seeking to be the first to present a cohesive virtual reality platform. However, this will make them lose money in the R&D area, as Meta acknowledged recently. There have been also efforts to complete metaverse standards. Meta, Microsoft, and other companies like Epic Games launched the Metaverse Standards Forum, with the idea of gathering information from open activities to coordinate the establishment of jointly created standards for metaverse platforms. What do you think about Tencent launching a metaverse unit? Tell us what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. INTERNET CITY, DUBAI, Jun. 27, 2022 – LBank Exchange, a global digital asset trading platform, has listed My Liquidity Partner (MLP) on June 23, 2022. For all users of LBank Exchange, the MLP/USDT trading pair is now officially available for trading. Utilizing liquidity partners’ crypto within the liquidity pools, My Liquidity Partner (MLP) enables them to receive a weekly passive income from a major DEX with over $1 Trillion U,S. Dollar in trade volume. Its native token MLP has been listed on LBank Exchange at 22:00 (UTC+8) on June 23, 2022, to further expand its global reach and help it achieve its vision. Introducing My Liquidity Partner My Liquidity Partner (MLP) is a way of making its liquidity partners’ crypto create an extra source of weekly passive income for them without spending hours in front of the charts. It utilizes their crypto within the liquidity pools, runs on Uniswap, with its advanced algorithms and experts it’s able to give its Liquidity Partner’s a WEEKLY return on their position. It offers liquidity partners a guarantee that it’ll match their ETH or BTC with its own pledged crypto. Liquidity Partner of MLP receives starting at 0.75% and as high as *2.50% on their Ethereum (ETH) as a partnership fee. Partner can choose weekly payouts or “Hyper-Compounding” way as an option. BTC, SHIBA, and USDC pools are also available to those Liquidity Partners. The USDC pool has a slightly lower weekly return rate, but its virtues are counted for its stability (being a stable coin). The BTC pool is for those who want to participate in a larger yield pool, as the minimum deposit is 0.5 BTC, and for those crypto natives who hold SHIBA, it also has a pool for them. (*Limited time offer & other promotional offers may apply) There’re several advantages of MLP that users will be able to enjoy, such as returns of estimated 117% APR & 218% APY with Hyper-Compounding, no lock in period so that users are able to withdraw at any time. Furthermore, all permanent risk associated with pool management is absorbed within the platform, and not by the Liquidity Partner. MLP has a team of experts working from around the world, it provides a skillfully developed platform, with complex smart contract automation. It’s a highly secured platform, with customer service agents that are accessible every day, and each partner must complete a full KYC approval prior to engaging. About MLP Token The MLP token is a loyalty reward token for My Liquidity Partner’s existing Liquidity Pool Partners as a show of appreciation for its Partners participation in its program. The token allows those who can’t afford to participate in the pool to join with the MLP token, and still reap rewards from the platform, whilst having access to immediate liquidity. The token will also be a staking and farming token, on a variety of the largest decentralized exchanges. Based on ERC-20, MLP has a total supply of 10 billion (i.e. 10,000,000,000) tokens, of which 8% is provided for token sale, 10% is provided for incentives, 30% will be used for providing liquidity on DEX and CEX, another 30% is allocated for LP rewards, 8% is provided for reserve fund, 7% is allocated to the team and advisors, 5% is provided to the community, ambassadors and partners, and the rest 2% will be used for development. The MLP token has been listed on LBank Exchange at 22:00 (UTC+8) on June 23, 2022, Anybody who are interested in My Liquidity Partner program can easily buy and sell MLP token on LBank Exchange right now. The listing of MLP on LBank Exchange will undoubtedly help it further expand its business and draw more attention in the market. Learn More about MLP Token: Official Website: https://myliquiditypartner.com Telegram: https://t.me/MyLiquidityPartner Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mysmartcontract.io LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/myliquiditypartner/ 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 recently reintroduced seasonal ban on cryptocurrency mining has provoked backlash from the local crypto community. This week, the country’s power distribution company ordered miners to suspend activities citing electricity shortages during the hot summer months. Restrictions on Crypto Mining Are Ousting Iran From Global Coin Minting Industry, Critics Say After last year crypto miners were forced to deal with interruptions in power supply on more than one occasion, the Iran Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution Company (Tavanir) has told them to halt operations again, until the end of this summer. The utility is citing expected electricity shortages in the next three months of hot weather, when demand will spike due to rising consumption for cooling. The company’s spokesman, Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, has been quoted as stating that the measure should help reduce the heavy load on the national grid during the peak season. According to a report by the Iranian business news outlet Way2pay, stakeholders have objected to the move, insisting that it’s unwarranted and will hurt Iran’s crypto mining industry, as in 2021. The power deficit and the frequent blackouts were partially blamed on the increased power usage for mining, both legal and illegal, and last May licensed miners were ordered to shut down. They were allowed to resume operations in September, but then again asked to unplug their equipment to help alleviate the shortages in the cold winter months, when demand of energy increases for heating purposes. Last year’s multiple shutdowns hit the miners hard and Iran’s share in the global hashrate fell to just 0.12%, according to the Bitcoin Mining Map of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, effectively ousting Iran from the planet’s crypto mining industry. The similar events now have again provoked numerous reactions from the space and warnings that Iran is lagging behind its competitors. Iranian Miners Have Few Remaining Options to Choose From Some Iranians believe that removing the cryptocurrency miners from the equation would have little effect on the power supply as the legal mining facilities account for a relatively small share of the network’s load. The report notes that it’s unclear how effective the ban on authorized mining will eventually turn out to be. It’s also unclear why all miners across the country are supposed to cease activities as in reality, some crypto farms operate in parts of the country that do not experience electricity shortages. Another objection comes down to the questions why only miners should be disconnected from the grid and why this should happen so suddenly. Iran legalized crypto mining as an industrial activity in 2019. Since then, dozens of companies have applied for a license from the Ministry of Industry. Tavanir’s executive responsible for the mining sector, Mohammad Khodadadi, reminded that the government resolution explicitly states that miners are not allowed to buy electricity during peak times of consumption. Their contracts contain a similar clause as well, he added. According to Way2pay, Iranian crypto miners have limited options now when it’s obvious that the country’s power network can no longer meet their needs. The first is to simply wait until the authorities lift the ban. Another one is to use alternative fuels by installing diesel generators or to rely on generation from renewable energy sources. The last resort is to go underground and continue to mint digital coins illegally, on their own risk. Do you expect Iran to solve its problems with electricity shortages and ensure regular power supply for its crypto mining industry? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, formerly Facebook, has shared how the metaverse will be a key part of his business and bring hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue. “Our playbook over time has been build services, try to serve as many people as possible,” said Zuckerberg. Mark Zuckerberg on the Metaverse Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, talked about the metaverse in an interview on Wednesday with Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC’s Mad Money. The Facebook co-founder explained that he expects the metaverse to be massive and become a major part of his company’s business over the next decade. Commenting on Meta’s metaverse efforts, Zuckerberg said: Our playbook over time has been build services, try to serve as many people as possible — you know, get our services to a billion, two billion, three billion people, and then we basically scale the monetization after that. “We hope to, basically, get to around a billion people in the metaverse doing hundreds of dollars of commerce each,” he continued, adding that people could be “buying digital goods, digital content, [or] different things to express themselves” in the metaverse. Some examples of what people can purchase are “clothing for their avatar or different digital goods for their virtual home or things to decorate their virtual conference room,” Zuckerberg listed. He added that people can also buy “utilities to be able to be more productive in virtual and augmented reality and across the metaverse overall.” However, he admitted that there is a long way to go, stating: I still think it’s going to take a while for it to get to the scale of several hundreds of millions or even billions of people in the metaverse, just because things take some time to get there. “So that’s the north star. I think we will get there. But, you know, the other services that we run are at a somewhat larger scale already today,” he affirmed. Zuckerberg envisioned experiences in the metaverse to be more immersive than text, photos, or videos, noting that people can even make eye contact when meeting in the metaverse. The technology “basically adds up to making it deliver this realistic sense of presence,” the Facebook co-founder added. “We are at this point, you know, a company that can afford to make some big long-term research investments, and this is a big focus,” the Meta CEO opined. Last week, Meta, Microsoft, and 31 other companies formed a metaverse standards group. In March, Meta filed eight trademark applications for its logo and Meta Pay covering the metaverse and crypto services. Several large firms have estimated the size of the metaverse. McKinsey & Company said last week that the metaverse could generate $5 trillion by 2030. In March, Citi predicted that the metaverse could be a $13 trillion opportunity with five billion users by 2030. Global investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley both see the metaverse as an $8 trillion opportunity. What do you think about the metaverse comments by Mark Zuckerberg? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has reportedly proposed “one rule book” for the regulation of crypto assets. “If this industry is going to take any path forward, it will build some better trust in these markets,” said Gensler. SEC Chairman Calls for One Rule Book for Crypto SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has proposed “one rule book” for the regulation of crypto, the Financial Times reported Friday. He is looking to strike agreements with other financial regulators, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to avoid gaps in the oversight of the crypto sector. He told the publication: I’m talking about one rule book on the exchange. The SEC chief elaborated that the rule should protect investors against fraud, front-running, and manipulation, in addition to providing transparency over order books. The rule book will apply to “all trading regardless of the pair — [be it] a security token versus security token, security token versus commodity token, commodity token versus commodity token,” Gensler described. The SEC boss revealed that he is working on a “memorandum of understanding” with his counterparts at the CFTC, which would be a formal deal to ensure that trading in digital assets has adequate safeguards and transparency. He explained that if a commodity token is listed on a platform overseen by the securities regulator, the SEC would “send that information over to the CFTC.” Gensler opined: By getting that market integrity envelope, one rule book on an exchange will really help the public. If this industry is going to take any path forward, it will build some better trust in these markets. U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis recently proposed a framework that would extend the CFTC’s oversight of the crypto sector. Last week, Gensler warned of “too good to be true” crypto products. He also recently warned that crypto exchanges often trade against their customers. Following the collapse of cryptocurrency terra (LUNA) and stablecoin terrausd (UST), the SEC chairman cautioned investors that a lot of tokens will fail. Gensler has been criticized for taking an enforcement-centric approach to regulating crypto assets. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said in May that the securities watchdog has dropped the ball on crypto regulation and there are long-term consequences. What do you think about the comments by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The creators of the popular non-fungible token (NFT) project Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), Yuga Labs, have sued the artist dubbed Ryder Ripps and collaborators for attempting to devalue the BAYC brand. Yuga Lab’s lawsuit claims Ripps and associates trolled the company and started “scamming consumers into purchasing RR/BAYC NFTs by misusing Yuga Labs’ trademarks. Yuga Labs Files Lawsuit Against Ryder Ripps, Aims to ‘Fight Against Slanderous Claims’ A lawsuit has been filed by Yuga Labs in the state of Califonia against the artist Ryder Ripps and a few associates. The company spoke about the lawsuit on June 24 via Twitter and said that support from the community was “overwhelming.” “We will continue to be transparent with our community as we fight these slanderous claims,” Yuga Labs said. “In order to put a stop to the continuous infringement, and other illegal attempts to bring harm to us and the BAYC community, we have filed a lawsuit against the responsible parties. We will continue exploring and pursuing all legal options at our disposal.” Yuga Labs accuses Ryder Ripps of “seeking to devalue” official BAYC NFTs with a copycat collection called RR/BAYC NFTs. The lawsuit claims that original BAYC images were used and Ripps is accused of marketing the NFTs as official BAYC products. Yuga Labs’ trademarks were also allegedly used in Ripps’ “Ape Market” NFT marketplace. The lawsuit adds that this is “no mere monkey business” and that Ripps’ actions were a “deliberate effort to harm Yuga Labs at the expense of consumers.” During the first week of February, Ryder Ripps accused Yuga Labs’ trademarks of having “Nazi ties.” Yuga Labs co-founder Gordon Goner responded to the accusations in a Medium blog post and stressed that the allegations are “insanely far-fetched.” The blog post gives a full summary of why the BAYC creators chose to use Apes, the inspiration behind the design of the BAYC logo, and the company name, Yuga Labs. The lawsuit accuses Ripps and several cohorts of “perpetuating a scam.” The lawsuit notes that Ripps claims his actions are “satire,” but Yuga Labs insists Ripps raked in millions of ill-gotten profit from the RR/BAYC NFT collection. Yuga Labs believes Ripps and the collection will continue to damage the business. Ripps continues to tweet about the alleged connection between specific symbols Yuga Labs leverages. The RR/BAYC NFT collection’s creator also tweeted about the “terms people who purchased RR/BAYC’s agreed to” which says the customer “understands that this is a new mint of BAYC imagery, re-contextualizing it for educational purposes, as protest and satirical commentary.” What do you think about the Yuga Labs’ lawsuit against Ryder Ripps and the RR/BAYC NFT collection? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The Central Bank of Russia continues to step up efforts to test and issue the digital ruble, with a roadmap for the full implementation of the new form of the national fiat now expected by the end of 2023. Trials with real transactions and users are scheduled to begin next April, earlier than originally planned. Bank of Russia to Present Digital Ruble Roadmap Next Year The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) will develop a roadmap for the introduction of the digital ruble by the end of 2023, First Deputy Chairman Olga Skorobogatova said in an interview with the Tass news agency, revealing an earlier deadline than previously set. The high-ranking official also noted that the regulator intends to start testing operations with the Russian central bank digital currency (CBDC) with real clients as early as April 2023, indicating these plans have been adjusted, too. Skorobogatova emphasized that next year will be very important for the project and elaborated: Testing of real operations will give us the opportunity to understand what needs to be tweaked and brought to mind, what to refine, what to change. We want to develop a roadmap for the introduction of the digital ruble at the end of next year. The deputy governor pointed out that 12 banks are currently taking part in the pilot. Another three banks want to join the trials and the monetary authority has received applications from several non-financial organizations as well. Olga Skorobogatova remarked it’s too early to talk about results from the current stage as the participants are moving at different speeds. “But more than half of the banks in the pilot group are progressing at a very good pace, we meet the stated deadlines,” she said. The importance of the CBDC project has increased amid mounting Western sanctions over Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. The executive added that the central bank will have to work out cross-border interactions between the digital ruble and other countries’ digital currencies in order to make the Russian financial system more independent. “In my opinion, all self-respecting states will have a national digital currency within three years. And we will need to build cross-border cooperation in that direction as well,” Skorobogatova commented. “We definitely need to be ready as soon as possible. Plus, this, among other things, solves the problem with SWIFT, because with such integration, SWIFT will no longer be needed,” she explained. The Bank of Russia presented the concept of the digital ruble in a report published in October 2020. The CBDC’s prototype platform was finalized in December 2021 and the pilot phase was initiated in January of this year. As part of the trials, the CBR and Russian commercial banks plan to test various types of payments with the digital ruble, including settlements for real estate deals, the daily Izvestia recently unveiled. Do you expect other central banks to speed up the development of their own digital currencies? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Russian law enforcement is looking into the alleged theft of mining hardware valued at around $1.9 million. The powerful computing equipment disappeared from a crypto mining hotel in Irkutsk, the owners of which have been accused of large scale fraud. 100 Russians Lose Mining Machines Worth 100 Million Rubles Police in the Russian Irkutsk Oblast have launched an investigation of the operators of a mining hosting facility suspected of defrauding clients and stealing their expensive coin minting hardware, Tass news agency reported, quoting the region’s Main Directorate of the Interior Ministry. In anticipation of quick earnings, the miners handed over their devices to those who were running the mining hotel, law enforcement officials explained. At some point, the latter stopped all payments to their customers and failed to return the expensive machines. “A criminal case was initiated based on these facts under part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (large scale fraud). Various material evidence, including computer equipment and documentation, was seized from their office,” a statement detailed. The investigators have been able to establish that between November 2021 and May 2022, the suspects lured people who wanted to install their coin minting hardware in a mining hotel. They were offered renting and electricity prices that were far below the actual market rates. At the same time, they urged the miners to hand over their equipment as quickly as possible, citing limited renting space. The owners of the mining rigs were not told where their devices were going to be located and only representatives of the hosting service had access to the mined coins. Russian police are now looking for the fraudsters. Around 100 people have suffered losses from their actions. They gave the organizers of the mining hotel equipment valued at an estimated total of 100 million rubles, close to $1.9 million. Offering some of the lowest electricity rates in the country, starting at just $0.01 per kWh in rural areas, the region of Irkutsk has seen a spike in crypto mining, with farms often installed in basements and garages and powered with subsidized household electricity. Largely for this reason, the oblast has been dubbed the mining capital of Russia. Earlier this year, local electricity suppliers complained about a surge in power consumption in residential areas, which was blamed on home mining. Russian media reports have revealed that planes with second-hand mining equipment from China, which cracked down on the industry in May 2021, have continued to arrive in the region this year, while cases of mining hardware theft have been on the rise. Russia is planning to legalize crypto mining which can benefit from its abundant energy resources and cool climate. Do you expect more cases of fraud related to crypto mining in Russia in the future? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

After the crypto lending platform Celsius halted operations on June 12, at 10:10 p.m. (ET), two days later the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) quoted “people familiar with the matter” who said Celsius was hiring restructuring lawyers. At the time, the WSJ said Celsius was looking to hire the bankruptcy and restructuring law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. However, a new report from the WSJ claims sources say that Celsius is now working with the restructuring advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal. Sources Say Celsius May Be Collaborating With a Restructuring Advisory Firm The current financial situation of the crypto lending company Celsius is still unknown and since June 12, people still suspect that the firm is insolvent. Bitcoin.com News reported on the rumors and speculation that surrounds the company to this day and on June 13, the crypto lending firm Nexo offered to buy Celsius-based assets. The reason why people suspect that Celsius is having financial hardships is because of the company’s tweet on June 12. “Due to extreme market conditions, today we are announcing that Celsius is pausing all withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts,” Celsius revealed. There’s also been speculation about Celsius having 17,919 WBTC leveraged in Maker protocol that faced liquidation. On June 14, a WSJ report said that Celsius was looking to hire the restructuring law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. “People familiar with the matter” explained that Celsius was attempting to get help from investors first. At the time, Akin Gump did not comment on the matter when it was asked if the firm was involved with Celsius. Now, another WSJ report says that Celsius may be collaborating with the restructuring advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal. People Familiar With the Matter Claim Goldman Sachs Has Eyes on Celsius Network Assets Additionally, Coindesk’s Tracy Wang reported that “Goldman Sachs is looking to raise $2 billion from investors to buy up distressed assets from troubled crypto lender Celsius.” Wang detailed that the information stemmed from “two people familiar with the matter.” The report goes on to explain that the two sources said the proposed Goldman Sachs deal “would allow investors to buy up Celsius’ assets at potentially big discounts in the event of a bankruptcy filing.” A report from Reuters further detailed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and state regulators were investigating Celsius over the account freeze. Other accounts have said that Akin Gump and the financial giant Citigroup told Celsius they recommended it file for bankruptcy. The report that discusses Akin Gump’s and Citigroup’s alleged recommendation said that both companies declined to comment on the subject. After Celsius paused withdrawals, there haven’t been many words from the company except a blog post that tells the Celsius Network community that the company’s “objective continues to be stabilizing our liquidity and operations.” Celsius added that the “process will take time” but the post does not detail what type of process it meant. In the comment section, Celsius is criticized a great deal over the issue. “Basically you have added nothing to what you have already said. Which is, per se, very little already,” an individual wrote in response to the company’s statement. “The lack of transparency is very concerning,” another person said. “Choosing Celsius was the worst choice of my life,” a Medium user called “Crypto Cooper” wrote five days ago. CEL, the Celsius Network’s native token is down 80.9% during the last 12 months and 86.3% lower than the asset’s all-time high. What do you think about the report that says Goldman Sachs is reportedly looking to purchase distressed assets from crypto lender Celsius? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

While the price of bitcoin is holding above the $21K per unit range, four bitcoin block rewards mined in 2010 were spent for the first time in over 11 years. The four block rewards were mined between September and October 2010 and the 200 bitcoin worth $4.27 million were transferred to an unknown wallet. 4 Consecutive Block Rewards Spent on June 24, Data Suggests Spends Were Executed by a Single Entity A large number of so-called ‘sleeping bitcoins’ have awoken from slumber as four block rewards were spent at block height 742,183. The old coins spent on Friday were block rewards mined on September 15, 16, 26, and October 29, 2010. During that time frame, bitcoin miners received 50 BTC for every block found in contrast to the 6.25 BTC per block reward miners get today. The block rewards moved came from four addresses that include “18cxWU,” “1BJmWW,” “1FVVcE,” and “1Hdo8D.” The 2010 spends were caught by the blockchain parser btcparser.com and in all four addresses, the owner did not spend the associated bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoinsv (BSV) as those coins still remain idle. Blockchain explorers show the 200 virgin bitcoins were sent to a single address (bc1q92) and the coins remain idle at the time of writing. A consecutive number of 2010 block rewards spent in the same block suggests a single entity was likely the owner of the block rewards. The bitcoins mined in 2010 over a two-month span (September and October) also suggest the spending was executed by a single entity. Transfers Had Low Privacy Ratings, ‘Sleeping Bitcoin’ String Spends From 2010 Have Slowed It seems as though the addresses were swept, and the transactions have a very low privacy rating for various reasons. Blockchair.com’s privacy-o-meter indicates that the final consolidation into bc1q92 had a privacy score of 0 out of 100. The transactions contained vulnerabilities like matched addresses, co-spending, and the same address is used in multiple inputs. There haven’t been many strings of 2010 block reward spends since the 2010 mega-whale appeared months ago back in March. The 2010 mega whale usually spent strings of 20 block rewards from that year all at once. Prior to the string of four block subsidies from 2010 spent, a week ago the address “1Li8RF” spent 50 virgin bitcoins, and “1LNqDK” spent 50 BTC from 2010 about a month ago. What do you think about the 200 so-called ‘sleeping bitcoins’ from 2010 spent on June 24? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

While crypto prices have seen some healing during the last few days, the total value locked (TVL) across the entire decentralized finance (defi) ecosystem has also improved. The TVL in defi has seen an increase of 7.19% since June 20, and the defi protocol Makerdao’s TVL dominates by 10.37% this weekend. Defi TVL Improves, Cross-Chain Bridge TVL Slips, $100 Million Stolen From Harmony’s Horizon Bridge Decentralized finance has taken a hit from the recent crypto bloodbath following the Terra blockchain fallout, the most recent Federal Reserve rate hike, and the alleged financial issues surrounding Celsius and Three Arrows Capital (3AC). On June 17, Bitcoin.com News reported on the bear market affecting defi negatively and three days later the TVL in defi dropped to a low of $71.98 billion. Since then, there’s been a 7.19% increase as the TVL rose from $71.98 billion to today’s $77.16 billion. The Makerdao protocol has the largest TVL out of all the defi projects and dominates by 10.37% this weekend with $8 billion TVL. Makerdao’s TVL has increased 6.89% during the past seven days. The second largest defi protocol in terms of TVL size is Aave, with $6.59 billion, and Aave recorded a 27.13% increase during the course of the week. As far as blockchain TVL distribution is concerned, Ethereum commands 63.98% with $49 billion TVL. Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is the second largest chain by TVL with 7.85% or $6.01 billion locked. After the market capitalization of the top smart contract tokens hit $245 billion last week, the market cap has swelled to $280 billion, up 1.4% during the last 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) increased 12.7% against the USD, and BSC jumped 10.5% this past week. Solana (SOL) swelled by 37.1%, avalanche (AVAX) recorded a 32.2% increase, and polygon (MATIC) rose more than 50% during the seven-day period. The biggest gainers in the top smart contract token list during the past week were ronin (RON), zilliqa (ZIL), and polygon (MATIC), respectively. Despite smart contract tokens seeing some gains this week and the TVL in defi improving, the TVL across the cross-chain bridge sector is down 60.4% during the past 30 days. At the time of writing, the cross-chain bridge TVL across 16 different protocols is $11.77 billion in value. Polygon commands the largest cross-chain bridge TVL with $3.6 billion locked on June 25. Meanwhile, the defi ecosystem has seen a few hiccups over the last seven days as Convex Finance is asking users to review approvals while it evaluates a “potential front end issue.” Additionally, Harmony’s cross-chain bridge lost $100 million in a theft that took place on June 23. “Note this does not impact the trustless [bitcoin] bridge; its funds and assets stored on decentralized vaults are safe at this time,” the Harmony team wrote about the situation. “We have also notified exchanges and stopped the Horizon bridge to prevent further transactions. The team is all hands on deck as investigations continue.” What do you think about the value locked in defi improving and the increases smart contract tokens saw during the past week? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

SHIB was trading by as much as 10% higher on Saturday, as crypto markets were mainly in the green. NEAR was also higher on Saturday, prices having now risen for three consecutive sessions. Overall, crypto markets are up 2.73% as of writing. Shiba Inu (SHIB) SHIB was one of the notable movers in crypto markets on Saturday, as prices rose by over 10% to start the weekend. The price of the meme coin rose to an intraday high of $0.00001178 in today’s session, which is the third straight daily gain in SHIB. As a result of Saturday’s surge, SHIB/USD is now trading nearly 50% higher in the last seven days alone, making it one of the biggest movers within that period. Looking at the chart, today’s rally has seen prices near this week’s high of $0.00001209, which is the highest the token has hit since May 31. Should this week’s momentum continue upward, then bulls will likely attempt to recapture this point over the next few days. A stumbling block could come via the 14-day RSI, which is currently tracking at a resistance point of 56.60, which is also its highest point since late March. If SHIB bulls were to apply even more pressure on current bears, then we would likely need to see a breakout of this ceiling. Near Protocol (NEAR) NEAR was another big gainer on Saturday, as bulls extended recent gains to a third consecutive session. The world’s 25th largest crypto token rose to a peak of $4.39 earlier in the day, and this comes as its ceiling at $4.20 was breached. The move sees NEAR climb to its highest point in over two weeks, with traders likely fixed on taking prices over $5. In order to do this, there looks to be a slight ceiling at $4.75, which bulls must overcome, if they are to recapture this level. As of writing, the 14-day RSI is tracking at a three-month peak, which is also a point of resistance, and could potentially prevent prices from climbing further. Do you expect NEAR to break into the $5 level this weekend? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article