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Nasdaq-listed Microstrategy has bought more bitcoin for its corporate treasury. The latest purchase for 1,914 coins has raised the company’s total cryptocurrency holdings to 124,391 bitcoins. CEO Michael Saylor recently said that he expects the price of the cryptocurrency to eventually reach $6 million. Microstrategy Has Purchased More Bitcoin The pro-bitcoin Nasdaq-listed company Microstrategy has purchased 1,914 more BTC. With the latest purchase, the company now holds 124,391 bitcoins. Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor announced Thursday via Twitter: Microstrategy has purchased an additional 1,914 bitcoins for ~$94.2 million in cash at an average price of ~$49,229 per bitcoin. “As of 12/29/21 we hodl ~124,391 bitcoins acquired for ~$3.75 billion at an average price of ~$30,159 per bitcoin,” he detailed. The price of BTC fell slightly Thursday. At the time of writing, it is hovering at about $47,398 after losing 1.4% over the last 24 hours. At the current price, Microstrategy’s BTC stash is worth about $5.9 billion. The pro-bitcoin CEO of Microstrategy personally owns about 17,732 BTC. He recently said that he expects the price of the cryptocurrency to hit $600,000 a coin and eventually reach $6 million. Saylor repeatedly said that bitcoin will replace gold. “Once upon a time, gold was the most desirable store of value. Now bitcoin is taking its place,” he tweeted earlier this month. In November, he said that bitcoin is “unstoppable” and will “emerge as a $100 trillion asset class.” Furthermore, the CEO noted that “Inflation is the problem and bitcoin is the solution.” What do you think about Microstrategy buying more bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

This week the stablecoin giant tether reached a market capitalization of roughly $78.2 billion according to data. Over the last 30 days, tether’s market valuation grew by 5.6% and the stablecoin now represents 46% of the $168.3 billion stablecoin economy. Tether Market Cap is Less Than $2 Billion Away From Reaching $80 Billion On December 30, 2021, there’s roughly 78.2 billion tether (USDT) in circulation, according to coingecko.com’s top stablecoin by market capitalization statistics. According to Tether Limited’s transparency report published to the tether.to web portal, there’s $78.5 billion assets under management. Metrics indicate that tether represents 3.35% of the $2.33 trillion crypto economy today and 46% of the $168.3 billion stablecoin economy. Tether has seen massive growth during its lifetime. For instance, on September 13, 2015, tether’s market capitalization was $451,600 and the jump to $78.2 billion is a whopping 17,327,227% increase in just over six years. The only stablecoin with a comparable market valuation is usd coin (USDC) with $42.1 billion, up 9.7% since last month. USDC represents 1.8% of the $2.33 trillion market cap and is around 52.68% or just over half the size of tether’s market valuation. The two stablecoins combined represent 71.82% of the entire stablecoin economy and roughly 5.15% of the $2.33 trillion crypto economy. Four stablecoin protocols in the top ten positions of stablecoin market valuations, have increased between 12.9% to 42.9%. BUSD issued by Binance jumped 12.9%, Terra’s UST spiked 34.2%, MIM increased by 30.9% and FRAX swelled by 42.9%. Tether’s overall valuation is 39% larger than BUSD, UST, MIM, and FRAX combined. Besides being the largest stablecoin in existence today issued across several blockchains, Tether commands the most trade volume as well. Tether’s 24 hour volume is more than BTC’s daily volume today with $52.8 billion in USDT trades. Bitcoin has less than half that volume with $25.5 billion on Thursday. What do you think about tether’s market cap nearing $80 billion in value? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Authorities in Pakistan have reportedly moved to seize hundreds of bank accounts and cards belonging to cryptocurrency traders. According to local media, they have been allegedly used to make transactions worth close to $300,000 through digital asset exchanges, including major platforms. Pakistan Government Blocks Cards Used to Buy Cryptocurrency, Media Reveals Bank accounts in the names of 1,064 individuals have been frozen by Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The law enforcement authority acted on request from the Cyber Crime Reporting Center (CCRC) in Islamabad, the Pakistan Observer informed readers on Wednesday. Officials claim the accounts have been utilized to process transactions worth a total of 51 million Pakistani rupees (around $288,000) made by persons to and from a number of crypto exchanges, among which are well-known platforms such as Binance, Coinbase, and Coinmama. The agency has also blocked their credit cards used to buy and sell digital coins, the publication added. It also reminded residents that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) prohibited the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies with a circular issued by its Banking Policy and Regulation Department in April 2018. Despite the ban, however, cryptos like bitcoin have enjoyed growing popularity among investors in the country. According to an estimate from a recently published report by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Pakistanis hold $20 billion worth of cryptocurrency. At a press conference last week, FPCCI President Nasir Hayat Magoon noted that the quoted valuation of the digital currency owned by Pakistanis is based on research carried out by the association’s Policy Advisory Board. In reality, the true total of the crypto holdings may be much higher, as many Pakistanis are buying coins via peer-to-peer deals which remain undetected. Magoon also called on the government to introduce a relevant policy to regulate and facilitate crypto-related transactions, pointing out that the regional rival, India, has already taken steps to implement some rules for the sector. His association recommends the adoption of a legal framework aligned with the guidelines issued by international organizations such as FATF and IMF. Do you think Pakistanis will continue to invest in cryptocurrencies despite the restrictions imposed by authorities in Islamabad? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

2021 has been a bullish year for crypto assets. While prices have risen a great deal, the top ten and top twenty rankings in terms of market capitalization have also changed significantly. A great number of coins have either been pushed down or have entered the crypto economy’s top positions in terms of overall market valuation. 2021’s Top Crypto Asset Positions Change Drastically On December 27, 2020, a historical snapshot of the crypto prices that day shows that bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) both led the pack as far as the top two crypto asset market valuations are concerned. This is still true today as both BTC and ETH are the top two market leaders. However, on December 27, 2020, bitcoin’s value was $26,272 per unit and BTC had a market cap of $488 billion. Additionally, ethereum was changing hands for $682 per unit on that same day, and had a market cap of around $77.8 billion. Fast forward to December 26, 2021 statistics, and BTC was trading for $50,809 per unit and had an overall market valuation of around $960 billion. ETH on December 26, 2021, traded for $4,067 per coin and held a market capitalization of roughly $483 billion. We know that prices have changed since December 27, 2020, but BTC and ETH still lead the pack in terms of the top crypto positions. On the other hand, the rest of the top 20 coins have been shuffled like a deck of cards. Tether (USDT) held the third-largest market position last year and today, it’s transitioned to the fourth-largest crypto asset in terms of market valuation. Last year, xrp (XRP) held the fourth rank but today, XRP has moved to the seventh-largest crypto coin position. A year ago, litecoin (LTC) was the fifth-largest crypto asset in terms of overall valuation but LTC has dropped all the way down to the 19th spot. Similarly, bitcoin cash (BCH) held the sixth-largest market valuation last year, but on December 26, 2021, BCH was hovering around the 25th ranking. Binance coin (BNB) managed to increase its market position and is the third-largest market as of December 26, but a year ago BNB’s market cap held the seventh-largest position. Chainlink (LINK) was in the eighth spot last year, but as of December 26, LINK has dipped down to the 20th coin market cap ranking. Cardano (ADA) was hovering around the ninth-largest market position last year but has moved up to the sixth in a year’s time. Lastly, polkadot (DOT) was the tenth-largest market and also held that position on December 26. New additions to the top ten standings include terra (LUNA) in the ninth position, USDC has entered the eighth-largest coin market cap ranking, and solana (SOL) holds the fifth spot today. LUNA’s market cap last year was in the 67th position, USDC held the 11th spot, and SOL was ranked 139th on December 27, 2020. In addition to the top ten standings, a large quantity of tokens from the tenth to the 20th positions also shuffled a great deal this year. Many coins moved forward and a myriad of tokens dropped the positions they once held last year. It goes to show that 12 months in the world of crypto can change things drastically. What do you think about the top ten shakeup that took place this year? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On December 29, two addresses from 2011 containing 500 bitcoin each transferred 1,000 coins for the first time in 10.5 years. Furthermore, another wallet from 2011 woke up on Wednesday, moving 40 bitcoin for the first time in over a decade. 1,040 Bitcoin from 2011 Move for the First Time in 10.5 Years On Wednesday, an address created on July 10, 2011, at 11:22 p.m. (UTC) with 500 bitcoin (BTC) transferred the BTC for the first time in 10.5 years. Another wallet, created on the same day in 2011, dispersed another 500 BTC worth more than $23 million at the time of transfer. Furthermore, a wallet from August 12, 2011, containing 40 BTC worth $1.8 million transferred coins for the first time in over a decade. At the time of transfer, BTC was trading for $47,500 per unit, and the aggregate 1,040 BTC from 2011 spent on Wednesday was worth over $49 million. One can assume the 1,000 BTC stemmed from the same owner as the bitcoin wallets were both created on July 10, 2011. It’s possible the 40 BTC could have been the owner as the 40 BTC wallet was created about a month later. There haven’t been that many 2011 bitcoin spends in December besides four previous 2011 transactions this month. Two coinbase rewards were spent on December 1 and December 14. Ten bitcoin (BTC) from a wallet created in 2011 was transferred on December 11 and 20 BTC from another wallet created in 2011, moved on the same day. Researchers Believe Exchanges May Desire Old Bitcoin The bitcoin wallet that sent 500 BTC sent the funds with a “moderate” level of privacy or a score of 65 according to blockchair.com’s privacy tool. Four issues were found during the send as “several indicators we were able to link the similar types of addresses involved in this transaction” including “matched addresses identified.” Bitquery.io data shows that one of the transfers may have been tethered to a known Coinbase address. Similarly, blockchair.com’s privacy tool gives the other 500 BTC transaction the same rating, and Bitquery.io data from that address shows money flow tied to a known Coinbase address. When the 40 BTC was transferred the privacy was lower and had a ranking of 45 according to blockchair.com’s metrics. Just like the previous two BTC transfers from 2011, the outgoing send was tethered to matched addresses. Bitquery.io statistics indicate that another known Coinbase address is tied to the wallet’s money flow. The 1,040 BTC sent on Wednesday follows similar patterns as many of the old coins transferred in 2021. Researchers from the Telegram channel “gfoundinsh*t” and the creator of Btcparser.com told Bitcoin.com News that the old coins may be desired by exchanges. “We at (GFiS) have a theory on why some major exchanges may desire having old bitcoins,” the researchers said. “The presence of these old bitcoins may help to purify a whole pool of bitcoins that might already hold dark tones. And now if they mix it up with the white and shiny ones from 2010-2011, it will help all of them to pass through various AML and risk analysis bots.” Statistics from amlbot.com indicate that the addresses that sent the 500 BTC had low-risk assessments. The funds from the address that sent the 40 BTC derived from an address that once contained 31,723 BTC and emptied the last of its coin on May 11, 2012, when it sent 101 BTC. The transaction hash data that shows the 1,000 BTC sent, makes it look as though the funds derived from a miner as ten addresses sent 50 BTC to the wallet and 0.05437193 BTC was paid in fees. It’s not certain if these coins were sold on the open market or even over-the-counter (OTC), as the owner of these old school coins could have moved them to disperse them into addresses with smaller amounts of funds. What do you think about the 1,040 bitcoin from 2011 that moved for the first time in 10.5 years on Wednesday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Authorities in Iran have decided to permit power generation plants using renewable sources to sell electricity to licensed cryptocurrency miners. The move comes after the government asked mining companies to suspend activities in order to avoid winter blackouts. Crypto Miners in Iran to Mint Digital Coins Using Renewable Energy Regulated companies mining cryptocurrency in Iran will gain access to green energy, local media reported. The Ministry of Energy in Tehran has adopted new rules allowing plants generating electricity from renewable sources to supply coin minting enterprises that operate within the law. “Legal miners can enter into agreements with renewable power plants at negotiable terms and rates,” Mohammad Khodadadi, who heads the Tavanir department responsible for the mining industry, told the ISNA news agency. He also emphasized that the energy ministry will play a role in establishing the exact tariffs. Tavanir, the Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company, is the country’s state-owned utility that recently ordered authorized miners to unplug their equipment. The measure is part of efforts to prevent blackouts as energy demand increases with dropping temperatures. The Ministry of Energy has been trying to reduce the use of liquid fuels for generation since last month, Tavanir’s spokesman Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi recently told the state-run broadcaster IRIB. Shutting down licensed crypto farms is among a range of measures aimed at avoiding electricity shortages this winter. Iran legalized bitcoin mining in 2019 and introduced a licensing regime for entities operating in the industry. Registered crypto farms are buying electricity at higher, export rates and many Iranian miners are avoiding the mandatory registration to take advantage of subsidized household prices. In May, then-President Hassan Rouhani announced a temporary ban on crypto mining amid growing demand for electricity and insufficient supply caused by the extraordinarily hot weather and droughts. Authorized mining enterprises were also blamed for the shortages. The country’s crypto community criticized the restrictions after estimates indicated that legal miners consume only around 300 megawatts daily, while underground crypto farms burn 10 times more. The ban was lifted in September when demand for electricity decreased with cooler weather. Tavanir has been cracking down on illegal mining operations throughout the year. Iranian media revealed in November that the utility had confiscated over 220,000 mining machines and shut down almost 6,000 crypto farms in different regions of the Islamic Republic. Do you think Iranian crypto miners will accept the government’s offer to use renewable energy? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The number of cryptocurrency ATMs around the world has grown exponentially in 2021, with over 20,000 new installations made since last December. That’s more than the total of all crypto teller machines put into operation in the previous seven years. Close to 34,000 Crypto ATMs Available Globally ATM locations offering users options to buy and exchange cryptocurrencies with fiat money are increasing at an unprecedented pace. Data compiled by Coin ATM Radar shows that their number towards the end of 2021 is nearing 34,000. In a year that saw crypto market all-time highs, over 20,000 new devices have popped up globally. According to the installations growth chart updated by the tracking website, bitcoin ATMs were fewer than 13,000 in December 2020 — that’s all ATM locations registered since October 2013 — while 12 months later they exceed 33,900. Crypto teller machines can be found in almost any corner of the planet but their spread is still quite concentrated. Around 30,000 of all BATMs (bitcoin ATMs), approximately 90% of the gross figure, are running in the U.S. Its northern neighbor, Canada, is a distant second with a little over 2,200 machines. Bitcoin-friendly El Salvador is already among the leaders with its 205 machines, overtaking EU countries such as Spain, which has less than 200, and Austria with its 142. As of Dec. 29, the whole of Europe has only 1,384 cryptocurrency ATMs, lagging behind key markets in North America. A number of companies now manufacture automated teller machines supporting cryptocurrencies. The biggest players in the market are Genesis Coin with almost 14,000 devices, General Bytes with more than 7,500, and Bitaccess with close to 5,000. Coinsource and Bitstop, with less than 2,000 each, complete the top five. At least 6,000 businesses maintain crypto ATMs in different parts of the world, with the 10 largest operators running 70% of them all. The largest companies in the sector are Bitcoin Depot, which holds a fifth of the market with over 6,600 machines, followed by Coincloud (over 4,600), and Coinflip (almost 3,500). The teller machines support various cryptocurrencies and are either one-way or two-way devices. The latter offers users the ability not only to buy, but also to sell their digital coins. Most BATMs provide an opportunity to purchase bitcoin (BTC), and many offer other major coins such as bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH), and litecoin (LTC). Do you expect the number of bitcoin ATMs to continue to grow exponentially in 2022? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Authorities in Hong Kong have arrested two individuals accused of laundering about $384 million using various avenues including a cryptocurrency exchange trading platform. If convicted, the two face a maximum jail sentence of 14 years plus a fine of $5 million. An Indictable Offense Two people accused of laundering about $384 million using a cryptocurrency exchange platform have been arrested, the Hong Kong regional government has said. The arrest of the two, a 28-year-old woman and her 21-year-old brother, followed a raid on their residential premises conducted by the Hong Kong Customs on December 28. In a statement explaining the charges, the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said action had been taken because the siblings had dealt “with property known or reasonably believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence” under the region’s Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (OSCO). The government’s statement also explains the investigative steps that had been taken prior to the arrests, noting: [The] investigation revealed that the two arrested persons had opened personal accounts between May to November last year at various banks in Hong Kong (including virtual banks) and a cryptocurrency exchange trading platform, and engaged in suspected money laundering by dealing with money from unknown sources through bank transfers, cash deposits and cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, the statement revealed that the two siblings had since been released on bail but it suggested that investigations will continue while the “likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.” Offenders Can Be Jailed for Maximum of 14 Years Under the OSCO, a person is considered to have committed an offense “if he or she deals with any property knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that such property in whole or in part directly or indirectly represents any person’s proceeds of an indictable offence.” Those found guilty of this offense face a maximum jail sentence of 14 years plus a fine of $5 million, while the proceeds of their activities will be forfeited to the state, the statement said. What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Blueprint Capital Advisors CEO Jacob Walthour says it’s a mistake to ignore crypto as an asset class. He also predicts that crypto will outperform equities in the foreseeable future. Investment Adviser Expects Crypto to Outperform Equities Jacob Walthour, CEO and co-founder of Blueprint Capital Advisors, discussed his outlook for the crypto and equity markets in an interview with CNBC Wednesday. Walthour has over 25 years of experience in capital markets, traditional, and alternative asset management. “At this stage, we have to think back to how it all started,” he began. “When we think back over the course of our lives, we started buying things with cash and then someone came up with the idea of using a check, and then someone came up with the idea of using plastics, and then someone came up with the idea of e-payments. And I think that the use of crypto, the whole concept of a wallet, is where we are going to go from here. And I think that bodes well for crypto overall in terms of its adoption rate over the course of the next five to 10 years.” Emphasizing that there are now many companies accepting cryptocurrency as a form of payment, he said: I think it’d be a mistake to ignore this asset class which has looked like the wild west for the last 5 or so years. He added: “But if we see a stall in the U.S. equity market and a rise in crypto, I think the herd mentality could take over here, and you could see a lot of liquidity falling out of stocks into cryptocurrencies.” Walthour further opined: “If crypto outperforms equity, I think it legitimizes crypto as an asset class from a diversification standpoint.” While acknowledging that when stocks sell off, cryptocurrencies may fall even further due to higher volatility, he said: “I don’t think that necessarily holds into the foreseeable future.” He concluded: My prediction for the foreseeable future, given that crypto has sold off quite a bit in the last quarter, is that it does have a strong possibility of outperforming equities in 2022. Do you agree with Walthour? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has argued that cryptocurrency is not a path to financial inclusion like crypto advocates claim. “Bitcoin ownership is even more concentrated within the top 1% than dollars,” she said, emphasizing the need for “real solutions to make the financial system work for everyone, not just the wealthy.” Senator Elizabeth Warren on Crypto and Bitcoin U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) commented about cryptocurrency, bitcoin, and financial inclusion Tuesday. She tweeted: The crypto industry claims that crypto is the path to financial inclusion, but bitcoin ownership is even more concentrated within the top 1% than dollars. We need real solutions to make the financial system work for everyone, not just the wealthy. Her comment was in response to an article in the Wall Street Journal claiming that the top 1% of bitcoin holders “control a greater share of the cryptocurrency than the most affluent American households control in dollars.” Citing a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the author wrote that “the top 10,000 bitcoin accounts hold 5 million bitcoins, an equivalent of approximately $232 billion.” Many Twitter users replied to Senator Warren’s tweet. One user told the Massachusetts senator: “This is not true. The fixed bitcoin supply means ownership gets less concentrated over time in congruence with adoption, usage and creation of value. There is no other alternative to fixing the money printing problem that results in an invisible tax on the average citizen.” Another user tweeted to the senator: “Your argument is flawed. So I am left to assume you don’t understand BTC is not ‘all crypto’ — it’s BTC. You are only recognizing BTC as ‘crypto’ while ignoring an entire budding ‘crypto industry’ based on the transfer of value for fractions of a penny.” Moreover, some people reminded Senator Warren that crypto is decentralized and is for everyone, not just the rich. Some questioned the claims made in the Wall Street Journal article. Several people called the senator from Massachusetts “ignorant” and “manipulative,” emphasizing the need for education. The senator recently called on regulators to “clamp down” on stablecoins and decentralized finance (defi) platforms “before it is too late.” She said, “Defi is the most dangerous part of the crypto world.” In July, she urged U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to urgently adopt a policy to mitigate crypto risks. In September, she pressed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to address the problem of crypto exchange outages and high transaction fees. She also stressed at the time that cryptocurrency is not a path to financial inclusion. What do you think about Senator Elizabeth Warren’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

A new type of airdrop has been very popular during the last quarter of 2021 as quickly assembled decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) have been distributing lots of value to existing crypto users. Just recently, Opendao gave Opensea users an airdrop and many people accrued thousands of dollars in SOS tokens. Now, another project called Gas DAO is airdropping tokens to any wallet that’s paid more than $1,559 in ether gas fees before December 26. Gas DAO Airdrops Tokens to Users That Spent $1,559 in Ether Fees Before the Snapshot A lot of projects this year have created airdrops as a way to create a governance system, and people who have used these protocols at least once are usually rewarded with these airdropped governance tokens. In recent times, Bitcoin.com News reported on Shapeshift dissolving into a DAO, and the project airdropped FOX tokens to Shapeshift users. During the first week of November, our newsdesk also covered the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) airdrop when the project transitioned into a DAO. Furthermore, this past week, crypto advocates have been discussing the Opendao airdrop as anyone who used Opensea before December 23 was rewarded with SOS tokens. Opendao (SOS) tokens have a market valuation of $167 million today and ENS has a market capitalization of around $885 million. Now a project called Gas DAO is the latest airdrop DAO buzz as the project is rewarding any Web3 wallet user with GAS tokens if they spent $1,559 in ethereum fees before December 26. If the user has not spent $1,559 in ether fees then the application will tell the person they are “ineligible” for the GAS token claim. On December 29, the Gas DAO team tweeted: There are over 143 Million unique addresses that have made a transaction on the Ethereum network. Gas DAO was created to be the voice and the heartbeat of the most active 643,000 users within that 143 million, to bridge together communities spanning across defi, dapps, and NFTs. Crypto Advocates Review the Gas DAO Code and Airdrop Claim Process Of course, many people have grown concerned about these airdrops and the safety of connecting with the application via a Web3 wallet. The application gains access to a view of the claimant’s address and the transactions processed in order to verify the $1,559 spent in ether fees. Twitter user Technoartoria (@artoriamaster) wrote a review of the Gas DAO contract and Adam Eisenman (@0xdigitaloil) also wrote a summary about “how safe and how fair it is.” Eisenman highlighted a few differences between the Gas DAO airdrop and the SOS airdrop. “It’s worth noting that there is a sweep function that allows for the contract owner (dev) to claim all unclaimed tokens after the claim period has ended (May 1, 2022),” Eisenman wrote. “This implies a potential for the dev to end up with the majority of the token supply. Huge red flag.” Eisenman’s summary continued: Structurally and spiritually, this contract is very different from SOS because the dev can end up with the majority of token supply. Unexpected. IMHO, definitely not a move that reflects fairness or inspires a grassroots movement to build upon GAS. At the time of writing, the Gas DAO’s official Twitter page has 22.5K followers as well as tens of thousands of token holders so far. Gas DAO celebrated how quickly things were moving via a statement on Twitter on Wednesday. “To think that it’s only been 12 hours and we already have 20K followers and 26K holders,” the Gas DAO team said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better start to our journey of becoming the largest and most powerful community on Ethereum. We’re just getting started here.” According to Technoartoria’s review, the “merkle tree claim cannot be manipulated” and the Gas DAO is “100% safe to claim and trade.” Besides the criticisms, Eisenman’s summary also asserts that the claim process is safe. “Now, to get to the part you’ve all been waiting for. Is it safe to claim?” Eisenman’s tweetstorm concludes. “Yes, claim function is straightforward… [It] just verifies merkle proof (to ensure you are entitled to the amount you are trying to claim); and then transfers the tokens to your address.” What do you think about the Gas DAO airdrop and the recent DAO airdrop craze? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

At the end of May, crypto advocates discovered a website created by the video game retailer Gamestop. The web portal disclosed that Gamestop was entering the world of blockchain tech and non-fungible token (NFT) assets. Gamestop’s NFT web portal has recently been updated and is requesting creators to sign up for the platform. Gamestop NFT Website Hints at Upcoming Marketplace Launch Gamestop (Nasdaq: GME) has had an interesting year, to say the least. It all started at the start of the year in January, when the Reddit forum r/wallstreetbets sparked a Gamestop shares trading war with Wall Street hedge funds. At the time, Goldman Sachs executive David Kostin said “if the short squeeze continues, the entire market could crash.” After the Wallstreetbets fiasco fizzled out of the limelight, Gamestop has managed to remain relevant after facing bankruptcy, and shares traded for $19.26 per unit on December 30, 2020. Today, those same GME shares are swapping for $146.46 per unit, up 655.73% since that day. Furthermore, Gamestop revealed a new NFT website at the end of May, indicating that the company was dipping its feet into the world of NFTs. Prior to the website launch, on April 8, 2021, Gamestop disclosed it was hiring a security analyst that has experience with blockchain, cryptocurrency, and NFTs. The website nft.gamestop.com didn’t give much information when it first launched but today, Gamestop’s NFT web portal says it is looking for NFT creators. “Calling all creators,” Gamestop’s website says. “Request to be a creator on the Gamestop NFT marketplace,” the new description adds. The Gamestop NFT marketplace appears to be prepping for launch and the creator sign-up form asks a number of questions. The questionnaire asks what the NFT creator would like to be called and whether or not they describe themselves as an “independent artist, creator, game dev, or meme lord.” Gamestop also asks if the person has a website and if they have ever created an NFT. The Gamestop questionnaire further asks the person if they have “ever used an Ethereum wallet before.” Loopring Speculation There’s a lot of speculation that Gamestop will be working with the layer two (L2) project Loopring. At the end of November, a Canadian reporter asked Loopring’s CEO Daniel Wang about the Gamestop speculation. After the reporter told Wang that there’s been “a lot of rumors about a potential partnership with Gamestop” and then asked the CEO if the “potential deal” was legitimate, Wang replied: I cannot comment on that. As of today, Gamestop has not disclosed any more information about the official marketplace launch, how it will work, or what projects the company is working with right now. The Ethereum contract stored on Gamestop’s web portal and the new question about using an Ethereum wallet has led many to believe the NFT marketplace software will be based on the Ethereum blockchain. What do you think about Gamestop updating the NFT website and hinting about an upcoming marketplace launch? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

While the crypto economy shed billions in value this week, 18 different digital assets have accrued double-digit gains during the last week. At the same time, the top two leading crypto assets by market capitalization, bitcoin and ethereum, have lost between 2.8% to 6.2% in value in seven days. 18 Crypto Assets See Values Increase by Double-Digits Bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) have lost a bit of value according to weekly statistics, and a number of alternative digital assets have done a whole lot better. Today, the crypto economy is worth $2.36 trillion and it is down 2.9% during the last day. BTC has shed 2.8% in value during the last seven days, and ETH has lost 6.2% since last week. However, 18 crypto tokens have accrued double-digit gains against the U.S. dollar this past week. For instance, Sushiswap’s decentralized exchange (dex) token sushi (SUSHI) has gained 67% during the last seven days. Near (NEAR) jumped 57.8%, fantom (FTM) climbed 49.6%, and oasis network (ROSE) spiked 48% during the course of the week. Other top weekly gainers included convex finance (+35.7%), aave (+33%), theta network (+24.8%), uniswap (+19.2%), osmosis (+18.2%), kadena (+16.8%), iota (+15.8%), and the sandbox (+15%). Bitcoin and Ethereum See Sharp Drops, Huobi Global Analyst Says ‘Pay Attention to the Changes in Price Direction’ Cosmos, polkadot, enjin, monero, celo and curve token also saw double digit gains this week as well. Out of the $2.36 trillion in value, across more than 12,000 crypto assets, BTC’s dominance is 38.3% while ethereum’s dominance is 19.1%. Discussing bitcoin (BTC) prices with Bitcoin.com News, the co-founder of Huobi Group, Du Jun, said that the price of bitcoin tends to stabilize and traders should “pay attention to the changes in price direction.” “According to data from Huobi Global, BTC’s price stabilized during [the] daytime, after a sharp drop at night, fluctuating back and forth from $47,500, changing directions several times,” Huobi’s co-founder explained to our newsdesk. “From the 4h k-line, three EMA lines descended steeply, k-line was located near the lower rail of the Bollinger Bands, and the opening of the Bollinger Bands expanded significantly,” Jun added. The analyst further added: Although the decline has been blocked, the short side is still relatively strong, especially seen from the daily line. This decline has caused the BTC price to fall again at a similar rate after a one-week price increase, and there is a trend of forming a downward channel again. Short-term upside is less likely. In short term, pay attention to the changes in the price direction and the support of the $45,500 position below. While the values of bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) have both seen declines, numerous alternative crypto assets are gaining on the dominant crypto markets. A recently published study indicates that altcoins have surged threefold since 2014, and 2021’s top ten performing crypto assets outshined BTC and ETH by a longshot in terms of gains. Despite the losses bitcoin (BTC) is still up 76.1% year-to-date (YTD) and ethereum’s YTD metrics indicate ether has gained 416%. As far as ethereum (ETH) markets are concerned, Huobi Global’s Du Jun said that ethereum markets were very similar to BTC’s market patterns. “[The] price of ETH stabilized during daytime after a sharp drop at night, oscillating slightly back and forth, changing directions several times, echoing the BTC price trend, and it is now near $3,800,” Jun added on Wednesday. Jun’s ethereum (ETH) market outlook continued: From the 4h k-line, the downward adjustment is strong and the momentum is relatively large. Each moving average descended steeply, and the trading volume increased. From [the] daily level, the downside trend is less obvious. In the short term, pay attention to the support of the 4680 position below. Once it breaks through, the price downward trend will be formed. What do you think about the 18 crypto assets that have recorded double-digit gains this past week? What do you think about the two leading crypto market assets’ recent performance? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), says a basic central bank digital currency (CBDC) model must be adopted initially and tested comprehensively to minimize the impact on the country’s monetary policy and banking system. The Indian apex bank sees several benefits in launching a digital rupee, including “a potential to enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments.” RBI Outlines Benefits of Issuing Digital Currency and How to Launch a CBDC With Minimal Impact The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its “Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2020-21” Tuesday. The 248-page report has a section on central bank digital currency. “In its basic form, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) provides a safe, robust, and convenient alternative to physical cash,” the Indian central bank described, adding that “Depending on various design choices, it can also assume the complex form of a financial instrument.” The RBI continued: In comparison with existing forms of money, it can offer benefits to users in terms of liquidity, scalability, acceptance, ease of transactions with anonymity and faster settlement. The Indian central bank noted that there are “crucial questions” about the design of a central bank digital currency that must be answered before introducing it. For example, one issue is “whether the CBDC would be general purpose and available for retail use (CBDC-R), or would it be for wholesale use (CBDC-W).” The RBI stressed that “in a country like India, the decision about distribution architecture, i.e., whether CBDC would be issued directly by the central bank or through commercial banks, needs to be carefully weighed.” Noting that gauging the magnitude of issuance and distribution will help identify “the appropriate underlying technology best suited to handle such operations,” the apex bank detailed: Given its dynamic impact on macroeconomic policy making, it is necessary to adopt basic models initially, and test comprehensively so that they have minimal impact on monetary policy and the banking system. In discussing the role of a central bank digital currency in cross-border transactions, the RBI stated that “Introduction of the CBDC has a potential to enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments and may provide an alternative to correspondent banks, going forward.” The report elaborates: India’s progress in payment systems will provide a useful backbone to make a state-of-the-art CBDC available to its citizens and financial institutions. Meanwhile, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has repeatedly said that the central bank has serious and major concerns regarding cryptocurrency. At its recent meeting of the central board of directors, the RBI called on the Indian government to impose a complete ban on cryptocurrency, stating that a partial ban will not work. Nonetheless, the government is reportedly planning to regulate crypto assets with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as the main regulator. What do you think about the RBI’s comments on CBDC? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Electricity shortages have been dogging Kazakhstan’s booming crypto mining industry this year. A media report reveals that some miners, including some of those that moved in amid China’s crackdown on the sector, are now looking to relocate to destinations with a more stable energy supply like the United States. Miners Shut Down Crypto Farms Due to Kazakhstan’s Issues With Power Generation Kazakhstan has become a crypto mining hotspot since China launched a government offensive against bitcoin miners in May. The Central Asian nation maintains capped electricity rates and is a major producer of fossil fuels. However, its neglected infrastructure and insufficient generation capacities have failed to meet the rapidly rising demand for electricity needed to power the energy-hungry coin minting facilities. Authorities have blamed the growing deficit — consumption surged by 7% in the first three quarters of the year — on the mushrooming mining data centers, and lawmakers have proposed introducing higher electricity tariffs for miners. Representatives of the industry have complained about what they view as unfair treatment. “They made mining a scapegoat,” Didar Bekbauov, founder of the local mining hosting company Xive, stated on social media earlier in December. The executive published his comment on Twitter after Xive was forced to shut down its main facility in Southern Kazakhstan when its power supply was suddenly cut last month, Nikkei Asia noted in a report. The company is still running another mining farm in the country but at the same time is exploring options to transfer some operations to the U.S. In November, the Data Center Industry and Blockchain Association of Kazakhstan reached an agreement with the country’s grid operator, KEGOC, to ensure uninterrupted power supplies to registered miners. When the state-run utility failed to fulfill its part of the deal, mining companies began shutting down their facilities in the country. Another large crypto farm operator, Bitmain-backed Bitfufu, has closed down its crypto farms in Kazakhstan and is also moving to the United States. While restrictions imposed by the power distribution company have affected regulated crypto mining businesses, small-scale crypto farms in the shadow economy have continued to mint digital currencies in basements and garages. The “gray miners” are burning serious amounts of electrical energy and posing another challenge for the government in Nur-Sultan. “Unfortunately it’s very hard to get rid of them,” Alan Dorjiyev, president of the crypto industry association, told Nikkei. Initially, Kazakhstan welcomed cryptocurrency miners and took steps to regulate the sector through legislation. Estimates published in October suggested that the country could expect crypto mining to pour some $1.5 billion into its economy in the next five years and over $300 million in tax revenue. A new tax of $0.0023 per kilowatt-hour of electricity used by registered crypto mining companies will be imposed in January 2022. Kazakhstan is also planning to build power plants with a combined 3,000-megawatt generating capacity in the coming years, expand the share of renewable sources in its energy mix, and is considering nuclear energy. Do you think Kazakhstan will manage to solve its power supply problems and provide sufficient electricity for its crypto mining industry? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Rising cryptocurrency use in Africa over the past few years has not only shown that digital currencies are now a vital means of moving funds across borders and between people, but that cryptocurrencies are also an important means of accessing global markets for the financially excluded. Cryptocurrency Now a Necessity Despite ongoing efforts by regulators to curtail the use or trade of cryptocurrencies, the number of users of such digital assets continues to grow. As some studies have repeatedly shown, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin — which are seen or used as an alternative store of value — have become a necessity. Barring their volatility, cryptocurrencies offer users or holders a measure of control over their wealth, something they cannot do with fiat currencies. Indeed, in countries ravaged by inflation or those with unstable currencies, cryptocurrencies offer an escape route that was not available to them prior to the 2008 global financial crisis. As recent reports from Turkey have shown, when a currency depreciates quickly in an environment where ownership or access to alternative stores of value like gold is restricted, residents will switch to crypto. For many, the use of cryptocurrencies or cryptocurrency rails to send funds across borders has proved to be the most important and perhaps even the best use case so far. Very few opponents of privately-issued digital currencies will disagree with the assessment. Indeed, sending funds across borders is more efficient when using cryptos like XRP, Stellar, or bitcoin cash than using traditional channels both formal and informal. As the situation in Nigeria before the blockade of crypto entities from the banking ecosystem demonstrated, cryptocurrency-based remittances have the potential to surpass the regular channels for sending money. In addition to the speed of transferring funds, the sending of money in the form of cryptocurrencies meant Nigerian migrants were able to bypass the many intermediaries that are traditionally involved in cross-border transactions. For senders, this meant a much lower cost of sending funds to their loved ones, while for recipients in Nigeria, cryptocurrencies — which cannot easily be controlled or censored like fiat money — gave them the option to convert funds to the local naira currency using the market rate instead of the overvalued official exchange. In fact, it was partly this reason that prompted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to finally act against crypto entities on February 5, 2021. Of course, this act and the subsequent moves by the CBN have not killed the popularity of cryptocurrencies in Nigeria as authorities had hoped. Rather, the restrictions have so far only succeeded in promoting peer-to-peer bitcoin trading, as Useful Tulips data over the past nine months suggests. This failure of regulatory action by the CBN and that of many other regulators around the world once again proves that a useful innovation cannot be stopped by regulation. Access to Global Financial Markets Perhaps the less talked about but equally important use case of cryptocurrencies is the trading opportunity and access they afford to people in less developed countries. Indeed, in many such regions, access to certain financial products is limited by factors that range from the size of a country’s financial system to its GDP. In certain instances, access to certain financial services is actually dependent on the relationship between a less developed country and its more developed counterparts. If the relations are frosty then there is a good chance that access to the global financial system and the associated services will be heavily curtailed. For instance, a Zimbabwe national interested in trading stocks on the New York Stock Exchange or buying merchandise on Amazon may be precluded from doing so directly due to OFAC sanctions. However, using certain cryptocurrency platforms, the same Zimbabwean national can actually buy hot global stocks like Tesla, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. In other words, through cryptocurrencies, traders from Africa are exposed to some of the most liquid markets and profitable stocks in the world. Also, besides using cryptocurrencies to trade fiat stocks, traders on the African continent can trade directly, 24 hours every day, on many global cryptocurrency platforms. They can and have indeed, engaged in many other forms of crypto trading including staking, and risky futures and margin trading. All this is possible because cryptocurrencies can be held by anyone, including those that are financially excluded. Fighting Crypto: An Exercise in Futility So as much as regulatory bodies may want to stop or limit the use of cryptocurrencies, the reality is that crypto has opened the door to many opportunities. Thus, attempting to ban the use or trade of cryptocurrency without offering something better or making the present financial system beneficial to everyone, is likely to be an exercise in futility. This fact should be clear to African countries that have hitherto copied and pasted everything that their Western counterparts have done to stop or curtail the use of cryptocurrencies. It should also be clear to African central banks and regulators that the launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) alone will not restore confidence in a currency. Once a currency falls, it takes a lot more than just giving it another name to get a population believing in it again. Therefore, instead of attempting to stop people from using cryptocurrencies, a smart regulator should see the popularity of crypto assets as a measure of the lack of confidence in a financial system. Understanding the popularity of cryptocurrencies this way should help African central banks craft the appropriate regulatory response. What are your thoughts about this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

S&P Global, an intelligence and data company, suggests that crypto and decentralized finance trends will continue to gather steam in 2022. In its latest report, the company examines the current state of the market and notes that, while there are still serious problems that could hinder adoption, the sector will keep growing by complementing traditional finance in the coming year. S&P Global Believes Crypto Will Continue to Grow in 2022 A new report prepared by S&P Global, an intelligence gathering and data company, predicts that the cryptocurrency and the decentralized finance sectors will keep growing in 2022. The report, titled Global Credit Outlook 2022, declares that while crypto institutional investments are still concentrated in a few companies, this could lead to other institutions following suit. The report states: Three companies–Block.one, MicroStrategy, and Tesla–hold almost 84% of corporate investments in bitcoin. Yet, growing interest from institutional investors augurs accelerated expansion for cryptocurrencies as investment vehicles. According to the report, tokenization could also be a powerful force to help people invest in assets they would not be able to without these tools. Tokenization, in other words, could provide the possibility of democratizing opportunities. Regulation will also be an important part of the next year, with the industry still needing “a regulatory framework that recognizes the rights of token holders and smart contract protocols.” Defi Will Not Put Traditional Finance in Jeopardy When it comes to decentralized finance, the report states that while the sector will keep growing, it will not jeopardize the traditional structures that manage banking and finance. However, these institutions will have to adapt to what users expect of financial platforms today. The report declares: Defi will continue to complement, not supplant, traditional finance in 2022. We believe it will continue evolving in 2022 toward complementing the current financial system rather than substituting financial services companies. To remain relevant, we think incumbent players will have to further step up investments in new technologies. Regulation will be a key factor in the growth (or stagnation) of the decentralized finance area during the next year, according to the report. S&P Global believes that the growth in volumes and the rise of stablecoins in the space will put pressure on the regulatory debate, but it is unlikely that regulators will jump to address these issues quickly because they often still lack the frameworks to fully monitor crypto assets, and this becomes a challenge in itself. What do you think about the predictions of the S&P Global report? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The decentralized finance (defi) portfolio tracking startup Debank raised $25 million from investors according to an announcement on Tuesday. Following the equity financing round, Debank says it has an overall valuation of around $200 million. Defi Dashboard Debank Raises $25 Million 2021 was a good year for venture capital (VC) entering the crypto and blockchain space. Estimates show that VCs invested roughly $30 billion into the crypto industry. The $30 billion invested in crypto and blockchain is four times larger than the investments made in 2020. Debank has announced that just before the year ends, the defi portfolio tracking company raised $25 million in equity financing from strategic investors. According to Debank, the financing brings the firm’s overall valuation to $200 million. Debank revealed the investment in a tweet on Tuesday, and said the round was led by “Sequoia China, followed by Dragonfly, Hash Global, Youbi, and other angel investors, along with strategic investments from Coinbase Venture, Crypto.com, Circle, and Ledger.” In addition to the $30 billion in capital raised in 2021, millions of dollars in investments were given to firms concentrating on portfolio tracking and blockchain data analytics. For instance, crypto analytics firm Messari raised $21 million, Boston-based Coin Metrics raised $15 million and at the end of April, Skew analytics was acquired by Coinbase. The digital currency exchange, Crypto.com, also tweeted about the investment in Debank on Tuesday. “Crypto.com Capital is excited to support Debank to bring the next billion users to Web3,” the company said. According to Debank’s web portal, “Debank is evolving into something new” and the website adds “new features are coming soon.” As of today, Debank states that users can track 798 protocols across 17 different blockchains. Debank users can access the web portal via a Web3 wallet in order to create a custom profile and it also offers a token swap feature. Debank also faces competition from Zapper (Zapper.fi), another defi portfolio dashboard. In August 2020, Zapper raised $1.5 million in a seed round led by Framework Ventures and Libertus Capital. Furthermore, in mid-May Zapper raised $15 million in equity in a Series A led by Framework Ventures. What do you think about Debank raising $25 million? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Indian legal experts reportedly say that it is too late to ban cryptocurrency despite calls for a complete crypto ban by the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, also passed a resolution calling for an outright ban on crypto. Meanwhile, the Indian government is reworking the crypto bill before resubmitting it to parliament. Legal Experts Explain It’s Too Late to Ban Crypto The Indian government is under pressure from the country’s central bank and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) to completely ban cryptocurrency. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said at its recent meeting of the central board of directors that cryptocurrency must be fully banned and that a partial ban will not work. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, also passed a resolution calling for a ban on cryptocurrency. While the government has not made an official announcement whether it will ban or regulate crypto, legal experts reportedly said that it is too late to ban cryptocurrency. They explained that the government’s cryptocurrency legislation will have to be balanced. This will not only ensure that investors will not be hurt but also prevent crypto from growing uncontrollably, which could threaten India’s foreign exchange reserves and disrupt its economy. L. Badri Narayanan, executive partner at Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys, was quoted as saying: The government is viewing cryptocurrencies as investment instruments and plans to regulate them. Under income tax rules, cryptocurrencies are likely to be treated as assets and attract capital gains. GST and TDS are other areas where the position of law is not clear. The legal experts reportedly added that comprehensive regulation is needed. They further noted that India’s cryptocurrency approach should not be compared to developed countries due to differences in foreign exchange regulations. Narayanan also explained that it would be challenging for regulators to stop Indians from sending crypto payments overseas, elaborating: You cannot take money out of India without permission. We are a foreign exchange-regulated market and that means we cannot take certain decisions like developed countries that have a free market. Under FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act), the cross-border movement of goods and services is classified as import/export, the publication conveyed. Recently, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief economist Gita Gopinath said banning cryptocurrencies would pose practical challenges, given their decentralized nature. She emphasized the need for a global policy on cryptocurrency. The Indian cryptocurrency bill that was listed for consideration in the winter session of parliament was not taken up, and the government is reportedly reworking the bill. Do you think it’s too late to ban crypto in India? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Genesis Trading’s head of market insights says that the institutional investment growth in the crypto space over the last 12 months “has been astonishing.” The executive added: “We’re seeing strong signs of that accelerating over the next year.” Strong Signs of Institutional Investment Growth Accelerating Next Year Noelle Acheson, head of market insights at Genesis Trading, shared her outlook for the cryptocurrency market and what investors should expect heading into 2022 with CNBC Tuesday. She said: The institutional growth over the last 12 months has been astonishing. We’re seeing strong signs of that accelerating over the next year. Genesis Trading is a full-service digital currency prime brokerage. The firm offers market participants a fully integrated platform to trade, borrow, lend, and custody digital assets. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), one of the largest private investors in blockchain and digital asset companies. Acheson explained that the institutional investment growth will come from both investments directly in tokens and companies in the crypto ecosystem. She added that investments in crypto market infrastructure companies are likely to accelerate given “the amount of money out there looking for returns.” She explained that institutional investors are expanding their interest beyond bitcoin and ether into smaller and risker cryptocurrencies to diversify their portfolios. “One of the big developments over the past 12 months was the migration of bitcoin mining from China. A lot of that went to the United States … Even more significantly for the bitcoin market directly is the access this gives bitcoin miners to financing,” Acheson further opined. Other indicators that institutional adoption of cryptocurrency is growing include a survey by Nickel Digital Asset Management showing that 82% of institutional investors and wealth managers are planning to increase their cryptocurrency exposure between now and 2023. Institutional investors are warming up to crypto despite expecting a major correction in the crypto market. In October, global investment bank JPMorgan said that “institutional investors appear to be returning to bitcoin perhaps seeing it as a better inflation hedge than gold.” A growing number of large banks are offering crypto products and services to their clients due to high demand. US Bank, for example, said in October that it is launching crypto custody services due to strong demand from institutional clients. What do you think about Acheson’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX is thrilled to announce the listing of the Sidus utility token, SIDUS, and the SENATE governance token under the trading pairs SIDUS/USDT and SENATE/USDT starting on Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. UTC. Sidus Heroes is a space themed, play-to-earn massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Sidus Heroes gameplay takes place in the metaverse, featuring interstellar exploration and battles. Settlement on Sidus Heroes is governed by a robust political and economic structure, with a mission to build a hybrid network ecosystem consisting of work, education, and entertainment segments. Sidus Heroes is the result of one of the largest collaborations in the NFT space, as dozens of professionals and community members from different domains have come together to launch what is now the industry’s first WebGL, AAA-level, play-to-earn, NFT RPG game. Each Sidus Heroes player has the opportunity not only to become immersed in the game itself, but also to earn and collect monetary rewards. Sidus Heroes’ internal economic and financial models make it possible to build incentives for all players, providing unique opportunities to earn SIDUS throughout gameplay. The Sidus Heroes team is composed of a large number of highly skilled blockchain developers, boasting years of experience building DeFi and NFT products, as well as many traditional game developers, bringing world-class technological and design experience to the table. Sidus Heroes provides so much more than an amazing play-to-earn experience for gamers looking to leverage the metaverse. At its core, Sidus Heroes aims to revolutionize the DeFi ecosystem, as seen through its continued innovation of in-game farming, staking, trading, and purchasing, all made possible by DeFi technologies. The future of blockchain-based gaming truly lies parallel with the growth of the DeFi industry – Sidus Heroes is a superb example of this. SENATE is a governance token that enables players to have a voice in the critical decision-making of the platform. A player’s voting power will depend on the quantity of the SENATE tokens they have. More of these assets means that he can wield a larger influence inside the game. On top of these utilities, SENATE tokens can also be used to purchase consumables and accelerators, which can further improve a player’s progress in the platform. SIDUS is an ERC-721 token and will be the metaverse’s gaming utility token and has a wide range of utilities which will be handy once the game is launched. AscendEX is excited to list SIDUS and SENATE to support the growth of the greater GameFi ecosystem. About AscendEX AscendEX is a global cryptocurrency financial platform servicing more than one million institutional and retail traders with the resources needed to obtain more value from their crypto investments. Operating at the nexus of centralized finance and decentralized finance, AscendEX’s platform features access to margin, futures, and spot trading, a robust wallet infrastructure, and staking support for over 200 industry-leading blockchain projects, all producing industry leading yields and returns, further driving the growth of the crypto ecosystem. In efforts to cultivate scalable and secure forms of decentralized financing, AscendEX has emerged as a leading platform by ROI on its “initial exchange offerings” through supporting some of the industry’s most innovative projects from the DeFi ecosystem. To learn more about how AscendEX leverages best practices from both Wall Street and the cryptocurrency ecosystem to extract the highest value per dollar to its users, please visit: For more information and updates, please visit: Website: https://ascendex.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/AscendEX_Global Telegram: https://t.me/AscendEXEnglish Medium: https://medium.com/ascendex About Sidus Heroes Sidus Heroes is a space-themed play-to-earn MMORPG. Gameplay takes place in a space metaverse with interstellar exploration, battles, and settlement, and is governed by a detailed political and economic structure. SIDUS is the result of one of the biggest collaborations in the NFT space. Dozens of professionals from different domains and a large number of their supporters came together to launch the first ever WEBGL, AAA-level, Play-to-Earn, NFT RPG game using the latest blockchain and gaming technologies. For more information and updates, please visit: Website: https://sidusheroes.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/galaxy_sidus Discord: https://discord.com/invite/PGD4bq7jE4 Medium: https://medium.com/sidus-nft-heroes 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 English singer, songwriter, and former Black Sabbath frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, has revealed he’s launching a non-fungible token (NFT) collection. Osbourne announced the launch on Twitter alongside a Rolling Stone article that showcases the drop of 9,666 NFT bats next year. Heavy Metal’s Prince of Darkness Launches Cryptobatz NFT Collection Following the stampede of celebrities getting into non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Ozzy Osbourne is joining the fray with his upcoming “Cryptobatz” collection, according to a Rolling Stone article published on December 27. Osbourne also told the masses via his Twitter account and told his followers to follow the official Cryptobatz Twitter account. In the Prince of Darkness’s usual style he tweeted: I’m launching a f***ing NFT project. 9,666 unique bats designed by yours truly… Go and follow @Cryptobatznft… According to Rolling Stone author Nick Reilly, the NFTs are a nod to the time when Osbourne bit the head off a bat on stage in 1982. The rock and roll singer also told his Twitter fans to join the Cryptobatz NFT Discord server to get on the pre-sale whitelist. However, not everyone was pleased with the Prince of Darkness’s decision to mint NFTs. “I implore you to please look into the environmental harm NFTs and crypto inflict upon the planet,” one person replied to Osbourne on Twitter. “As you’ve been someone who claims to care about global warming and the destruction of earth,” the individual added. Cryptobatz NFT Discord Channel Attracts Thousands of Members, NFTs Can Transform Into ‘Mutantbatz’ The official Cryptobatz NFT Twitter account explained that the Discord server hit 11K members in less than 24 hours. “The community we’re building is incredible [and] to celebrate we’re giving away 100 presale mint spots,” the Twitter account said on Tuesday afternoon. Additionally, the project has a website cryptobatz.com which showcases the project’s creators, the roadmap and “Mutantbatz.” Osbourne’s Cryptobatz NFT web portal shows that the NFTs offer something similar to the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s (BAYC) ability to transform into mutant apes. Cryptobatz can transform into Mutantbatz which allows owners to get a special NFT in addition to the original after it is “bitten.” There’s also “Ancientbatz,” which gives Cryptobatz owners the exclusive ability to access a “life-changing treasure hunt.” “I’ve been trying to get in on the NFT action for a while so when I asked Sharon for a Bored Ape for Christmas after several failed attempts of buying my own, and she said no, so I decided to create my own,” Osbourne statement in the Rolling Stone article notes. The animated rock star added: Cryptobatz is a f***ing mental project for NFT collectors and fans. The design pays tribute to one of my most iconic on-stage moments and is a chance to acquire a rare piece of art history. I love it. What do you think about Ozzy Osbourne introducing his NFT collection called Cryptobatz? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. The Novatar will be launching with a limited edition of 25K avatars, an NFT project to enable users to experience the fascinating new world of virtual reality and claim a brand new self. To resemble how humans came into this world in the form of a baby, all 25K Novatars are newborns. Similarly, all are distinctive with distinctive features, expressions, race, and skin color. As the babies grow, so will do the Novatars, this will happen after minting. Progressing with their genes and appearance, the user can choose the date to transform them into an adult. All of the 9 genes of Baby Novatar are basic. Out of the 14 genes of an adult Novatar, 10 genes are fundamental while the rest are optional. For infant avatars, each gene has 6 variations, while for adults, each gene has 11 variations (except for the genes responsible for skin, hair, eyes, and eyebrows colors). The Novatar users have multiple usability options available: With such diversity, a user can surely find his identical self and create a digital identity in social platforms and Metaverses. Besides the use in social networks and existing metas, Novatar will become a necessity in real-life events which will be coordinated by community members. Moreover, the exceptional creation by Novatars of transforming a baby into an adult NFT avatar, maintaining all the personality is thrilling. Details about Novatars: A pool of 25K rare Novatars Initially, Novatars are newborn babies The owner can decide after minting the date of Novatar babies’ evolution into adulthood. A limited range of professions are available namely, a developer, a doctor, a blogger, an astronaut, and a gamer As they mature new genes will be developed All gene combinations are unique thereby resulting in more rare types of Novatar About Novatars The Novatar project has a unique pool of 25K Novatars, one-of-a-kind in their facial features, expressions, race, color, etc., all set to enable the user to discover the virtual life he craves in real life. Visit to Know More Website: https://thenovatar.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thenovatar Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novatar.official/ Discord: https://discord.com/invite/thenovatar 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 Italian luxury sports car manufacturer headquartered in Maranello, Italy, Ferrari has announced the firm is partnering with Velas Network AG, a firm that specializes in blockchain and non-fungible token (NFT) technology. Ferrari Reveals Partnership With Blockchain Firm Velas On December 27, Ferrari the well known luxury sports car maker founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari revealed the firm is stepping into the world of creating “exclusive digital content.” The racing division Scuderia Ferrari announced that the Italian car manufacturer has partnered with Velas Network AG in a multi-year agreement. The company says Velas will help bolster digital content for Scuderia fans and the announcement explains Velas will also be a title sponsor for the Ferrari Esports Series. Velas network’s web portal notes that Velas is a Solana (SOL) fork with built-in EVM integration and the network launched in 2019. “We have the fastest EVN chain to compete with Ethereum 2.0,” the website claims. The company is located in Switzerland and Ferrari details in the announcement that Velas is a “global player in the blockchain and NFT sector.” Ferrari’s announcement further details that Velas will collaborate well with the Maranello team. While Ferrari’s partnership with Velas does not mention any NFT promotions or blockchain concepts on the horizon, the company does disclose the Ferrari Esports Series sponsorship. Ferrari follows a number of automobile makers and racing division brands that have entered the blockchain space. In mid-June, the German carmaker Porsche entered the NFT industry and at the end of September, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team inked a long-term deal with FTX. Mattia Binotto, the general manager and team principal at Scuderia Ferrari remarked on Monday that the company was pleased to collaborate with Velas Network AG. “[Velas is] a company that makes innovation and performance the hallmark of technologically advanced products and services: these are all values that unite us and that led us to choose Velas as one of our Premium Partner,” Binotto said in a statement. Scuderia Ferrari also follows behind the Motor Team McLaren’s NFT project and the Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum NFTs. The co-founder and CEO of Velas Network AG, Farhad Shagulyamov, believes his company and Ferrari are natural partners. Shagulyamov leadership as CEO of Velas was just announced four days ago after “long and fruitful debates.” “Having built a next-generation blockchain that puts the emphasis both on sustainability and performance, it was natural to partner with another icon of excellence, which is Ferrari,” Shagulyamov said in regard to the partnership with the Italian luxury sports car manufacturer. “Velas has introduced an innovative variety of pioneering technology into the blockchain and associated products, which will now be showcased at the pinnacle of motorsport,” the Velas executive concluded. What do you think about Ferrari joining up with Velas? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

With three days left until the end of 2021, the Ethereum network and its native token ether have had a phenomenal year as ether has increased more than 450% in value in 12 months. 145 days ago, on August 5, the Ethereum network implemented the London hard fork and since that day, 1,283,226 ether worth close to $5 billion has been burned. Burning $5 Billion in Ether in 4 Months Around four months ago, Ethereum implemented the London upgrade which added a number of new rule-sets to the chain. The most transformative included EIP-1559, an Ethereum rule-set improvement that created a new fee rate scheme allowing the network to burn a portion of ether. “The algorithm results in the base fee per gas increasing when blocks are above the gas target, and decreasing when blocks are below the gas target. The base fee per gas is burned,” EIP-1559’s description notes. As of today, December 28, 2021, 1.28 million ether has been destroyed by the burn process, which equates to close to $5 billion in USD value using today’s ETH/USD exchange rate. The amount of value burned to-date is 31.57% higher than what had been burned on November 24, when the burn rate crossed 1 million ether. Estimates indicate that there’s 118,926,664 ether in circulation today. NFT Platform Opensea Burns the Most Ether The biggest burner has been the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Opensea as it has burned 134,126 ether worth $498 million across 9.5 million transactions. Traditional ether transfers by network participants burned 122,365 ether since August 5, which equates to $483 million using today’s ETH exchange rates. The decentralized exchange (dex) Uniswap v2 has burned 112,159 ether worth $457 million. The stablecoin tether (USDT), used on Ethereum, has burned 67,932 ether worth $268 million and Uniswap v3 has burned 42,020 ether worth $167 million. The top five ETH burners are followed by Metamask (29.2K ether burned), USDC (25.9K ether burned), Axie Infinity (16.7K ether burned), Sushiswap (15.1K ether burned), and the Opensea Registry (14.8K ether burned). What do you think about the 1.2 million ether burned since August 5? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article