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The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) plans to obtain information from commercial banks pertaining to some money transfers between private individuals, including clients trading cryptocurrency. The measure is likely to affect online crypto exchangers which the regulator accuses of conducting illegal operations. Central Bank to Check Transactions Between Russians Exchanging Crypto As part of efforts to clamp down on certain transactions it considers illegal, the Bank of Russia is going to seek additional data from financial institutions processing transfers between individuals. The move concerns a number of platforms using accounts registered in the name of dummy persons such as online bookmakers and websites providing crypto trading services, local media revealed. The Russian business news portal RBC reported Monday that the regulator had sent banks a new reporting form for transactions. According to the initial report, the CBR intends to request information on money transfers between Russians, including the personal data of the senders and the recipients of the funds. In a press release quoted by Prime, the monetary authority later clarified that the measure does not imply imposing total control over transactions of individuals but is “aimed at identifying risk areas associated with the use of payment cards and wallets issued to fictitious individuals by cryptocurrency exchangers, online casinos and unscrupulous participants in the financial market for settlements with Russian citizens.” Bank of Russia further emphasized it wants to collect anonymized data from banking institutions providing payment services to individuals only when their platforms might be used for illegal operations. It also insisted it does not plan to introduce new reporting procedures for all transactions, and explained it meant specific cases where large amounts of money are transferred in multiple transactions within hours to the same recipient. The CBR says such transactions are clearly not ordinary payments between private citizens and small businesses. The central bank added that when transactions meeting certain criteria are observed, it could ask for additional data from the banks’ registers but insisted it would not request information that could be used to identify individual customers. Russian authorities are now discussing proposals to comprehensively regulate cryptocurrencies as many related activities, including trading and mining, remain outside the scope of the law “On Digital Financial Assets” which went into force in January. In talks held in a working group at the State Duma, Bank of Russia has reportedly maintained its long-standing position against allowing the free circulation of bitcoin and the like in the country, as well as their use in payments. The monetary authority is also exploring options to prevent Russians from investing in crypto assets, including blocking card payments to certain recipients such as coin trading platforms. That’s despite estimates in its recently published Financial Stability Overview for the second and third quarter of 2021 suggesting that the annual volume of digital currency transactions made by Russian residents amounts to around $5 billion. Do you think Russia’s central bank will collect only anonymized data for transactions between Russian crypto users? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. NFTs have exploded in terms of popularity and usage in 2021, and for good reason. Artists and content creators alike have been able to profit immensely from NFTs, and many traders have also been able to benefit from buying, selling and trading these non-fungible tokens. However, one project in particular is looking to change the way we look at NFTs, and that is Vincent Peter’s ‘Inheritance Art’, provided by Inheritance AI. What is the issue with the current generation of NFTs? NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital assets which may be used to demonstrate ownership of various goods or experiences. Since their conception, NFTs have come a long way, but there is still considerable space for development. However, one feature that many people find particularly vexing is the present market’s lack of subtlety and elegance. Instead of developing wholly new forms of art, a vast majority of NFTs are generated by modern animators who study market trends and attempt to mimic them. This results in an unsustainable market in which investors and purchasers speculate on assets that are often difficult to discern. Using AI alongside NFTs The usage of AI (artificial intelligence) technology is not a new concept by any means, as there have been numerous projects and companies actively working with this kind of technology for some time now across a wide variety of fields and industries. However, utilizing AI alongside NFTs in particular is a concept that is still relatively new, and Inheritance AI is thus looking to capitalize. Put simply, Inheritance Art intends to create holographic recreations of renowned fine artworks, such as those seen in major museums. All of these digital artworks will be approved or commissioned by their respective existing owners, and will be developed by some of the most skilled animators and artists specializing in hyper-realistic visuals and generating lifelike virtual material. To be properly experienced, these holograms need the usage of spatial reality screens. This technology is uncommon, although it does exist. The majority of the world’s skill in this discipline is already a part of the Inheritance Art team. Moreover, the project generates two-dimensional intelligent non fungible tokens in addition to holographic artworks. These NFTs are linked to powerful databases and are also capable of natural language processing. People may communicate with them as a result, thereby making them highly interactive digital products that are accessible right now. Why is this important? The new generation of masterpieces developed by Inheritance Art will transform the NFT sector with the use of cutting-edge technology along with some of the industry’s top artists. These high-quality art NFTs shall be complex, detailed, and lifelike, which is in line with the project’s overall vision of revolutionising how NFTs are perceived. As such, the non-fungible tokens are designed for those who may desire to get their hands on valuable artworks which the corresponding owners would never contemplate selling. Holders of these items are more inclined to sell digital recreations of these pieces, opening up chances for ownership which would perhaps not have existed otherwise. About Vincent Peters Vincent Peters serves as the Chief Designer for Inheritance Art as well as the Rex Mundi sports analytics platform. Vincent is a West Point graduate who studied systems engineering and holds graduate degrees from both Oxford and MIT Sloan. He formerly worked at Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Starlink enterprises before launching Inheritance Art. Vincent has opened private art galleries in Los Angeles, illustrating the future in which Inheritance provides memories to life. As time passed and artistic representations improved, an increasing number of individuals urged that he should enter the industry of manufacturing NFTs. With that being said, Inheritance Art was formed, full of anticipation to see how far the team would be able to push this medium as well as what brand new doors it would open. With a technology as relatively new as NFTs, the possibilities may indeed be limitless and Inheritance Art could end up bringing something unexpected yet valuable to the already booming industry. Additional information can be found on the official website as well as via social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook. 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

Hackers recently took control of a group of HP-branded servers and used them to remotely mine a cryptocurrency called raptoreum, according to reports. This resulted in the compromised cluster of HP machines becoming the biggest contributor to the total mining pool of the cryptocurrency, allowing attackers to rake in $110,000 worth. The coins are said to have been mined between December 9 and December 17. HP Servers Suffer Cryptojacking Attack A group of HP servers operating for an undisclosed company was attacked by hackers that managed to take control of the hardware and repurpose it to mine cryptocurrency. The crypto chosen by the hackers was called raptoreum, a coin in the top 1,000 by market cap that takes advantage of an algorithm called Ghostrider, blending PoW (proof-of-work) and PoS (proof-of-stake) consensus mechanisms. The server cluster started mining raptoreum on December 9, and at the time, it provided more hash power than all other parties combined on the Raptoreum blockchain. This allowed the attackers to rake in more than $110,000 worth of raptoreum in the period between December 9 and December 17. The server group disappeared from the Raptoreun network on December 17, an indication that they could have been patched to eliminate the threat after it was detected. Log4j Leveraged The attack used a recently discovered vulnerability called Log4shell, which allows attackers to gain control of a system remotely. Log4shell uses Log4j, which is a registry library used widely in Apache-based systems. This vulnerability was discovered in early December, and in this case, it was leveraged to pass the execution of a crypto mining software. The vulnerability has been classified as critical by its discoverers due to how common its utilization is, even when it comes to massive operations like Microsoft and IBM. While the software has been patched in some of its implementations, investigators are still discovering new ways in which it can be leveraged. It was recently discovered that the software is also vulnerable to local attacks, meaning that the servers can be executing code remotely without being connected to the internet. During the first half of this year, cryptojacking attacks have decreased for the first time since 2018, according to a report titled “Cloud Thread Report,” issued by Unit 42, a security consulting firm. However, in a follow-up report, the firm also found that 63% of third-party code templates used in building cloud infrastructure contained insecure configurations that could lead to losing control of the hardware. What do you think about the attack on HP-branded servers to mine raptoreum? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

A man allegedly behind a cryptocurrency investment scam has been arrested in Bangkok, Thailand. He lured people into investing in his fraudulent crypto scheme by promising high returns, telling investors they could earn a 400% return by investing in just 200 days. Alleged Crypto Scammer Arrested in Bangkok A 50-year-old man who allegedly scammed Thai and foreign cryptocurrency investors was arrested on Saturday in Bangkok, Thailand. He tried to flee with over 500 million baht ($15 million), the Bangkok Post reported. Major General Montri Thetkhan, commander of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), said Mana Jumuang, along with his Thai and Vietnamese accomplices, allegedly colluded to swindle investors in 2018 and 2019. He detailed that Jumuang claimed to be a cryptocurrency guru, duping investors into investing in Onecoin by promising high returns. The CSD chief noted that the suspect told investors they could invest and earn a 400% return in just 200 days. In addition, he and his co-conspirators claimed to run stores to sell goods on a trading platform for Onecoin, including houses, cars, land plots, gold, food supplements, cosmetic products, and clothes. It is not clear whether Jumuang’s fraudulent crypto scheme is actually connected to the infamous Onecoin Ponzi scheme founded by “Cryptoqueen” Ruja Ignatova. The scheme is said to have brought in approximately $4 billion worldwide. Most of the leaders of the Onecoin scheme have now disappeared or been arrested. Ruja Ignatova disappeared in 2017. According to the Thai authorities, Jumuang initially paid dividends to investors. However, when the total amount of investment reached 500 million baht as the number of investors continued to rise, he and his co-conspirators could not be contacted. The victims subsequently filed complaints with police at several stations, and a warrant was issued for Jumuang’s arrest. He was arrested in May 2019 but was released on bail. He later jumped bail and another arrest warrant was issued for him. According to local media, Jumuang has more than 14 arrest warrants. He escaped the law to live at a house in Bangkok where he was arrested Saturday. What do you think about this case? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

20 days ago, Ethereum’s network participants upgraded the protocol and implemented the Arrow Glacier upgrade. The move delayed Ethereum’s “Ice Age” proof-of-stake (PoS) transition for another six months and this week, the network’s hashrate tapped all-time highs. For the first time, statistics within the six-month range indicate Ethereum’s hashrate surpassed 1 petahash per second (PH/s). Ethereum Hashrate Taps 1 Petahash Ethereum (ETH) miners are making profits at the end of the year as a 1.5 gigahash per second (GH/s) ASIC device crafted by Innosilicon makes around $84 per day. On December 27, Ethereum’s network hashrate is coasting along at 992.59 terahash per second (TH/s). ETH’s hashrate has been running hot and statistics within the six-month range show the network saw a high of 1.0122 PH/s. 1 petahash or 1,000 TH/s is a lot more than the 1.51 TH/s dedicated to the Ethereum network on March 21, 2016. That’s an increase of 66,125% since the first recorded hashrate on that day up until today’s Ethereum hashrate. This means it would take 1,000 top-of-the-line 1.5 GH/s machines to process the Ethereum network in the earliest days. With the network close to 1 PH/s today, and if every miner used a 1.5 GH/s device, 1 million machines would be needed to power Ethereum today. Ethermine, F2pool Command 41% of Ethereum’s Hashrate, Innosilicon A11 Pro the Most Profitable Ether Mining Device Ethereum’s biggest miner today is ethermine.org with 282.63 TH/s followed by F2pool at 134.81 TH/s. Poolin commands 103.57 TH/s, Hiveon has 93.32 TH/s, and Flexpool has around 46.17 TH/s today. Ethereum’s percentage of hashrate on Nicehash is 46.17 TH/s today, 2miners has 36.86 TH/s, and Antpool is dedicating 33.40 TH/s to the ETH network. Roughly 61 pools are dedicating hash to the Ethereum network on December 27, 2021. The most profitable ethereum (ETH) miner today is Innosilicon’s A11 Pro ETH 1,500 megahash (MH/s) unit which makes around $84 per day using $0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) at today’s ETH exchange rate. Innosilicon’s A10 Pro+ ETH 750 (MH/s) miner is the second most profitable ETH miner which gets around $41.78 per day using the same rates. 1.5 GH/s ether mining devices are also more profitable than today’s most profitable bitcoin (BTC) miner. What do you think about the Ethereum network seeing all-time hashrate highs? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

XTRA is a DeFI staking platform that offers over 14,7 to 45,2% APY. It is trustless, capital-backed, secure, powerful, extremely profitable, and easy to use. The best feature of XTRA is its decentralized GUARANTEE FUND that secures up to 90% of your token purchase price. The first listing of XTRA took place on the Kanga exchange on the 9th of December. A few days later, 15th of December, XTRA was listed on PancakeSwap. The XTRA project is still very young, but the XTRA’s team is working hard to develop it in the best possible way. Because of that reason, their public sale lasted only 8 minutes! The project received $1.05M, and the total investment of all rounds was $4.25M. How does it work? Connect wallet: head over to the XTRA platform and connect your wallet (e.g., Metamask) Buy XTRA tokens: head over on PancakeSwap and fill your crypto wallet with an XTRA token Stake it: and that is all. The user does not have to do something else Extract profit: collect your money and make your dreams come true What is a Guarantee Fund? XTRA is truly revolutionary in its approach. Its decentralised Guarantee Fund is designed to compensate you for the drop in a token price. If the price of the XTRA token falls, the fund will automatically match up to 90% of the initial purchase price. There is a catch though – to stake on the XTRA platform, users need XTRA tokens. What happened in XTRA in Q4? The last quarter was very busy for XTRA’s team. On the 15th of December, XTRA was listed on PancakeSwap. This event was very important from a development perspective. Below you can check the most important information from Q4 regarding the XTRA token: Strategic partnerships The first business partners were the (DEX) PancakeSwap. XTRA truly wants to be a provider of good, quality solutions in the crypto space. It is their mission. Because of that reason, they took checked and trustworthy business partners who can help build this project and achieve the next steps in the development roadmap. Hacken contract audit Everybody knows that in the crypto business one of the most important things is safety. It is all about investments, money, so users always want to know that the project is safe, trustworthy and they can put their money on it. The XTRA team knows about it very well, and because of that reason, to make sure that their users’ funds will be safe, they decided to verify their smart contract by Hacken. Hacken is a cybersecurity company that specializes in making audits for blockchain/crypto projects. And if you like technical documents and you are a safety lover, you can check Hacken’s report here: https://xtra.fund/wp content/uploads/2021/12/Xtra_08122021SCAudit_Report.pdf Roadmap for 2022 The XTRA’s team prepared the whole article about their plans for 2022 and you can read it here: https://xtra.fund/roadmap-for-2022-is-coming/ but below you can check the most important things. NFT Collection release XTRA’s NFTs are based on their own “mascot” – Xtra. Users will find in this collection about 100 different elements which you can use, mix, and create a unique and beautiful character. The collection of NFTs will have 10 000 pieces. It sounds so good. Launchpad XTRA Launchpad is a multichain token launchpad for tokens based on ERC20. It supports many EVM networks like Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, Polygon, Klaytn, and Optimism. The main goal here is to create and build an entirely safe, clear, and – if it’s possible – decentralized launchpad. What is more important here, all users and owners of XTRA tokens will have a chance to allocate new projects which will be tokenized on the new Xtra Launchpad on the very preferential conditions (seed, pre-sale1, pre-sale 2, etc.). You will find more information about Xtra Launchpad on XTRA’s website and social media in the following months. NFT launchpad Who can use it? Stakers of XTRA tokens and NFT collection holders (at the beginning until 10 000 pieces). Elements in these collections will be exposed all the time and the sale process will be clear and fair. More information soon. Token X-Staking Platform In XTRA they believe that good cooperation is one of the foundations of building strong projects. Because of that, they want to reward their community and business partners. That is why the XTRA team will create a dedicated staking platform where users will have an opportunity to stake tokens, using the X-Stake algorithm. What about rewards? Stakers will receive tokens of the partner’s project and XTRA’s tokens. TOP 100 on CoinMarketCap The goal is very ambitious but still real. XTRA’s team really believes – and what is more important, they have plans for it – to be at the Top 100 at CoinMarketCap and at the end of 2022. Even Top 50 in 2022/2023. Is it possible? From their perspective “yes” and they will do everything to develop the project and give their community the best solution to achieve this goal. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Binance has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain to operate a cryptocurrency service provider in the country. The license is part of Binance’s “plans to become a fully-regulated centralized cryptocurrency exchange,” the crypto exchange detailed. Binance Receives In-Principle Approval in Bahrain Crypto exchange Binance announced Monday that it has “received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) to establish itself as a crypto-asset service provider in the Kingdom of Bahrain.” The company explained: The in-principle approval comes after Binance applied for a license from the CBB as part of its plans to become a fully-regulated centralized cryptocurrency exchange. Receiving in-principle approval means that Binance still needs to complete the full application process, which the company expects to be done “in due course,” the announcement notes. According to the crypto exchange, the CBB is the “first regulator in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region to grant an in-principle approval to a Binance entity.” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) commented, “The approval recognizes Binance’s commitment to comply fully with regulatory requirements and our broader commitment to anchor operations and activities in Bahrain.” Over the past months, Binance has been scrutinized by a number of regulators worldwide, including in the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Australia, Norway, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, and Lithuania. In August, Binance said it is making regulatory compliance a top priority. The company is moving from a decentralized business model to a centralized one, as it pivots from a technology company to a financial services company. In early December, Binance revealed that it is making “substantial changes” to become a fully licensed and compliant cryptocurrency exchange. “We’re in the process of setting up real offices, legal entities, a proper board, proper governance structures in most places,” Zhao said. The exchange noted in Monday’s announcement: The Bahrain development demonstrates Binance’s strong commitment to the Middle East and North Africa region. What do you think about Binance receiving approval in Bahrain and planning to become a centralized crypto exchange? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Billionaire Ray Dalio, the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, says it’s not possible for the price of bitcoin to reach a very high number, such as $1 million. He explained: “Logically … there’s a limitation on its price in relationship to other things like it.” Ray Dalio on Where the Price of Bitcoin Is Heading Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio shared his view on how high he thinks the price of bitcoin could reach in an interview with Lex Fridman, published Saturday. Dalio currently serves as Bridgewater Associates’ chairman and co-chief investment officer. His firm’s clients include endowments, governments, foundations, pensions, and sovereign wealth funds. The Bridgewater boss was asked whether he thinks it is possible for the price of bitcoin to reach a very high number, such as $1 million. Dalio promptly replied: I don’t think that’s possible. “The way I look at it is there’s a certain amount of it [bitcoin] and there is a certain amount of gold,” he elaborated. “I’ll use gold as a benchmark,” he added, noting that the market cap of bitcoin is currently about $1 trillion and the market cap of the entire crypto market is about $2.2 trillion. “If you take the amount of money that is in gold that is not used for jewelry purposes and not used by central banks — and I assume bitcoin won’t be used for jewelry purposes or central bank purposes — that amount of gold is about $5 trillion,” he explained. “So right now if you were to have a portfolio that has gold and … bitcoin, it’s worth about 20% of the value of gold.” The billionaire emphasized that he does not think bitcoin will be worth more than gold. “I think that 20% sounds kind of about right,” he affirmed but admitted, “I really don’t know what the right answer is.” The Bridgewater founder concluded, “If you use gold as a measure, it just makes no sense that it’s going to be used that much more.” While admitting that he is “not sure about anything,” Dalio said: Logically it seems to me that there’s a limitation on its price in relationship to other things like it. Dalio previously revealed that he has a small amount of crypto in his portfolio for diversification. Regarding bitcoin, he said: “I think it’s very impressive that, for the last 10, 11 years, that programming has still held up. It hasn’t been hacked and so on, and it has an adoption rate.” Some people disagree with Dalio about how high the price of bitcoin could reach. Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor, for example, expects the price of BTC to keep climbing against the dollar. The pro-bitcoin executive specifically mentioned that it could reach $600,000 and then $6 million a coin in the future. What do you think about Ray Dalio’s prediction and comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Mexico’s third-richest billionaire has advised people to stay away from fiat currencies, like the dollar and euro, and invest in bitcoin. Calling fiat “fake money made of paper and lies,” he stressed that “central banks are printing more money than ever before.” Ricardo Salinas Pliego Recommends Investing in Bitcoin, Says Avoid Fiat Money Mexico’s third-richest billionaire, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, gave some advice Friday in a video he posted on Twitter to wish his followers happy holidays. Salinas is the founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas, a group of companies with interests in telecommunications, media, financial services, and retail stores. According to Forbes’ list of billionaires, his net worth is currently $13 billion. One of the three pieces of advice he gave concerns bitcoin and central banks. The billionaire said: Stay away from fiat money. The dollar, the euro, the yen, or the peso — they are all the same story. It’s fake money made of paper and lies. The central banks are printing more money than ever before. Invest in bitcoin. This was not the first time Salinas has advised people to buy bitcoin. In November, the billionaire tweeted “Buy bitcoin right now” citing that the U.S. is “looking more and more like any other irresponsible third world country.” He also posted a chart showing what he described as “the scale of fake money creation.” In June, he announced plans for his bank to accept BTC. “I recommend the use of bitcoin, and me and my bank are working to be the first bank in Mexico to accept bitcoin,” he tweeted. He also believes that “Bitcoin is the new gold,” noting that it is “much more portable.” In December, Salinas announced that his retail chain, Grupo Elektra, a leading retailer in Latin America, has started accepting bitcoin. Do you agree with Mexico’s third-richest billionaire about fiat money and bitcoin? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Ertha Metaverse, currently the most notable Metaverse and Play-to-Earn projects in BSC blockchain gaming, announced its list of key investors. They include the world-renowned: LD Capital Polygon Syndicate OKEx Blockdream Ventures Shima Capital GD10 Genblock Capital Dialectic Momentum 6 X21 Terranova AU21 Zen Capital & Many others. All have been instrumental to the continued success of the project. Xi – Partner of LD Capital, the leading investors of Ertha provided insights about the project: “We have no hesitation to invest in Ertha after first call with Ertha team. They have proven track record in both gaming and crypto industries. Coronavirus pandemic has forced governments to take various lockdown measures which placed a huge pressure on economies and businesses. At this challenging time, we believe Ertha is going to gain more adoption from traditional game players and start a new era of Play to Earn.” To date Ertha raised $5.4 million and recently launched IDO’s on three of blockchain gaming’s most respected launchpads, Seedify, GameFi, and RedKite – the community pools sold out in less than one minute each. Ertha is going strength-to-strength with its NFT land sales and already sold over 7,500 revenue generating land-plots. Social media channels are exploding in popularity – Twitter community recently surpassed 70,000 followers, Discord is boasting at 50,000. Ertha is part of the Solar Multiverse Ecosystem – Ertha, Moon, Venus & other planets. Introduction to Ertha: In Ertha, mankind finds itself on the brink of extinction. World leaders failed with their last-ditch attempts at saving Earth, and in the years that followed untold natural disasters devastated the planet. Players are given the opportunity to right the wrongs of our past by building a new world, from the ground up. Extract resources, develop land, re-build economies, and re-form countries and their governments in the way they see fit. Each player’s actions can have lasting impacts within an ever-evolving metaverse. Ertha’s Gameplay: Ertha’s world is a complex and intricately designed playspace ripe for the creation of new governments, economies, and shaky alliances between its player-base. The Metaverse is divided into 350,000 land plots, each of which collects taxes, fees, and other forms of revenue from the transactions taking place on them. Players must balance production, trade, and financial budgets, in order to stay one step ahead of the competition. For those looking for an introduction to Metaverses and Play-to-Earn gaming, Ertha represents an opportunity like no other. How does Play-to-Earn Work: Player ownership is connected to unique NFTs called HEXs. Each HEX grants its owner complete control over their land within the Metaverse. Ertha has been designed to replicate a real-life environment with a player-driven economy. A Player’s actions, whether political or environmental, in times of conflict or peace, can create real change and have far-reaching consequences. Owners have a say in everything from international trade laws to taxes on the transactions being conducted in their territory. Just like in the real world, each HEX owner will profit from their real estate investment. Social Media Channels: Twitter : https://twitter.com/ErthaGame Discord : https://discord.gg/ertha Medium : https://erthium.medium.com/ YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHiXL-GSDqd9jIa1hsr20Kw Telegram : https://t.me/erthagame This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

Digital currencies had a phenomenal 2021 as the crypto economy surged past a couple of trillion dollars in value this year. Over the last 12 months, bitcoin gained more than 90% in value and ethereum spike more than 540%. However, while those gains are decent, numerous digital assets outperformed those 12 month gains by a long shot, as a few crypto assets have increased a great deal against the U.S. dollar and other fiat currencies. 2021’s Top 10 Crypto Gainers At the time of writing, the crypto economy is worth $2.5 trillion in value as a great number of tokens swelled in fiat value this year. Many of the leading crypto assets saw decent gains, but a number of tokens have eclipsed the 12-month gains captured by leading digital assets like bitcoin and ethereum. The following is a look at the top ten crypto asset gains during the course of the last 12 months. Gala (GALA) — +212,036% — Market Cap Dominance: 0.16% According to statistics, the blockchain gaming platform token gala (GALA) has increased 212,036% during the course of the year. On December 27, GALA is exchanging hands for $0.507 per unit to $0.547 in terms of its 24-hour range. Gala has an overall market capitalization of around $4 billion on Monday with $774 million in global trade volume. Axie Infinity (AXS) — +18,957% — Market Cap Dominance: 0.29% The blockchain gaming platform token axie infinity (AXS) has increased 18,957% during the last 12 months. At the time of writing, AXS has an overall market valuation of around $7.48 billion and there’s $238 million in AXS trade volume today. On Monday, the 24-hour price range for AXS has been between $106 to $111 per token. Content Value Network (CVNT) — +18,572% — Market Cap Dominance: 0.00% CVNT is considered a native token for a new generation decentralized storage network and layer 2 (L2) system. During the last two weeks, CVNT gained 66.9% and 24-hour range metrics indicate CVNT has been exchanging hands for $1.23 to $1.31 per unit. CVNT’s market cap is around $21.6 million and has around $32,379 in 24-hour global trade volume. Year-to-date, CVNT jumped 18,572% in value against the U.S. dollar. Terra (LUNA) — +17,589% — Market Cap Dominance: 1.34% The smart contract platform Terra Protocol and its native digital asset LUNA has seen extreme gains during the last 12 months jumping 17,589% in value. LUNA has a market capitalization of around $34.9 billion and $2.5 billion in global trade volume. The crypto asset is ranked the ninth largest market cap and LUNA’s 24-hour range has been between $96 to $103 per unit today. The Sandbox (SAND) — +17,497% — Market Cap Dominance: 0.24% The metaverse token SAND has climbed 17,497% higher since the start of the year and the crypto asset currently has an overall market capitalization of around $6.1 billion. SAND’s 24-hour price range has been between $6.53 to $6.81 per SAND on Monday. The metaverse token’s 24-hour trade volume today is just over $1 billion. Ecomi (OMI) — +16,247% — Market Cap Dominance: 0.06% The distributed ledger technology platform Ecomi’s native digital asset OMI risen by 16,247% in 12 months. The crypto asset has a market cap of around $1.6 billion and $3.8 million in global trade volume. 24-hour price range metrics show OMI has been exchanging hands for $0.00637985 to $0.00671183 per unit. Solana (SOL) — +15,217% — Market Cap Dominance: 2.43% The smart contract platform Solana’s native asset SOL climbed 15,217% during the course of 2021. SOL is ranked fifth among 12,000+ crypto assets in existence today in terms of market valuation size. SOL’s market cap today is around $62.9 million and SOL has around $1.5 billion in global trade volume. Over the last day, SOL has been exchanging hands for $196 to $204 per coin. Polygon (MATIC) — +14,352% — Market Cap Dominance: 0.74% The Polygon blockchain network’s digital asset MATIC increased by 14,352% this year. MATIC has an overall market valuation of around $19.3 billion on Monday and $1.6 billion in 24-hour trade volume. Over the last two weeks, MATIC has increased 33.9% in fiat value and 24-hour range metrics show its trading for $2.78 to $2.92 per coin. Fantom (FTM) — +13,820% — Market Cap Dominance: 0.23% The digital asset fantom (FTM) increased a great deal this year, joining the biggest 2021 crypto gainers with a gain of 13,820% during the last year. FTM’s 24-hour range today has been between $2.25 to $2.45 per coin. FTM has an overall market valuation of around $5.9 billion and $768 million in global trade volume. Flux (FLUX) — +11,018% — Market Cap Dominance: 0.02% The digital currency flux (FLUX) jumped 11,018% in value during the last year and has an overall market valuation of around $526 million. Flux has been trading for $2.32 to $2.50 per unit on Monday with $39.4 million in global trade volume. Over the last two weeks, flux has increased in value against the U.S. dollar by 29.1%. What do you think about this year’s top ten digital asset gainers? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The pensioners of the state-owned oil company of Venezuela, PDVSA, have started receiving a Christmas bonus in petros (PTR), the first national cryptocurrency launched back in 2018. The petro, which is backed by Venezuelan oil and other resources, can be traded in local exchanges for these pensioners to access fiat currency, as the reach of the currency as a means of exchange is still limited according to local reports. Venezuelan Pensioners To Get 2 Petros This Christmas A group of Venezuelan pensioners stemming from the PDVSA, the state-owned oil company, will receive a bonus paid in petro (PTR), Venezuela’s national cryptocurrency launched back in 2018. The pensioners will receive this bonus as a Christmas gift via the Motherland platform, where they will be able to manage the two Petro (worth approximately $120) that started being deposited on December 23. The pensioners destined to get this bonus will receive an alert via the platform so they can move their two PTR out of it. While there is a healthy amount of activity linked to the petro in national exchanges, its reach as a means of exchange is very limited at the moment, as many pensioners have indicated they intend to exchange it to purchase goods and pay for services. The History And Price Movements of The Petro Launched back in 2018, the Petro was the first state-backed cryptocurrency network, years before El Salvador adopted bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender. At first, the Petro was intended to maintain a stable price of $60 backed by a basket of oil and other resources available in Venezuela. However, the market did not assimilate this very well, and due to the limited utility of the currency, it has traded at a fraction of the intended price. This trend was reversed recently when petro reached record prices in national exchanges. The local cryptocurrency portal Morocotacoin stated that the crypto asset was trading for more than $50 in some exchanges, reaching $56 in some instances. This is not the first time that the Venezuelan government has used the petro to give bonuses to Venezuelan citizens in December. In fact, two years ago in 2019, the government did the same thing, giving half of a petro unit ($30) to all the pensioners and state workers as a Christmas gift. On that occasion, the government distrubuted payments in petros through the POS systems of state-owned banks, so workers could use it more easily, and merchants could exchange the petro for fiat currency automatically. What do you think about using the Petro to pay pensioners in Venezuela? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

This week, bitcoin’s market dominance among the market capitalization of all 12,046 crypto assets in existence has been hovering above 38%, while ethereum’s overall valuation commands 19% dominance. A report published on Monday shows that since 2014, the market share of altcoins surged threefold from 21% in 2014, to today’s market share of 62%. Report Says ‘Tide Is Turning,’ Altcoins Are ‘Making Ground on Bitcoin’ A report published by tradingplatforms.com and author Edith Reads shows that altcoins have swelled in value over the last seven years. The author’s report explains that “the tide is turning” and altcoins are “making ground on BTC as their popularity continues to soar.” It is well known that since bitcoin’s inception, BTC’s market dominance among all the other crypto assets in existence has been over 80% until February 2017. On February 26, 2017, BTC had a market dominance rating of 86% and it’s never returned to above the 80% range since that day. “Since 2014, the market share for Altcoins has been on an upward trajectory,” the tradingplatforms.com author explains. Reads notes that as of December 9, 2021, altcoins represented 62% of the market share. “The figure represents a tripling of their dominance in the last seven years. They’ve surged threefold from a market share of 21 percent to stand at the current 62 percent figure,” Reads’ study adds. The report continues by sharing the growth of the altcoin space and growing interest in altcoins. “The growth in [the] market dominance of altcoins is indicative of a shift in thinking about crypto assets,” Reads says. “Many are embracing them as alternatives to BTC. As the crypto space continues to develop, BTC’s dominance will come under increased pressure,” the tradingplatforms.com researcher notes. Study’s Author Claims ‘Market Cap Is a Crucial Factor in Crypto Ranking’ The author claims that market share dominance is a significant factor and BTC’s market share has been declining. “In December 2014, [BTC’s] market cap stood at 78 percent,” the study highlights. “But that position has continued to erode to stand at 38 percent at the study’s publication.” Reads further opined: Higher market dominance in most cases translates to higher market caps. Market cap is a crucial factor in crypto ranking. Large caps suggest safe investment options as such cryptos tend to be less volatile. In essence, it’s a pointer to how stable the asset is. Today there are more than 12,000 crypto-assets in existence that have a recorded price value according to coingecko.com metrics. While ethereum (ETH) commands 19.1% of the $2.54 trillion, many other coins have decent shares of the overall crypto economy as well. BNB has a market dominance of 3.64% and the stablecoin tether (USDT) has around 3.06%. Solana (SOL), the fifth-largest crypto market cap today, captures 2.45% of the $2.54 trillion and cardano (ADA) commands 1.97% of the crypto economy. The tradingplatforms.com study insists there are a few advantages altcoins have over BTC including “gaining ground in the [decentralized finance] sector.” Reads opines that in terms of scaling, “altcoins are built on better Blockchain technology.” She says that BTC is also dealing with a lot of people who care about the environment and Reads mentioned that “Elon Musk has been a vocal critic.” What do you think about the tradingplatforms.com study and Edith Reads’ opinions concerning the crypto market share dominance today? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The digital currency cardano has jumped over 8% in value during the last 24 hours and 25% over the last seven days. The price move follows an update on Charles Hoskinson’s and IOHK’s plans for the Cardano network in 2022. Charles Hoskinson’s 2022 Cardano Outlook: ‘A Formal Open-Source Project Structure Is Going to Be Formed’ Cardano (ADA) supporters were pleased to get two updates from IOHK, the team behind the crypto project’s development. On December 24, the founder of Cardano, Charles Hoskinson, spoke for 30 minutes in a new video explaining some of his goals for the next year. “My goal for the second half of 2022 is to figure out how to put all the pieces together to get an end-to-end microfinance transaction on Cardano,” Hoskinson said during his video. Hoskinson further noted that a formalized open-source system would be introduced that would be similar to Linux. “A formal open-source project structure is going to be formed, kind of like Hyperledger to Linux,” the Cardano founder disclosed. Hoskinson also said there are “almost 15 companies working on Cardano right now across the world — The sun never sets for the project.” The Cardano executive stressed: We need to make that hundreds, and then eventually thousands. We need institutions like universities and nation-states to actively cooperate and collaborate and have a stake in the success of this project. IOHK Blog Post Highlights ‘Realfi’ and the ‘Greenest Coin’ Compliment In addition to Hoskinson’s 30-minute Youtube talk on Christmas Eve, the development team behind Cardano, IOHK, also published a post that explains how users can introduce family members and friends to ADA during the holidays. The post explains how the Cardano team is focused on decentralized finance (defi) but refers to it as “Realfi.” The blog post details that there are around a billion people with no legal identity and this is where Realfi can help. “There’s where Cardano steps in, thanks to real finance, or Realfi,” IOHK’s blog post details. “Cardano can give those billion people an identity. A digital identity, in fact, which they can use to access finance. Realfi creates value and opportunity for the real people who really need these things.” IOHK’s blog post also highlights the fact that the network uses a negligible amount of energy consumption in comparison to Bitcoin’s proof-of-work consumption. The development team noted how it was dubbed “the greenest coin,” back when ADA saw some limelight after Elon Musk criticized the BTC network’s energy consumption. IOHK added: You have probably heard about climate change, energy crisis, etc. Cardano is very much a green blockchain, as it consumes far less energy to produce new blocks than the Bitcoin or Ethereum networks. That is because Ouroboros is a proof-of-stake protocol. Cardano (ADA) managed to jump over 8% in value during the last 24 hours and is up more than 25% over the last week. Year-to-date statistics indicate that ADA is up 887% but the crypto asset is down 49.2% from its all-time high of $3.09 per unit on September 2, 2021. At the time of writing, ADA’s 24-hour price range has been between $1.43 and $1.59 per unit. What do you think about cardano’s recent market performance and the updates from Charles Hoskinson and IOHK? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. GensoKishi Online, which intelligently integrates GameFi with the popular MMORPG Elemental Knights, today announced a partnership with TrustPad, who will help promote GensoKishi on its popular platform and publicise this opportunity to its broad range of investors. TrustPad is the first decentralized multi-chain fundraising platform which enables projects to raise capital whilst promising ease-of-access and safety to early stage investors. In an additional benefit of this partnership, GensoKishi will receive the full support from the DeFi Launchpad Association. GensoKishi, a game that derives from a series that has been available to play since 2008 and has already accumulated 8 million downloads in total, was due to list their MV governance token on DEXs this month (Uniswap and Quickswap). Having consulted with their launchpad partners they have decided it would be best to delay the IDO to take full advantage of the increased marketing, awareness and new players that will be brought in by this collaboration. The GensoKishi launch/IDO will also be supported by other members of the launchpad association; increasing public access and exposure to the project – details will be released soon. For more details on the release date, follow GensoKishi and TrustPad on Community. GesnoKishi Online – META WORLD – Community Site: https://genso.game/ Telegram（English): https://t.me/gensometamain Telegram（Chinese): https://t.me/gensometazw Telegram（Japanese): https://t.me/gensometajpn Discord: https://discord.gg/gensometa Twitter: https://twitter.com/genso_meta LINE: https://lin.ee/fRx2vvE TrustPad Community Site：https://trustpad.io/ Twitter：https://twitter.com/trustpad Telegram：https://t.me/TrustPad Medium：https://trustpad.medium.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 Russia is currently reviewing various ways to prevent Russians from investing in cryptocurrency. One the options on the table is to block card payments to certain recipients such as crypto exchanges, a media report has unveiled. A recent meeting at the State Duma has indicated, however, that the authority’s hardline stance is not backed by other government institutions in Moscow. Russia’s Central Bank Considers Mechanisms to Limit Crypto Investments In talks with financial market participants, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has been discussing several approaches to restricting access to cryptocurrencies for domestic investors, the Russian edition of Forbes magazine has revealed, quoting sources familiar with the matter. According to Andrey Mikhaylishin, founder of a crypto project tested in the regulator’s sandbox, one of the options under consideration is to block card payments to crypto platforms. The monetary authority may try to oblige banks to stop transactions with certain Merchant Category Codes (MCC), four-digit numbers assigned to the recipients of payments depending on the services they offer. The code used for digital asset exchanges is 6051, the report notes. Mikhaylishin learned that the idea had been discussed from a central bank employee and the publication was able to confirm the information from its own source close to the CBR. While Bank of Russia recommended commercial banks block cards and wallet accounts used by suspicious entities, among which it listed crypto exchange service providers, the institution has yet to release an advisory report detailing its comprehensive position on cryptocurrencies. The report should be reviewed by a working group set up at the State Duma which is now considering regulations for crypto-related activities that remain outside the scope of the law “On Digital Financial Assets.” This law went into force at the beginning of the year. The group held its first meeting at the lower house of Russia’s parliament on Tuesday. During the discussions, Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova made it clear the regulator was not drafting a law that would ban cryptocurrencies but at the same time, she emphasized the CBR’s firm opposition to their circulation in the country. The central bank plans to prohibit crypto investments, Skorobogatova said, according to the sources quoted by Forbes — an employee of the authority and another official, who were present at the meeting. Bank of Russia Alone in Its Conservative Approach to Cryptocurrency Regulation The two sources also shared that Bank of Russia’s hardline position was not fully supported by the other participants. Deputy director of Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service, Herman Neglyad, proposed allowing cryptocurrencies to circulate while imposing strict controls over financial flows between the crypto space and the traditional financial system. Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev suggested limiting crypto purchases, but only for non-qualified investors. In his opinion, it’s now too late to completely ban cryptocurrency, given that 10 million Russian citizens have already acquired one coin or another, as per the department’s own calculations. According to the Russian Association of Cryptoeconomics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain (Racib), 17.3 million people in Russia have crypto wallets and the real number may be even higher as the data does not cover traders who use VPNs. The ministry’s press service commented to Forbes that banning cryptocurrencies now would create a lot of problems for Russians, as such a move would make their holdings illegal. Estimates quoted in Bank of Russia’s Financial Stability Overview for Q2 and Q3 of 2021 indicate that the annual volume of digital currency transactions made by Russian residents amounts to around $5 billion. And according to the head of the Financial Market Committee at the Duma, Anatoly Aksakov, Russians have invested 5 trillion rubles in crypto (over $67 billion). Do you expect Russia to restrict card payments to cryptocurrency exchanges? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

A Colombian real estate platform is now allowing users to purchase properties with Bitcoin. The platform, called La Haus, is promoting bitcoin payments for a new real estate project in Santa Marta, called Natura City. This is an expansion of the platform, which has already established such a service in Mexico. La Haus to Allow Colombian Citizens to Buy Real Estate With Bitcoin A Colombian real estate platform, La Haus, is enabling bitcoin investors to buy real estate with the cryptocurrency directly. To kickstart this initiative in the country, the platform is featuring a new housing project in an exclusive part of Santa Marta, called Natura City. The location is less than 200 meters from the Colombian beaches and construction of the complex is estimated for completion by 2025. La Haus partnered with payment processor OpenNode for this task and allows users to pay for the properties via Lightning Network or on-chain, depending on the needs of the buyer. The buyer can pay 100% in bitcoin, or just pay a portion of the total in BTC, paying the remaining amount via traditional avenues. Each apartment is valued at approximately 2.19 bitcoin or 400 million Colombian Pesos. Expanding From Mexico This is not the first time La Haus has been involved with cryptocurrency payments in the sector. Earlier this year, in November, the company started accepting bitcoin payments for a housing development on Playa del Carmen, Mexico. At that time, La Haus stated that its intention was to extend this payment option to all of the properties listed on its platform. On the evolution of accepting bitcoin payments, La Haus president and co-founder Rodrigo Sanchez-Rios, stated: We think that Bitcoin will be the reserve currency of the future. At our core, we’re a tech company. It’s natural for us to be pioneers with this technology. However, the issue of bitcoin as a payment method for real estate companies can be complex due to regulations. In the U.S., bitcoin can be considered property, so that any income or loss resulting from the sale of the asset is subject to capital gains tax. Real estate purchases in crypto continue, however, such as the purchase of an apartment in Venezuela with stablecoin tether. What do you think about La Haus accepting bitcoin payments for real estate in Colombia? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

2021 is coming to an end and one prominent theme this year in the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology most definitely belongs to non-fungible token (NFT) assets. This year NFTs became a billion-dollar industry and many NFTs have sold for millions of dollars. The following is a look at the top ten NFTs, in terms of sale value in 2021, as they are considered the most expensive NFTs on earth. 2021’s Top 10 Most Expensive NFTs Billions of dollars in digital assets have been traded for NFTs and various collections have significantly sized market valuations. For instance, according to dappradar.com metrics, the Axie Infinity NFT collection has captured $3.81 billion across 11.4 million sales. Cryptopunks is the second-largest NFT collection in terms of overall sales with $2.32 billion. The Cryptopunks collection itself has a market capitalization of around $3 billion today, while Bored Ape Yacht Club’s market cap is $2.5 billion. There’s also a list of the most expensive NFTs ever sold and single NFTs that have sold for multi-millions in digital currency. The list below excludes the controversial Cryptopunk #9998 sale that took place two months ago for 124,450 ether or $529 million. Pak: ‘The Merge’ — $91.8M While Beeple held the top position in terms of the most expensive NFT ever sold for most of 2021, at the end of the year a non-fungible token designed by the NFT artist Pak sold for $91.8 million via Nifty Gateway. The NFT called “The Merge,” however, was fractionalized and distributed to 28,983 traders who obtained roughly 312,686 fractionalized pieces of “The Merge” NFT crafted by Pak. Beeple: ‘Everydays – The First 5,000 Days’ — $69.3M The American artist Michael Winkelmann, otherwise known as Beeple, made history this year when he sold the NFT “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” for $69.3 million via a Christie’s auction. This particular sale helped propel NFTs into the limelight and non-fungible token assets were noticed by mainstream audiences. Beeple is one of the most well-known NFT artists today and he also launched his own NFT marketplace called We.new. Beeple: ‘Human One’ — $28.98M On November 9, Beeple took the third position in terms of the next most expensive NFT ever sold with “Human One.” The “Human One” NFT is a life-sized 3D sculpture NFT shows an individual in a silver-colored space suit but can change on the whims of the artist. Beeple promises he will update “Human One” during his lifetime, so the art can change and vary from day to day. The 21st Century Evening Sale auction of “Human One” saw a realized price of $28,985,000. Larva Labs: Cryptopunk #7523 — $11.75M Last June, at London’s auction house Sotheby’s, Cryptopunk #7523 sold at auction for $11.75 million. Besides Cryptopunk #9998, Cryptopunk #7523 is considered the most expensive Cryptopunk NFT from the Cryptopunks collection crafted by Larva Labs. Cryptopunk #7523 is also a rare styled Cryptopunk dubbed: “Covid Alien.” Larva Labs: Cryptopunk #4156 — $10.35M Two weeks ago, Cryptopunk #4156 sold for 2,500 ether or $10.35 million according to dappradar.com stats. Cryptopunk #4156 is a rare ape-styled Cryptopunk and only 24 exist. Dappradar.com’s site estimates it’s worth around $3.75 million and it has a floor price of around 66 ether or $275,285. Larva Labs: Cryptopunk #7804 — $7.56M Dappradar.com stats show Cryptopunk #7804 sold for $7.56 million or 4,200 ether. The blue Cryptopunk with a hat, sunglasses, and a pipe sold for that price ten months ago. The NFT is the sixth most expensive NFT on the planet, according to today’s metrics, while Cryptopunk #3100 sold for a touch less. Larva Labs: Cryptopunk #3100 — $7.51M The bald-headed Cryptopunk #3100 with a headband sold for $7.51 million ten months ago as well. Dappradar.com stats indicate that Cryptopunk #3100 has a floor price of around 66.95 ether or $275,285, but estimates the worth to be around $1.69 million. Xcopy: ‘Right-click and Save As guy’ — $7.09M Three weeks ago, the NFT artist Xcopy’s “Right-click and Save As guy” NFT sold for 1,600 ether or $7.09 million. The NFT was purchased by Snoop Dogg’s NFT alias ‘Cozomo de Medici’ via Superrare. Art Blocks: Ringers #109 — $6.93M Ringers #109 from the Art Blocks collection sold for 2,100 ether or $6.93 million, according to dappradar.com metrics. The sale was executed three months ago and there’s a total of 99,000 Art Block NFTs in existence. The Art Block NFTs are on-demand art generative-styled collectibles. Beeple: ‘Crossroad’ — $6.6M Once again, Beeple, takes the tenth position with his animated 10-second short called “Crossroad.” The animated NFT featuring former U.S. president Donald Trump sold for $6.6 million at the end of February. “Crossroad” was first sold on Nifty Gateway, but the $6.6 million sale was executed via a secondary market. Other notable NFT sales this year include Xcopy’s “A Coin for the Ferryman,” which sold for $6.03 million. Cryptopunk #8857 for $6.64 million, the Ross Ulbricht Genesis NFT sold for $6.28 million and has been fractionalized. The fractionalized Doge NFT is worth $124.61 million according to the market cap growth over time, and Etherrock #72 has a market valuation of $18.55 million today, but it didn’t originally sell for that value. What do you think about the top ten non-fungible token collectibles in terms of price? Would you spend this kind of money on an NFT? Let us know what you think about these expensive NFTs in the comments section below. 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New decentralized organization Opendao gave users of Opensea, one of the biggest NFT marketplaces by trading volume, a gift on Christmas. The organization launched its own token and organized an airdrop to distribute it to users that had purchased NFTs using Opensea, allowing them to claim 50% of the total supply of SOS, its native token, as an act of gratitude for popularizing NFTs. Opensea Users Receive Opendao Airdrop Users of Opensea got a Christmas gift this year from a new DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) that launched an airdrop to thank users of the marketplace and show its gratitude for their support of the NFT environment. Opendao launched on Christmas day, and it airdropped 50% of its total supply to all users that have traded NFTs and transacted on the Opensea marketplace since day one. The snapshot for this airdrop was taken on December 23. The organization claims that 20% of its total issuance will be destined to compensate verified scam victims on Opensea with SOS, the native token of the DAO, and support emerging artists and their original work. After the initial concern about authorizing an unknown contract to have control over users’ Ethereum wallets, according to reports on social media, heavy users of Opensea received airdrops of thousands of dollars in SOS. At the time of writing, more than 240K addresses have claimed the SOS airdrop, and the token has been listed on two centralized exchanges, Oxex and Kucoin. A New Way to Airdrop The dynamic of the Opendao airdrop is different from others that have been organized before. This is the opinion of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who praised the way this particular airdrop was organized. He stated: OK — b4 all the VC thinkpieces start…. these airdrops (like $ENS before it) flip script on how EVERYONE will value their time + spending online👉 u’re finally rewarded 4 using. It’s bringing incentives that I love (as a founder/investor) to the COMMUNITY that makes it all work. He further detailed that as the blockchain is a public record, many parties can organize these airdrops, and in the future, there will be a lot of spam crowding people’s wallets. However, he remarked there will be great projects coming out. SOS has experienced notable growth in price since its launch. According to price data provided by Coingecko, the coin went from a price of $0.00000140 when launched to $0.00001108. It has since retraced to an intermediate price of $0.00000650. What do you think about the Opendao airdrop for Opensea users? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Video games, the Metaverse and NFTs. Binance NFT has become the largest centralized gaming NFT marketplace. See what the team has accomplished and how Binance NFT is building the Gaming Metaverse. Main Takeaways: Since June, Binance NFT has become the world’s largest centralized NFT gaming marketplace, successfully on-boarding over 60 gaming projects and selling over 1 million gaming NFTs. Binance NFT has recently launched the first-ever Initial Game Offering (IGO) as part of the vision to build a home for NFT gaming, but most importantly, a step forward into the gaming metaverse. Featured are some of the hottest NFT drops on the market, the Binance NFT experience is bigger than just buying, selling and trading. A cyberspace that transcends reality; video games, NFTs, 3D worlds and a digital economy unified in one digital space. The Metaverse is the hottest topic in Big Tech, from VR goggles to virtual worlds. While recent developments have popularized the term, NFTs, gaming and the Metaverse have always been closely intertwined. Since the launch of the NFT marketplace in June 2021, Binance NFT has provided a platform for not only artists but also top game developers, welcoming new gaming projects every month to overwhelmingly positive reception, from gaming collections to NFT Metaverse items. Due to the positive response from users, the team recently launched the first-ever Initial Game Offering (IGO) as part of a vision to build a home for NFT gaming, but most importantly, a step forward into the Gaming Metaverse. To browse the latest gaming NFT collections and IGO drops, you can visit our IGO gallery. IGO: A Step Forward in the Gaming Metaverse Binance NFT’s Initial Game Offering (IGO) provides a direct link between top gaming projects and a passionate crypto community. Since its launch, all seven IGO drops have sold out and performed very well in the secondary market so far, with most projects achieving over 10 million trading volume in three days. As part of the commitment of building the Gaming Metaverse, the team also partnered with Binance Labs, Binance Smart Chain (BSC) fund, over ten guilds, 30 venture capitalists and gaming funds and more than 100 influencers to introduce new players to NFT gaming. IF you’re interested in learning more about IGOs, you can read the launch announcement. Why Gamers Choose Binance NFT: The World’s Largest and Fastest Centralized Gaming NFT Platform World’s largest gaming NFT trading platform with over 1 million gaming NFTs in supply, 60 gaming project NFT drops and $130 million in trading volume. The fastest-growing IGO platform with over $40 million in trading volume generated in 1 month for IGO drops alone. High returns on NFT resales where the most expensive gaming NFT sold on othe platform for $1,937,600 (4,000 BNB). Outstanding IGO performance with drops achieving up to $8 million in trading volume and up to 40x increase all in 24 hours. More Than a Marketplace At Binance NFT, the company has always had bigger dreams than creating just another NFT marketplace. While featured are some of the hottest NFT drops on the market, the Binance NFT experience is bigger than buying, selling and trading. It’s an immersive experience where everyone can come together under one digital space, from traders and collectors to gamers and creators alike. Here are some of the things the team does at Binance NFT: Building a comprehensive one-stop-shop for gaming The gaming metaverse is intimidating. Where should you start? At Binance NFT, the team has consolidated all the top gaming projects and tokens into one easy-to-use platform, where users can buy, sell and learn more about gaming NFTs. Regular updates At Binance NFT, improving the user experience is very important to us. The monthly updates emphasize new features that enhance interaction and exposure for collectors and creators, like creator/collection profile pages, daily handpicked recommendations, and ranking boards. Coming soon: NFT virtual world Stay tuned, the team is working on an immersive NFT gallery virtual world that allows users to walk around and enjoy curated NFT art in a completely digital space. Conclusion As part of the ongoing mission to the metaverse, the team will continue to welcome new projects, connect users to the broader metaverse experience, and of course, build the path forward towards an interconnected Gaming Metaverse. The company is excited to see what developers are making and what the future holds for gaming. IGOs are just the first step in our Gaming Metaverse vision, and together with users, partners and gaming projects, Binance NFT has got plenty in store down the line. Browse our gaming and IGO gallery here. To learn more about IGOs, read the article here. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has reportedly passed a resolution demanding a ban on cryptocurrency in India. “Disobeying the ban should make person/entity liable to financial penalty,” the resolution states. Swadeshi Jagran Manch Wants Crypto Outrightly Banned in India The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), the Indian economic, political, and cultural organization affiliated with the nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, reportedly passed a resolution about cryptocurrency Sunday. SJM co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan told PTI publication: “The resolution was passed by the 15th Rashtriya Sabha of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, which concluded in Gwalior today.” The resolution states: The government should outrightly ban buying, selling, investing and otherwise dealing in cryptocurrencies by any person resident in India. It also mandates crypto investors to sell or exchange their cryptocurrencies within a short period of time, subject to the provision of submitting information to the Income Tax department. In addition, the resolution emphasizes, “Disobeying the ban should make person/entity liable to financial penalty.” The SJM argued that giving cryptocurrency recognition in India could lead to heavy speculation which could adversely impact the country’s financial market. The organization elaborated: Recognition may also result in money laundering and terror financing as well as capital account convertibility from the back door. In its resolution, the SJM further called on the Union ministries of consumer affairs and corporate affairs to launch an “aggressive” consumer awareness campaign after banning cryptocurrencies. The organization stressed the need to advise people not to fall prey to “deceptive advertisements” it claims are being circulated by cryptocurrency exchanges. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch also discussed central bank digital currency (CBDC), which the central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is working on. “The law relating to issuance of digital currency by the Reserve Bank of India should be framed quickly. The CBDC should be considered as legal tender,” the SJM’s resolution adds, noting: Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ethereum, etc should not be recognised as asset or digital asset because it will indirectly become medium of exchange like currency. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch’s resolution echoes what the central bank has been saying about cryptocurrency. In its recent meeting of the central board of directors, the RBI said that cryptocurrency must be fully banned and that a partial ban will not work. The central bank has also repeatedly voiced serious concerns regarding cryptocurrency, which it said could negatively impact the country’s financial system. A cryptocurrency bill was listed to be taken up in the winter session of parliament. However, the bill was not introduced and the government is reportedly reworking the bill. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly taking a final decision on the country’s crypto legislation. He recently said that crypto should be used to empower democracy. What do you think about Swadeshi Jagran Manch calling for a complete ban on cryptocurrency? Do you think the Indian government will heed its advice and ban crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Former U.K. chancellor of the exchequer Lord Hammond has reportedly warned about investing in cryptocurrencies. He said, “It’s gambling money,” noting that “people should be extremely cautious” and “Many regard them as closer to gaming than serious investing.” Nonetheless, he is currently serving as a senior advisor to a crypto firm. Former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Warns About Investing in Cryptocurrency Former British Chancellor Lord Philip Hammond has reportedly urged investors to be “extremely cautious” about investing in cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether. Lord Hammond was a U.K. cabinet minister who served as the chancellor of the exchequer from 2016 to 2019, foreign secretary from 2014 to 2016, and defense secretary from 2011 to 2014. He joined the House of Lords in July last year. Commenting on whether one should invest in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, he told The Mail on Sunday: “If a member of my family was asking me, I think what I’d do is draw their attention to the fact that large and reputable established asset managers are now increasingly dipping their toe.” The former chancellor of the exchequer emphasized: “But it is dipping a toe — it’s a tiny proportion of their asset base exposed to what is a highly volatile asset class.” He added: It’s almost certainly not suitable for retail investors as a mainstream investment category … It’s gambling money. I think people should be extremely cautious. Many regard them as closer to gaming than serious investing. “I know plenty of people who have a small exposure to crypto assets but it is money they’ve written off,” he further opined. Even though Lord Hammond warned about cryptocurrency investing, he has taken a role as a senior advisor at crypto firm Copper, which he joined in October. The firm, valued at $3 billion last month, provides digital asset infrastructure to institutional clients, including traders, wealth managers, private banks, crypto funds, and family offices. Lord Hammond stressed that he would not have joined a firm that focuses on crypto investing. He noted that the distributed ledger technology, however, will “eventually encompass the whole of what we currently think of as financial services.” He clarified: “My job with Copper is to raise the profile of this debate, make sure people are aware that there’s a huge opportunity here.” The former chancellor of the exchequer concluded: We can grasp the opportunities of new technology and leverage the fact that whatever some of our friends in Europe might like to think, London is still the dominant financial services centre in the European continent. What do you think about Lord Hammond’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Cryptocurrency malware has been found in a torrent download of the new Marvel movie Spider-Man: No Way Home, a cybersecurity firm has warned. “This [crypto] miner adds exclusions to Windows Defender, creates persistence, and spawns a watchdog process to maintain its activity,” the firm explained. Beware When Downloading Spider-Man: No Way Home Movie From a Torrent Website Cybersecurity firm Reasonlabs warned Thursday that cryptocurrency malware has been found in a torrent download of the new Marvel hit movie “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Reasonlabs, which provides enterprise-grade cyber protection for users worldwide, noted that “To lure in as many victims as possible, attackers must stay up to date with trending topics.” The cybersecurity firm elaborated: In this case, we are facing someone who has placed a monero miner in a torrent download of what seems to be the new movie Spider-Man: No Way Home. Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home has hit the $1 billion mark at the box office, making it the highest-grossing movie of 2021. The third installment of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man series, No Way Home is the first movie released during the Covid-19 pandemic to reach the $1 billion mark. Reasonlabs explained: “The file identifies itself as ‘spiderman_net_putidomoi.torrent.exe,’ which translates from Russian to ‘spiderman_no_wayhome.torrent.exe.'” The firm believes that the file most likely originated from a Russian torrenting website. According to the firm: This miner adds exclusions to Windows Defender, creates persistence, and spawns a watchdog process to maintain its activity. “The malware tries to stay away from examining eyes, by using ‘legitimate’ names for the files and processes that it creates; for example, it claims to be by Google and drops files with names like sihost64.exe, and injects to svchost.exe,” Reasonlabs described. The cybersecurity firm advised that one easy precaution is to always check that the extension of the file being downloaded matches that of the file intended to download. For example, a movie file should end with “.mp4” and not “.exe.” The firm added that “To make sure you see the real file extension, open a folder, go to ‘View’ and check ‘File name extensions.’ This will make sure you see the full file type.” The full analysis of this malware can be found here. What do you think about hackers putting a crypto miner in a torrent download of Spider-Man: No Way Home? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Authorities in Iran have again told licensed miners to suspend their activities in the face of electricity shortages during the cold winter months. Following a period of similar restrictions this past summer, authorized companies were allowed to resume mining in September. Crypto Mining Farms in Iran to Shut Down During Winter Expecting energy needs across the country to increase with low temperatures in the coming months, the Iranian government is now taking steps to limit consumption and avoid an electricity deficit. Just like earlier this year, the measures will affect the country’s growing crypto mining industry. Tavanir, the Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company, has recently instructed authorized cryptocurrency mining centers to unplug their power-hungry hardware, the English-language business daily Financial Tribune reported. Iran’s Ministry of Energy has been trying to reduce the use of liquid fuels in power plants since last month, Tavanir’s spokesman Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi told the state-run broadcaster IRIB. Cutting power supply to licensed crypto farms is part of a list of actions that also include turning off lampposts in safer areas at night and strict supervision of consumption, the official detailed. The utility believes these measures will help to prevent potential blackouts in winter when electricity is in higher demand. Mashhadi added that Iranian power plants have managed to save some fuel for the next few months but also emphasized that consumers should exert caution regarding the volume of their gas and electricity usage. Iranian Crypto Miners Forced to Deal With Restrictions Again This is not the first time this year licensed Iranian miners have been asked to shut down their equipment. In May, authorities in Tehran announced a temporary ban on crypto mining amid growing demand for electricity and insufficient supply caused by the hot and dry weather. Enterprises minting digital currencies were also blamed for the shortages. Tavanir lifted the restrictions in late September, citing declining power consumption toward the end of summer when temperatures drop. The suspension of authorized mining was criticized by the local crypto community as estimates have indicated that licensed entities account for only around 300 megawatts (MW) of consumption while illegal miners burn up to 3,000 MW a day. The Islamic Republic legalized bitcoin mining in 2019, when the government introduced a licensing regime for businesses involved in the industry. However, as registered crypto farms are required to buy the power they need at higher, export rates, many Iranian miners have preferred to remain under the radar and use subsidized household electricity. Tavanir has been going after underground mining facilities this year. Media reports in November revealed that the state-controlled utility had confiscated over 220,000 mining machines and shut down close to 6,000 illegal crypto farms across the country. Their operators are facing fines for damages inflicted on the national distribution network and other penalties. Do you think Iran will be able to deal with its power deficit in the long run and ensure a stable electricity supply for its crypto mining industry? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Fraudsters promoting online cryptocurrency scams in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) now face a possible five-year jail sentence plus a fine of up to $272,000, according to a report. The new measures, which are set to take effect on January 2, 2022, are part of the government’s effort to protect people from online scams. New Measures Seek to Protect Internet Users As part of UAE’s new online security laws which go into effect on January 2, 2022, promoters of online cryptocurrency scams now face a possible five-year jail term and a maximum fine of over $270,000. According to a report from The National News, the new measures are a part of sweeping legal reforms introduced by the country’s president, Sheikh Khalifa, in November. The UAE says the laws are intended to protect internet users from electronic fraud and to preserve personal privacy and rights. While UAE already had laws banning the promotion of cryptocurrencies, according to Hassan Elhais of Al Rowaad Advocates, these laws lacked provisions enabling authorities to penalize any such offenders. The report quotes Elhais explaining how the new measures differ from the previous law. He stated: As per article 48, posting misleading ads or inaccurate data online about a certain product will be punishable with jail and/or a fine between $5,445 (Dh20,000) and $136,100 (Dh500,000). The same penalty applies to members of the public who promote cryptocurrencies unrecognised by authorities in the country. Concerning the UAE’s laws that seek to enhance online safety and protection of people from financial crimes, Elhais said article 41 of the new law supplements the previous article, which had similar objectives. “It imposes a penalty of five years in prison and/or a fine between $68,000 and $272,000 against those who promote electronic currencies or fake companies to raise money from the public without a licence from competent authorities,” Elhais is quoted explaining. Fake Cryptocurrency Schemes a Growing Problem Meanwhile, the report suggested that UAE authorities’ growing interest in protecting the public from online scams follows a rise in the number of fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes. For instance, in late May 2021, the government was forced to release a statement disassociating itself from “Dubai Coin.” At the time, the statement claimed the website promoting the scam coin was in fact an elaborate phishing campaign designed to steal personal information. Similarly, the country’s law enforcement has also warned residents to be wary of fake cryptocurrency schemes that promise instant wealth. What are your thoughts about this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article