roadrunner

The Spanish Civil Guard has broken up a group that used cryptocurrencies as a tool to launder money. The organization, that operated in Madrid, supposedly lent these services to other criminal organizations. The MAUNA operations, as they were called by the Spanish Civil Guard, discovered phantom companies in several countries like Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, and Lithuania that supported these actions. Spanish Civil Guard Shuts Down Crypto Money Laundering Activity in Operation MAUNA The Spanish Civil guard announced on February 15 the detention of several people linked to an organization that used scams and cryptocurrencies to launder money. According to the inquiries of the Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard, the origin of this investigation had to do with one of the members of a previously investigated organization. MAUNA, as the operation was called, discovered this criminal organization also offered these services to other, similar groups, and acted as a capital hub for laundering funds. In its beginning, the operations were carried out by a smaller number of actors linked to drug trafficking. As the operation grew, the group started changing its modus operandi to obtain a bigger part of these activities. As a result of this crackdown action, eight individuals were detained during nine search operations in Madrid and Valladolid. Nine real estate properties were confiscated, 30 bank accounts have been blocked, and more than €300K (almost $340K) were seized. Also, several cold wallets containing cryptocurrency and goods valued at more than €1,000,000 (almost $1,136,000) were retrieved. The group also had links to several phantom companies in different countries in Europe, including Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, and Lithuania. The law enforcement operations further had the collaboration of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, in an effort to locate the proceedings of some of the funds that were laundered by the group. Concerned About Volatility The criminal enterprise seems to have taken into account the volatility of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. The official report on the operation states that: As a method to avoid the fluctuation in the value of the cryptocurrency obtained until the money-laundering operation was carried out, the organization converted said digital asset into USDT currency (Tether). While money laundering with crypto is still a small operation compared to what is laundered with fiat currencies, these numbers increased 30% in 2021 compared to 2020 according to a report issued by Chainalysis. This means that $8.6 billion were laundered using crypto, compared to an amount between $800 billion and $2 trillion estimated to have been laundered through fiat methods. What do you think about the operation carried out by the Spanish Civil Guard? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The team behind the Ethereum wallet Rainbow announced the project has raised $18 million in a Series A funding round led by Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm Seven Seven Six. The new financing that follows the startup’s $1.5 million seed round will allow Rainbow to focus on “onboarding the next 100 million users to Web3.” Ethereum-Based Rainbow Wallet Raises $18 Million Rainbow, a non-custodial Ethereum (ETH) wallet that’s available for iOS and Android devices has announced the team has raised $18 million in a Series A investment round. The announcement notes that the financing was led by Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm Seven Seven Six. Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six has been giving a lot of attention to blockchain and Web3 startups during the last year. In mid-December 2021, Seven Seven Six and Polygon announced a $200 million fund dedicated to advancing Web3 social media. The tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian is well known for co-founding the social media and news aggregation web portal Reddit with Steve Huffman and Aaron Swartz. The same month Seven Seven Six and Polygon started the Web3 social media fund, Ohanian invested in a non-fungible token (NFT) project called Heir Inc., a platform that aims to connect loyal fans with popular athletes. The investment into the Ethereum-based wallet Rainbow follows the wallet project’s $1.5 million seed round, which brings Rainbow’s total fundraising to $19.5 million. According to Rainbow, the startup has hired 20 new employees and the team is focused on bolstering Web3 adoption. The Rainbow wallet allows users to hold and display NFTs and Ethereum-based tokens, while also allowing users to connect to decentralized applications (dapps). “Many crypto users, myself included, regard Rainbow as the best-designed wallet,” Alexis Ohanian, the founder of the venture capital firm Seven Seven Six said in a statement sent to Bitcoin.com News. “The talent of their team, their approach to design, and the advocacy of their users position them as leaders in the crypto wallet space. User experience matters so much — Rainbow design choices are the reason they’ve already built a cult following and continue to educate and onboard scores of new users to Web3.” A Slew of Web3 Wallet Competitors in 2022, Rainbow Wallet Team Plans to Launch Swap Aggregator, Desktop Browser Extension Rainbow’s fundraise comes at a time when there is loads of competition in the Web3 wallet space, and Metamask currently leads the pack. In August 2021, Metamask broke records with 10 million monthly active users and in time Metamask will collaborate with the Ethereum-based wallet Mycrypto. In addition to Metamask, Rainbow faces competition from wallets like Trust Wallet, Argent, Coinbase Wallet, Coinomi, Guarda Wallet, and Crypto.com Wallet. In 2022, Rainbow plans to introduce new features which include a “Swap Aggregator” application. Furthermore, Rainbow users will be able to leverage “Ethereum Profiles” by utilizing the Ethereum Name Service (ENS). Rainbow’s team also noted that it plans to launch a tool kit in the future and the team is in the midst of crafting a desktop browser extension. ”There’s still a lot of unnecessary complexity in the Web3 user experience,” Christian Baroni, Rainbow’s CEO and co-founder remarked during the announcement. “Rainbow’s been focused on chipping away at that, simplifying where it’s possible to and educating where it’s not,” the co-founder added. What do you think about the Ethereum-based wallet Rainbow raising $18 million from Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm Seven Seven Six? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Youtube, the online video sharing and social media platform owned by Google, is hiring a director to work with Web3 technology, according to a job listing published on Linkedin. While Youtube requires 15 years of product management experience, the company prefers a candidate that is familiar with “buying, owning, and trading cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and tokens.” Youtube Looks to Hire a Web3 Director Both Youtube and its parent company Alphabet (Google) have plans to explore blockchain and Web3 technology. Last week, Bitcoin.com News reported on Alphabet (Google) revealing its plans, and the firm’s subsidiary Youtube published a blog post explaining that it has aims to leverage non-fungible tokens (NFTs). YouTube’s chief product officer Neal Mohan’s blog post states: Web3 opens up new opportunities for creators. We believe new technologies like blockchain and NFTs can allow creators to build deeper relationships with their fans. This week, Youtube published a job listing on Linkedin looking for a Web3 director with a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related technical field. The job’s title is called “Director, Product Management, YouTube Web3” and it requires 15 years of product management experience in terms of minimum qualifications. As far as Youtube’s preferences are concerned, it hopes the candidate has utilized blockchain technology. Preferences include “understanding of cryptocurrencies, blockchain, consensus mechanisms, NFTs, and other Web3 technologies,” and “experience buying, owning, and trading cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and tokens.” In terms of responsibilities the candidate must: Represent Youtube Web3 at executive-level discussions, external organizations, and industry events, and in executive-level conversations with industry partners and executive teams. Youtube’s Job Listing Follows Massive Amounts of Capital Directed at Web3 Tech Youtube’s focus on Web3 comes at a time when the technology is seeing enormous growth and venture capital. In mid-January, FTX Ventures launched a $2 billion venture capital fund to bolster Web3, the Near Foundation raised $150 million to expand Web3, and Animoca Brands raised $358 million to do the same with Web3 and metaverse applications. While Youtube’s director of Web3 product management is based in San Bruno, California, salary information for Youtube’s Web3 job position is not available. During the last four days, 23 applicants applied for Youtube’s Web3 job. What do you think about Youtube seeking a Web3 director? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Victoria’s Secret, the renowned designer lingerie company, has filed a series of trademark patents that suggest the organization is ready to offer its products in the metaverse. The announcement was made by Mike Kondoudis, a trademark attorney, who stated these actions might be the first step for the company to present their products using blockchain tech, signaling the use of NFTs. Victoria’s Secret to Enter the Metaverse Another big fashion company is turning its eyes to the opportunity that the metaverse and the use of NFTs present to businesses. Victoria’s Secret, the world-famous lingerie company, has reportedly taken first steps toward offering services and products related to its brand in the metaverse. As reported by Mike Kondoudis, a trademark attorney, the company filed three trademark applications related to the use of the brand in virtual worlds. One of the trademark applications registers the use of Victoria’s Secret brand in: Downloadable virtual goods, namely, computer programs for the creation and trade of digital collectibles using blockchain-based consensus protocols and smart contracts, featuring information, photos, images, videos, recorded footage, highlights, and experiences in the field of fashion, clothing, fashion accessories, and style. This means the company may have the intention of offering its designs as NFTs on different platforms in the metaverse. Fashion and Business in the Metaverse More and more brands are now looking into metaverse opportunities and how to take their goods and services there. Other fashion and apparel companies like Ralph Lauren and Gucci are also actively targeting the metaverse as one of their important markets. Gucci has even purchased an undisclosed amount of land in Decentraland, a metaverse platform, to offer a virtual fashion experience for the users of that world. Dolce and Gabbana is another of these fashion companies that has dipped its toes in the NFT and the metaverse pool. The brand sold an NFT collection back in September, pulling down $5.7 million worth of ether at the time. Other companies not linked to fashion products are also getting into the metaverse. Just last week, McDonald’s, one of the leading fast-food franchises at a global level, registered ten trademarks that hint at the establishment of virtual restaurants to offer its products in the metaverse. What do you think about Victoria’s Secret trademarks that hint at the introduction of the company’s products to the metaverse? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

President Alexander Lukashenko has signed another decree regulating the crypto economy of Belarus. It envisages the establishment of a register for cryptocurrency wallets and addresses certain legal aspects pertaining to the circulation of cryptocurrencies in the country. Presidential Decree Aims to Prevent Use of Crypto Wallets in Criminal Activities Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has signed a new decree that expands his country’s regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The move will allow the Belarus High-Tech Park (HTP), which oversees the nation’s crypto space, to create a register for crypto wallet addresses that are or can be used for illicit purposes. The stated goal is to “protect participants in the digital asset market from loss of property and prevent unintentional involvement in activities prohibited by law,” the president’s press service noted in an announcement. Decree № 48, “On the register of addresses (identifiers) of virtual wallets and features of the circulation of cryptocurrency” is dated Feb. 14, 2022. Lukashenko’s administration also emphasized: Belarus is consistently developing the legal field for regulating activities related to digital assets, and, unlike many other states, allows the free circulation of digital currencies. Belarusian officials believe this requires “constant monitoring of the situation” and when necessary, “supplementing and clarifying regulatory norms.” That includes efforts to prevent the financing of activities prohibited by the law, which has been the main reason for the adoption of the latest crypto decree. Wallet addresses will be added to the register if law enforcement agencies obtain information suggesting they are being used for illegal operations or transactions related to extremism and terrorism. The decree also introduces procedures for authorities to seize crypto assets with the help of entities operating exchanges and other crypto platforms. The government in Minsk will have three months to take the necessary steps to implement Lukashenko’s order which will then enter into force. Belarus legalized crypto activities with another presidential decree signed in 2017. It was enforced in May of the following year and introduced tax breaks and other incentives for crypto businesses. Last March, the Belarusian head of state hinted at a possible tightening of the rules for the industry, citing China’s example, but HTP officials later indicated that the authorities do not intend to adopt stricter regulations. Earlier this month, news came out that Belarus is preparing to allow investment funds to acquire digital assets. Although cryptocurrencies cannot be used for payments in the country, Belarus ranks third in Eastern Europe in terms of crypto adoption largely due to strong peer-to-peer activity, according to the Crypto Adoption Index by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Two other former Soviet republics, Ukraine and Russia, hold the top spots in the region. Do you expect Belarus to adopt more regulations for its crypto market? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. This was the title of a recent talk by Serge Var, CEO and Co-Founder of Point Labs, at the 2022 Web 3.0 Conference in January. Serge presented arguments that despite numerous projects calling themselves “Web 3.0” and “decentralized”, we are not quite there yet: we’re still relying too heavily on centralized systems, using centralized domains that can be taken away by governments or hijacked, untrusted centralized storage where the UI is stored, and browser extensions that can disappear tomorrow at Google’s whim. The only decentralized part of a typical “decentralized application” turns out to be the smart contract, with everything else open to being compromised. Such Frankenstein’s monsters crossbred from Web2 and Web3 parts (what many nicknamed Web 2.5) lead not only to multiple security fiascos, such as BadgerDAO recently losing $120M of participants’ funds because of a centralized UI that had been hijacked, but also gives a premature bad rap to the Web 3.0 concept itself, when people are confused about how their NFTs on the supposedly censorship-resistant and decentralized internet can get censored on OpenSea and then disappear from their Metamask wallet. A New Paradigm After months of intensive research and development, the team at Point Labs came up with an architecture that allows for complete decentralization of the tech stack, and christened it Point Network. For the first time, instead of attempts to shoehorn blockchain into the Web2 paradigm, there is a completely separate network that can finally be called Web3. The way it works is by leveraging a combination of several decentralized technologies, replacing the vulnerable components of the old internet: decentralized browser (just like you would use Tor Browser to access Deep Web, you use Point Browser to access true Web3), decentralized domains living on the blockchain, and decentralized storage (Point Labs partnered up with Arweave and uses their network for the decentralized storage component). “What’s the Point?” All decentralized applications that you know and love can easily be deployed on Point Network, and at first sight, they look and feel exactly the same: just instead of uniswap.org, you would access uniswap.point, and instead of Metamask or Phantom, a Point confirmation window would pop up (Point mimics their APIs so that deployments can be as easy as possible). However, under the hood, the apps are now completely decentralized: the UI, the smart contracts, the domains, the identities are all finally living on the blockchain, which makes dApps completely censorship-resistant and publicly auditable. The fact that each update to a website is transaction on a blockchain provides for intriguing use-cases, one of them being multisig domains (where an update to a website has to be signed off by several developers, so that an attacker would have to compromise all of them, which would be a much harder task). Point Network also features several demo dApps of its own: Point Social (a web3 social network), Point Mail (end-to-end encrypted mail), a multi-chain Point Wallet, and so on. “When Web3?” Point Network is still at an early stage of development, but already shows promise to potentially become the main web3 standard in the near future. Point Labs has released a public alpha version in October last year for the Solana Ignition hackathon, where they ended up on the Judges Honorary List of projects, after which they have raised several VC rounds from firms including, among others, Sino Global Capital, Arweave, Solar Eco Fund, Zoomer Fund, Definitive and Chorus One. Now their goal is leveraging their rapidly expanding team of engineers to release the beta version and launch in mid-2022 (which is just a few months away), making web 3.0 accessible to everybody. Web 3.0 is obviously here to stay, and it’s going to be as big of a deal as was the birth of the internet. The sooner you familiarize yourself with this exploding field, the better you will be positioned to become a valuable part of it. You can learn more about Point Network’s role in it by joining conversations in their growing community of early adopters on Telegram: https://t.me/pointnetworkchat, or on their website https://pointnetwork.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 growing popularity of cryptocurrencies has placed Russia among the leaders in adoption. But while it is yet to reach the top of the ranking, the country already has a “disproportionate share” of global activity related to some forms of crime involving cryptocurrency, according to a new study by Chainalysis. Three Quarters of Ransomware Revenue Traceable to Russia, Researchers Say Individuals and groups based in the Russian Federation, which is in the top 20 of the Global Crypto Adoption Index by Chainalysis, can be linked to some $400 million in crypto-denominated ransomware revenue in 2021, the blockchain analytics firm revealed this week. In a preview of its 2022 Crypto Crime Report, Chainalysis elaborated: Overall, roughly 74% of ransomware revenue in 2021 — over $400 million worth of cryptocurrency — went to strains we can say are highly likely to be affiliated with Russia in some way. Platforms operating mainly on the Russian crypto market launder the bulk of extorted funds, the U.S.-based company further alleges, citing web traffic data as well. An estimated 13% of the funds sent from ransomware addresses to the service providers went to users believed to be residing in Russia. These crypto laundering activities exceed those in other regions, the authors note. According to Chainalysis, dozens of cryptocurrency businesses facilitating the laundering of illicit funds are headquartered in, or operate out of, the Russian capital’s financial district, Moscow City. Several of those are thought to have processed a substantial number of transactions originating from addresses linked to crime. Among them is Suex, a crypto broker which was blacklisted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department in September last year. The platform, which has offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg, is suspected of processing hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto transactions related to scams, ransomware attacks, darknet markets, and the infamous BTC-e exchange. Chainalysis points out that during the three-year period examined in the study, these businesses have received nearly $700 million worth of cryptocurrency from illicit addresses. That’s 13% of all crypto funds sent to these platforms, the total volume of which reached a high of almost $1.2 billion in Q2 of 2021. The report also indicates that scams and darknet markets account for the bulk of the illicit cryptocurrency transferred between 2019 and 2021 to companies based in Moscow City, at $313 million and $296 million, respectively. Ransomware comes in third place with $38 million. The figures have been published after Russian law enforcement recently took action against cybercrime actors using cryptocurrency. In January, the Federal Security Service (FSB) busted the notorious Revil ransomware group on a U.S. request, arresting 14 of its members in an operation conducted with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A study conducted by another blockchain analytics firm, Elliptic, revealed last week that Russia has also blocked four major dark web sites with an estimated $263 million in crypto sales. The interior ministry has sought the arrest of six more hackers accused of “illegal circulation of means of payment” while authorities are working to regulate the expanding Russian crypto market. Do you except Russia to crack down on cryptocurrency platforms facilitating cybercrime? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned investors about the “risks with accounts that pay interest on crypto-asset deposits.” The warning coincides with the first enforcement action the agency took against crypto lending platforms. SEC Warns About Risks in Interest-Bearing Crypto Accounts The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force announced Monday that they have jointly issued an investor bulletin “to educate investors about risks with accounts that pay interest on crypto-asset deposits.” On the same day, the SEC announced that it has charged cryptocurrency lending platform Blockfi for failing to register its crypto lending product. Blockfi has agreed to pay $100 million in penalties to settle the charges with the SEC and 32 state regulators. The SEC explained that “an interest-bearing account for crypto asset holdings … are not as safe as bank or credit union deposits.” The securities watchdog noted that banks and credit unions are regulated by both federal and state banking regulators. In addition, deposits at banks or federal credit unions are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Similarly, securities accounts held with U.S.-registered brokers may also be insured by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). The SEC warned: Companies offering interest-bearing accounts for crypto assets do not provide investors with the same protections as do banks or credit unions, and crypto assets sent to those companies are not currently insured. Crypto assets held in an interest-bearing account may be used to invest in various crypto products or activities, including lending programs in which the crypto assets are loaned to borrowers, the SEC described, adding that “The interest being paid to you is based on these investment activities.” The agency then outlined the risks these activities are subject to, including volatility and liquidity in the crypto markets, the company holding your crypto assets may go bankrupt, changes in regulation, potential fraud, technical glitches, security breaches, and malware. What do you think about the SEC warning against interest-bearing crypto accounts? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

GALA was one of Tuesday’s big gainers, as cryptocurrency markets were once again trending upwards. Overall, the cryptocurrency market capitalization is around 4% higher as of writing. Biggest gainers On Tuesday, crypto markets were green across the board, as traders once again re-entered the marketplace following the uncertainty caused by the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Gala (GALA) was one of these bulls, climbing by as much as 16% earlier in the session, however it was qtum (QTUM) which led today’s gainers. QTUM/USD, which was trading at a low of $6.33 on Monday, climbed to an intraday high of $8.15 earlier today. Today’s move came as the price of QTUM rallied from support of $6.35, all the way towards resistance of $7.90 and beyond. However, as prices hit the recent ceiling, profit-takers began to liquidate their positions, which led to QTUM falling from its high. This came as price strength also found some resistance, with the 14-day RSI hitting its ceiling of 56, an area which has acted as a point of uncertainty in the past. Some bulls are likely to still remain in QTUM/USD, in hopes that a breakout of this resistance will take prices above $9. Biggest losers As the majority of the crypto top 100 was trading higher on Tuesday, finding a bear was no mean feat. Tuesday’s biggest loser, relatively speaking, was symbol (XYM), which fell by close to 0.70% on the day. The price of XYM/USD, which hit a high of $0.1782 yesterday, fell to an intraday low of $0.1725 on Monday, as markets seem to be heading for support. This came as price strength weighed at the 45.15 ceiling of the RSI, with bears pushing momentum lower. In addition to this, the moving averages of 10-days, and 25-days appear to be set for a downward cross, which could mean the floor of $0.1616 may not only be hit, but potentially broken. Could bulls be set to buy at the support level? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

A deputy governor of India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), likens cryptocurrencies to Ponzi schemes, emphasizing that they cannot be regulated. “It would be futile to regulate cryptocurrencies,” he claims, stating that they should be banned. RBI’s Deputy Governor Sees Crypto Ban as ‘the Most Advisable Choice Open to India’ A deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), T. Rabi Sankar, shared his view on cryptocurrency and what Indian crypto policy should be during his keynote address at the Indian Banks Association 17th Annual Banking Technology Conference and Awards Monday. “Cryptocurrencies are not amenable to definition as a currency, asset, or commodity,” the deputy governor said, adding: They have no underlying cash flows, they have no intrinsic value … they are akin to Ponzi schemes, and may even be worse. Regarding cryptocurrency regulation, Sankar dismissed crypto proponents’ suggestion that the asset class should be regulated. “We have examined the arguments proffered by those advocating that cryptocurrencies should be regulated and found that none of them stand up to basic scrutiny,” he insisted. Emphasizing that “It would be futile to regulate cryptocurrencies,” he explained: Cryptocurrencies are not currencies or financial assets or real assets or even digital assets. Therefore, it cannot be regulated by any financial sector regulator. It is not possible to regulate something that one cannot define. Regarding the purpose of cryptocurrency, Sankar believes, “The class of crypto products are fundamentally designed to bypass the established financial system, and on a larger scale government itself.” He opined: “The fact that they are anonymous, decentralized systems that operate purely virtually makes cryptocurrencies particularly attractive to illegal, illegitimate transactions which have been largely filtered out of the formal financial system.” After highlighting numerous reasons why cryptocurrency should be banned, he concluded: All these factors lead to the conclusion that banning cryptocurrency is perhaps the most advisable choice open to India. Meanwhile, the RBI deputy governor sees potential in blockchain technology and does not believe that cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, are needed for the technology to thrive. “It should be possible to maintain a blockchain without any native cryptocurrency if transactions are authenticated centrally,” Sankar said. Sankar’s statement echoes a similar one made last week by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, who declared, “Cryptocurrency has no underlying, not even a tulip.” Das also warned: “Private cryptocurrencies or whatever name you call it are a threat to our macroeconomic stability and financial stability. They will undermine the RBI’s ability to deal with issues of financial stability and macroeconomic stability.” In December, the RBI’s central board of directors also said that it favors a complete crypto ban, noting that a partial ban will not work. What do you think about the comments by RBI Deputy Governor Sankar? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Panther is an end-to-end privacy protocol for DeFi. Panther provides DeFi users with fully collateralized privacy-enhancing digital assets, leveraging crypto-economic incentives and zkSNARK technology. Anish Mohammed is a Co-founder and CTO at Panther Protocol. He recently joined the Bitcoin.com News Podcast to talk about the technology: Anish Mohammed has over 20 years in security and cryptography. He was an early advisor to Ripple, reviewed the Ethereum orange paper, worked on several projects including Ocean and Boson and is the co-founder of the UK Digital Currency Association. Panther provides DeFi users with fully collateralized privacy-enhancing digital assets, leveraging crypto-economic incentives and zkSNARKs technology. Users can mint zero-knowledge zAssets by depositing digital assets from any blockchain into Panther vaults. zAssets flow across blockchains via a privacy-first interchain DEX and a private metastrate. Panther envisions that zAssets will become an ever-expanding asset class for users who want their transactions and strategies the way they should always have been: private. Follow the Panther team on Telegram, Twitter and Discord. The Bitcoin.com News podcast features interviews with the most interesting leaders, founders and investors in the world of Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), NFTs and the Metaverse. Follow us on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play. This is a sponsored podcast. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

On February 15, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) platforms is just above the $200 billion range, after a brief slump below that region last week. Out of the entire TVL in defi today, Ethereum commands 59.22% of that value with 532 defi protocols. Metrics during the last seven days show a number of relatively unknown defi protocols have attracted significant TVL percentage gains. Defi TVL Climbs Over 3%, $4.5 Billion in 24-Hour Dex Trade Volume The total value locked (TVL) in defi today is up around 3.3% during the last 24 hours with $208.45 billion. The defi protocol with the largest TVL is Curve Finance which dominates by 9.48% with $19.75 billion. Curve’s TVL is up 1.22% this week across eight different blockchain networks. Curve’s TVL is followed by Makerdao, Aave, Convex Finance, WBTC, and Lido respectively. While Ethereum has 59.21% of the TVL in defi today with $123.45 billion, the second-largest blockchain TVL in defi is held by Terra. The blockchain network Terra has $15.05 billion locked and the defi protocol Anchor commands 55.81% of that value. Terra is followed by Binance Smart Chain (BSC) with $13.36 billion, Avalanche with $10.8 billion, Fantom with $8.46 billion, and Solana with $8.07 billion total value locked. On February 15, there are 362 decentralized exchange (dex) platforms with a combined $70.24 billion TVL that allow people to swap tokens in a decentralized fashion. Today, there’s $4.5 billion in dex trade volume across the globe and over the last 30 days, dex platforms have seen 168,095,541 visits. The top dex today is Uniswap v3 followed by Pancakeswap, Serum, Uniswap v2, Spookyswap, and Trader Joe. There are 110 defi lending applications with $45.62 billion in value locked, and 11 cross-chain bridges with $24.34 billion. There are 45 staking apps with $12.88 billion, and 295 protocols that provide a yield and command a TVL of around $24.02 billion. A Number of Relatively Unknown Defi Protocols See Large TVL Percentage Gains The top ten smart contract platforms in terms of market cap are all in the green today. Avalanche is the biggest gainer, jumping 14% during the last 24 hours, while the rest have seen percentage gains between 5.8% and 11.5%. Relatively unknown defi platforms have seen significant percentage gains during the last seven days as well. Hakuswap’s TVL, for instance, has increased 11,497% this week. Wigoswap’s TVL jumped 10,163%, and Acumen saw its TVL increase by 5,174%. These three defi protocols were followed by Cougarswap (2,290%), Dopex (1,990%), Polkex (551%), and Dehive (471%). What do you think about this week’s action in the world of decentralized finance (defi)? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Following four consecutive sessions of declines, bitcoin rallied late on Monday, into Tuesday, as it was reported that Russia was withdrawing some troops from the Ukrainian border. Overall, crypto markets are up close to 5% on the day. Bitcoin BTC finally rebounded during Tuesday’s session, as bulls once again re-entered the race to $45,000. Following a low of $41,928.19 yesterday, BTC/USD rose to an intraday high of $44,331.96 on Tuesday, with many now expecting further short-term increases in price. Today’s rally came as prices moved away from support which was close to $41,000, helped by the increase in momentum. This rise in momentum came as the short-term 10-day (red) moving average appears to have moved away from its recent horizontal path, and now seems to be trending upward. In addition to this, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) broke the resistance of 56.43, which as outlined yesterday, was a key obstacle preventing bulls from re-entering. Now that this has happened, the RSI is currently tracking at 61, however, a new hurdle could be awaiting it at the 65.20 area. Aside from this, the skies look relatively clear as the price of bitcoin looks to fly toward resistance of $45,000. Ethereum Ethereum was also higher on Tuesday, as bulls once again pushed prices above the $3,000 level. ETH/USD broke past its recent resistance level of $3,022 today, as it hit an intraday high of $3,115.69 earlier in the session. As of writing, ETH was over 6% higher on the day, with the 14-day RSI also moving beyond its ceiling at 51.64, and is currently four points away from the next point of uncertainty. Today’s move comes following a low of $2,867.31 to start the week, however with this new-found momentum, ethereum bulls could likely be targeting the $3,300 region. Similar to BTC, the 10-day moving average seems to have been boosted by today’s swing, which will likely give bulls further confidence. Can today’s momentum continue throughout the week? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. LONDON, February 15, 2022 – Independent video game studio and publisher Utopian Game Labs, has teamed up with alphabit fund, the crypto asset fund advancing the overall development of the sector by investing in the world’s most innovative blockchain projects, to bring you Time Raiders, a fast-paced shoot and loot NFT game in which players travel through time to fight enemies and take treasures and resources back to their own time. Joining the ranks of play-to-earn (P2E) NFT games such as Axie Infinity and Zed Run, Time Raiders captures the attention of crypto gamers who want not just to have fun, but profit in-game and in real life. All items in the game are an NFT that can be traded for Xpendium ($XPND), Time Raiders’ native in-game utility token. The value of these NFTs is defined by their rarity and in-game utility. Some will unlock future advantages in the game such as secret levels and skins, while others like the Founders NFT Pack, that will go on presale in April, provide owners with additional HP, armor, accuracy, energy as well as an increased chance of finding better items throughout the game. Built on Unity, the game supports the minting and melting of NFTs and is integrated with Enjin wallet and Enjin SDK. It is designed to surpass current gameplay quality levels in the industry and serve as the greatest NFT treasure hunt of all time. “Time Raiders has the quality of a well developed game with the added incentives of play-to-earn,” said Utopian Game Labs, CEO Anthony Charlton. “It will be the first crypto game to be developed as a compelling game experience first, rather than a gamified token economy and will reach across several markets by appealing to the growing P2E gamer space as well as the traditional gamer segment.” “We are thrilled about the future of Time Raiders,” said Simon Bailey, Studio Head. “Following the beta-launch at the end of March we will release new compelling levels every month, presented as a treasure hunt and will lead to a frenetic chase across different eras in time. We are making sure there is some serious fun for each and every gamer! Our growing community is particularly enthusiastic at the prospect of creating their own valuable content and we cannot wait to put the power of level ownership and creation into the hands of the players!” The game takes players, known as time raiders, on electrifying adventures across time to fight enemies, collect loot and resources and bring them back to the present where they can be crafted into new items, sold for funds, or be used to upgrade weapons. When not in combat, raiders spend their time in the Inter-dimensional Hub, home of other time raiders, armourers, scientists, and the ever-present black market. Set in 2247 in the depths of cyberpunk cities, the first portal transports raiders to an alternate World War II timeline where the Nazis have invaded London, and where opportunity and adventure awaits. Time Raiders will be initially launched on PC, with future launches planned for console and mobile devices. To learn more about Time Raiders and the NFT pre-sale visit: https://timeraiders.io/ ABOUT TIME RAIDERS Time Raiders is the first time travel NFT treasure hunt game. Players travel through time and fight enemies to find NFTs which they can use to power up their characters and weapons, craft into new items, or sell it. Everything in the game is an NFT that can be traded for Xpendium ($XPND), Time Raiders’ native in-game utility token. Website: www.TimeRaiders.io Twitter: https://Twitter.com/PlayTimeRaiders Discord: Discord.gg/TimeRaiders ABOUT UTOPIAN GAME LABS Utopian Game Labs is a cutting-edge video game developer, marketeer and publisher. The team has decades of expertise in publishing and developing video games including Star Wars Clone Wars, Doctor Who and two biggest Playstation trilogies of all time: Die Hard Trilogy and Aliens. The company has committed research and development into the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, and now, blockchain gaming. Learn more at https://Utopian-Game-Labs.com/ ABOUT ALPHABIT FUND Alphabit is a digital currency fund that is investing in the decentralised economy of the future. The fund’s aim is to advance the overall development of the sector by investing in and developing the most innovative blockchain projects in the space. As one of the first major cryptoasset funds, they have forged a reputation for investing in companies at the cutting edge of the blockchain revolution. Learn more at https://alphabit.fund/ 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 CNMV, the Spanish securities regulator, has issued a warning about the existence of an unknown party asking for information and offering to sell bitcoin on its behalf. The fraudsters are said to perform the scam attempt via phone calls, where they ask for personal information and offer the benefit of purchasing bitcoins said to be confiscated from a company indicted by Spanish courts. Unknown Party Impersonating Spanish Securities Regulator The Spanish securities regulator (CNMV) has warned about a series of impersonators that are asking for data in the name of the group. According to the warning issued, an unknown party is using phone calls to contact and require data from Spanish citizens with a fake offer to sell bitcoin. The bitcoin offered is falsely said to have been confiscated from a company indicted by Spanish courts. The callers also explain they are contacting the citizen from a fake anti-fraud department of the organization. In its warning, the CNMV states that it has already reported this irregularity to the authorities to find the responsible parties and thwart these initiatives. It stated: As soon as it became aware of the facts, the CNMV has carried out various actions, including alerting the State Security Forces and Corps. The Spanish regulator will pursue legal action against the parties carrying out these scam attempts, according to its president, Rodrigo Buenaventura. Recommendations to Avoid Getting Scammed The CMNV also made a series of recommendations and asked the citizens that have been contacted to report these activities to the authorities. The organization asked citizens to be aware of calls made on its behalf, and in case of any suspicious situations or strange requirements, to contact the regulator directly. Also, the Spanish securities regulator advised users to verify that CNMV emails come from the cnmv.es domain, and ensure the origin of the source, to rule out the existence of strange links unrelated to the institution. At the same time, the institution clarified that it will never contact any citizen to present an investment opportunity, or to charge the aforementioned citizens for this information. Any such contact must be considered suspicious and should be reported to the authorities, that will then follow up on the report. What do you think about the warning of the Spanish securities regulator regarding this new impersonation attempt? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

On February 14, Cere Network and Polygon launched a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace and Web3 platform called Davinci, a project that aims to bolster the security behind NFT data. The platform is described as an “all-in-one Web3 media platform” that leverages Cere’s decentralized data cloud (DDC) platform and the proof-of-stake blockchain network Polygon. Cere Network Launches All-in-One Web3 Media Platform Built on Polygon Non-fungible token (NFT) media has become a big deal and a billion-dollar industry during the last year. However, the space has become filled with controversies as well with issues pertaining to intellectual property and copyrights to things like immutability. In March 2021, there was a furious debate over immutability concerns tied to NFT technology. Fred Jin, the co-founder of Cere Network believes that NFT content that’s not stored properly is an issue. “Most NFT content is not stored securely on the blockchain,” Jin said in a statement during the Davinci launch. “This is a problem, simply because your NFT can lose its content and associated value. The Davinci platform solves this problem via Cere DDC’s secure decentralized content delivery innovations.” The Cere Network executive added: We’re really breaking new ground here, both for the entertainment industry and consumer enterprises, through a new standard for decentralizing data/content along with the Polygon team. Davinci’s Platform NFTs Remain Linked to the Original Creator Meanwhile, since the NFT immutability debate last year, other methods of securing NFTs have come into play, like leveraging IPFS2Arweave.com which utilizes a blockchain project called Arweave. According to the Cere Network team, NFT royalties minted using Davinci will be tethered to the content creators. “Uniquely, each NFT created on Davinci’s platform will remain linked to the original creator through the use of smart contracts that guarantee a share of the royalties from any sale and establish a way for the continuous delivery of exclusive new content,” the Cere Network team’s announcement notes. Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder of Polygon believes the NFT ecosystem is just getting warmed up, and Nailwal thinks the Polygon and DDC-crafted Davinci Web3 application will enhance the industry’s growth. “There is so much more that artists and fans are able to accomplish and access through Davinci that realizes more of the blockchain potential to the mainstream consumers,” Nailwal remarked. Artists, performers, and brands get more revenue from their unique content, while fans get better experiences and secure delivery of their assets.” What do you think about the Cere Network and Polygon-powered NFT and Web3 platform Davinci? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitso, a Mexico-based cryptocurrency exchange, is expanding and strengthening its push into the Colombian market in the midst of growing interest in these new technologies in the country. Bitso has appointed Emilio Pardo as a new country manager, to debut the start of operations in Colombia in partnership with Banco de Bogota. Bitso Enters Colombian Market Bitso, a Mexican cryptocurrency exchange with more than four million customers, has set its sights on Colombia for its expansion. The company is now part of the regulatory crypto sandbox established in the country as part of the ongoing experiment to enable these virtual asset service providers to operate. Bitso’s crypto services will be available to customers of Banco de Bogota who have an account with the exchange. As a benefit for these 5,000 customers the trial includes, Bitso will not charge the normal fees for buying cryptocurrencies. These users will be able to buy Bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH), and litecoin (LTC) with Colombian pesos, directly. Other exchanges have also entered this sandbox before Bitso. Gemini, a U.S.-based exchange, partnered with Bancolombia in a similar agreement in December. Binance and Davivienda inked another similar partnership in January. Colombia in Crypto Expansion Colombia has experienced a growth in cryptocurrency awareness and adoption during this last year. This is the opinion of Emilio Pardo, the newly-appointed country manager of Bitso for Colombia. This is one of the factors that influenced Bitso to center its expansion focus on the South American country. On this subject, Pardo stated: We are witnessing one of the most important moments in the adoption of cryptocurrencies in Colombia and the region of Latin America as a whole. This will not only benefit Colombia’s financial ecosystem, but it will also help educate and address the needs of our customers and fellow citizens. The country registered its first real estate purchase with bitcoin recently and has the second-largest number of cryptocurrency ATMs in Latam. But with this growth, the government is also adapting its current regulatory framework to include and control cryptocurrency operations. The Colombian tax authority announced on February 2 that it was taking special measures to identify taxpayers that were incorrectly reporting cryptocurrency transactions. In the same way, now people and exchanges will have to report cryptocurrency transactions of over $150 to the national anti-money laundering watchdog in the country starting next April. What do you think about Colombia’s crypto growth and Bitso’s expansion into the country? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Liquidators of Mirror Trading International (MTI) have attacked the claim that declaring the collapsed bitcoin investment platform an unlawful scheme would jeopardize investors’ chances of recovering their funds. The Unsubstantiated Claim South African liquidators of Mirror Trading International (MTI) have rejected the claim that declaring the collapsed bitcoin investment platform an unlawful operation would result in victims losing everything. The liquidators suggested that the “unsubstantiated” claim is being propagated by a few MTI investors and their legal representatives. According to a Mybroadband report that cites a circular issued by Investrust, the liquidators are adamant that there is no evidence that supports the claims. The report said: The available evidence is overwhelming and uncontroverted: MTI was a massive fraudulent scam, and this will remain the position. The liquidators also warned MTI investors who stand to lose everything that they should not be hoodwinked by claims that the business only collapsed due to “bad trading.” In their circular, the liquidators insist MTI was from the start a “scheme run by top-tier investors and promoters to milk bitcoin from later investors and the lower tiers daily.” MTI Not Solvent Meanwhile, the report suggested that liquidators — whose High Court application to have MTI liquidated is set to be heard on March 2, 2022 — were seemingly forced to respond to claims being made by Hendrik van Staden, a lawyer who represents a group of creditors. In addition to his warning that investors will lose everything, Van Staden has reportedly told his clients that everything will be forfeited to the state if MTI is declared an unlawful business. “This statement is completely wrong and disingenuous. The legal position in these circumstances is trite. It is irresponsible and shockingly inaccurate statements like this, that cause investors to unfairly question the motives and integrity of the liquidators,” the liquidators said in their response to Van Staden’s claims. In their circular, the liquidators also pushed back against claims that MTI was still solvent. They said the growing number of claims against MTI means the amount owed to creditors will soon exceed the value of 1,282 bitcoins that have been recovered to date. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Cent, one of the first marketplaces to allow people to sell tweets as NFTs, has suspended almost all of its activity due to plagiarism-related problems. According to its CEO and co-founder Cameron Hejazi, people keep selling NFTs of other NFTs or using content that is not owned by them originally to mint these tokens. The sale of tweet NFTs is still active. Cent Struggles With Unauthorized Use and Plagiarism Cent, one of the first marketplaces to allow users to tokenize tweets and sell them, has announced it is suspending almost all of its activities due to plagiarism issues. The company, famous for hosting the sale of the first tweet of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey for $2.9 million, recognizes the NFT industry faces problems. Cameron Hejazi, founder and CEO of Cent, told Reuters that the activities on its marketplace have been suspended since February 6. However, the part of the platform dedicated to trading NFTs of tweets is still active. On the reasons for this suspension, Hejazi stated: There’s a spectrum of activity that is happening that basically shouldn’t be happening – like, legally. He further explained that the company was forced to take a platform-wide approach because each time it banned an account involved in these activities, two or three more would pop up. Hejazi compared this to playing a “whack a mole” game. An Industry-Wide Problem However, this problem is not exclusive to Cent, which only has 150K users. Hejazi stated that this is an industry-wide problem and statements from Opensea, one of the biggest NFT markets by sales volume, seem to confirm this. Last month, Opensea, a marketplace with more than $20 billion in NFT sales volume reported, stated it was adding a 50 NFT limit on its free NFT minting tool. While they reversed this decision, Opensea stated that they have seen misuse of this tool, explaining that: Over 80% of the items created with this tool were plagiarized works, fake collections, and spam. The boom of this market, which has raised the prices on some collections, has also given rise to this forgery market seeking to take easy profits. Opensea and other platforms are creating tools to detect if the associated content of an NFT is really legit. Hejazi also stated that his company might seek to implement centralized solutions to open the marketplace as a short-term measure. What do you think about Cent’s NFT plagiarism issues? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The executive arm of the EU is gearing up to start public consultations on the digital euro project next month. The European Commission will also prepare new legislation to establish the legal basis for the digital version of the common European fiat. A draft is expected in 2023. EU Finance Chief Announces Legislative Plan for Digital Euro The European Commission (EC) is planning to put forward a bill tailored to lay down the legal foundation for a digital euro currency, Politico reported this week. The legislation will support the European Central Bank (ECB) in its efforts to work out the technical side of the project which entered its investigation phase in October 2021. The executive body in Brussels aims to introduce the draft law early next year but before that, it wants to launch a public consultation on the matter. The ECB already did that in 2020 when it found that Europeans were deeply concerned about their financial privacy. The EC intends to focus on practical questions such as how the coin will facilitate everyday payments. Following Politico’s report, EU Commissioner for financial services Mairead McGuinness announced the legislative plan at a fintech conference: Our goal is to table legislation in early 2023. A targeted legislative consultation in the coming weeks. The European Commission will have to coordinate the bill with the governments and legislatures of the member states before it becomes law. Tests with the digital euro are now ongoing at the ECB. The monetary authority hopes to begin working on a prototype for the CBDC at the end of 2023. To finalize the project, an impact assessment will also be carried out as well, in order to establish whether the digital euro can destabilize the financial system. Eurozone governors will decide if it’s worth minting a virtual currency and the digital euro may be issued by 2025. While the ECB’s Governing Council will make the final decision, leading EU members such as France and Germany have already called on the Eurosystem’s central bank to step up efforts in that direction. Policymakers in Brussels and European capitals fear the eurozone may lag behind China, the U.S., and Russia which have been developing their own digital currencies. Do you think Europe will speed up the development of the digital euro? Share your expectations in the comments section below. View the full article

According to an announcement from Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness the Bank of Jamaica plans to “roll out” its central bank digital currency (CBDC) after the country’s successful pilot last year. Jamaica’s CBDC Is Due to Launch This Year Jamaica, the island country situated in the Caribbean Sea is planning to launch its CBDC this year, according to Prime Minister Andrew Holness. The Jamaican bureaucrat tweeted about the CBDC on February 10, when he said: “the Bank of Jamaica will roll out our own digital Jamaican dollar in 2022 after a successful pilot during 2021.” The statement follows the Jamaican central bank’s “successful” pilot it experimented with last year. At the end of 2021, the Bank of Jamaica told the public three schemes were tested during the pilot phase. The statements stemming from Holness reiterated that the CBDC was successful and the digital currency will be the foundational infrastructure. “This will serve as a foundation for Jamaica’s digital payments architecture and will facilitate greater financial inclusion, increase transaction velocity while reducing the cost of banking for the Jamaican people,” Holness insisted. The Jamaican bureaucrat added: This is a big step in building a nation of Peace, Opportunity, and Prosperity. Jamaica’s CBDC Wallet Will Work With Credit Cards and Prepaid Cards, Says Sagicor Bank Jamaica Executive Jamaica’s upcoming CBDC follows a small handful of nation-states like China, Nigeria, and Venezuela that have deployed CBDCs. Meanwhile, the European Commission has disclosed it would be unveiling a digital euro bill in 2023, and the Federal Reserve has released research and code on its CBDC project. Bank of Jamaica worked with National Commercial Bank (NCB) on its CBDC pilot and a limited number of wallet providers. Jamaica’s central bank issued approximately $230 million worth of the CBDC on August 9. Holness expects more than 70% of the Jamaican population to adopt the CBDC in five years. The vice-president of retail banking at Sagicor Bank Jamaica, Sabrina Cooper, told Jamaica Observer that the CBDC wallet will not be just for leveraging the CBDC. “Your digital wallet is not just the CBDC, you can have debit and credit cards,” Cooper insisted. “If you look at what’s happening globally, the wallet is gonna look just like your physical wallet in your pocket or in your handbag. It’s going to have your CBDC or some kind of digital currency cash equivalent, credit cards or even prepaid cards.” What do you think about Jamaica launching a CBDC this year? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Lbank excited to announce that LBank Exchange—the world-class digital asset trading platform—has integrated Chainlink Price Feeds. By integrating the industry-leading decentralized oracle network, LBank Exchange will have access to high-quality, tamper-proof price feeds needed to help secure perpetual futures trading on the platform. This will provide our users with stronger assurances that LBank futures contracts are using reliable, high-quality market data for asset prices. Chainlink was chosen as the go-to oracle solution because its infrastructure is seamless to integrate and time-tested in production. Chainlink already helps secure leading DeFi protocols responsible for tens of billions of dollars in smart contract value. It stays secure and available even amidst unexpected network events, such as exchange downtime, flash crashes, and data manipulation attacks via flash loans. As a global digital asset trading platform that provides services to more than 6.4 million users across the world, LBank Exchange has created a secure, innovative, and trustworthy space for crypto traders since 2015. Like many platforms in the industry, the team initially used mark price to prevent unfair and unnecessary liquidations that may happen during high price volatility. But since leading exchanges tend to reference each other in terms of prices, there are risks that these prices lose their reliability when the market is highly volatile. To help secure perpetual futures trading processes for users, Lbank needed access to fresh asset prices that are supplied directly on-chain in a highly reliable manner. Fair market asset prices should reflect a volume-weighted average from all trading environments. Thus, it was needed to make use of an oracle network to collect aggregated price data in a secure and reliable way, without relying on recursive centralized feeds. After reviewing various oracle solutions, LBank Exchange decided to integrate Chainlink Price Feeds because they provide a multitude of critical features such as: l High-Quality Data — Chainlink Price Feeds source data from numerous premium data aggregators, which gives price data that comes from hundreds of exchanges, weighted by volume, and cleaned of outliers and wash trading. Chainlink’s data aggregation model generates more precise global market prices that are inherently resistant to inaccuracies or manipulation of any single exchange. l Secure Node Operators — Chainlink Price Feeds are secured by independent, security-reviewed, and Sybil-resistant oracle nodes run by leading blockchain DevOps teams, data providers, and traditional enterprises. Chainlink nodes have a strong track record of reliability, even during high gas prices and infrastructure outages. l Decentralized Network — Chainlink Price Feeds are decentralized at the data source, oracle node, and oracle network levels, generating strong protections against downtime and tampering by either the data provider or oracle network. l Reputation System — Chainlink provides a robust reputation framework and set of on-chain monitoring tools that allow users to independently verify the historical and real-time performance of node operators and oracle networks. After updating from mark price to fair market price via Chainlink, the new system will soon be widely adopted into futures price calculation, lending business expansion, various financial derivatives such as leverage, and other sections that involve user assets evaluation. By integrating with Chainlink, LBank Exchange will be able to provide users with more options for investment, and services with more precise asset value evaluation. About Chainlink Chainlink is the industry standard for building, accessing, and selling oracle services needed to power hybrid smart contracts on any blockchain. Chainlink oracle networks provide smart contracts that can reliably connect to any external API and leverage secure off-chain computations for enabling feature-rich applications. Chainlink currently secures tens of billions of dollars across DeFi, insurance, gaming, and other major industries, and offers global enterprises and leading data providers a universal gateway to all blockchains. Learn more about Chainlink by visiting chain.link or read the documentation at docs.chain.link. To discuss an integration, reach out to an expert. About LBank Exchange LBank Exchange, founded in 2015, is an innovative global trading platform for various crypto assets. LBank Exchange provides its users with safe crypto trading, specialized financial derivatives, and professional asset management services. It has become one of the most popular and trusted crypto trading platforms with over 6.4 million users from now more than 210 regions around the world. Start Trading Now: lbank.info Community & Social Media: l Telegram l Twitter l Facebook l Linkedin Contact Details: LBK Blockchain Co. Limited LBank Exchange marketing@lbank.info PR Contact: ZEXPRWIRE info@zexprwire.com 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 Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), working in partnership with Bank ABC, recently announced it had successfully tested the transfer of funds across borders using JPMorgan’s JPM Coin. The test fulfills the central bank’s goal of creating safe and efficient settlement solutions for customers. Eliminating Inefficiencies in the Cross-Border Payment Arena With CBDCs Bahrain’s central bank recently said it had piloted its first cross border funds transfer using the JPMorgan blockchain. The transfer, which was carried out in partnership with Bank ABC, is the latest step taken by the CBB as it prepares to launch its digital currency. In his comments following the latest test, CBB governor, Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, is quoted by Unlock Media lauding the central bank’s ongoing tests. He said: We at the Central Bank of Bahrain are extremely pleased to announce the success of this test which aligns with our vision and strategy to continually develop and enrich the capabilities extended to the stakeholders within our financial services sector in the Kingdom using advanced and leading emerging technologies. Al Maraj added that through the institution’s partners, the CBB will attempt to “address and eliminate the inefficiencies and pain points which exist today in the traditional cross-border payments arena.” Just like some of its counterparts in the region, the CBB is preparing to roll out its central bank digital currency (CBDC) which it says will lead to “safe and efficient settlement solutions.” However, in its statement, the central bank does not state if it plans to conduct more tests or when it expects to finally launch the CBDC. Globally, only the Chinese and Nigerian central banks have so far launched their CBDCs while the rest are still at different stages of developing their digital currencies. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, says that crypto assets and stablecoins are no match for well-designed central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). “If CBDCs are designed prudently, they can potentially offer more resilience, more safety, greater availability, and lower costs than private forms of digital money,” she said. IMF on Crypto, Stablecoins, and CBDCs IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva gave a speech last week at the Atlantic Council in Washington D.C. regarding the future of money, cryptocurrency, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Noting that central banks have moved beyond conceptual discussions regarding digital currencies and are in the experimentation phase, she noted: “These are still early days for CBDCs and we don’t quite know how far and how fast they will go.” Nonetheless, the IMF chief said: If CBDCs are designed prudently, they can potentially offer more resilience, more safety, greater availability, and lower costs than private forms of digital money. She continued: “That is clearly the case when compared to unbacked crypto assets that are inherently volatile. And even the better managed and regulated stablecoins may not be quite a match against a stable and well‑designed central bank digital currency.” The IMF boss said that around 100 countries are exploring central bank digital currencies. She mentioned the Sand Dollar in the Bahamas, a proof-of-concept by Sweden’s Riksbank, and the e-CNY in China. In addition, she recognized that the U.S. Federal Reserve issued a report on CBDCs last month. Georgieva revealed: The IMF is deeply involved in this issue, including through providing technical assistance to many members. An important role for the Fund is to promote exchange of experience and support the interoperability of CBDCs. She proceeded to share some of the lessons learned from various central banks from their digital currency efforts. Firstly, she said, “There is no universal case for CBDCs because each economy is different … So, central banks should tailor plans to their specific circumstances and needs.” Secondly, she stressed that “Financial stability and privacy considerations are paramount to the design of CBDCs.” The IMF Chief noted, “In many countries, privacy concerns are a potential deal-breaker when it comes to CBDC legislation and adoption. So it’s vital that policymakers get the mix right.” Thirdly, she stressed the “balance between developments on the design front and on the policy front.” In conclusion, Georgieva said: The history of money is entering a new chapter. Countries are seeking to preserve key aspects of their traditional monetary and financial systems, while experimenting with new digital forms of money. What do you think about the IMF managing director’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, expects the United States Congress to take a long time to pass cryptocurrency legislation despite mounting interest in crypto investments and regulators calling for Congress to weigh in on crypto legislation. Congress Could Take a Long Time on Crypto Legislation The largest bank in Switzerland, UBS, published its view on U.S. crypto legislation Friday after the House of Financial Services Committee held a lengthy hearing on the regulation of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins last week. The Swiss bank’s U.S. Office of Public Policy explained that at the hearing, a senior Treasury official discussed recommendations made in a stablecoin report issued by the Department of the Treasury and other regulators. “To fill in regulatory gaps and address financial stability concerns, the regulators would like Congress to develop legislation that regulates stablecoin issuers as banks,” the UBS team detailed, noting that this proposal has received pushback from some lawmakers. The Federal Reserve also made it clear in its recent central bank digital currency (CBDC) report that it would like direction from Congress before proceeding with a digital dollar. However, Switzerland’s largest bank believes: It will take time for lawmakers to digest the complexities of these issues and reconcile potentially divergent approaches on how digital assets should be regulated. The UBS team further detailed: “Regulators could be waiting a long time for Congressional action and in the meantime will need to grapple with these issues using the limited and imperfect authorities they already have.” Nonetheless, the bank pointed out that interest in crypto assets “is growing in Congress and among the broader public.” Furthermore, there are reports that the Biden administration may weigh in on cryptocurrency legislation with an executive order in the near future. In August last year, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz slammed his colleagues in Congress for trying to regulate crypto without an understanding of what it is. The senator from Texas said: “We shouldn’t regulate something we don’t yet understand. We should actually take the time to try to understand that. We should hold some hearings, we should consider the consequences … We shouldn’t destroy people’s lives and livelihoods from complete ignorance.” Meanwhile, two federal agencies — the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — are collaborating to ensure investor protection in the crypto space. Do you agree with UBS that Congress will take a long time to pass crypto legislation in the U.S.? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article