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The U.K.’s advertising authority has banned an ad for cryptocurrency floki inu (FLOKI). The authority says the ad’s “Missed Doge? Get Floki” claim “exploited consumers’ fears of missing out and trivialized investment in cryptocurrency.” The ad was also “irresponsible” and “took advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity,” the regulator said. Floki Ad Banned in the UK The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the U.K.’s regulator of advertising, published its “Ruling on Floki Inu” Wednesday. The advertising authority began investigating an ad campaign for floki inu (FLOKI), the cryptocurrency inspired by Elon Musk’s shiba inu dog, in November last year after the Floki ad was seen on public transport in London. The ad contains a floki inu logo and text that says, “Missed Doge? Get Floki.” It also contains smaller text at the bottom that reads, “Your investment may go down as well as up in value. Cryptocurrency is not regulated in the UK.” After investigation, the ASA ruled: The use of an image of a cartoon dog wearing a Viking helmet and the claim ‘Missed Doge. Get Floki,’ exploited consumers’ fears of missing out and trivialized investment in cryptocurrency. In addition, the advertising watchdog ruled that “the ad was irresponsible” and “took advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity.” The ASA explained that it has told the team behind the floki inu cryptocurrency “to ensure that they did not irresponsibly exploit consumer’s fear of missing out and trivialize investment in cryptocurrency.” They must also “ensure that they did not irresponsibly take advantage of consumers’ lack of experience or credulity by not making clear CGT could be due on cryptocurrency profits.” The ASA concluded: The ad must not appear again in the form complained about. The advertising authority also noted that the disclaimer at the bottom of the ad was small compared to the size of the text “Missed Doge? Get Floki.” Therefore, the ASA said: “Despite the qualifying text, the overriding impression of the ad was the pressing need to buy floki, to prevent consumers losing out in the same way they could have done with dogecoin.” The British advertising authority has been cracking down on misleading crypto ads. In December, the ASA banned seven crypto ads for Papa John’s Pizza, Coinbase, Kraken, Etoro, Luno, Coinburp, and Exmo. In addition, the U.K. government announced in January its plans to impose new rules on cryptocurrency advertisements to “protect consumers from misleading claims.” Do you think the “Missed Doge? Get Floki” ad should be allowed in the U.K.? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Scams have started exploiting the desire of many in the crypto community to support Ukraine’s efforts to withstand Russia’s military assault and help its citizens endure the conflict. As the country is raising millions in bitcoin, a report has indicated that fraudulent schemes luring donors to “help Ukraine” with cryptocurrency are on the rise. Crypto Scams Entice Prospective Donors to Support Invaded Nation People who wish to send cryptocurrency to the Ukrainians defending their country against a military operation launched by Russia, may fall into a trap set by phishing websites, forum posts, and emails, Bleeping Computer has warned in an article. The tech news outlet has identified a number of new scams enticing crypto users to “help Ukraine” by donating bitcoin and other digital currencies to addresses different from those provided by the government in Kyiv and Ukrainian NGOs. The fraudsters behind the scams employ various methods. These range from phishing emails appearing to come from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs or NPR domains, for example, to forum posts seemingly associated with the “Help Ukraine” movement. The report reveals that other cybersecurity and ransomware researchers such as Malware Hunter Team and Jake Jcybersec_ have found more .org and .com domains established by scammers such as “Ukraine-donate,” “Ukraineglobalaid” and “Ukrainewar.support.” What could potentially increase the effectiveness of these scams is that they often issue emotional appeals that targeted audiences might find hard to resist, the publication notes. Add to that the fact that the Ukrainian government itself and local volunteer groups have been actively seeking donations in various coins to fund their defense effort: Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT. BTC – 357a3So9CbsNfBBgFYACGvxxS6tMaDoa1P ETH and USDT (ERC-20) – 0x165CD37b4C644C2921454429E7F9358d18A45e14 — Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) February 26, 2022 At the same time, the crypto community has also responded to the conflict by supporting humanitarian efforts. The world’s leading digital asset exchange, Binance, announced this week it’s donating $10 million to help the Ukrainian people. The assistance of third parties is coordinated through the recently launched crowdfunding initiative, “Humanity First – Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund.” You can support Ukrainian families, children, refugees, and displaced people by donating BTC, ETH, and BNB to Binance Charity’s Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund. What do you think the crypto community can do to avoid scams and support genuine humanitarian efforts in Ukraine? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Hack VC, a crypto investment firm, has launched a new $200 million crypto-based seed fund. The venture capital company, which is behind the hack.summit() event, one of the biggest blockchain programming events in the world, aims to invest in early stage Web3-based teams. The idea behind this fund is to accompany these teams each step of the way, instead of just providing funding as with other, similar proposals. Hack VC Launches $200 Million Fund Backed by Sequoia Capital and Fidelity Hack VC, a crypto-led venture capital group behind the hack.summit() blockchain programming event, announced it is launching a new $200 million crypto seed fund, that aims to invest in early-stage cryptocurrency and Web3 teams. The funds come from several VC companies in the field and include investments from Sequoia Capital, Fidelity, A16z’s Marc Andreessen, and Digital Currency Group, among others. The fund aims to implement a different approach when it comes to incubating these early-stage ventures focused on DAOs, NFTs, and defi. Alex Pack, one of the managers of the fund and founder of Dragonfly Capital, stated: While we came from venture backgrounds, our goal is not to just build another venture fund. For the first time ever, crypto breaks down the divide between investors and users. That’s why we aim to be both the earliest investor, first user, and foundational community-member in all the crypto projects we back. Hack VC wants to differentiate itself from other, similar funds by offering full support for the incubated teams, and not just funding their activities. A Complete Support Stack Managing partner Ed Roman elaborated on the support the fund plans to offer to teams involved in the crypto fund. Roman presented the different ways in which the fund can help these teams to grow, including hiring, advertising, and creating early communities. Using hackjobs.org, hacksummit.org, and Hack Labs — three different tools that the company features — will allow them to give the required attention and grow these teams and their projects, according to Roman. The fund is already active and is currently backing a number of projects, including known names in the decentralized finance and NFT ecosystem. These projects include Goldfinch Finance, NFT identity platform Yat, Web3 provider Mysten Labs, the defi protocol Element.fi, and the metaverse game Syncity. What do you think about Hack VC’s new $200 million crypto seed fund? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Ivory Coast or Côte d’Ivoire’s Tietto Minerals recently said it had drilled and extracted as much as 503.85 grams per tonne from 83 metres at its Abujar Gludehi deposit. The drilling result moves the miner another step towards production on what may become West Africa’s biggest new gold mines, a report has suggested. The Abujar Deposit Tietto Minerals, the Ivory Coast-based gold miner, has reportedly drilled 503.85 grams per tonne (g/t) from 83 metres at its flagship Abujar-Gludehi deposit. On top of this very high grade, the miner’s other better results include a 10-metre hit which had 51.75 g/t. An even richer 3-metre section had about 171 g/t from the same depth. According to a report by The West, the Abujar-Gludehi deposit is, in fact, part of a larger Abujar gold project which is comprised of three “contiguous tenements” that have a total land area of 1,114 square kilometres. Similar to the Gludehi deposit, the report noted that the miner’s other prospects had delivered noteworthy hits “including a 1m section at 46.2 g/t gold from 141m and a 2m hit going 8.8 g/t gold from 151m.” In gold prospecting terms, a high-grade gold deposit seemingly shows that there is more gold content for every tonne of gold ore. This grade in turn shows the profitability of the deposit. According to the gold exploration industry, a “bonanza result” is as any result above 34g/t- which is an extremely high grade. Anything above 5 g/t is considered high grade while anything above 34 g/t is considered to be another level, a report by Next Investors has said. The Gold’s Untested Potential Meanwhile, as it waits for the results of 36 additional holes, Tietto Minerals, as suggested in the report, is hoping the pending results will add even more high-grade gold. Caigen Wang, Tietto Minerals’ managing director is quoted in the report remarking the mining company’s prospects. He said: Our drill rigs have moved to prospects located to the north [GGL] and south [AGM, PGL] of AG Core with the goal of defining new gold resources in an update late this year. The high‐grade gold intercepts seen in the latest results highlight the prospectivity and still largely untested potential of the main Abujar Shear. Meanwhile, a different report suggested the highlight of the miners’ impressive drilling results was a 2.4m intercept grading 153.49 grams per tonne gold, with a 1.4m higher interval assaying at 262.59g/t. According to this report, the mineralisation was intersected 31.6m from the surface. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Ukraine is now trying to expose cryptocurrency wallets used by politicians in Moscow amid warnings that Russia may employ digital coins to circumvent sanctions. The initiative comes as western allies agree to expel some Russian banks from SWIFT, the global interbank payments system. Government of Ukraine Seeks Info on Crypto Assets of Russian and Belarusian Officials Authorities in Kyiv have issued a call on social media for information about crypto wallets controlled by politicians in Russia and Belarus. On Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Twitter that the country’s crypto community will reward those who provide details leading to their identification. Ukrainian crypto community is ready to provide a generous reward for any information about crypto-wallets of Russian and Belarusian politicians and their surroundings. War crimes must be pursued and punished! To share info please contact in Telegram: https://t.co/XHidwUQ8bE. — Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 26, 2022 The rewards will be funded by private donations, according to Artem Afian, a lawyer managing the effort. Quoted by Bloomberg, he said the campaign has already received tips matching political figures with crypto addresses. The plan is to share them with major exchanges and the blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis which has been monitoring Russian transactions. Afian stated: We want them to understand that they are not welcome in Ukraine or in crypto. Another report has revealed that several trading platforms have imposed restrictions for users based in the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian crypto exchange Kuna told Forklog it removed all pairs with the Russian ruble and stopped deposits and withdrawals. Whitebit rejects new registrations from Russia while Cex.io is not accepting or serving customers from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. The government in Kyiv has been urging for stronger sanctions against Moscow in the face of advancing Russian forces. The initiative to blacklist wallets owned by Russian politicians comes as Ukraine itself resorts to using cryptocurrency to finance its defense effort. Since the start of the invasion, the country has raised more than $17 million in crypto donations. Meanwhile, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Commission and several EU member states – France, Germany, and Italy – announced their commitment to remove “selected Russian banks” from the SWIFT messaging network for interbank payments. “This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally,” their leaders said in a joint statement released late on Saturday. The tightening of western sanctions, directed at isolating Russia from global finances, has raised concerns among analysts that Moscow may turn to cryptocurrency in order to circumvent the mounting restrictions. Russian institutions have been actively working to regulate crypto transactions and the Ministry of Finance recently submitted a new bill to the federal government. Do you think Ukraine will be able to identify crypto wallets used by Russian politicians? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. NFTs have taken the crypto community by storm. As market participants realized the number of applications for ‘Non-fungible tokens’ (used to certify the authenticity of digital assets), many immediately saw $$$ signs. Nevertheless, although the talk about NFTs often only revolves around certifying artwork, there is another field that has natural synergies with NFT technology too – metaverses, i.e., the next generation of gaming. On top of this trend is MetaShooter, the first decentralized blockchain-based hunting metaverse that joins millions of gaming enthusiasts in a community to share a realistic (VR compatible) hunting experience. Not only are modern-day hunters invited to compete in tournaments with stunning visuals, but they are also rewarded with NFTs of monetary value by hunting trophies and triumphing against their fellow hunters. MetaShooter modernizes the hunting experience, developing new ways old hobbyists and new gamers alike can interact within the metaverse. Players can purchase hunting lands and monetize them, explore the open world, breed NFT dogs, build hunting towers and many other services for hunters, hunt in exotic environments with stunning visuals and realistic dynamics. By putting its players first, MetaShooter ensures that everyone benefits from RNG-based gameplay, earning passive income from their newly acquired NFT assets. MetaShooter The Most Breathtaking Play-to-Earn Hunting Metaverse Website | Twitter | Facebook| Discord| Telegram Public sale on KICK.IO MetaShooter’s priority IDO round will kick off on February 28, 14:00 GMT, and will then be opened to the general public on March 3, 14:00 GMT. We have already received many investor enquiries about the project, so be sure to mark the dates! IDO Details Ticker: MHUNT KYC: No Payment options: ADA, USDT Priority Public Sale (24 hours before) Price: $0.07 Start: February 28 (14:00 GMT) End: March 1 (14:00 GMT) Token lock: 20% TGE, 10% each month Requirement to participate: 10,000 KICK staked in a locked pool Requirement to endorse: 10,000 KICK staked in a locked pool Public Sale Price: $0.085 Start: March 1 (14:00 GMT) End: March 3 (14:00 GMT) Token lock: 20% TGE, 10% each month Requirement to endorse: 10,000 KICK staked in a locked pool About KICK.IO KICK.IO is a Cardano-based fundraising platform and project accelerator, designed to provide transparent, efficient, and fully decentralized crowdfunding services. KICK.IO is set to mature into a cornerstone of the new Cardano-dominated DeFi landscape, becoming the place where Cardano’s extensive community can come together to fund projects characterized by the immense potential for future success. Our next-generation decentralized launchpad will be built according to the best DeFi industry practices, ensuring real-time settlement, top-notch security, interoperability, true decentralization, zero counterparty risk, while also being fully scalable to meet the needs of institutional investors. Unlike our competitors, we offer full support of Cardano native tokens and a suite of advanced DeFi tools that upcoming projects need to thrive and prosper. Twitter | Telegram | Medium | Website 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

Rakuten Group, the Japanese electronic commerce and online retail company based in Tokyo has announced the launch of a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace called Rakuten NFT. The announcement notes that new features will be added in the future, and a peer-to-peer service for minting and selling NFT content is planned to launch in 2023. Rakuten Launches Non-Fungible Token Marketplace During the last few years, the Japanese online retail giant Rakuten has been dipping its feet into the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain solutions. In the summer of 2019, Rakuten launched a cryptocurrency exchange and in the spring of 2021, Rakuten allowed customers to load crypto into Rakuten Pay accounts. Now the company is getting into the NFT game, as Rakuten announced the launch of a new platform called Rakuten NFT. “Rakuten NFT is a service that provides a marketplace for users to purchase NFTs, as well as peer-to-peer buying and selling of NFTs, in a range of areas such as sports and entertainment, including music and anime,” the press announcement explains. “It also features a unique, one-stop platform which enables IP holders to build their own website for issuing and selling NFTs. Rakuten ID can be used when making purchases, allowing users to earn and spend Rakuten Points. Any NFTs purchased can be added to a collection on the buyer’s own webpage, and can also be put up for sale in the marketplace and sold.” Rakuten follows a number of businesses that have launched NFT marketplaces during the last 12 months. Companies like Coinbase, FTX, Crypto.com, and many others have launched marketplace platforms dedicated to non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles. Additionally, Rakuten NFT faces competition from leading NFT market platforms such as Opensea, Rarible, Looksrare, and Magic Eden. Rakuten’s press announcement notes that a minting and selling feature won’t be available until next year. “A service for peer-to-peer issuing and selling of NFT content is planned for launch in 2023 or later, which will support IP holders in Japan and worldwide to issue NFTs, as well as spur further development of a global market for NFTs. Plans also call for the introduction of a diversity of additional payment methods,” Rakuten’s launch announcement discloses. Rakuten NFT Plans to Launch J.League NFT Collection The Rakuten NFT launch featured NFTs showcasing Ultraman anime and Kurogane Hiroshi G1 Gekitoshi with work illustrated by the renowned manga artist Hiroshi Kurogane. In future NFT drops, Rakuten NFT will feature collectibles from TV Asahi Corporation shows, Under Beasty from Daiki Sound Co., and NFTs featuring characters from Tiger & Bunny 2. “Rakuten NFT is also planning to produce and sell the J.League NFT Collection Players Anthem, the J.League official NFT collection,” the company’s NFT platform announcement concludes. What do you think about Rakuten launching an NFT marketplace? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

It’s getting cheaper to send ethereum these days as the gas price to push a transaction is more than 80% less expensive than it was to transact with ether 48 days ago on January 10. On that day, Ethereum network fees were around $52 per transaction and today, the average transaction fee is $10.26 per transfer. While on-chain fees are cheaper, layer two (L2) transactions have followed suit dropping significantly during the last seven days. Ethereum Gas Fees Continue to Slide It’s a lot less expensive to transact with the Ethereum (ETH) network on February 27, as average size fees are down to 0.0039 ETH or $10.26 per transfer. The last time Ethereum network fees were this low was six months ago, back in late-August 2021. Currently, with average fees at $10.26 per transfer, it’s 80.26% cheaper than it was transferring ETH on January 10, 2022. At that time over a month ago, the average transaction fee was $52 per transaction. Ethereum fees have been sliding downward ever since that day and median-sized gas fees have followed. While the median-sized gas fee was $29 in ether 48 days ago on January 10, today it’s down 84.31% lower at 0.0017 ETH or $4.55 per transfer. L2 transactions are also cheaper than on-chain transactions since gas fees have plummeted. Currently, the lowest L2 fee to send ethereum is by leveraging Loopring for $0.13 per transfer. To swap tokens with Loopring, the gas fees will cost $0.66 per swap at the time of writing. Loopring is followed by Zksync ($0.16), Polygon Hermez ($0.25), Arbitrum ($0.56), Boba Network ($0.99), Optimism ($1.24), and Aztec ($4.23) in order to push an ethereum (ETH) transaction via L2. The cost to swap tokens through these L2 platforms is $0.39 using Zksync, $0.78 leveraging Arbitrum, $1.66 via Boba, and $1.83 Optimism. On-chain fees on the Bitcoin (BTC) network are also lower at 0.000000086 BTC per byte on February 27, 2022, which equates to 0.000032 BTC or $1.20 per transaction. Moreover, the median-sized bitcoin fee on Sunday is roughly 0.0000078 BTC or $0.29 per transaction. What do you think about average transaction fees on the Ethereum network dropping? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The total value locked in decentralized finance (defi) has managed to jump above the $200 billion zone, as crypto markets have rebounded from the market downturn last week. A number of native assets from the $611 billion worth of smart contract protocols have seen double-digit gains with cypherium (CPH), counterparty (XCP), and terra (LUNA) leading the pack. TVL in Defi Jumps Back Above $200 Billion — Cypherium, Counterparty, Terra Rise Crypto markets have recovered after initially dropping after Russia invaded Ukraine three days ago and the rebound has pushed defi value up as well. After falling beneath the $200 billion mark, the total value locked (TVL) in defi has jumped back above the zone to $200.94 billion on February 27. The TVL in defi across all the top blockchains hit a low of $185.9 billion on January 28 and it’s up 10.61% since that day. Curve dominance is 8.68% on Sunday with $17.86 billion total value locked but the defi protocol’s TVL is down 5.61% since last week. Ethereum dominance, in terms of the TVL in defi today, is 55.94% with the current $112.36 billion TVL. Terra’s the second-largest blockchain TVL in defi on Sunday with $20.17 billion which is 10.04% of the TVL in defi. The third-largest blockchain TVL in defi is Binance Smart Chain (BSC) with $12.13 billion locked. Defillama.com metrics show Chainlink is the largest defi oracle today securing 138 protocols with $52.66 billion locked. In terms of smart contract coins, cypherium (CPH) was this week’s biggest gainer with a 330% gain. The smart contract coin, in terms of this week’s second-largest gains, is the old-school token counterparty (XCP). Counterparty has jumped 54% higher in value against the U.S. dollar during the last seven days. Terra (LUNA) managed to spike by 52% this past week as the coin is the third-largest smart contract token gainer this week. At the time of writing, the aggregate value of all the smart contract platform native tokens in existence is $611 billion down 0.3% in the last day. Presently, there’s $23.63 billion TVL across cross-chain bridge platforms today up 16.6% since last week. The count of unique bridge deposit addresses during the last month is 57,911 addresses. The top five blockchains in terms of cross-chain bridge TVL on Sunday, February 27 include Avalanche, Polygon, Fantom, Ronin, and Arbitrum. Moreover, data collected by Coin98 Analytics from Santiment indicates that Solana has the most active developer count as of February 19, 2022. Solana’s developer count is followed by Ethereum, Cardano, Polkadot, Cosmos, and Terra. What do you think about this week’s decentralized finance action? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has announced that the Starlink satellite internet service has been enabled for Ukraine. The move comes in response to a request from the government in Kyiv which is trying to halt a Russian military assault that may disrupt communications, among other threats. Elon Musk Provides Ukrainians With Access to Starlink U.S. billionaire and crypto influencer Elon Musk revealed on social media the activation of Starlink for Ukraine. The satellite internet constellation is operated by Spacex, the aerospace manufacturer and provider of space transportation services founded and managed by Musk. The entrepreneur also tweeted that the company is sending Ukrainians the necessary equipment. Starlink’s low-orbit satellites provide high-speed broadband internet across the globe but access to the network requires the installation of a special antenna and modem. Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov took to Twitter to address Musk directly: Following President Putin’s order, Russia launched a military assault on Ukraine on Feb. 24. Since then, Russian forces have been advancing, encircling major Ukrainian cities. Authorities, citizens and members of the crypto community fear the country’s communications with the world may be affected.Internet monitor Netblocks has registered “a series of significant disruptions to internet service” since the beginning of the Russian military operations in the country, AFP reported. While Starlink operates more than 2,000 satellites, it was initially unclear if Ukrainians would be able to use the service. “Starlink terminals are coming to Ukraine! Thank you @elonmusk, thank you everyone, who supported Ukraine!” Fedorov tweeted following Musk’s reaction. The government official also expressed his gratitude to Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova for the “swift decisions related to authorization and certification that allowed us to activate the Starlink.” Ukraine, which was on the verge of regulating digital assets when the Russian military offensive started, has also sought assistance for its defense effort in the form of crypto donations. One of the largest NGOs involved in supporting the country’s military, Come Back Alive, has already received millions of dollars in bitcoin. Do you think Elon Musk’s help will allow Ukraine to maintain internet communications with the world? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The processing power behind the Bitcoin network has dropped 30% since the hashrate’s all-time high (ATH) on February 15, sliding from 249 exahash per second (EH/s) to 169 EH/s. Furthermore, four days from now, the network’s mining difficulty is expected to increase following the 4.78% epoch change on February 17. Bitcoin Hashrate Drops From 249 Exahash per Second to 169 EH/S in 12 Days From January 13 to February 15, Bitcoin’s hashrate was coasting along at record highs for roughly 33 consecutive days. This weekend, on Sunday, February 27, 2022, the hashrate has dropped 30% from the 249 EH/s ATH captured on February 15. At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s (BTC) network hashrate is around 168.14 EH/s or 168,144,793,932,750,200,000 hashes per second (H/s). Meanwhile, bitcoin’s price has been lower than usual but 30-day statistics show the price per BTC is up 4.4%. Although, bitcoin mining monthly revenue and 7DMA revenue mining stats are down according to onchain metrics. The drop in processing power speed may help drop the next difficulty change, as it’s expected to increase by 1.18% in four days to 27.64 trillion. If the difficulty does increase in four days, it will be the seventh consecutive difficulty increase since November 28, 2021. Currently, the top bitcoin mining pool during the last three days is Foundry USA with 20.52% of the global hashrate (38.85 EH/s) and finding 79 block rewards within that time frame. Foundry USA is followed by Antpool’s 30.49 EH/s or 16.10% of the global hashrate. At the time of writing, three-day metrics indicate that there’s 11 known bitcoin mining pools today. Unknown hashrate or stealth miners command 1.3% of the global hashrate or 2.46 EH/s of hashpower capturing five block rewards in three days. Presently, the most-profitable SHA256-based application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) bitcoin mining device is the Bitmain Antminer S19 Pro 110 terahash per second (TH/s) machine. Using today’s BTC exchange rate and $0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), the Antminer S19 Pro makes just over $10 per day. The Microbt Whatsminer M30S++ (112 TH/s) makes $9.82 per day in bitcoin profits. What do you think about the hashrate dropping after it hit an ATH on February 15? What do you think about the next estimated difficulty drop expected in four days? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Ukraine has raised more than $17 million in cryptocurrency donations since Russia began its invasion. Over $10 million were donated directly to the crypto wallets posted by the Ukrainian government about 24 hours after the government solicited donations in bitcoin, ether, and tether. Crypto Community Responds to Ukrainian Government’s Plea for Cryptocurrency Donations The Ukrainian government began soliciting cryptocurrency donations Saturday morning. The official Twitter account for Ukraine tweeted: “Stand with the people of Ukraine. Now accepting cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin, ethereum, and USDT.” The tweet also includes a BTC address and an address for ETH and USDT donations. Mykhailo Fedorov, vice prime minister of Ukraine, also tweeted a similar message. Following the Ukrainian government’s solicitation of crypto donations, blockchain data analytics firm Elliptic said Sunday: The Ukrainian government and NGOs providing support to the military have raised $17.2 million through thousands of cryptocurrency donations since the start of the invasion. “Twitter accounts belonging to the Ukrainian government have posted pleas for cryptocurrency donations. The addresses mentioned in the tweets have already received $10.6 million across 13,670 transactions,” Elliptic detailed. “This includes a single donation worth $1.86 million, which appears to have originated from the sale of NFTs [non-fungible tokens] originally intended to raise funds for Julian Assange.” The blockchain analytics firm continued: The majority of donations received to date have been in bitcoin and ether, although US dollar stablecoins contribute a significant proportion. Elliptic further pointed out that crypto supporters are not just donating cryptocurrencies to the Ukrainian government. “People are also sending NFTs to the Ukrainian government’s Ethereum account. One such NFT has a value of approximately $300,” the firm wrote. Olexander Scherba, Ukraine’s ambassador to Austria between 2014 and 2021, commented on the Ukrainian government soliciting crypto donations. He tweeted: To those who want to help in bitcoin. Bitcoin is officially legit in Ukraine. Besides donations to the Ukrainian government, one non-governmental organization (NGO) has received a substantial amount of cryptocurrency donations. Bitcoin.com News reported Friday that “Come Back Alive” had raised more than $5 million in bitcoin. At the time of writing, the organization has received 170.05722596 BTC, worth about $6.6 million at the current bitcoin price. What do you think about the Ukrainian government asking for crypto donations? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Zug, Switzerland, 25th February 2022: GAIMIN Gladiators is pleased to announce its recently acquired DOTA 2 esports team has won the DOTA2 WEU Regional Finals, beating teams including Team Liquid, Nigma, Tundra and OG. The success of GAIMIN’s esports team generates significant awareness of the GAIMIN brand and directs more potential users towards GAIMIN and the application. These high profile events are promoted worldwide to their followers and achieve significant viewing figures. The Regional Finals achieved peak viewing of 160,000 and a total of 650,000 video views. In winning the event, GAIMIN’s brand has been promoted across all output media and increased the following and global reach of the Gladiator’s DOTA 2 team. The Gladiator’s currently have over 83,000 followers across all platforms, 2 million follower impressions and monthly profile visits of 150,000+. GAIMIN’s business model is designed around gamers downloading the GAIMIN application and enabling GAIMIN to access the high performance GPUs found in gaming PCs. Gamers generate passive rewards, paid in GAIMIN’s soon to be listed GMRX crypto currency when running the application and enabling its monetisation features. Joseph Turner, Chief Gaming Officer for GAIMIN stated, “In January 2022, GAIMIN acquired esports team GAIMIN Gladiators with the objective of creating the leading global esports team, focussing on specific genres and games within the esports community. The quick success of our DOTA2 team has been amazing and motivates us to identify more teams to join GAIMIN Gladiators.” Nick Cuccovillo, President GAIMIN Gladiators explained, “Our DOTA2 team has exceeded expectations with their early success, and spearheaded our plans to extend into Pokemon Unite, Counter-Strike and Rainbow Six: Siege. We intend on creating the largest esports community across a number of different games and genres. DOTA2 is only the beginning”. Martin Speight, CEO of GAIMIN confirmed, “Our decision to invest in esports is already paying off. The number of followers the DOTA2 team has, combined with the followers of the other teams we are looking at incorporating into the GAIMIN Gladiators, will give us access to a worldwide audience of potential GAIMIN application users, exceeding our active user forecasts, building a much larger community of users generating their own GMRX rewards and building the GAIMIN brand into a worldwide community of gamers.” About GAIMIN Gladiators GAIMIN Gladiators were formed from the OCG Esports Club; a Canadian Esports organisation established in 2019 by brothers Nick and Alex Cuccovillo and Shawn Porter. Their aim was to conquer their chosen esports and since 2019 they have achieved significant success winning major events such as Dreamhack Canada for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and successfully competing in the highest pro-amateur league in North America. The Club expanded into Warcraft 3 in Europe and North America, competing in the most prestigious leagues and tournaments with the strongest lineup and players in the game. In support of their aspirations for growth, the Club moved into new and emerging verticals, participating in Rainbow Six Siege and playing in the Challengers League for two years. OCG’s focused on the semi-professional esports pro scene and its surrounding ecology – building a platform and ecosystem for gamers. OCG has some of the best talent in Canada in its gaming roster, representing Canada at national level across tournaments in North America. Through constant innovation, community-driven goals and working with top talent, OCG has striven to create an inclusive, respected and distinguished brand for gamers. The OCG philosophy fully aligns with the GAIMIN principle of “No Gamer Left Behind” and makes OCG the perfect fit for GAIMIN. Based on their gaming successes and principles, OCG is now part of GAIMIN and have re-branded as GAIMIN Gladiators. GAIMIN Gladiators will represent GAIMIN in the global esports arena and build on their past successes and growth by participating in current and new esports verticals. About GAIMIN GAIMIN.IO Ltd (GAIMIN) is a UK and Swiss based gaming company focused on helping the gaming community monetise the computational power of their gaming PC. GAIMIN has created a decentralised data processing network harnessing under utilised processing power typically found in gaming PC’s to create a world-wide decentralised data processing network, delivering “supercomputer” performance. With a free to download PC-based application GAIMIN monetises the under utilised performance through innovative approaches to delivering “supercomputer” level data processing performance from a world-wide network of independent processing devices. Focusing initially on the powering of blockchain computations, the GAIMIN data processing network also supports a number of different large scale data processing applications, including video rendering. GAIMIN pays users in its own crypto currency, GMRX which can then be used for purchases on the GAIMIN Marketplace for NFTs, in-game assets, accessories and merchandise, or it can be converted to fiat or a different crypto currency. For further information, please contact: The Americas, Middle East and Australian Pacific – Andrew Faridani, Chief Marketing Officer for GAIMIN (based in Toronto, Canada): andrew@gaimin.io UK and Europe – Marc Bray, Director of Communications for GAIMIN (based in Manchester, UK): marc @gaimin.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

Yuval Ben Haym, regional manager of Remax, a real estate firm that operates worldwide, has announced that the “first” real estate purchase with cryptocurrencies has already occurred in Chile. The purchase, that was made using bitcoin, happened last year. Such purchases have also already happened in other countries like Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. Remax Announces ‘First’ Real Estate Transaction With Cryptocurrency in Chile The reported first real estate purchase made with cryptocurrency has happened in Chile. The announcement was made last week by Yuval Ben Haym, who is the regional manager of Remax, a real estate operator with activities at a worldwide level. Ben Haym informed that this purchase was completed last year, during November, and that the transaction secured a plot of land in Temuco, a southern city of Chile, for a customer. Ben Haym was optimistic about the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment options in real estate, and announced they are open to accepting these kinds of currencies. He stated: From this time to the future several properties will be able to be paid with this new means of payment. Bitcoin and Real Estate in Latam Chile is just one of the Latam countries that has debuted bitcoin as a payment option available for properties and land. Prior to this report, several purchases of the same kind have been made in countries of the region. The first purchase was reported in Venezuela in August when an apartment was purchased with $12,000 worth of USDT. Then, La Haus, a proptech company, informed of a real estate transaction in Colombia made with bitcoin earlier this month. In this purchase, the buyer used Lightning Network to pay for part of the property, which was a luxury apartment in a complex located in Santa Marta. The same company had already registered a sale of this kind in Mexico, where a buyer located in Peru made a remote purchase. Analysts state that sales of this kind are likely to become more common in time. Guillermo Torrealba, General Manager of Buda, a regional exchange, stated: It is normal that we are seeing the beginning of this business of cryptocurrencies with properties, because Bitcoin can be seen as an investment. Nicolas Herrera, studies submanager at Toctoc, another proptech firm, also states that with their new restrictions, banks are making the task of acquiring a house difficult for most people. What do you think about the reported first real estate purchase made with bitcoin in Chile? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The Central Bank of Argentina is reportedly working on a new group of regulations seeking to control the totality of the digital wallets in the country. This new legal framework is directed at stopping fraud said to be facilitated by these tools. According to leaks on local media, the publication of the law is imminent. Central Bank of Argentina Targets Digital Wallets The Central Bank of Argentina has its sights on the use of digital wallets. The directory of the bank is reportedly producing a new set of regulations to better understand what’s happening with the funds in these wallets and improve their KYC measures. Regarding how this will be implemented, it stated: It is not about prohibiting anything, but about applying the same rules that banks must comply with today in relation to knowing their customers. The bank announced it is implementing these new rules because there is a large amount of fraud when it comes to the use of these tools, and some companies lack due diligence while onboarding customers. Not all wallets function in the same way, so the rules will have to be applied on a case-by-case basis, members of the central bank clarified. The measure will allow the bank to control the stream of users that are currently operating these digital wallets like Mercado Pago, estimated at a number close to 30 million. Last year, the Central Bank of Argentina established that these companies had to preserve 100% of the funds of the customers in their bank accounts, crippling companies’ opportunity to profit from investments made with a portion of these funds. Confiscations Already Happening While the Central Bank is working out this new legal framework regarding digital wallets, the AFIP, which is the Argentinian Tax Authority, has already moved to confiscate the funds in digital wallets of taxpayers with debts. Almost 10,000 taxpayers are expected to have their digital wallets confiscated in the coming months. This plan may already be in execution, as local media is reporting that the first case of these seizures has already happened. The first confiscation was reportedly requested by the AFIP and a judge authorized the institution to take control of the funds in the digital account to pay debts accumulated by the user. The state tried to seize the bank accounts of the taxpayer first, but the outcome of this action was negative. What do you think about the new regulations for digital wallets in Argentina? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, volatility in bitcoin and ethereum prices intensified, with both falling to one-month lows on Thursday. Both have since moved away from these lows so far today, in what looks like temporal consolidation. Bitcoin As of writing, cryptocurrency markets are up by over 7% on Friday, with bitcoin trading 8% higher heading into the weekend. This comes following a low of $34,997.01 yesterday, with BTC/USD hitting an intraday high of $38,968.84 earlier in today’s session. Friday’s move sees BTC momentarily rebound, and edge closer to the key $40,000 level, which it hasn’t hit since the beginning of the week. Looking at the chart, the 14-day RSI has also tailed off slightly, and now looks to be consolidating below the 43.8 resistance. As long as prices remain between the floor of $37,240 and ceiling of $39,640, market uncertainty will likely extend. However, current sentiment seems to be more bearish, as the 10-day moving average continues to trend downwards. Ethereum The price of ETH was also marginally higher, as bulls seem reluctant to let the world’s second largest cryptocurrency fall below its long-term support. As of writing, ETH/USD is trading 9.20% higher, after rising to a peak of $2,689.05, following Thursday’s intraday low of $2,341.72. Price strength also climbed, with the 14-day RSI breaking beyond its recent resistance point at 39.60, and currently is tracking at 40.80. Following the move, ETH now sits slightly above a higher support of $2,550, a level which has birthed several bull runs in the past. Despite this, traders are likely to remain cautious, as many fear that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will only worsen, leading to investors taking a risk-off approach. Do you expect ETH to decline further heading into the weekend? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Ankara University has become the first higher education institution in Turkey to organize a course on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The freshly-launched lecture has been attended by high-ranking government officials, local media reported. Leading University in Turkey Begins Course on NFTs Ankara University has added a course on NFTs to its curriculum, becoming the first Turkish university to teach the crypto-related subject. According to a report by the Hürriyet daily, senior officials from the presidential administration and the culture ministry have been present at the first class on non-fungible tokens. “We are happy to teach about NFTs, but our students are happier than us,” Necdet Ünüvar, the rector of the university, said in an opening speech for the event. The “Introduction to NFT” course is taught by Buğra Ayan. Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Özgül Özkan Yavuz and Ali Taha Koç, head of the Turkish Presidency’s Digital Transformation Office, were among the guests at the lecture. During the accompanying ceremony, Yavuz stated: We believe that NFT will trigger artistic creativity, skills and talents among youth. The step that Ankara University has taken by means of expanding awareness on NFT is very important. The deputy minister added that she is looking forward to seeing the results at the end of the academic term. Yavuz also revealed that all NFT works produced by participating students can be presented in a future exhibition. Ali Taha Koç announced that his office is working on many other digital projects. “Do not think that NFT is just a matter of technology. There is also a legal dimension of NFT which will make us see how it will affect our business styles,” he emphasized. Koç shared that his department is now trying to coin a Turkish term for NFTs and urged attendees of the course to support these efforts with their own suggestions. “Everyone should join and add an alternative name to NFT,” he stated after announcing his intention to launch a poll on social media. NFTs are a popular tool to prove ownership of digital records and assets, including art, music and video, using distributed ledgers. The global market for non-fungible tokens has been estimated at between $20 billion and $35 billion a year and many expect it will continue to grow. Ankara University’s initiative comes after in late January, media reports unveiled that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had instructed the country’s ruling Justice and Development Party to study developments like cryptocurrency and the metaverse. The move followed his announcement in December that Turkey is ready with a crypto law. What do you think about the NFT course organized by Ankara University? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. View the full article

On February 8, the multinational luxury auction company Sotheby’s announced the firm would be auctioning 104 Cryptopunk non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles, but before the event started Sotheby’s canceled the event. It seems “0x650d,” the owner of the Cryptopunks NFTs, decided to keep the assets that were estimated to fetch around $20 to $30 million at auction. Cryptopunks Owner Decides to Keep 104 NFTs, Sotheby’s Forced to Cancel ‘Punk It’ Auction The luxury auction house had to cancel an NFT auction dubbed “Punk It” on Wednesday after the consignor decided to back out. During the first week of February, Sotheby’s revealed it would be auctioning 104 Cryptopunks that were estimated to get around $20 to $30 million. The sale would be called “Punk It,” and the NFTs stemmed from the owner “0x650d,” an individual who purchased the 104 Cryptopunks in a single transaction by paying a miner a bribe of five ethereum (ETH) in July 2021. Then on the day of the scheduled auction, Sotheby’s tweeted that after a discussion with the consignor 0x650d, the event was officially canceled. “Following discussions with the consignor, tonight’s Punk It sale has been withdrawn. Thank you to our panelists, guests, and viewers for joining us,” Sotheby’s said. Then 0x650d retweeted an older tweet and said that he decided to keep the stash of Cryptopunk NFTs. 0x650d said: Nvm, decided to hodl. NFT Supporter Says Canceled Auction ‘Made Everyone Look Stupid’ In another tweet, 0x650d shared a meme making fun of the situation with the luxury auction house Sotheby’s. Others didn’t think the meme was funny and 0x650d received criticism for pulling the auction away from Sotheby’s. “Bro you suck,” one individual wrote. “Stop acting like you rugged Sotheby’s. LMAO — You made everyone look stupid. Even the press here is laughing at us because of you… Stop hiding the guilt behind dumb ass memes.” Another individual agreed and said: Well said @farokh. [The] sale would have been [a] big win for NFTs in general. Seems odd to just pull the auction at the eleventh hour. Obviously, something’s amiss we’re not being told. Meanwhile, besides the memes 0x650d shared, the community does not know exactly why he decided to pull the Cryptopunks NFT sale. It’s quite possible that 0x650d’s stash became worth far less than he expected when the Cryptopunks NFT auction was first announced. Cryptocurrency market prices, including the values of non-fungible token digital collectibles, have dropped significantly in value against fiat currencies since the escalated geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine. At the time of writing, metrics from dappradar.com indicate that 0x650d’s stash of NFTs are estimated to be worth $22.16 million. The value is a lot less than the wallet’s net worth when the auction was first announced. Currently, the 0x650d wallet owns approximately 136 NFTs from 18 different NFT collections. 0x650d’s Twitter account profile has an etherscan verification message that is signed and verified, proving that 0x650d is indeed the owner of the 0x650d ethereum address holding the 136 NFTs. What do you think about 0x650d canceling the NFT auction that was supposed to be held by Sotheby’s? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. NoVa Battles is a PlayToEarn mobile MOBA game developed with the core focus on implementing blockchain technology. The company started conceptualizing the prospect of a blockchain game back in 2019, after which they have been experimenting with designs, systems, and partnerships for two years. The drive to build an open ecosystem for all stakeholders requires extensive analysis before implementation. The NoVa Battles team has decided to develop a simplistic game design and game economy controlled by the community’s votes and needs – a decentralized autonomous organization or DAO during the last two years. It is known as the People’s Game. The players drive the game, and the game’s prospects will be decided on the community’s wants. The core value of a DAO has a gradual progression in the transferral of executive power from the initial developing company to the end-users and stakeholders. The implementation of a DAO system will be gradual throughout 36 months. The vision is to have the initial game be fully revamped according to the player’s wants during the 36 months. This system enhances the game’s longevity whilst keeping the game feeling fresh for all stakeholders. The purpose of developing NoVa Battles is to increase the growth of the blockchain industry and bring the industry’s stakeholders under one roof. Blockchain games are a medium that enhances the utility of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. All online communities, be it a blockchain-based community or a community from a different industry, can collaborate with NoVa Battles. The Shiba Inu token community or even a group of friends can develop in-game champions, NFTS, and skins to control and build an income stream. Future champions are based on the inspirations of the communities, and some proceeds are sent for furthering their cause. The company has already added a Shiba champion to the champion pool, and further exciting developments are coming up. The company typically controls the creation of NFTs in games, but in NoVa Battles’ ecosystem, it is unique as it is driven and regulated by the players. It seems like this game is just the beginning as Lucian, the company’s CEO, stated, “NoVa Battles will be a mobile-based game that will grow to be included on all platforms in the future whilst adding different gaming elements and blockchain features along the way, the vision is to have a dynamic metaverse build on-top of NoVa Battles.” The developers plan to develop the MOBA game as a foundation for growth. It will also lead to a metaverse surrounding the NoVa Battles. The main aim is to build the NoVa Universe. Faytten, the founder of NoVa Battles, said, “The blockchain game industry is on the boom. With every new game, a new community is created. We decided to think out of the box and develop a community within all the communities together”. Visit NoVa Battles’ official website to register as a beta tester – beta testers have early access to the game’s token. To learn more, check out their Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts for game updates or join their official Telegram and Discord channels to chat with the NoVa Battles team! For more details, visit: Website: www.novabattles.com Social Media Twitter: @NoVa_BTL Instagram: @nova.battles Telegram: @NoVaBattles Facebook: @NoVaBattles About NoVa Battles NoVa Battles is a play-to-earn game that enables users to slowly take control of the game whilst having an income through the game. It utilizes blockchain technology to develop a DAO and an income system for its players. This is known as the People’s Game. The players drive the game, and the prospects of the game will be decided on the community’s wants and needs. 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 Advertising Standards Council of India has released guidelines for the advertising and promotion of crypto assets and related services. “We had several rounds of discussion with the government, finance sector regulators, and industry stakeholders before framing these guidelines.” India’s Crypto Ad Guidelines Published The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) published Wednesday “guidelines for advertising and promotion of virtual digital assets and services.” The guidelines are applicable to all advertisements related to virtual digital assets (VDA) which are “commonly referred to as crypto or NFT [non-fungible token] products,” ASCI explained. ASCI Chairman Subhash Kamath described: We had several rounds of discussion with the government, finance sector regulators, and industry stakeholders before framing these guidelines. Firstly, all crypto-related ads must carry the disclaimer that states: “Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions.” The guidelines explain how the disclaimer must be made to ensure that “it is prominent and unmissable by an average consumer,” India’s advertising authority noted. Secondly, the guidelines detail: The words ‘currency,’ ‘securities,’ ‘custodian,’ and ‘depositories’ may not be used in advertisements of VDA products or services as consumers associate these terms with regulated products. In addition, ads may not feature a minor or someone who appears to be a minor. Advertisements must neither claim to be a solution to money or other problems nor promise a guaranteed future increase in profits. “Information on past performance shall not be provided in any partial or biased manner. Returns for periods of less than 12 months shall not be included,” ASCI added. Noting that ads should not downplay the risks associated with the asset class, the advertising watchdog wrote: “VDA products may not be compared to any other asset class which is regulated.” The guidelines also address celebrity endorsement. “Celebrities or prominent personalities who appear in VDA advertisements must take special care to ensure that they have done their due diligence about the statements and claims made in the advertisement, so as not to mislead consumers,” ASCI said, elaborating: The guidelines will be applicable to all advertisements released or published on or after the 1st of April 2022. “Advertisers and media owners must also ensure that all earlier advertisements must not appear in the public domain unless they comply with the guidelines, post the 15th of April 2022,” ASCI noted. What do you think about India’s crypto advertising guidelines? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The U.S. Secret Service has launched a cryptocurrency awareness hub. The new platform “will feature the latest in the agency’s work combating illicit use of digital assets as well as provide public awareness information on digital asset security and how to ensure it remains secure.” Secret Service’s Crypto Awareness Hub The U.S. Secret Service announced last week that it “has launched a cryptocurrency public awareness hub.” Established in 1865 as a bureau in the Treasury Department to suppress widespread counterfeiting, the Secret Service is now under the Department of Homeland Security. Its website states: “We have an integrated mission of protection and financial investigations to ensure the safety and security of our protectees, key locations, and events of national significance.” The announcement details: The new website will feature the latest in the agency’s work combating illicit use of digital assets as well as provide public awareness information on digital asset security and how to ensure it remains secure. Jeremy Sheridan, assistant director of the Secret Service Office of Investigations, explained: “Our obligation to enforce crimes against the nation’s financial systems includes both informing the public on how digital assets work and partnering with them to identify, arrest, and prosecute those engaging in crimes involving digital assets.” The Secret Service works in close partnership with the U.S. Department of the Treasury to investigate and “directly address the financial motive of cybercrime through asset seizures and other actions,” the announcement adds, elaborating: Investments and transactions using cryptocurrencies and digital assets are not inherently criminal, however do provide new opportunities for those seeking to commit fraud or otherwise conceal further illegal activities. What do you think about the U.S. Secret Service launching a cryptocurrency awareness hub? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

According to research published by Chainalysis, criminal entities hold more than $25 billion in cryptocurrencies. The blockchain intelligence firm’s study shows that there was a significant increase in crypto balances held by criminals in 2021 as the metric jumped by 266% since the year before. Chainalysis Studies Crypto Whales Holding Balances Tied to Illicit Addresses The blockchain surveillance company Chainalysis published a study that indicates $25 billion in digital assets is currently held by criminals. Despite the significant law enforcement seizures last year, the billions of dollars in crypto held by criminal entities on the blockchain could theoretically be seized by officials. Chainalysis’ findings explain that 2021 saw a “huge increase in criminal balances.” In 2020, Chainalysis says the metric was $3 billion but in 2021, criminal entities held roughly $11 billion. Moreover, out of stolen funds, ransomware, fraud shops, and darknet funds, the balance of stolen funds represent the lion’s share of crypto held by criminals. “As of the end of 2021, stolen funds account for 93% of all criminal balances at $9.8 billion. Darknet market funds are next at $448 million, followed by scams at $192 million, fraud shops at $66 million, and ransomware at $30 million,” the Chainalysis report details. “Criminal balances also fluctuated throughout the year, from a low of $6.6 billion in July to a high of $14.8 billion in October.” Darknet Workers Hold Crypto the Longest, Criminal Crypto Whales Hold Longer Than Typical Addresses Associated With Stolen Funds Furthermore, the Chainalysis study identified which types of criminals held crypto the longest without liquidating, and darknet market vendors and administrators ruled the roost. Entities that hold stolen crypto funds hold on to the funds for the shortest amount of time, according to the research. Although, there are “extremely large wallets that hold longer than is typical for others in the stolen funds category.” By analyzing the balances of criminal whales, the firm was further able to notice that the whales showed “more variation.” As far as describing what a criminal crypto whale is, Chainalysis researchers said that it is any private wallet holding $1 million in crypto and at least 10% of the funds stem from illicit addresses. Chainalysis discovered that there are thousands of alleged criminal crypto whales and it seems that most criminal whales can be placed in one of two categories — “whales received either a relatively small or extremely large share of their total balance from illicit addresses.” “Overall, Chainalysis has identified 4,068 criminal whales holding over $25 billion worth of cryptocurrency,” the company’s study said. “Criminal whales represent 3.7% of all cryptocurrency whales — that is, private wallets holding over $1 million worth of cryptocurrency.” What do you think about the Chainalysis study that shows criminal whale addresses hold $25 billion in crypto assets? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Panelists from the product comparison platform Finder’s dogecoin price prediction report say that the popular meme-based cryptocurrency will reach $0.163 per unit in 2022. Finder’s recent poll concerning dogecoin’s forecasted price leverages 33 experts and by 2025, the panelists say dogecoin is expected to reach $0.316 per unit. Finder’s Dogecoin Prediction Report Shows a Lower Forecast Than the Panel’s Prediction in July 2021 The product comparison website finder.com published a new prediction report concerning the meme-based crypto-asset dogecoin (DOGE). The web portal has published a myriad of prediction reports in the past, covering crypto coins like cardano (ADA), ethereum (ETH), and bitcoin (BTC). Moreover, back in July 2021, Finder’s expert panelists predicted dogecoin’s value would reach $0.39 per unit by year-end 2021. This month’s DOGE prediction is a lot different and significantly lower than the July forecast. In fact, by the end of 2022, the panelists predict that dogecoin will only accrue 16.5% in value from its current price point reaching $0.163 per unit. Presently, dogecoin is trading for $0.132 which is lower than when the Finder’s researchers recorded the value at $0.14 per DOGE on February 2, 2022. Finder’s report authors Tim Falk and Richard Laycock highlight that the future outlook of dogecoin’s value has changed a great deal among participating panelists. “Around the time of our last survey, many people thought that DOGE was going ‘to the moon’ and cresting the $1 mark, but our panel was fairly skeptical about the coin’s ability to hit that milestone,” Falk and Laycock’s report notes. The Finder’s dogecoin prediction report continues: Since then, their long-term outlook on the coin’s future has waned, expecting its value to hit $0.32 by 2025 and $0.54 by 2030, compared to its previous expectations of $0.57 by 2025 and $0.92 by 2030. Finder’s Experts Explain the Reasons Behind the Latest Dogecoin Predictions Dogecoin has been down in value as the crypto asset shed 12.6% during the last seven days. Despite this, year-to-date metrics indicate that dogecoin (DOGE) has increased by 147.9% against the U.S. dollar. DOGE has a market valuation of around $17.5 billion, making it the 13th largest crypto market capitalization. At the time of writing, the meme-coin’s market cap represents 0.96% of the $1.8 trillion crypto economy. Meanwhile, Finder’s panelists had various opinions concerning dogecoin’s future outlook in terms of value. “It shouldn’t be underestimated in the world of cryptocurrency where breaking traditional methods for identifying value is a cherished past-time,” Fred Schebesta, Finder’s founder said in a statement. Schebesta believes DOGE will tap $0.25 by the end of 2022. “Investors can likely sit tight knowing that while there will be more, and others will come and go, DOGE will forever be the original,” Schebesta added. Joseph Raczynski, a technologist and futurist from Thomson Reuters, agrees with finder.com’s founder. Raczynski predicts that dogecoin can reach $0.50 by the end of 2022 and also tap $1 per unit by the end of 2025. “It is only worth something because people want to believe in it,” Raczynski remarked. Despite a few positive dogecoin believers, other panelists from Finder’s poll believe meme-based assets, in general, will become lackluster to investors in the future. Vanessa Harris, Permission’s chief product officer, thinks this will be the case and the value of DOGE will sink. Although, she also noted that meme coin cryptocurrencies like dogecoin will likely survive. “DOGE, SHIB, and others captured the imagination of first-time crypto investors. In 2022 we will see the luster wear off as meme coins’ lack of true utility causes investors to seek more fruitful investments. The dog coins may not survive in the top 100, but they will always have a place in our hearts for the memes and camaraderie they inspired,” Harris stated in the Finder’s report. What do you think about the dogecoin predictions by Finder’s expert panelists? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

AVAX, and LUNA were some of the biggest gainers in crypto markets on Wednesday, as the recent bearish sentiment has momentarily faded. As of writing, the global crypto market cap was 4.51% higher than at the same point yesterday. Terra (LUNA) AVAX is currently trading over 12% higher in today’s session, climbing to its highest level since Sunday in the process. Despite these double-digit gains, it was another cryptocurrency that took the title of being today’s biggest gainer. This was terra (LUNA), which is up by over 20% as of writing, and comes following a three-day winning streak for the world’s ninth-largest cryptocurrency. So far today, LUNA/USD has risen to an intraday high of $63.99, which is its highest point since January 25. The move came as LUNA broke beyond resistance at $60.99, a ceiling which had been held for the past month. Price strength also climbed, with the 14-day peaking at 57, which is a six-week high, however with the 58 level acting as resistance, bulls have already liquidated some earlier gains. Avalanche (AVAX) The second-biggest gainer today was AVAX, which as already established traded by over 12% earlier in the session. As of writing, AVAX/USD rose to a high of $81.84 on hump-day, following a bounce from support of $68.60 only yesterday. This move also saw AVAX rally beyond its price ceiling at $79.65, however, this eventually matured into a false break once profit-takers appeared to have closed positions Looking at the chart, the Relative Strength Index was also higher, climbing to a three-day high of 47.80, as it looks to move into neutral ground. Should prices move from being oversold into overbought territory, bulls could potentially target the $97.00 resistance level. Has today’s rally brought an end to the recent bear market? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Canada’s securities regulator has flagged tweets by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Kraken CEO Jesse Powell encouraging people to use non-custodial wallets to evade freeze orders by the Trudeau government. “We are aware of this information and have shared it with the RCMP and relevant federal authorities,” said the Canadian regulator. Tweets by CEOs of Coinbase and Kraken Flagged to Police Canadian regulator, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), has alerted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and other federal authorities to tweets concerning Canada’s Emergencies Act posted by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Kraken CEO Jesse Powell, the Logic reported last week. The two crypto exchange executives criticized the invocation of Canada’s Emergencies Act. They warned about the danger of using custodial wallets, advocating the use of non-custodial wallets to prevent funds in them from being frozen. Kristen Rose, the OSC’s manager of public affairs, was quoted by the publication as saying: We are aware of this information and have shared it with the RCMP and relevant federal authorities. Both Kraken and Coinbase are registered with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) as money-services businesses. Kraken’s Powell tweeted a few times about the importance of using non-custodial wallets last week. “Please do not fund causes directly from custodial wallets. I’m sure freeze orders are coming. Withdraw to non-custodial before sending,” one tweet reads. He also admitted in a different tweet that he donated one bitcoin to Honkhonkhodl for Canadian Freedom Convoy truckers. In another tweet, the Kraken boss responded to a question about whether his crypto exchange could be ordered by the police to freeze assets without judicial consent. Powell replied: 100% yes it has/will happen and 100% yes, we will be forced to comply. If you’re worried about it, don’t keep your funds with any centralized/regulated custodian. We cannot protect you. Get your coins/cash out and only trade p2p. Coinbase’s Armstrong similarly stressed the importance of non-custodial wallets. Commenting on financial institutions and exchanges freezing accounts and crypto wallets related to the Freedom Convoy protest, he tweeted last week: Concerning to see stuff like this happening in any country, especially such an economically free place like Canada. Self-custodial wallets are important. The Trudeau government invoked the Emergencies Act in Canada last week. The RCMP subsequently ordered banks, financial institutions, and cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze accounts and crypto wallets with ties to the Freedom Convoy protest. The government even warned that more accounts will be frozen. What do you think about the OSC flagging tweets by Brian Armstrong and Jesse Powell about non-custodial wallets? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article