roadrunner

PRESS RELEASE. Mohali, India, April 21, 2022: Amidst the rapidly growing popularity of metaverse, and global giants like Facebook, Microsoft, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and more tapping into the metaverse world, Antier Solutions is helping businesses to ride the wave with its diligently-crafted metaverse development services. The metaverse gained exposure and momentum in October when Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook to Meta and shared his vision to create an immersive virtual world where people can interact as avatars. According to Nishant, CTO of Antier, “Web 3.0 and metaverse are poised to redefine the internet. They will pave the path for a persistent 3D environment where the movement across places and interaction with people will be as easy as in the real world.” Antier Solutions provides a host of offerings – including consulting and development services – to help businesses harness the potential of Web 3.0 and launch their metaverse. Antier’s team of skilled metaverse developers, 3D artists, and game designers follow a coherent roadmap to navigate the metaverse development journey while achieving the following milestones en route: Choosing a theme: Each metaverse project is based on a theme, such as Game, EduTech, Spiritual, and more. The subject matter experts at Antier guide businesses to choose the right theme based on their ideas. Building Land NFTs: Given that every metaverse project requires Land NFTs to host its virtual building, Antier’s seasoned engineers build Land NFTs, or any other type of NFTs required, to strengthen the metaverse ecosystem. Building an NFT Marketplace: An NFT marketplace is a vital component of the metaverse. Antier’s engineers build world-class NFT marketplace platforms, as a part of the metaverse development process, to enable the users to buy and sell a variety of NFTs seamlessly. Creating a storyboard: Antier’s creative minds create a comprehensive, self-explanatory storyboard explaining the user journey and their navigation across the platform. It serves as a blueprint of the working of the metaverse platform. Economics: For those who are new to the world of the metaverse, or even to business, Antier’s professionals deliver complete assistance and consulting services to help them understand and seize revenue generation opportunities. Delivering an MVP: The team at Antier delivers a minimum viable product based that is consistently scaled and improved as per user feedback and technology evolution. The size of the global metaverse market is USD 47.48 billion and is expected to grow to a whopping USD 678.8 billion by 2030. The growth of the metaverse will accelerate the growth of cryptocurrency. The testament to the same is the fact that meta coins collectively surged to 164 percent in just 12 hours on 31st October 2021, when Facebook rebranded itself to Meta. While MANA, the native token of Decentraland metaverse, jumped 400 percent to an all-time high, Sandbox’s native token, SAND, witnessed a remarkable growth of 300 percent. Antier believes that companies need to heed the call of change and those who act now will gain an essential competitive edge. “20 years ago, many organizations wondered if they needed to take their offerings online. Fast forward to today, this question looks quaint as each company that went digital augmented its operations, products, and sales. With metaverse, similar questions are doing the rounds – Does a physical environment need to be smart? Do enterprises need to care about metaverse? The answer is – Yes. The potential is huge and enterprises that capitalize on the metaverse opportunity will position themselves as leaders.”, Nishat added. The end-to-end metaverse development services offered by Antier Solutions are a great way for beginners and innovative leaders to tap into the metaverse market and ensure a smooth-sailing journey – from development and deployment to launch and marketing of the metaverse platform. About Antier Solutions Antier Solutions is a leading blockchain development company that aims to “decentralize the world”. The company provides a host of offerings, from crypto exchange and wallet development to customized blockchain development, tokenization, and crypto-friendly banking platform development. Antier is driven by the motto to adopt ingenious technology solutions to stay ahead of the change. With this belief, Antier has expanded its offerings to cater to the burgeoning NFT market and metaverse market. Given Antier’s real-world experience and expertise in delivering metaverse projects, Antier is positioning itself as a reliable metaverse development company. Media contacts: Devender Junas Email: info@antiersolutions.com Website: https://www.antiersolutions.com/ Telegram: https://t.me/antiersupport Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/antiersolutions LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/antiersolutions/ Clutch: Antier Solutions Client Reviews | Clutch.co 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

While the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) hovers just above the $214 billion mark, a defi protocol called Lido has been moving closer toward taking Curve’s top spot in terms of TVL in a defi protocol. Currently, the liquid staking solution Lido has $19.2 billion in staking assets derived from five different blockchain networks including Ethereum, Solana, Terra, Polygon, and Kusama. Lido’s Staked Assets Represent Close to 9% of the $214 Billion Locked in Defi According to defillama.com, there’s $214 billion total value locked in decentralized finance at the time of writing. Presently, the largest defi protocol in terms of TVL size is Curve Finance, the decentralized exchange (dex) platform. Today, Curve dominates the pack with $20.71 billion and a dominance rating of around 9.67%, according to defillama.com statistics on April 20, 2022. As far as TVL in defi protocols is concerned, Curve has led the pack for weeks on end, but the liquid staking solution Lido may take the reins soon. Lido’s TVL, at least according to today’s defillama.com metrics, is $18.97 billion, up 16.02% over the last 30 days. Lido has seen significant usage because the defi protocol allows Ethereum, Solana, Terra, Polygon, and Kusama users to use their staked assets to gain yield on top of yield. So if a user decided to bond Terra’s LUNA into the token called BLUNA, they would exchange LUNA for BLUNA to start getting staking rewards. Meanwhile, in addition to the bond stake, BLUNA tokens can also be used in pools, to earn even more rewards from the bonded tokens. The same can be said about other networks like Ethereum, as Lido’s staked ether (STETH) commands the 18th largest market capitalization out of 13,671 cryptocurrencies. Lido staked solana (STSOL) is the 193rd largest market cap, and BLUNA is the 22nd largest on Wednesday. While defillama.com notes that Lido’s TVL is $18.97 billion, it only accounts for four of the blockchains that Lido uses for staking. Polygon is missing from defillama.com’s metrics, and according to Lido’s stats on April 20, 2022, there’s $19,220,700,179 staked among 99,606 stakers. Lido stats show $10.6 billion from Ethereum, $8.21 billion from Terra, $363 million from Solana, $3.3 million from Kusama, and $13.8 million stemming from the Polygon network. 3.9%, 23.9% APY Depending on Chain Rewards and Skipping Validator Lock-Ups According to current staking estimates, Lido’s Ethereum staking solution is the lowest with a 3.9% annual percentage yield (APY), while Kusama’s is the highest at 23.9% APY. While Lido is touted for its ability to double stake assets, there are some defi liquidity pool providers that take the reward from Lido staking services, and Lido warns users this can be the case. One particular benefit of Lido is people can skip using a validator lock-up period (although there is an unbonding period) because they can sell their bonded tokens on the open market. Choosing this route, however, the user will lose the fee associated with the dex swap and roughly 1-2% in value depending on the bonded token. Lido Finance is considered a “staking company,” and there are a number of staking companies in the industry. Today, there are staking companies such as Kyber Network, Celer Network, Blockdaemon, and more. Lido, however, has an enormous amount of value locked today across five different blockchains and in recent times the total quantity of staked assets has swelled exponentially. What do you think about the liquid staking solution Lido? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Square Enix, the Japanese gaming company, is pressing on with its vision of integrating blockchain elements into its games. In a recent interview, president Yosuke Matsuda talked about the importance of user-generated content and the advantages that allowing this kind of development, as well as introducing blockchain-based self-sustained economies, might bring to the future of the gaming industry. Square Enix to Double Down on Blockchain and Autonomous Content Square Enix is doubling down on its business plan of including blockchain elements in its games in the not-so-distant future. The company, which had already made plans to make a robust entry into the blockchain gaming world, seems to now be interested in using these tools to create self-sustaining economies in gaming worlds. Yosuke Matsuda, president of Square Enix, reiterated the compromise that he and the company have to deliver some of these experiences in the future in a recent interview given to Yahoo News. To Matsuda, user-generated content is very important, and he insists on rewarding creators of this content directly with some kind of game currency. He stated: By utilizing technologies such as blockchain instead of relying on good intentions, if incentives are given to those who have contributed to the development, there is a possibility that content with innovative fun will be born from the user’s ideas. This inclusion of user-generated content would also ostensibly help create games able to thrive outside the hands of the original developers even after original support ends, if there is sufficient interest from third-party creators. Not the First Time This is not the first time that Matsuda has expressed his take on the future of gaming and cryptocurrency elements. In a new year’s letter in January, Matsuda revealed how he thinks blockchain might change how players and builders can be part of gaming experiences in a more immersive way. On how to achieve this immersive engagement, Matsuda stated: It is blockchain-based tokens that will enable this. By designing viable token economies into our games, we will enable self-sustaining game growth. However, Square Enix has been rather conservative when it comes to designing a game featuring franchises such as Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts around blockchain and token mechanics. In fact, Naoki Yoshida, director and producer of Final Fantasy XIV, denied any possibility of including NFTs in the game in February. Other Japanese companies, such as Sega, have also been ambivalent when it comes to NFTs. While the company announced back in January it might scrap NFT experiments if seen by players as a money grab, it also hinted at their possible inclusion as part of its “Super Game” framework. What do you think about Square Enix’s take on blockchain in user-generated content monetization? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase has launched a Web3 social marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in beta. In addition, the exchange noted that for a limited time, there will be no Coinbase transaction fees. ‘Coinbase NFT’ Officially Live in Beta Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced Wednesday that “Coinbase NFT” is officially live in beta. Coinbase NFT (non-fungible token) “is a peer-to-peer community platform where creators and collectors can come together to discover, display, purchase and create digital assets,” the company described. Coinbase first announced its plan to launch an NFT marketplace in October last year. The official Twitter account for Coinbase NFT detailed: Today we kick things off with a full-access experience for some of our waitlist frens. As we ramp up, everyone can explore the vast collection of NFTs on the first version of Coinbase NFT. The company added: “For a limited time, there’ll be no Coinbase transaction fees. We’ll eventually add fees, which will be in-line with web3 industry standards, and we’ll provide notice ahead of time.” Sanchan Saxena, Coinbase’s VP of Products, described Coinbase NFT in a blog post published Wednesday as “a Web3 social marketplace for NFTs.” He explained that starting Wednesday, anyone can explore the vast collection of NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. Beta testers can additionally create a Coinbase NFT profile to buy and sell NFTs “using any self-custody wallet.” “We’re building a social marketplace powered by web3,” Coinbase emphasized. “You won’t need a username and password. Instead, you’ll use a self-custody crypto wallet as your digital passport to log in. You’ll also use it to pay for stuff and store NFTs.” Furthermore, the Coinbase NFT website notes that “At launch, Coinbase will only support file types in the form of digital illustrations, photos, and videos,” elaborating: At a later date, we plan to support more file types, such as audio and more. What do you think about Coinbase NFT? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Celebrity-fan interaction in the metaverse is at its nascent stage. However, a few recent past events are tell-tale signs of a tectonic shift happening on the fan-engagement front. It’s moving from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 with metaverse as its building block. The Paris Hilton virtual world inside Roblox has seen significant footfalls, even considering the hefty price people need to spend to enter that world. A mega-fan had apparently paid $450,000 to buy a virtual land beside Snoop Dogg’s digital mansion on Sandbox. Metaverse offers fans the chance to be in the same neighborhood as their favorite celebrity or public figure in a fully immersive setting, a thing not possible in the real world. That is why role-model adoration has a strong possibility of taking place in the metaverse. Leading this movement from the front line are projects like Megaverse that are poised to bring the world’s most active communities around sports, entertainment, and more to a VR space where they are not only admirers but equal shareholders. Mega Token Fuels the Megaverse DAO Ecosystem, Public Sale to Soon Begin Mega Token is the platform and governance token of the Megaverse ecosystem—a universe made up of communities that are represented by plots of virtual lands. A plot of land can represent Christiano Ronaldo fans; another plot of land can be dedicated to the BTS army and so on. It does not end there. The ecosystem will empower the communities by offering them a chance to be official shareholders of the lands and administrators of the platform. What’s more, Megaverse will hold its own NFT marketplace and will create its own financial system, complete with a decentralized exchange that includes swap, farm, pool, staking, and a launchpad for new crypto, gaming, and metaverse projects. All these elements are tied together by the Mega token, which will be live on Copper Launch soon. According to the Megaverse team, “The Mega Token Public Sale will be spread among three separate events known as Series A, B, and C.All three sales will take place on Copper Launch. By conducting three separate public sale events, Megaverse plans to raise funds consistently during the development and progress of the project. This method will split the Mega Token allocation into three equal rounds of 7.5% of the total supply. The floor price for the Series A public sale on Copper Launch will be set at $0.025.” Source: Mega Token Public Sale Megaverse’ Sponsorship with La Liga 2022: A Stepping Stone Toward its Future Goals As part of its public announcement, Megaverse entered into a five-week sponsorship deal with La Liga 2022, with its banners appearing for the first time on the match between Elche and Barcelona on March 6. Another Megaverse appearance in La Liga was on April 2 during the match between Celta Vigo and Real Madrid. Upcoming Roadmap and Developments After the public Mega token sale, Megaverse plans to release its Land-based NFT marketplace and create the owner dashboard of these NFTs. Running parallel will be the Megaverse Map launch inspired by the crypto heat map, representing 20 top cryptocurrencies, including a Bitcoin Map, by market capitalization. This is how Megaverse plans to involve the crypto community, who, according to the Megaverse team, “has made our blockchain and crypto-infused lives a reality.” Next up are the Gameplay and interaction system launch and the PC Gameplay launch, which will include: Soft Launch of gameplay within bitcoin map Interaction System Integration Launch of other maps Release of Complete product on PC Enhancement in Interaction System Releases of Use Cases Multiplayer Level Interaction System Integration Finally, we have the VR launch, which will include: Closed Beta Launch of VR interactivity Release of VR interaction within Gameplay Educational Material Implementation Enhancement in Use Cases Keep an eye out for the Mega token public sale happening on the Copper sale. Find more information at: https://bit.ly/37pnVG4 https://bit.ly/3vvd19z https://bit.ly/3ExEjjW https://bit.ly/3vxMqZo 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

According to a recent study published by the online investing news and education platform Invezz, Switzerland currently has the most profitable bitcoin traders worldwide. That’s according to data stemming from Chainalysis, Worldometers, and Triple A, which helped Invezz assign each country a score in terms of the most profitable bitcoin trading by country. Researchers Rank the Best Bitcoin Trading Nations and the Most Profitable Bitcoin Traders by Country This week, invezz.com researchers published a study that looks at the most profitable bitcoin traders by country by leveraging statistics from multiple datasets. The study’s author Dan Ashmore explained one dataset stemmed from Chainalysis, which shows the top 25 countries in the world by realized bitcoin (BTC) gains in 2020. This served as the study’s backdrop, as the invezz.com research team also utilized statistics from Worldometers and Triple A. While the data shows Switzerland currently has the most profitable bitcoin traders worldwide, France is the top country in terms of “the best bitcoin trading nation.” “[France] ranked 12th in the percentage of the country invested in crypto (3.3%), but an impressive third and eighth respectively in bitcoin gains per capita and bitcoin gains per investor, at $275 and $13 respectively,” Ashmore’s report explains. “While a lot of other countries placed well in certain categories, France was the only country to be above average in all three metrics.” Invezz.com Study: ‘France Claims the Title of Best Bitcoin Traders, Switzerland Has the Most Profitable Traders at $1,268 of Gains per Investor’ Following France on the list of countries, the Czech Republic and Belgium are second and third in terms of the best bitcoin trading nations. Then there’s Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, United Kingdom, United States, Spain, Japan, Ukraine, South Korea, and Italy respectively. Other notable countries included Argentina, Vietnam, Poland, Russia, Thailand, Brazil, Turkey, and India. Out of all the countries listed, Switzerland’s bitcoin traders ruled the roost as far as BTC gains are concerned. “Switzerland has the most profitable traders at $1,268 of gains per investor, however with only 1.8% of the country invested in crypto, they get knocked down to a sixth-place finish. The Czech Republic is similar,” the invezz.com study details. But both Switzerland and the Czech Republic are much lower on the list than France for specific reasons. “Switzerland and Czech Republic ranking 23rd and 21st respectively, out of 24 countries, for the percentage of population invested in crypto (1.8% and 2.2%), [it] ultimately kills their chances,” Ashmore’s report says. The invezz.com researcher concludes: It is France [that claims] the title of best bitcoin traders. But there must be something in the water in mainland Europe, because their dominance of the top of the table is clear. What do you think about invezz.com’s study and the results that show the most profitable bitcoin traders by country? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin and ETH both rose to nine-day highs on Wednesday, as bulls continued to push prices higher following yesterday’s rebound. BTC moved into the $42,000 level after breaking a key resistance point, while ETH also climbed beyond its own ceiling of $3,150. Bitcoin BTC rose for a third session on Wednesday, as bulls continued to push prices higher, following a selloff during the Easter weekend. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is now up by over $3,000 since Monday’s low of $38,551, and as of writing, is over 3% higher on the day. Today’s price surge raced to an intraday peak of $42,126.30, which is its highest point since April 11. This follows on from yesterday’s bottom of $40,575, and comes as the long-term resistance of $41,175 was broken. Looking at the chart, the 10-day moving average has begun to shift direction, following a recent downward trend. If this momentum has finally shifted, we could start to see more and more bulls return, and potentially push price towards the upcoming resistance of $42,600. Ethereum In addition to BTC, ethereum also gained for a third consecutive session, as price continues to move away from the recent support of $2,950. Following a low of $3,054.56 on Tuesday, ETH/USD surged to an intraday high of $3,157.89 during today’s session. This high saw the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency move past its recent price ceiling of $3,150, hitting its highest level since last Monday as a result. Looking at the chart, resistance of 49.90 within the Relative Strength Index (RSI) was also broken, with price strength now tracking at a ten-day high. Price strength is now tracking at 51, with bulls looking to potentially take this to the ceiling of 55, which could turn out to be a two-week high. If this were to occur, it is likely that we will see ETH/USD trading at $3,300. Can ETH hit this resistance prior to the end of the week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

It is official! Minting of NFT domains is now live on the Quik marketplace! After months of planning and research, Quik.com has finally announced that the minting of NFT domains is now available! Now, users can mint .VR, .Metaverse, .Chain, .Doge, .Shib and .Bored NFT domains of their choice with no lifetime renewal fee! Each of the minted NFT domain names comes with a unique NFT artwork. Also, Quik plans to launch other NFT Domain TLDs such such as .BTC, .Web3 and .Address shortly. Quik is an NFT crypto domain name marketplace that allows you to mint and trade blockchain domains to create your own digital identities and be a part of the decentralized web, the internet of tomorrow. Why NFT Domains? In the case of traditional domains, a domain registrar only rents a domain name – usually about one to 10 years. You will need to pay a regular renewal fee to keep the domain name; otherwise, it will be made available to the open market again. On the other hand, blockchain or NFT domain names are purchased, not leased. The entire transaction is verified in the public ledger, and it remains in the owner’s possession. And since the entire system is tamper-proof, users can keep track of different transactions throughout time. The decentralized nature of NFT domains also protects them from any centralized entities, including registrars and ICANN, once the name is sold. Only you, the owner, have the authority to make any changes, which makes NFT domains censor-proof. Currently, users can buy, sell and mint these NFT domain names on the Quik.com Marketplace. Each of the NFT domain TLD has a minting limit. For e.g., The .METAVERSE NFT Domain Names are TLDs based on Ethereum Blockchain which have a hard cap of 20,000 names, which means that only 20,000 domain names can exist, which are decided on first minting basis. Also, each of the domain name minters gets a lifetime royalty on all future sales of that particular NFT domain. For eg, .METAVERSE domain name minters get 5% royalty on all future sales of that particular name. Besides the artwork that comes with the NFT Domain Name, these domains will also have special future benefits, which shall come into existence when Quik.com launches its browser extensions and the Quik web browser. In the future, Quik plans to let users host decentralized websites on these domain names using the Quik browser extension and also let users use their NFT domain names as their cryptocurrency wallet addresses in accordance to partnerships with different cryptocurrency wallets. What’s Minting? It is the process of registering an NFT domain name onto the blockchain through your crypto wallet to get full custody of the NFT domain. As the rightful owner of the particular blockchain, no one except you has control over it, including Quik and any other entity. How to Mint Your NFT Domains on Quik? Minting of NFT domains with extensions, including, .VR, .Doge, .Chain, .Shib, Bored and .Metaverse is now live on the Quik marketplace. You can apply any phrases you choose to these extensions. The entire process is quick and simple with Quik; you only need to click “Mint” over the domain in question. The entire process takes less than a minute! In addition, you can also search the platform for already minted NFT domains offered by peers. Minting your domain with MetaMask on Quik.com: Sign in to your Quik account using Metamask or Mobile Wallet Search for the domain name you wish to mint If the domain name is available for minting, just click on Mint Now or otherwise choose from other available options. Approve the minting transaction on your wallet. After the transaction is approved, the domain name shall appear in your Profile section. Ready to mint your favorite NFT domain? Why Quik? Quik aims to disrupt the trillion-dollar blockchain domain market by making the entire process accessible and easier with its innovative and dedicated blockchain payments mechanism. Quik believes that NFT domains address one of the key challenges Web 3.0 players are looking to solve: offering direct ownership to end-users without any third parties. Quik promises to break down deterrents to Web 3.0 innovations by providing a new way of selling, minting, and acquiring NFT domains. Become a part of the journey today! Want to learn more about blockchain domains? Visit Quik.com or read the Quik WhitePaper for more information. Quik’s Telegram Group – https://t.me/quikcom Follow Quik on Twitter – https://twitter.com/quikdotcom Subscribe to Quik’s Newsletter – https://quik.substack.com/ This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

The decentralized finance (defi) project Makerdao has announced its plans to support the zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup solution Starknet in order to make DAI transactions faster and network costs cheaper. Starknet will be integrated into the defi protocol on April 28, 2022, as part of Makerdao’s multichain strategy expansion. Makerdao’s Multichain Strategy Expansion Grows With Starknet Support On Wednesday, the development team behind the Makerdao project revealed plans to integrate the Ethereum layer two (L2) scaling solution Starknet. The protocol Starknet is a product developed by the startup Starkware and it offers an L2 scaling solution with ZK-based computations that utilize validity proofs. Makerdao is the issuer of the stablecoin DAI, and after Starknet is supported the team believes it will make DAI “minting, trading and liquidation significantly faster.” Starknet’s Makerdao integration follows the project’s bridge deployments on Arbitrum and Optimism. A project contributor from Starknet Core Unit at Makerdao detailed that cross-chain bridge technology has swelled because of expensive gas fees. “As we see unsustainable gas fees drive more activity and users to a wider variety of blockchains, security challenges that come with bridging will continue to grow,” the Starknet Core Unit contributor said in a statement sent to Bitcoin.com News. Projects must move on to Layer-2 to continue to serve users, and Makerdao is partnering with Starknet to do exactly that.” The Starknet Core Unit team member added: With this strategy, we are positioned to cement the Maker’s Protocol’s position as the leading decentralized lending protocol in the industry, and also the status of DAI as the most decentralized, secure stablecoin. Through this development, Makerdao will increase its product offerings and grow alongside Ethereum. While Makerdao Expands, Decentralized Algorithmic Stablecoin Competitors Rise Above DAI Makerdao’s DAI stablecoin is currently the fifth-largest stablecoin crypto asset today with an $8.7 billion market capitalization. For quite some time following DAI’s inception, Makerdao’s stablecoin was the largest decentralized stablecoin by market capitalization, but recently Terra’s UST has surpassed DAI’s overall valuation. Makerdao also has its own native coin maker (MKR), which is the 73rd largest market capitalization today with $1.7 billion. During the announcement on Wednesday, the team further said that the upcoming improvements “will likely also increase the number of Makerdao users.” Retail users will be able to leverage Maker Vaults again as well in order to deposit collateral and generate DAI. Currently, the engineering team has started to implement a multiphase roadmap for the integration by first creating a simple cross-chain bridge tethered to a wallet. “Subsequent phases include the release of fast withdrawals in Q2, followed by near-instant teleportation of DAI across Layer-2,” Makerdao’s announcement concludes. “Finally the implementation of the entirety of Makerdao on Starkware—heralding multi-collateral DAI (MCD) contracts and an interface to migrate bad debt to the Ethereum Layer-1.” What do you think about Makerdao adding Starknet support next week? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Keeping cryptocurrencies in non-custodial wallets may be criminalized in Russia, if authorities accept a proposal from the trade association representing Russian banks. While financial regulators think the idea deserves attention, lawmakers and experts doubt it’s possible to implement such a measure. Russian Banks Move to Curb Use of Private Cryptocurrency Wallets Challenges with foreclosure and seizure of crypto assets held by debtors and criminals have motivated the Association of Banks of Russia (ABR) to suggest introducing criminal liability for storing coins in non-custodial wallets, the organization’s Vice President Anatoly Kozlachkov told Izvestia this week. ABR’s initial proposal, made with the advisory assistance of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, was to criminalize the undeclared storing of cryptocurrency in such wallets. The association is now leaning towards targeting refusals to provide the wallet keys when requested by authorized bodies, Kozlachkov said. The ABR remarks that it is not referring to digital assets in wallets provided by crypto exchanges, which are de facto controlled by these platforms similar to bank deposits, but wallets controlled directly by the users. When the relevant authorities establish a connection between a debtor and a cryptocurrency wallet, for example, the person may be given a choice — to either share their keys or risk penalties for hiding property in the form of digital assets. Besides preventing capital outflow through crypto, the bankers say their approach would help to create “a closed circuit for the circulation of cryptocurrencies” in Russia. According to the ABR, this would be impossible without an effective foreclosure mechanism for non-custodial cryptocurrencies. In mid-April, the ABR sent its regulatory concept to the Central Bank of Russia, the Ministry of Finance, and Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s financial watchdog. Rosfinmonitoring told Izvestia that it deserves attention and the finance ministry was ready to consider it. Bank of Russia declined to comment. Meanwhile, the idea has been met with criticism from lawmakers and representatives of the crypto industry in the expert council at the parliamentary working group tasked to develop comprehensive crypto regulations. Andrey Lugovoy, the group’s deputy chairman, said he understood ABR’s concerns but warned the move would hinder the legalization of the crypto market. Experts interviewed by Izvestia were also skeptical. According to Roman Yankovsky, deputy dean of the Faculty of Law at the Higher School of Economics, a leading Russian university, it’s unrealistic to identify the non-custodial wallets of ordinary citizens and seizing them would be difficult, if not impossible. Andrey Gusev, managing partner of the Nordic Star law firm, considers the introduction of criminal liability for owning such wallets unnecessary and says that tax incentives and administrative fines should be enough to dissuade Russian crypto holders from using or hiding them. Criminalizing non-custodial wallets is “fundamentally wrong,” thinks Maxim Bashkatov, head of the Legal Development Department of the Center for Strategic Research. He points out that right now it’s unsafe for Russians to store cryptocurrency on exchanges because of the risk of asset freezes as a result of western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine. Do you think Russia will criminalize holding crypto assets in non-custodial wallets? Share your expectations in the comments section below. View the full article

The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) has partnered with the Court of Accounts of the Union (TCU), a constitutional institution of the Brazilian government, to complete the development of the Brazilian Blockchain Network. The partnership, established through a memorandum of understanding, establishes a deadline for the completion of the project, which should be finished in five years. Brazilian Blockchain Network Development Powered by a New Partnership New details are available on the development of the Brazilian Blockchain Network, a common rail that will be used as a base for the development of apps by public institutions in the country. The details were revealed in Official Gazette of the country. The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the institution responsible for the creation of this platform, has partnered with the Court of Accounts of the Union (TCU), a comptroller institution of the Brazilian state, to advance the development of the aforementioned blockchain. The cooperation agreement between these two organizations implies that each will work on the subject without transferring resources between them. The agreement, which was signed by Gustavo Henrique Moreira Montezano, Ricardo Wiering de Barros (executive director for the BNDES), and Ana Arraes (president of the Court of Accounts of the Union), determines a deadline of 60 months for the completion of the joint project. Objectives of the Brazilian Blockchain Network Gladstone Arantes, a director of the Brazilian Development Bank, explained the importance of the network as a base for the creation of other projects on top of it. According to Arantes, the objective of this project will be to stop creating new projects from scratch, and instead use a common platform for all public purposes. One of the motivations behind this is to improve the comptroller system of the public administration, increasing the transparency of public spending, which would be reflected in the blockchain. The partnership with the Court of Accounts of the Union is a step in this direction. The project, which was launched back in 2018, announced some key details of its structure in March when it was revealed it would use proof-of-authority consensus on top of the Hyperledger Besu 2.0 platform. This setup will not allow mining activities on the network. At that time, Arantes explained this was to keep the system simple so anyone could examine it. The Brazilian government has also reported recently it will run a pilot test for its CBDC this year, and a unified cryptocurrency legal framework is also expected to be approved by the Brazilian Congress in the coming months. What do you think about the new partnership for the development of the Brazilian Blockchain Network? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Nigerian public and law enforcement agencies have been urged to “stop the demonization” of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. According to an association that advocates for the risk-based regulation of the crypto industry, financial institutions should not use a Nigerian central bank directive as basis for denying service to industry players. Risk-Based Regulation of Crypto Activities A blockchain and crypto industry association has told Nigerian public and law enforcement agencies to stop demonizing and discriminating against blockchain and crypto entities. In its latest press release, the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN) argues that Nigeria urgently needs risk-based regulation for cryptocurrency activities as well as capacity building. In a press release, SIBAN reiterates its strong belief that a February 5, 2021 directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did not ban cryptocurrencies in Nigeria. Yet, despite there being no law that provides for the arrest or persecution of crypto entities, the association’s statement said industry players are being targeted. “From time to time, instances of undue arrest and detention, bank-account blocking and closures, discrimination, extortion, harassment, intimidation, seizures, and queries, are experienced by persons or entities involved in any blockchain or cryptocurrency activity in Nigeria, particularly since the CBN cryptocurrency directive of 2021,” the statement said. Besides asking security agencies to recognize the blockchain and cryptocurrencies, SIBAN implored banks and other financial institutions to “appreciate the difference between blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.” The advocacy group said in instances where cryptocurrency is not involved, banks and other financial institutions should not use the CBN directive to justify denying service. Capacity Building Recommended SIBAN also opined that if agencies insisted on treating the blockchain just like they treat cryptocurrencies, such a stance would impact the entire banking system. The statement, warning of repercussions if such a move were to be taken, added: If treated as the same, the CBN’s very own blockchain-powered eNaira and any other blockchain-powered product or service in the country would be affected in Nigeria’s banking and financial system as well. This, of course, is not the intention of the CBN. To help Nigerian agencies stop treating or likening the blockchain to cryptocurrencies, the advocacy group recommended “capacity building in blockchain and cryptocurrency, particularly AML-CFT for virtual assets, to banks and other financial institutions.” Meanwhile, SIBAN, which describes itself as a pro-innovation and pro-regulation association, said while it encourages its members to “adhere to the rule of law” it will nevertheless “will explore administrative and legal options to seek redress” in instances where their rights are violated. On the other hand, the statement suggested that the association is ready to collaborate with regulators if ever such a request is made. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The government of Ireland is preparing to ban political parties from accepting campaign donations in cryptocurrency. The move aims to block the perceived threat of Russian interference in the European nation’s elections against the backdrop of a clash between the West and Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Ireland to Limit Foreign Political Support for Its Parties, Including Crypto Donations The executive power in Dublin is drafting new political integrity rules to limit foreign political donations amid fears that Russia might try to influence Ireland’s electoral process. The stricter regulations are meant to prevent Irish parties from accepting donations through cryptocurrencies and oblige them to fully reveal their properties. A report by the Irish daily Independent describes the changes as a significant shake-up of the country’s electoral legislation, which will grant the Electoral Commission powers to issue take-down notices to social media platforms and alerts of online misinformation attempts. Local Government Minister Darragh O’Brien, who is leading the reform efforts, has been quoted as stating: The appalling invasion of the Ukraine and insidious disinformation war highlight the ongoing fundamental threats faced by all democracies. O’Brien also unveiled that his colleagues have already agreed to implement the stringent measures he is proposing in order to protect Ireland’s “democratic system given the escalating threat of cyber warfare targeting free countries.” The respective amendments to the political funding laws will be made through the Electoral Reform Bill 2022. The new Electoral Commission of Ireland, which should be established by the summer, will be tasked to also introduce guidelines for political advertising on the internet, including requirements for parties to clearly state how ads are funded and the audiences they are targeting. Party leaders will have to declare that their political organizations are adhering to the new regulations. The initiative to update the Irish political funding rules predates the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In January, Darragh O’Brien asked Attorney General Paul Gallagher to establish a taskforce comprising legal experts and political scientists to examine the need for new election integrity laws. He was citing “serious concerns” over the deteriorating security situation in Eastern Europe and “well-documented escalation of cyberattacks on democratic states.” Meanwhile, the cyberspace has become another battleground in Russia’s war with Ukraine with the two sides registering hacking attacks on government websites and databases. Both Kyiv and Moscow have also turned their attention to cryptocurrencies, with the Ukrainian government raising millions of dollars in crypto donations while the Russian Federation looks to employ crypto assets as a means to evade sanctions. Do you expect other European nations to adopt similar restrictions on political crypto donations? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The U.S. Secret Service has seized cryptocurrency worth more than $102 million in 254 fraud-related investigations. “What criminals want to do is sort of muddy the waters and make efforts to obfuscate their activities,” said the assistant director of the Secret Service’s Office of Investigations. “What we want to do is to track that as quickly as we can, aggressively as we can, in a linear fashion.” US Secret Service Seizes Cryptocurrency Worth $102 Million A senior executive with the U.S. Secret Service, David M. Smith, talked about cryptocurrency in an interview with CNBC, published Tuesday. Smith is a senior executive and special agent currently serving as the 28th Assistant Director of the U.S. Secret Service Office of Investigations, where he leads the agency’s global investigative mission, comprising 161 offices and over 3,000 employees. The Secret Service is responsible for detecting, investigating, and arresting any person who violates certain laws related to financial systems. “In recent years digital assets have increasingly been used to facilitate a growing range of crimes, including various fraud schemes and the use of ransomware,” its website describes. Smith told the news outlet that Secret Service agents and analysts are actively tracking the flow of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the blockchain, elaborating: When you follow a digital currency wallet, it’s not different than an email address that has some correlating identifiers. “And once a person and another person make a transaction, and that gets into the blockchain, we have the ability to follow that email address or wallet address, if you will, and trace it through the blockchain,” the assistant director affirmed. According to statistics compiled by the agency, the Secret Service has seized more than $102 million in cryptocurrency since 2015 from criminals in connection with 254 cases of fraud-related investigations, the publication conveyed. Smith noted that “One of the things about cryptocurrency is it moves money at a faster pace than the traditional format,” stressing that fast transaction speed makes crypto attractive to both American consumers and criminals. “What criminals want to do is sort of muddy the waters and make efforts to obfuscate their activities,” he noted. “What we want to do is to track that as quickly as we can, aggressively as we can, in a linear fashion.” The assistant director explained that once the Secret Service detects an illegal activity, it works to “dig a little deeper into those transactions and deconstruct” them. Smith said: You send me something bad on an email, I know there’s some criminal activity associated with that email address, I can deconstruct, find whatever tidbits of information that you used when you initially logged in or signed up for that email address. Smith further shared that investigators are finding more and more thieves converting stolen BTC and other cryptocurrencies into stablecoins. He opined: “Because, you know, the criminals, they’re humans too. They want to avoid some of that market volatility associated with some of the major coins.” What do you think about the Secret Service’s work to crack down on crypto-related fraud? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

A U.S. lawmaker has urged the Biden administration to develop a “robust strategy” to prevent cryptocurrency from being used to evade sanctions. “Emerging technologies like cryptocurrency offer many positive applications like humanitarian relief, but the administration has not kept pace in ensuring this novel form of currency is not used to the detriment of U.S. national security,” he said. Congressman McCaul Wants a ‘Robust Strategy’ to Prevent Crypto Use to Evade Sanctions A senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX), has made a number of efforts to prevent cryptocurrency’s use to evade U.S. sanctions. He issued a statement Thursday urging the Biden Administration to create a “robust strategy” to stop crypto from being used to circumvent sanctions. “Emerging technologies like cryptocurrency offer many positive applications like humanitarian relief, but the administration has not kept pace in ensuring this novel form of currency is not used to the detriment of U.S. national security,” the congressman noted, elaborating: Punishing criminals is a good first step, but I urge the administration to develop a robust strategy to stop bad actors from using cryptocurrency to evade U.S. sanctions. His statement followed the sentencing of Virgil Griffith to more than five years in federal prison for helping North Korea evade U.S. sanctions using cryptocurrency technologies. Rep. McCaul also sent a letter to President Joe Biden last month raising concerns about “the potential abuse of emerging technologies like cryptocurrency by Russia to evade sanctions.” He cited “an expected UN report on North Korea using stolen cryptocurrencies to fund its nuclear program.” He received no response from Biden. The lawmaker then sent a similar letter to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines after her testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence regarding how her department will deal with cryptocurrency-related sanctions evasion. Earlier this month, McCaul joined House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) to introduce the Russia Cryptocurrency Transparency Act. The bill gained bipartisan support and subsequently passed out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. This legislation will help “ensure the U.S. is taking the necessary steps to prevent these emerging technologies from being used to evade U.S. sanctions.” While some lawmakers are worried about the use of crypto to circumvent sanctions, many experts have said that crypto is not an effective tool for sanctions evasion. A U.S. Treasury official said in March: “We don’t see that crypto could be used in a large-scale way to evade sanctions.” Nonetheless, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced a crypto sanctions bill that “would place sweeping restrictions on persons who build, operate, and use cryptocurrency networks even if they have no knowledge or intent to help evade sanctions.” What do you think about Rep. McCaul wanting a robust strategy to prevent crypto from being used to evade sanctions? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Nasdaq-listed trading platform Robinhood is acquiring Ziglu, a London-based electronic money institution and crypto asset firm. The acquisition is part of Robinhood’s international expansion plan. Robinhood “sees a big opportunity in serving customers across the globe.” Robinhood Acquiring Regulated Crypto Firm Ziglu Popular U.S.-based trading platform Robinhood announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to acquire a regulated cryptocurrency firm Ziglu. Citing its mission to “democratize finance for all,” Robinhood emphasized, “That’s why earlier this year, we announced that we’ve set aggressive goals to start opening our crypto platform up to customers internationally.” The Nasdaq-listed trading platform added: As we look to expand internationally, we’re excited to announce that we’ve signed a deal to acquire Ziglu Limited, a UK-based electronic money institution and cryptoasset firm. The deal is “subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions,” Robinhood noted. Founded in 2014, Ziglu allows U.K.-based retail investors to buy and sell 11 cryptocurrencies. Users can also earn yield via Ziglu’s “Boost” products, pay using a debit card, as well as transfer and spend money worldwide without fees, the announcement details. The U.K crypto firm is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The group was valued at £85 million last November when it raised £7 million. Ziglu CEO Mark Hipperson stated that the two companies “share a common set of goals,” elaborating: As part of Robinhood, we’ll supercharge Robinhood’s expansion across Europe and bring better access to crypto and its benefits to millions more customers. The announcement adds that nothing will change in the near term for current Ziglu customers. However, in the longer term, Robinhood will fully integrate Ziglu in order to “bring the Robinhood brand overseas” as it works to “expand operations beyond the U.K. into Europe.” Robinhood announced its plan to launch internationally in January, stating that it “believes in the immense potential of the crypto economy and sees a big opportunity in serving customers across the globe.” Steve Quirk, Robinhood’s chief brokerage officer, explained in February that his company’s global expansion will be “crypto first.” He believes that from the regulatory standpoint, the path for Robinhood to “go global and have the most traction is probably through crypto, and then maybe follow with other components of the offering.” Robinhood recently rolled out its cryptocurrency wallets to more than two million customers. The platform also added support for four additional cryptocurrencies this month, including meme crypto shiba inu. SHIB is now supported on the platform alongside bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin sv (BSV), dogecoin (DOGE), ethereum (ETH), ethereum classic (ETC), litecoin (LTC), compound (COMP), polygon (MATIC), and solana (SOL). What do you think about Robinhood acquiring Ziglu and its international expansion plan? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. GensoKishi are excited to announce that $MV ( MV(Polygon)/USDT trading pair) will list on KuCoin at 2022-04-20 18:00 (UTC), a leading cryptocurrency exchange in the world. GensoKishi are going to have various campaigns to celebrate the trading pair listing. Know more details. Please check the CAMPAIGN page on KuCoin! About KuCoin KuCoin is a cryptocurrency exchange established in 2017 and located in Hong Kong. KuCoin has a large selection of crypto assets that are only listed on KuCoin and are very popular worldwide. Due to 2022-4-14, it ranks 5th trading volume in the world. About GensoKishi Online GensoKishi Online Metaworld is a GameFi and metaverse incarnation of the award-winning Nintendo Switch/PS4 game “Elemental Knights”. The iconic game has a 14 years history and has accumulated a total of 8 million downloads worldwide. It already has a 3DMMORPG game with active users, with a fully-functioning 3D metaverse, that simultaneously connects users from around the world, be it smartphones, PCs, or video game consoles. The game recently announced its collaboration with gaming legend Yoshitaka Amano to design their first NFT collection. To date, Gensokishi has set various records, including a record breaking IDO on TRUSTPAD (20secs on FCFS) and the largest number of staking participants in the history of Bybit’s LaunchPool with 69,000 people and over $200 million in TVL. The token was listed on Bybit on January 27th and ranked 3rd above ETH/XRP/SAND/LUNA in 24 hour volume 1 week later. It has grown 40x since the listing. Welcome to the ROND Whitelist Vol.2 We welcome you to the second round of the ROND private sale. Due to a lot of requests we have prepared $10,000 in ROND!! For each task you complete in this campaign, you will earn points. The more points you have, the more likely you are to win, so please collect as many points as possible. One hundred (100) winners will receive the right to participate in the $100 ROND Token Private Sale. Take advantage of this opportunity to get the rare ROND tokens, which at the moment can only be obtained by staking MV Access the Whitelist campaign here. ※ Gensokishi White Paper：https://genso.game/wp-content/uploads/pdf/WhitePaper_genso_JP.pdf ◆ Gensokishi Online -META WORLD- Community Official Site : https://genso.game/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/genso_meta Discord : https://discord.gg/gensometa LINE : https://lin.ee/fRx2vvE Telegram（English） : https://t.me/gensometamain Telegram（Chinese text） : https://t.me/gensometazw Telegram（Japanese） : https://t.me/gensometajpn YouTube：https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMi4wGMEWgC9VVps8d_NLDA Gensokishi Online will continue to provide cryptogame enthusiasts with updates on this project. 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 internet entrepreneur and former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, claims if developers are building on Ethereum they have “at least one, if not many, single points of failure.” The statement was in response to Vitalik Buterin’s commentary concerning Elon Musk running Twitter. Former Twitter CEO Criticizes Projects Building on Ethereum Jack Dorsey doesn’t seem to be interested in anything to do with the Ethereum network, and last Friday he criticized the project. The Twitter conversation started when Ethereum’s co-creator, Vitalik Buterin, talked about Elon Musk running Twitter. “[I] don’t oppose Elon running Twitter (at least compared to status quo), but I do disagree with the more generalized enthusiasm for wealthy people/orgs hostile-takeovering social media firms,” Buterin tweeted. “That could easily go *very* wrong (eg. imagine an ethically-challenged foreign gov doing it).” Following Buterin’s tweet, Dorsey replied “same,” and further said: “[I] don’t believe any individual or institutions should own social media, or more generally media companies. It should be an open and verifiable protocol. Everything is a step toward that.” After Dorsey’s statement, a project called the Deso protocol responded to his remarks. Deso explained that the Deso protocol’s vision for “the future of social media,” was similar to the former Twitter CEO’s vision. In response, Dorsey explained, that in his opinion, the Ethereum protocol has one and maybe even many single points of failure. “If you’re building on [Ethereum] you have at least one, if not many, single points of failure and therefore not interesting to me,” Dorsey said. Laser-Eyed Tribalism and Valid Web3 Criticism The former social media chief executive’s opinion had all kinds of responses, some of which agreed with him and others that did not. “You really need to get away from the laser-eyed morons, Jack,” one individual said to Dorsey. “This is just embarrassing,” the person added. Bitcoin proponent Jeff Booth, author of the book “The Price of Tomorrow: Why Deflation is the Key to an Abundant Future,” agreed with Dorsey’s criticism about Ethereum. “More entrepreneurs are going to figure this out the hard way over the coming years,” Booth said in response to Dorsey’s tweet. “Building on quicksand is a terrible long-term strategy,” Booth added. However, software developer and former Slock.it executive, Christoph Jentzsch, disagreed with Booth’s opinion. “If you are building on the [Ethereum] protocol, no,” Jentzsch said. “If you are building with a sole dependency on Infura, Metamask and some others, then yes. [The] same is true for [Bitcoin],” Jentzsch added. The projects Jentzsch mentioned, and many other aspects of Web3 technology, have been disparaged a great deal and Dorsey himself has criticized Web3 hype in the past. One specific review of Web3, published during the first week of January, by the cryptographer and computer security researcher, Moxie Marlinspike, explains in great detail a number of vulnerabilities tied to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized applications (dapps), and Web3 in general. Despite valid Web3 criticism, Dorsey’s tweet did not get into any specifics concerning so-called single points of failure. The tweet was very vague and simply noted that the former Twitter CEO was not interested in such projects. What do you think about Jack Dorsey’s opinion about those who are building with Ethereum? Do you agree with Dorsey? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to a recent update on Monero’s Github repository, the privacy-centric crypto network plans to hard fork in July, at block height 2,668,888. Monero is the largest privacy crypto asset in terms of market capitalization and during the last seven days, monero climbed 13.4% against the U.S. dollar. Monero Aims to Upgrade in July The development team behind the Monero (XMR) project has plans to upgrade the blockchain at some point in July, according to the Github-hosted version 15 “Network Upgrade Checklist #690.” Monero is an open-source distributed ledger with built-in privacy, as it obfuscates transactions by leveraging various techniques. The Monero network uses privacy techniques such as ring signatures, a cryptographic method, and zero-knowledge (ZK) proof called “Bulletproofs,” stealth addresses, and it also utilizes an IP-obscuring scheme via the Dandelion++ protocol. Monero (XMR) is the largest privacy-centric crypto asset by market capitalization, which is $4.62 billion at the time of writing. The hard fork in July is the 15th software version as the blockchain has experienced a great number of upgrades since the network’s inception in 2014. One of the main goals behind many of XMR’s hard forks is to protect the network from application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners. Four years ago, a hard fork caused the privacy-centric network to split into four different protocols. Moreover, in mid-February XMR supporters were begging monero miners to boycott a mining pool that captured 44% of the network’s hashrate. A month prior to that, the Monero hashrate reached an all-time high on January 16, 2022, at block height 2,539,056. On that day, the network’s hashrate reached 3.62 gigahash per second (GH/s). The July upgrade aims to extend the network’s ring signature size and other ring signature parameters. It aims to support both Trezor and Ledger hardware wallets, and developers aim to deploy the v15 testnet next month. Additionally, the privacy-enhancing ZK proof concept Bulletproofs will be upgraded to a version called “bulletproof+.” What do you think about Monero’s upcoming hard fork in July? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Australia is set to get its first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) after a report suggested the country’s clearinghouse, ASX Clear, confirmed that four market participants agreed to meet its stringent margin requirements. ASX Clear’s Margin Requirements An Australian clearinghouse controlling access to the country’s equity capital markets, ASX Clear, is expected to approve a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), a report has said. The thumbs up to what is said to be Australia’s first bitcoin ETF became possible after three institutional participants and one retail participant reportedly agreed to the clearinghouse margin requirements. According to an AFR report, the four participants agreed to provide ASX Clear’s required margin of 42% before it allowed trading in the ETF. The report said this requirement was needed in order to cover the settlement risks that are associated with bitcoin. “We are now at our minimum number of clearing participants and that means we are good to go,” Hamish Treleaven, the CEO of ASX Clear is quoted explaining. The CEO added that the clearinghouse will consequently issue a notice that gives market participants seven days’ notice of ASX Clear’s regulatory approval. The notice, according to the report, is intended to give brokers, clearers, investors and market makers time to prepare for the ETF. The Cosmos Asset Management bitcoin ETF will be the only bitcoin ETF product available when trading commences on the Cboe trading venue on April 27, the report said. There are expectations that $1 billion will roll into the bitcoin ETF once it is listed. The Regulator’s About-Face Meanwhile, the report noted that the approval of the bitcoin ETF had come some two years after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) ruled out listing a crypto ETF in the country. However, the regulator would later shift its position after it was pressured by the country’s politicians, the report said. As noted in the report, the approval of Cosmos Asset Management bitcoin ETF likely means other trading venues such as NSX might also list a bitcoin ETF. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Bittrex Global, a leading digital asset exchange, welcomes the YellowHeart Protocol, an NFT platform poised to disrupt the ticketing and music industries, to its Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) platform, Bittrex Global Starting Block. By using blockchain technologies, the YellowHeart Protocol is transforming what tickets can do and how they are created, sold and resold. Through the protocol, tickets are now offered as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and enhanced with new capabilities enabled by the HRTS (pronounced “Hearts”) utility token. In contrast to traditional tickets, NFT tickets offer music, video, and engaging experiences. They enable artists to communicate directly with their fans and provide artists and venues with a share of the proceeds any time a ticket is resold. The YellowHeart Protocol was created to bring together an entire ecosystem – composed of fans, artists, sports teams, brands, venues, event promoters, and more – to participate in this leap forward. This community comes together at the YellowHeart NFT marketplace, which can be accessed online at yh.io or via the YellowHeart mobile app for iOS and Android. “In addition to ticket NFTs, the YellowHeart marketplace also offers music NFTs, collectible NFTs and community NFTs. It is already the premier place for musicians to participate in the NFT revolution, where artists like Maroon 5, The Beatles and XXXTentacion are being joined by a rapidly growing community of creators. With the launch of the HRTS token anyone can now join this community; HRTS token holders will be able to engage with each other in innovative ways, creating a decentralized, peer-to-peer platform for ticketing and entertainment. We are proud to be the YellowHeart ecosystem’s founding member and technology provider,” said Josh Katz, founder and CEO of YellowHeart LLC. “We are pleased to have selected YellowHeart as the first project to be launched on Starting Block. It displays strong signs of promise in the new world of Web 3 ticketing and music, and we are happy to support and generate more awareness around this project through our IEO platform,” said Stephen Stonberg, CEO of Bittrex Global. “After our team drove an exhaustive, multi-month IEO qualification process, HRTS was selected as the first project to debut on Starting Block for many reasons, including the quality of its token utility value, fully-diluted valuation, circulating supply and demand balance, product roadmap, team experience, brand, and partner accomplishments. We’re excited for the future of the YellowHeart Protocol and think the addition of the HRTS token to the Bittrex Global ecosystem will add significant value for all of our users, especially for those who are lucky enough to get into the IEO,” said Chris Sinkey, Listing Director and Chief Business Officer at Bittrex Global. Emerging projects looking to IEO can utilize and leverage Bittrex Global’s reputation as one of the most secure digital asset exchanges in the world, committed to using advanced security protocols while remaining compliant with the wide range of regulatory measures across the globe. The YellowHeart Protocol (HRTS) token sale will launch at 13:00 UTC on May 10, 2022 on Bittrex Global Starting Block. Learn more: https://global.bittrex.com/Market/Index?MarketName=USDT-HRTS Disclaimer: This release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933. Any public offering of securities to be made in the United States would be made by means of a prospectus that could be obtained from the issuer or selling security holder and that would contain detailed information about the issuer, as well as financial statements. There is no present intention to register any part of the present or proposed offering in the United States. ABOUT YELLOWHEART PROTOCOL The YellowHeart Protocol uses blockchain and NFT technologies to disrupt the ticketing industry and transform how artists and fans connect. ABOUT YELLOWHEART LLC YellowHeart LLC is the technology provider and launch partner for the YellowHeart platform. Its marketplace for ticket NFTs, music NFTs, and community tokens attracts premier artists such as the Kings of Leon, Maroon 5, XXXTentacion, Brandi Carlile, ZHU, and more. ABOUT BITTREX GLOBAL Bittrex Global, the most secure digital asset exchange in the world, serves both retail and institutional clients, globally. Committed to helping users build wealth, Bittrex Global facilitates the purchase and trade of over 250 tokens. Through its use of cutting-edge technology, advanced security protocols, and a sophisticated elastic multi-stage wallet strategy the company provides a high-level experience for professional and novice customers alike. Bittrex Global is a key player in driving widespread adoption of secure and decentralized methods to building wealth while remaining compliant and adhering to the wide array of regulatory measures across the globe. Bittrex Global GmbH is registered with the Financial Market Authority under Law of 3 October 2019 on Tokens and TT Service Providers (TVTG) in Liechtenstein to operate as a TT Exchange Service Provider, TT Token Depositary, and Token Issuer on behalf and for the account of third parties. Bittrex Global (Bermuda) Limited is regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority and licensed as a Class F Digital Asset Business under the Bermuda Digital Asset Business Act 2018 to operate as a digital asset exchange, provide custodial wallet services, and operate as a digital asset derivative exchange provider. Contacts Sarah Evans Sevans PR sarah@sevanspr.com 224-829-8820 Sarah Mawji Sevans PR sm@sevanspr.com Julia Lazniuk Sevans PR Julia@sevanspr.com Clare Kennedy YellowHeart pr@yellowheart.io 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 12th president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, James Bullard, thinks the U.S. central bank can increase the benchmark bank interest rate by 75 basis points this year. Bullard believes the Fed could raise rates to 3.5% by the fourth quarter of 2022 to combat the red hot inflation plaguing the U.S economy. James Bullard Says ‘Inflation Is Far Too High,’ St. Louis Fed Chief Hopes to See Large Interest Rate Increases Going Forward On March 16, Bitcoin.com News reported on the Federal Reserve raising the benchmark bank interest rate for the first time since 2018. At the time, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and Fed chair Jerome Powell raised the rate from near zero to 0.25% in order to target 0.25% and 0.50%. Still, inflation in the U.S. continues to run rampant, as statistics from the March Consumer Price Index (CPI) report indicated that U.S. inflation is currently running at 40-year highs. This week, the St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard explained on Monday that inflation in America was “far too high,” during a virtual presentation managed by the Council on Foreign Relations. After the Fed raised interest rates in mid-March, the FOMC noted that “ongoing increases…will be appropriate.” Bullard wholeheartedly agrees and he further explained that increases could be even higher than 50 basis points. The St. Louis Fed chief explained how Fed Chair Alan Greenspan increased the benchmark rate by 75 basis points in 1994. “More than 50 basis points is not my base case at this point,” Bullard stressed during the Council on Foreign Relations’ virtual event on Monday. Bullard further noted that Greenspan’s decision helped bolster a significant rebound in the American economy. “That one was successful, and did set up the U.S. economy for a stellar second half of the 1990s — one of the best periods in U.S. macroeconomic history,” Bullard remarked during the presentation. Bullard added: And in that cycle, there was a 75 basis point increase at one point, so I wouldn’t rule it out. Report Highlights the Fed ‘Creating More Inflation by Expanding the Central Bank’s Balance Sheet,’ Bullard Hopes to Put ‘Further Downward Pressure on Inflation’ by Q3 Despite Bullard saying inflation was “far too high,” the economist and gold bug Peter Schiff has asked why the U.S. central bank’s balance sheet keeps increasing. For instance, a report published on Schiff’s website explains that “in the week ending April 13, the balance sheet grew by $27.9 billion, hitting a new record of $8.965 trillion.” Schiff’s findings highlight that the balance sheet is up $3 billion from the high recorded in March. “For all the talk of fighting inflation and shirking its balance sheet, the Fed continues creating more inflation and expanding its balance sheet,” Schiff’s blog post explains. The St. Louis Fed branch president did not expand upon the Fed’s balance sheet and much of the inflation blame game was placed on Covid-19 and the current Ukraine-Russia war. Bullard stressed during his talk that he would prefer to see the benchmark rate hiked up to 3.5% by the year’s end. Currently, the Fed has six remaining FOMC meetings in 2022 and Bullard thinks that half-percentage-point increases or larger are feasible. “What we need to do right now is get expeditiously to neutral, and then go from there,” Bullard insisted during his presentation on Monday. “I’ve even said we want to get above neutral as early as the third quarter, and try to put further downward pressure on inflation at that point,” the St. Louis Fed branch president concluded. What do you think about the St. Louis Fed branch president’s recent statements on how the Fed should tackle inflation by raising benchmark interest rates? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

NEAR rose to its highest level since last Thursday, as prices rebounded from recent lows. SAND and RUNE also climbed from long-term support levels on Tuesday, with RUNE rising by over 20% in today’s session. THORChain (RUNE) RUNE was easily one of the biggest gainers during today’s trading session, as it separated itself from AXS, cementing itself as the world’s 43rd-largest cryptocurrency. Following a low of $7.50 during yesterday’s session, Tuesday’s session saw RUNE/USD rise to an intraday high of $9.05 earlier today. This move sees RUNE climb to its highest level since last Thursday, April 14, where price went on to be held at resistance. The long-term ceiling is currently at $9.40, which hasn’t been broken since earlier this month, and late March prior to that. Regardless of this, price strength has recently shown strong gains, with the 14-day RSI climbing beyond the ceiling of 51. Should this momentum extend, we could see RUNE at $10.00 later this week. However, bulls could likely take profits once this point is reached. NEAR Protocol (NEAR) NEAR continued to move away from its long-term support level on Tuesday, as prices rebound following a recent four-day bear run. This run took NEAR from resistance of $17.55, all the way down to support of $15.40, with a breakout taking prices to multi-week lows. Since bouncing from support yesterday, those gains extended in today’s session, with NEAR/USD hitting a peak of $17.50. Now once again near resistance, many are waiting to see if prices will continue to consolidate, or if there will be a sustained breakout for the first time this month. Looking at the chart, the 14-day RSI is currently tracking at 63.24, which although overbought, has just climbed past a resistance level of 61, and appears to be aiming for a higher ceiling at 66. Should this happen, NEAR could be trading near the $18.00 mark, with the potential to recapture $20 for the first time since January. Will we finally see a breakout in NEAR after a month of consolidation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Following recent losses, BTC rallied on Tuesday, as bulls appeared to have returned to cryptocurrency markets. In addition to bitcoin, ETH also moved away from yesterday’s low below $2,900, with price now hovering close to $3,100. Bitcoin After several days of bearish pressure, cryptocurrency prices finally rallied on Tuesday, with BTC climbing back above $41,000. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was up by as much as 5% earlier in today’s session, rising to an intraday high of $41,146.89 in the process. Tuesday’s price surge comes following a bottom of $39,123.16 on Monday, which was the lowest BTC/USD had traded since March 15. As of writing, BTC is currently trading at $40,926.77, which is marginally lower than earlier highs, and comes as traders took profit at resistance. Looking at the chart, this ceiling is at the $41,175 level, which halted the last three attempted sustained breakouts. Despite prices failing to breakout, price strength has, with the 14-day RSI trading marginally above the 44 resistance, which could be a good indication for bulls looking to sustain today’s pressure. Ethereum ETH was also trading higher on Tuesday, moving away from its multi-week lows in the process of today’s rally. As of writing, ETH/USD raced to an intraday peak of $3,080.79 earlier in today’s session, which is roughly 4% up from yesterday’s low. Monday’s bottom of $2,903.24 fell below the long-term price floor of $2,950, and hit its lowest point since March 22. Despite today’s rally, the 14-day RSI continues to hover below its ceiling at 50, and is currently tracking around 47.50. This is good news for bulls, however, any further gains in price will likely meet resistance at the $3,150 level. Should there be enough momentum to pass both this point, and the 49 RSI level, we could see ETH heading towards $3,300. Has the recent consolidation in ETH finally ended? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

On April 18, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Treasury Department, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published a Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) report concerning malicious North Korean state-sponsored cryptocurrency activity. According to the U.S. government, law enforcement officials have observed North Korean cyber actors targeting specific blockchain companies in the industry. FBI Alleges North Korean Hacking Activity Is on the Rise, Report Highlights Lazarus Group’s Activities The FBI, alongside a number of U.S. agencies, published a CSA report called “North Korean State-Sponsored APT Targets Blockchain Companies.” The report details that the APT (advanced persistent threat) has been state-sponsored and active since 2020. The FBI explains that the group is commonly known as Lazarus Group, and U.S. officials accuse the cyber actors of a number of malicious hack attempts. North Korean cyber actors target a variety of organizations such as “organizations in the blockchain technology and cryptocurrency industry, including cryptocurrency exchanges, decentralized finance (defi) protocols, play-to-earn cryptocurrency video games, cryptocurrency trading companies, venture capital funds investing in cryptocurrency, and individual holders of large amounts of cryptocurrency or valuable non-fungible tokens (NFTs).” The FBI’s CSA report follows the recent Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) update which accuses Lazarus Group and North Korean cyber actors of being involved in the Ronin bridge attack. After the OFAC update was published, the ethereum mixing project Tornado Cash revealed it was leveraging Chainalysis tools, and blocking OFAC-sanctioned ethereum addresses from using the ether mixing protocol. ‘Apple Jesus’ Malware and the ‘TraderTraitor’ Technique According to the FBI, Lazarus Group leveraged malicious malware called “Apple Jesus,” which trojanizes cryptocurrency companies. “As of April 2022, North Korea’s Lazarus Group actors have targeted various firms, entities, and exchanges in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry using spearphishing campaigns and malware to steal cryptocurrency,” the CSA report highlights. “These actors will likely continue exploiting vulnerabilities of cryptocurrency technology firms, gaming companies, and exchanges to generate and launder funds to support the North Korean regime.” The FBI says the North Korean hackers utilized massive spearphishing campaigns sent to employees working for crypto firms. Typically the cyber actors would target software developers, IT operators, and Devops employees. The tactic is called “TraderTraitor” and it often mimics “a recruitment effort and offer high-paying jobs to entice the recipients to download malware-laced cryptocurrency applications.” The FBI concludes that organizations should report anomalous activity and incidents to the CISA 24/7 Operations Center or visit a local FBI field office. What do you think about the FBI’s claims about North Korean state-sponsored cyber attackers? Let us know what you think about the FBI’s latest report in the comments section below. View the full article