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Decentralized exchange (dex) volumes have become very prominent this year and some dex applications have been dealing with volumes that are sizable to large centralized crypto exchanges. During the last seven days, Ethereum-based dex platforms processed $21 billion with Uniswap capturing 71% of all the Ethereum-based dex applications today. Statistics from a report published by The Block Research and recently updated metrics, show dex platforms saw $1 trillion in volume during the course of the year. Dex Volumes in 2021 Reach New Highs According to Digital Asset Report Decentralized finance (defi) has grown a great deal this year and as the end of 2021 approaches, there’s more than $250 billion of value locked in defi protocols, according to defillama.com. Metrics further indicate that out of all the blockchain platform dex applications, Uniswap commands the most 24-hour volume with $1.45 billion today. Data also shows that Uniswap has roughly $8.81 billion total value locked (TVL) which is just below the $22.36 billion TVL held by Curve Finance. In terms of 24 dex leaders today, below Uniswap is Pancakeswap with $848 million in 24-hour volume. Below Pancakeswap’s 24-hour volume is Trader Joe ($453.7M), Curve ($453.1M), Sushiswap ($401M), Uniswap v2 ($380M), and Spookyswap ($185M). Just recently, The Block Research published a comprehensive 150-page report covering the “2022 Digital Asset Outlook,” and the research covers both centralized and decentralized exchange volumes. For instance, the vice president of research at theblockcrypto.com, Larry Cermak, explained in a tweet on December 16, that “The Block’s legitimate volume index, the spot volume in 2021 will surpass $14.5 trillion, which is 8 times larger than last the volume we saw last year.” Statistics from the study and a report authored by Yogita Khatri further show that dex trade volume reported over $1 trillion in trade volume in 2021. “Overall, monthly dex volume peaked in May 2021 at $162.8 billion, and the most considerable month-over-month growth was in January, with a 137.3% gain,” the 2022 Digital Asset Outlook report notes. “However, the volume has not fully recovered from the May crash, and the dex-to-centralized exchange spot volume ratio remained under 10% throughout the year.” In addition to the dex volumes, the report highlights the use of dex aggregators. According to the study, dex aggregators like 1inch only represent 13.9% of the overall dex volumes. “1inch was the leading dex aggregator throughout the year with a market share of 64.9%, followed by 0x API (Matcha) at 16.8%,” the researchers detail. The scope of the researcher’s 2022 study delves into numerous other subjects like market performances, derivatives markets, mining revenue, on-chain volumes, stablecoins, and a summary of venture funding in 2021. What do you think about the decentralized exchange (dex) volumes this year surpassing $1 trillion? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

German prosecutors have hired a bank to “clean” cryptocurrency seized in criminal cases. “As the cryptocurrencies are related to crime, they are considered ‘contaminated coins’ and cannot be traded on mainstream exchanges,” the bank said. Bank Hired to Clean Cryptocurrency Seized in Criminal Cases The anti-cybercrime unit of the Frankfurt General Prosecutor in the German state of Hesse has reportedly hired Bankhaus Scheich Wertpapierspezialist AG to “clean” cryptocurrencies worth about 100 million euros ($113 million), Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The coins were seized in a criminal case involving three drug dealers. Noting that seized crypto will return to regular circulation after cleaning, the bank explained: As the cryptocurrencies are related to crime, they are considered ‘contaminated coins’ and cannot be traded on mainstream exchanges. The cleaning process established by Bankhaus Scheich “ensures that trading partners are informed that the currencies are back in legal possession and have been declared ‘clean,’ allowing them to be sold,” the publication conveyed. However, the Frankfurt-based bank did not provide further details of the process. Bankhaus Scheich noted that the seized cryptocurrency was sold in one week earlier this month. The proceeds will now be transferred to the state government budget. The prosecutors and the bank said they will cooperate in future criminal cases to put confiscated cryptocurrencies back into the markets. Several people on social media found the move by the German government interesting. For example, podcaster Joe Weisenthal tweeted: It’s interesting that governments are in the service of, essentially, reverse laundering crypto. They take tainted crypto (that was seized in criminal cases, and as such isn’t traded on exchanges) and then wash it so that it can trade freely again on the market. What do you think about the German government hiring a bank to “clean” seized cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Ripple has achieved the “strongest year ever” despite the lawsuit over XRP by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to CEO Brad Garlinghouse. “Calling crypto the ‘Wild West’ is a farce,” he said, emphasizing that “most are complying with financial regulators globally.” Ripple Has Best Year Despite SEC’s Lawsuit Over XRP Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse talked about his company’s achievement and cryptocurrency regulation in a series of tweets Wednesday. He explained that despite the lawsuit over XRP, Ripple had the “strongest year ever.” The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against him, Ripple Labs, and co-founder Chris Larsen a year ago. The securities watchdog alleged that XRP should have been registered as a security. While insisting that the SEC’s lawsuit against XRP “is an attack on crypto in the US, not just Ripple,” Garlinghouse detailed: 2021 has been a watershed year for crypto. Acceptance and awareness of the opportunity to bring billions of people into the global financial community has never been so clear. It’s been incredible to see a lot less ‘maximalism’, and many more builders joining the industry. The CEO proceeded to outline Ripple’s progress over the year, such as launching new On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) corridors and its central bank digital currency (CBDC) solution. “All of this growth came from outside the US,” he opined. Garlinghouse then noted that SEC Chairman Gary Gensler “has taken an aggressively anti-crypto approach and companies are already moving outside the US.” He asserted that “the SEC today won’t answer questions about the legal status of ETH, much less anything else,” elaborating: Calling crypto the ‘Wild West’ is a farce – most are complying with financial regulators globally. This industry shouldn’t be punished for asking for regulatory clarity & regulation that is consistently applied with a level playing field. What do you think about Garlinghouse’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The CEO of Microstrategy expects the price of bitcoin to reach $6 million, noting that it is “unstoppable” and will replace gold. The executive personally owns 17,732 bitcoins while his company is hodling 122,478 bitcoins. Microstrategy’s CEO Expects Bitcoin to Hit $6 Million Microstrategy CEO Michael Saylor talked about his bitcoin strategy and BTC price prediction in a recent interview with the Information, published this week. Saylor revealed that he personally owns at least 17,732 bitcoins, which is the same amount he disclosed back in October last year. At the current BTC price, his bitcoin stash is worth almost $858 million. The Microstrategy executive never sold any of his bitcoins and does not believe they should ever be sold. Furthermore, the Information reported: Saylor foresees bitcoin hitting $600,000 a coin, and eventually $6 million. Meanwhile, Microstrategy has amassed 122,478 BTC, worth almost $6 billion at the current price. The coins were acquired at an average purchase price of $29,861 and for the cost basis of $3.7 billion, according to the company’s “Investor Day” presentation, published last week. Microstrategy described itself as “the largest publicly traded corporate holder of bitcoin in the world and the first public company to adopt bitcoin as primary treasury reserve asset.” Its corporate strategy is to “Acquire and hold bitcoin long-term” and “purchase bitcoin through use of excess cash flows, and debt and equity transactions.” In November, Saylor said that bitcoin was “unstoppable” and will “emerge as a $100 trillion asset class.” The CEO has repeatedly said that BTC will replace gold. He said early this month: “Once upon a time, gold was the most desirable store of value. Now bitcoin is taking its place.” What do you think about Michael Saylor’s bitcoin price prediction? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

On Thursday, Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ (PWC) Hong Kong unit announced that it purchased a land site in The Sandbox metaverse. The PWC Hong Kong branch will be the first internationally recognized professional services brand to enter The Sandbox metaverse. PWC Hong Kong Enters the Metaverse While land located next to Snoop Dogg’s Sandbox plot has sold for lots of money and other firms like Atari have purchased Sandbox property, now major accounting firm PWC’s Hong Kong branch has also purchased metaverse land in The Sandbox virtual world. PWC is a multinational professional services network of firms located in 156 countries. The company is often referred to as one of the Big Four accounting firms alongside EY, KPMG, and Deloitte. PWC’s Hong Kong branch has been into blockchain technology and crypto assets for quite some time and in November 2017, the office revealed it accepted bitcoin payments for consultancy services. The announcement on December 23 says that the land in The Sandbox was specifically acquired by PWC Hong Kong. William Gee, a partner at PWC Hong Kong, commented about the land purchase and the metaverse in general on Thursday. “The metaverse offers new possibilities for organisations to create value through innovative business models, as well as introducing new ways to engage with their customers and communities,” Gee remarked. The PWC Hong Kong executive added: We will leverage our expertise to advise clients who wish to embrace the metaverse on the full range of challenges presented by this emerging global digital phenomenon. ‘The Metaverse Is Open for Business’ — The Sandbox Team Believes PWC Can Help ‘Brands That May Be Less Familiar With Web3’ The Sandbox virtual blockchain game, that features land and other types of non-fungible token (NFT) assets, has been popular during the last year. The Sandbox’s native digital asset SAND is up 11% during the last 30 days and 11,714% over the course of the last year. The blockchain-based metaverse game also secured an investment of $93 million during the first week of November in a financing round led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2. Regarding the PWC land acquisition, The Sandbox says “professional services firms such as PWC Hong Kong can play a valuable role in the growth of the open metaverse.” Specifically, the announcement explains that PWC can help “brands that may be less familiar with Web3.” Sebastien Borget, COO of The Sandbox believes the Big Four accounting firm is at the forefront of this innovation. “The metaverse is open for business,” Borget elaborated in a statement concerning PWC Hong Kong’s land acquisition in the metaverse. “We welcome PWC Hong Kong to experience how The Sandbox fosters new immersive experiences and ways for brands to connect with customers. It’s an exciting time – and PWC is at the forefront of this emerging frontier.” What do you think about the accounting firm PWC Hong Kong acquiring land in The Sandbox metaverse? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in collaboration with Citibank, Sony, and Japanese law enforcement, has taken action to “return more than $154 million in funds that were allegedly stolen from a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.” The U.S. Department of Justice detailed: “As a result of this coordinated effort, investigators obtained the ‘private key’ … needed to access the bitcoin address.” Citibank and Sony Help FBI Seize Bitcoin Worth $180 Million The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that the U.S. has “filed a civil forfeiture complaint” to “return more than $154 million in funds that were allegedly stolen from a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.” The FBI and various Japanese law enforcement agencies investigated the case “with significant assistance from Sony and Citibank,” the announcement details, adding: As a result of this coordinated effort, investigators obtained the ‘private key’ … needed to access the bitcoin address. Rei Ishii, an employee of Sony Life Insurance Company Ltd. in Tokyo, allegedly “embezzled” $154 million in May and transferred the funds to an account he controlled at a bank in La Jolla, California. He then quickly converted the funds “to more than 3,879 bitcoins valued today at more than $180 million.” At the current price of bitcoin, this stack of BTC is worth almost $188 million. The justice department explained that “Those funds were seized by law enforcement on Dec. 1, 2021, based on the FBI’s investigation,” elaborating: Law enforcement was able to trace bitcoin transfers and identify that approximately 3,879.16 bitcoins, representing the proceeds of the funds stolen from a subsidiary of Sony Life, had been transferred to a specific bitcoin address and then to an offline cryptocurrency cold wallet. “All the bitcoins traceable to the theft have been recovered and fully preserved. Ishii has been criminally charged in Japan,” the DOJ noted. “The FBI’s technical expertise was able to trace the money to the subject’s crypto wallet and seize those funds.” Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman opined, “It is our intent to return the stolen money to the victim of this audacious theft.” What do you think about this case? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The hashpower behind the Bitcoin network has continued to stay above the 180 exahash per second (EH/s) zone after recently reaching a lifetime high. Five months ago the hashrate tapped a low at 69 EH/s and since then, the hashpower has increased by 163% during the last 178 days, or five months ago. Bitcoin Hashrate Continues to Run Hot at End of Year Following China’s Crackdown on Bitcoin Mining This Past Summer Miners dedicating SHA256 hashpower to the Bitcoin blockchain have been keeping the processing power above 180 EH/s. At the time of writing on December 23, BTC’s hashrate is hovering just above the 186 EH/s zone. The recent hashrate highs follow BTC’s lifetime hashrate high tapping 194.95 EH/s on December 8, 2021. Since then, metrics indicate that the hashrate has been hovering below that region and 30-day stats show a few times when the it quickly came close to the December 8 high. BTC’s hashrate is currently doing a whole lot better than records show on June 28, 2021, when the processing power plummeted to 69 EH/s. Thanks to the crackdowns on Chinese mining operations located in China, the network lost 63.87% of its hashpower from 191 EH/s on May 9, to the 69 EH/s at the end of June. Five months later, the hashrate has rebounded and regained the processing power lost during that time frame. At the end of June, BTC’s price was much lower, swapping for $34K per unit. Difficulty Expected to Drop Slightly, Foundry USA Commands Top Position This Week This past week BTC has been trading at prices between $46.5K to $49.5K and this has kept the hashrate running strong — even after the network’s mining difficulty jumped 8.33% higher on December 11. In fact, the network difficulty may see a downward adjustment for the first time since the November 28 1.49% drop. At the time of writing, and over 24 hours from now, the difficulty is expected to drop again a hair, down 0.23%. This would bring the current 24.20 trillion mining difficulty down a notch to 24.14 trillion. Currently, the largest bitcoin (BTC) miner in terms of overall hashrate is Foundry USA with 17.17% of the global hashpower or 29.82 EH/s. The second-largest miner today is Bitmain’s Antpool with 14.78% of the global hashpower or 25.67 EH/s. Antpool is followed by Viabtc (14.57%), F2pool (13.26%), and Binance Pool (12.17%). Unknown hashrate or stealth miners command 12.17% of the network’s hashpower and are the sixth-largest entity in terms of global hashrate. The unknown hashrate at the time of writing has around 21.14 exahash per second of hashpower. What do you think about the current state of the proof-of-work (PoW)-powered Bitcoin network’s hashrate? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments below. View the full article

In the absence of regulations, people in Pakistan have invested a serious amount of money in digital assets. New research claims Pakistanis keep some $20 billion in cryptocurrency, allegedly more than what their central bank has in foreign reserves. Government Urged for Regulations as Study Shows Pakistanis Hold $20 Billion in Cryptocurrency The Pakistani nation owns more cryptocurrency than foreign reserves, according to the Pakistan Frontier and other media outlets quoting a new report by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI). The study, produced by the association’s Policy Advisory Board (PAB), has estimated that Pakistanis have held cryptocurrency worth $20 billion in the 2020-21 period. The authors point out that the popularity of digital currencies like bitcoin has rapidly increased in the last couple of years. With a 711% market growth in 12 months, Pakistan climbed to third place in this year’s Global Crypto Adoption Index calculated by blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis. The country is behind only India and Vietnam. However, the true total of crypto holdings may be much higher than the figure mentioned in the PAB report. Many residents of the country are buying coins via peer-to-peer deals and these investments remain largely undetected, the Business Recorder notes in an article. Cryptocurrencies are still a gray area in Pakistan as the country’s current legislation does not cover the digital assets. During a press conference, FPCCI President Nasir Hayat Magoon urged Islamabad to introduce a government policy that would facilitate cryptocurrency transactions, remarking that neighboring India has already taken steps to implement some rules. Magoon insisted that such regulations are needed so that investors can trade their coins in the country instead of in places like Dubai. The report recommends that Pakistan adopt a legal framework aligned with guidelines issued by the Financial Action Task Force and the International Monetary Fund. The study has been released after Pakistan’s Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan indicated in October that the government is not opposed to cryptocurrency investments in general. Pakistan’s courts have also called on the executive and legislative powers to introduce crypto regulations. Do you expect authorities in Pakistan to soon regulate the country’s crypto space? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Ethair Market has listed ETHR token on Uniswap as a result of its first governance vote by the holders. Utilities of the token are directly tied to a user’s interaction with the marketplace. On top of the proprietary token, Ethair Market currently supports fiat and cryptocurrencies such as: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Stellar and USDC, and more. The marketplace is currently in beta, allowing sellers to their items before the full release. Ethair Market operates in the traditional B2C/C2C modes with two types of listings: Market which are new fixed price items, and “Buy Offer Bid” (referred to as BOB on the platform) which includes new and used auction items that customers can buy outright, make an offer on, or bid on like in traditional auctions. Ethair is aggressively marketing through Google, YouTube, Yahoo, and Twitter ads. Running Uber ads in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York with soon to have nationwide major highway billboards. You may check ETHR’s token contract here. What’s the ETHR token utility? ETHR is Ethair’s native token that is integrated into crucial components of the marketplace. Its utility expands across the marketplace and allows for users to enjoy various benefits. That means that they can enjoy the “off-chain” benefits of using ETHR as a form of payment on the platform thus having no gateway or blockchain fees by having a token balance in their account. For sellers specifically, the token offers various discounts. By holding 100 ETHR in their account, sellers can get a 10% discount on the Final Value Fees on every sale. They will also receive a 15% discount on advertising fees when they are paid for with ETHR and receive access to exclusive ad spots for token holders, which are also paid for with ETHR. These utilities are currently only available to token holders and will be expanded to all users once the deposit functionality is fully implemented to enjoy these benefits. Governance Voting All Ethair Market users with any amount of ETHR in their accounts are eligible for governance voting rights on certain token matters. This allows for the token to be utilitarian and gives users the ability to control potential actions. Tokenomics & Minting ETHR is an Ethereum based token (ERC-20) with an initial supply cap of 2 million. There is no maximum supply cap. However, the creation of additional tokens is directly tied with users’ marketplace transactions. ETHR can only be minted by exchanging customers’ transaction-generated points for ETHR. This is the only way that additional tokens are created and promotes platform utilization. These points are Ethair’s rewards system and they are gained on every successful transaction. They function as part of the 25% reimbursement of Final Value Fees for each transaction given to both parties, and as such reduce marketplace fees even further. When a user requests to exchange their points into an ETHR token, our smart contract first gives them a platform-exclusive bonus of 10% more than the value exchanged in ETHR. This multiplies the request by two. The newly minted ETHR is then supplied to the user and the remainder is evenly distributed between two pools. The referral program rewards users who have referred verified marketplace customers with a share of generated pool rewards. These rewards will be doled out monthly for a limited time 1-year period after which the governance voting will decide what the next use of this pool will be. Company Account pool is aimed (but not limited to) to be used for promotions and partnerships. Company goals and expansion Ethair’s goal is to be a more customer-friendly platform. They are aiming to improve what a marketplace can offer to its users with a primary goal of supporting its sellers and their businesses. With Stripe integrated as its form of payment processing, Ethair currently supports users in the US and Canada, and is already looking to expand to another 45 countries. The next big step is the implementation of the NFT marketplace. The way Ethair imagines NFTs is a hybrid of on-chain and off-chain states allowing for cross-chain, feeless and instantaneous transactions while bringing the technology closer to the masses with unique use-cases. Socials https://www.ethair.com https://twitter.com/EthairMarket https://twitter.com/ETHRtoken https://www.facebook.com/EthairMarket/ https://www.t.me/EthairMarket This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article

According to a new report, illegal transactions, scams and gambling together make up less than 3% of the volume on the Bitcoin blockchain while exchanges and trading desks account for around 80% of volume. Exchanges Dominate Bitcoin Volumes A new study called “Blockchain Analysis of the Bitcoin Market” has found that illegal transactions, scams, and gambling combined account for just 3% of all onchain bitcoin trade volume. On the other hand, the study asserts that exchange and trading desk-related volume — which is mostly speculative — constitutes about 80% of the total volume. In their analysis, the authors of a report released by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) appear to debunk the assertion that illegal transactions dominate bitcoin (BTC) trade volumes. In particular, the authors, Igor Makarov from the London School of Economics and Antoinette Schoar of the MIT Sloan School of Management, explain how earlier studies were likely to be overstating the economic value of illegal trades. To support their argument, the two authors point to a 2019 study that had concluded that more than 46% of BTC transactions are due to illegal transactions. The authors stated: First, Foley et al. (2019) intentionally drop all exchange-related volumes from their calculations, since they want to focus only on payments for goods and services. Since we show above that trading constitutes the main activity on the blockchain, this choice severely changes the denominator. In addition, the authors said the estimate of volume in the Foley study is based on what they termed an imputed network of illegal clusters where any cluster recursively is deemed illegal if the majority of its transactions are with previously identified illegal clusters. Drivers of Bitcoin Volume and Value Although the two authors agree that this method is appealing, they nonetheless argue that this “does not discriminate between real users and short-lived pass-through clusters that exist solely to obfuscate tracing.” Unlike the method that was used in the 2019 study, Makarov and Schoar do incorporate exchanges, over-the-counter (OTC) desks, or trading desk data when computing the non-spurious BTC volumes. Consequently, in their analysis, the two authors conclude that exchange and trading desk-related volume constitutes about 80% of the total volume while other known entities are only responsible for a minor part of total volume as of the end of 2020. While Makarov and Schoar suggested in their report that they agreed with the general concern over the pseudonymous nature of bitcoin transactions, they however insisted that it is “important to get the magnitudes of transaction activities right in order to understand what are the ultimate drivers of bitcoin value.” Do you agree with this study’s conclusion about the size of illegal transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The Dubai World Trade Centre will become a comprehensive ecosystem for cryptocurrencies and providers of related services. The move is part of efforts to support new industries and the emirate intends to source help from crypto companies like Binance. Dubai World Trade Centre to Host and Regulate Crypto Space Authorities in the United Arab Emirates plan to establish a special zone at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from which businesses dealing with digital assets will be able to offer their products and services. The government of Dubai announced that the DWTC will also play the role of a regulator for the sector, enforcing “rigorous standards for investor protection, anti-money laundering (AML), combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) compliance and cross border deal flow tracing.” According to an official announcement, the goal is to further develop Dubai’s virtual assets space and market by introducing a regulatory framework for innovative financial products that includes legislative and enforcement policies. Officials hope this will facilitate the adoption of new blockchain-related trends and improve Dubai’s standing as a global business center. Binance Considering Headquarters in UAE Dubai authorities also emphasized that the DWTC will work together with the private sector and other relevant entities to create an attractive environment for the crypto industry. One such collaboration has already been agreed with Binance, the world’s largest digital asset exchange in terms of volume, the Straits Times reported. Dubai wants to license such crypto trading platforms and other blockchain businesses. Under a memorandum of understanding signed with the authority governing the Dubai World Trade Centre, Binance will share its experience with regulators in other jurisdictions with the administration, the company announced on Tuesday. A report by Bloomberg revealed that the exchange has been negotiating with Dubai and Abu Dhabi to set up its headquarters in UAE. According to the Straits Times, Binance’s founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao recently bought a home in Dubai and met key representatives of the local crypto industry while praising the emirate’s pro-crypto stance on social media. The executive has been quoted as saying in a statement released on Tuesday: Today, the adoption of crypto and blockchain technology remains in its infancy, but through our leadership position and expertise, combined with the long-term vision of Dubai, we plan to develop a regulatory framework appropriate to fit the fast-moving and progressive nature of virtual assets. The report notes that energy-rich Dubai has been trying to boost non-oil growth in order to ensure the sustainability of its economy. The project to turn the Dubai World Trade Centre into a regulated zone for cryptocurrency operations is part of these efforts. Do you expect Dubai to become a crypto hotspot in the near future? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The decentralized finance (defi) marketplace, non-fungible token (NFT) financialization platform, and lending application Arcade has announced the company has closed a Series A investment round for $15 million. Just recently, Arcade facilitated an onchain loan of $800,000 against an NFT portfolio from a lender with over $10 billion. Arcade Raises $15 Million in Series A Co-Led by Pantera Capital, Castle Island Ventures, Franklin Templeton Blockchain Fund The defi marketplace Arcade has raised $15 million in capital during a Series A financing round, according to the company. The investment was co-led by Pantera Capital, Castle Island Ventures, and the Franklin Templeton Blockchain Fund. Furthermore, Lemniscap, Eniac Ventures, Probably Nothing Capital, Protofund, and Golden Tree Asset Management participated in Arcade’s funding. Arcade’s milestone onchain loan of $800,000 is part of “$3.3 million in total loan volume that has been secured during Arcade’s private release, with the total value of assets that have been loaned on Arcade equaling $10 million, Arcade says. While Arcade is fully compatible with a myriad of ERC20 tokens, the project also features a proprietary Wrapped NFT technology. “[Wrapped NFT] allows multiple NFT assets to be bundled and utilized to acquire a single loan, enabling for the acquisition of larger loans and greater liquidity,” the Series A funding announcement details describing the Wrapped NFT feature. “As an open-source defi primitive, Arcade will also enable developers to build on top of the platform, supporting the broader utilization of this new asset class.” Pantera Capital’s Lauren Stephanian explained during the Series A announcement that the company looks forward to Arcade’s potential. “Arcade’s collateralization of this new asset class will incentivize the participation of new entities from both the traditional and digital art and finance worlds, including institutional lenders, high-net-worth individuals, DAOs, companies with NFTs on their balance sheets, and NFT collectors and creators,” Stephanian added. What do you think about Arcade raising $15 million in a Series A funding round? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. LibreScan, the First Decentralized Blockchain Explorer supported by QANplatform Estonia, Tallinn: The team behind QANplatform announces LibreScan, the first open-source self-hosted Decentralized Blockchain Explorer (DBE). Cryptocurrency holders will soon be able to self-host their blockchain explorer to ensure their private information can not be associated with their wallet addresses to avoid centralized tracking. The foundation of blockchain technology is decentralization. Unfortunately, the reality is that 95% of the crypto community relies on centralized services like Etherscsan or BscScan. According to website analytics tool Similarweb, the two most used centralized block explorers are in the top 1,500 visited websites globally, with 43-61 Million total visits in November 2021. These centralized blockchain explorers not only track their users, associate their wallets with their IP addresses but also mean a critical central point of failure. If a government ever wants to ban cryptocurrencies, they could disable only these services and cut off 95% of users since there will be no graphical user interface available. The community developed LibreScan aims to give an open-source tool for the cryptocurrency users and let them run a blockchain explorer on their PC without any centralized authority. Developers will contribute to the open-source project where they can connect any blockchain platform with LibreScan. Developers and end-users can pre-register for the free LibreScan blockchain explorer on LibreScan.org “We need a quick and joint approach to eradicate the only real centralized point of failure threat to secure the accessibility and privacy of all actors in the crypto community. As we have seen recently, one key gatekeeper’s failure could cause massive interruptions in the whole ecosystem. This is the reason why we would like to invite every key market player and individual programmer to the community-driven development to create the first truly free, open-source and self-hosted Decentralized Blockchain Explorer (DBE) called LibreScan.” — Johann Polecsak, Co-Founder and CTO of QANplatform About LibreScan: LibreScan is the first open-source self-hosted Decentralized Blockchain Explorer (DBE) founded by QANplatform, built by the crypto community for the community. Developers will be able to contribute to the open-source project where they can connect any blockchain platform with LibreScan. Cryptocurrency users will be able to run their own blockchain explorer on a PC and always have secure access to their blockchain explorer without being tracked. Website: https://www.librescan.org About QANplatform: QANplatform is the quantum-resistant Layer 1 hybrid blockchain platform that will allow developers and enterprises to build quantum-resistant: smart contracts, DApps, DeFi solutions, NFTs, tokens, Metaverse on top of the QAN blockchain platform in any programming language. The QAN TestNet will be released EOY 2021. Website: https://www.qanplatform.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/QANplatform Contact: press@qanplatform.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 digital asset company Kraken announced it has acquired the non-custodial staking platform Staked for an undisclosed sum. While the sum of the purchase was not disclosed, the company claims that it was “one of the largest crypto industry acquisitions to date.” Kraken Acquires Non-Custodial Staking Firm Staked On December 21, Kraken announced that it acquired the staking firm Staked, a company that specializes in providing people with access to proof-of-stake (PoS) networks. “Staked helps investors earn yield from staking and defi without taking custody of their crypto assets,” the firm’s website explains. Kraken is one of the largest crypto exchanges worldwide in terms of trade volume and digital asset reserves. In terms of global crypto-asset reserves data from Bituniverse, Peckshield, Chain.info, and Etherscan, metrics show Kraken is the fourth-largest exchange in terms of reserves held today. Kraken holds $15.81 billion in digital assets according to the data, and those reserves represent more than 102,000 bitcoin (BTC) and 2.27 million in ethereum (ETH) on December 22. The acquisition announcement notes that Kraken wants to play a major role in providing staking services to consumers and institutions. “We are excited to add Staked to our portfolio of yield products, which has seen great uptake by a growing population of crypto investors,” Jesse Powell, the CEO and co-founder of Kraken remarked about the announcement. “Staked is highly complementary to our existing staking business and will allow us to further strengthen our product offering through world-class infrastructure for clients who prefer to retain custody of their staked assets,” Powell added. Staked explains in its 2021 third-quarter report that “Q3 was an absolute banner quarter for PoS crypto assets.” The report goes on to explain that there were four PoS assets in the top ten in Q3, and 28 PoS crypto assets in the top 100 coins by market capitalization. “The market cap of the top 35 PoS assets represented 30% of the total crypto market capitalization as of [September 30],” Staked wrote at the time. “Marking the first time PoS assets have accounted for [more than] 25% of the total crypto market cap,” the report adds. The acquisition of Staked makes it Kraken’s fifth acquisition in 2021, according to the announcement on Tuesday. Kraken also noted that the company’s trade volume across spot, margin, and futures grew by 430% this year. “Kraken’s acquisition of Staked represents an exciting new chapter for us,” Tim Ogilvie, the CEO of Staked said in a statement. Kraken is not the only crypto firm making acquisitions as the company Coinbase scooped up numerous startups in 2021 as well. What do you think about Kraken acquiring Staked for an undisclosed sum? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

El Salvador, the country which made bitcoin legal tender, has purchased 21 more bitcoins to celebrate “the last 21st day of the year 21 of the 21st century,” President Nayib Bukele announced. The country has bought about 1,391 bitcoins altogether. El Salvador Buys More Bitcoins El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced Tuesday that his country has bought more bitcoin. His announcement began with a tweet that reads: “El Salvador’s entire size is 21,000 km2. Coincidence? I don’t think so!” He followed up with a series of tweets that collectively read: Today is the last 21st day of the year 21 of the 21st century. At 21:00 hours … We are buying 21 bitcoin for the occasion. I’m holding the purchase till 21:21:21. He then posted an image of a list of BTC buy transactions that add up to about 21 bitcoins. “Got a receipt,” he wrote. El Salvador has been stacking bitcoins since the country made bitcoin legal tender alongside the U.S. dollar in September. Including the latest purchase, it has bought 1,391 bitcoins altogether. Before the bitcoin law went into effect, El Salvador bought 400 BTC. The country then purchased 300 more BTC. President Bukele announced at the time that El Salvador now had 700 bitcoins. In October, the country bought 420 more BTC. In November, the country bought 100 more bitcoins. The latest large purchase was in early December for 150 BTC, bringing the total purchases to 1,370 BTC. With the 21 BTC bought on Tuesday, the total purchases amount to 1,391 BTC. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned El Salvador against using bitcoin as legal tender. The warning came one day after President Bukele announced his plan to build a “Bitcoin City” powered by a volcano and financed by bitcoin bonds. What do you think about El Salvador’s bitcoin purchases? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has ignited a debate about web3 after Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticized it. Dorsey warned of the risks from centralization, emphasizing that web3 is owned by venture capitalists (VCs), hiding under the premise of decentralization. “I’m concerned to see ‘the industry’ be distracted under false pretenses when we could all be working on things that have a chance at fixing the real issues,” Dorsey wrote. Jack Dorsey Says Web3 Is Owned by VCs, Tells Elon Musk ‘It’s Somewhere Between A and Z’ Jack Dorsey and Tesla CEO Elon Musk raised concerns about web3 this week. Dorsey warned Monday: “You don’t own ‘web3.’ The VCs and their LPs do. It will never escape their incentives. It’s ultimately a centralized entity with a different label. Know what you’re getting into.” His comment followed Musk’s tweet a day prior stating that web3 “seems more marketing buzzword than reality right now.” The Tesla boss further tweeted, asking: “Has anyone seen web3? I can’t find it.” Dorsey replied: “It’s somewhere between a and z.” While Dorsey did not specify which company he was referring to, many people on Twitter guessed that he was talking about venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (also known as A16z), which has been heavily pushing web3. “As the largest investor in the space, we know web3—but we also understand public service,” the A16z website states. Some people shared Dorsey’s skepticism about venture capital firms. Cory Klippsten, founder of Swan Bitcoin, commented: “Jack knows exactly the massive scam A16z is perpetrating.” Another Twitter user described: “This tweet is referencing the shady crypto projects being funded by Silicon Valley juggernaut VC firm A16z (Andreessen Horowitz). They’re creating coins like solana and then using their endless capital to market them, explode in market caps then dump the coins on unsuspecting people.” Web3 and Twitter Balaji Srinivasan, a general partner at A16z who was the CTO of crypto exchange Coinbase, disagreed with Dorsey and brought up Twitter as an example. He wrote: “Twitter started as a protocol, the free speech wing of the free-speech party. Then corporate & political incentives led to deplatforming & censorship. Web3 offers the possibility, not guarantee, of something better.” Dorsey replied: “All false. Twitter started as a corporation. It’s had corporate incentives from day 1. It’s trying to offset those, and it will, through Bluesky.” He elaborated: ‘Web3’ has the same corporate incentives, but hides it under ‘decentralization.’ It’s literally a different cap table structure. The former CEO of Twitter, who is still the CEO of Block Inc., formerly Square Inc., also clarified Tuesday that he has nothing to do with web3 and has never been interested in it despite some news articles suggesting otherwise. He tweeted: “I have nothing to do with ‘web3.’ WSJ and others need names and photos to generate clicks.” Heated Debate Over Web3 Ensues Many people chimed in on the discussion about web3 on Twitter in response to Dorsey’s tweets. Some agree with Dorsey, including Alex Thorn, head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital, who tweeted: Jack is right that many web3 projects have ownership issues. Thorn continued: “This is very visible with newer L1 chains, whose supplies are much more centralized than those from the ICO era (let alone bitcoin). Hard to see how the supplies (& governance) of these coins decentralize over time.” Alexander Leishman, CEO of River Financial, wrote: “Jack gets it. Web3 will keep making people a lot of $$, but don’t delude yourself.” However, some people disagree with Dorsey to some extent. The founders of the crypto exchange Gemini, the Winklevoss twins, joined the conversation. Tyler Winklevoss pointed out that Dorsey sold his first-ever tweet as a non-fungible token (NFT) for over $2.9 million. “Brought to you by web3,” he wrote. His brother, Cameron Winklevoss, noted: If web2 could give you ownership of your data and privacy, web2 would have given you ownership of your data and privacy. Web3 at least has a chance. Chris Dixon, a partner at A16z, argued: “In web3, all the code, data, and ownership is open source. Read it and decide for yourself. VCs (including A16z) own very little of it.” ‘I’m Concerned to See the Industry Be Distracted Under False Pretenses’ Dorsey explained in a different tweet: “I’m concerned to see ‘the industry’ be distracted under false pretenses when we could all be working on things that have a chance at fixing the real issues.” He emphasized that “The VCs are the problem,” and “not the people.” Ajit Tripathi, CFA and head of institutional business at Aave, commented: Jack is pointing out a risk we should acknowledge. It may not be what we want to hear but the risk of economic centralization of prime web3 properties is very real. Dorsey responded with “Exactly.” According to Dorsey, he was subsequently blocked on Twitter by Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, who is now a huge investor in web3 startups. The former Twitter boss wrote: I’m officially banned from web3. Do you agree with Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk about web3? Let us know in the comments section below. 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On Wednesday, the Singapore-based digital currency exchange Crypto.com told the press that the firm purchased a 2022 Super Bowl advertisement slot. The firm follows the exchange FTX after the trading platform purchased a Super Bowl advertisement slot in October. Crypto.com Tells the Press the Exchange Purchased a Super Bowl LVI Advertisement Purchasing an ad slot for the upcoming 56th Super Bowl is very expensive because the event attracts millions of viewers tuning in to watch the NFL’s championship football game. Recent statistics show that NBC Sports was running low on 30-second advertisement slots and sponsors have agreed to pay as much as $6.5 million for a slot this size. In 2021, metrics indicate that the NFL’s Super Bowl attracted 96.4 million viewers at the time. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Crypto.com’s chief marketing officer Steven Kalifowitz told the publication that it has acquired an ad slot. Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek told the WSJ that the company wants to be a prominent brand worldwide and the Super Bowl ad was one way to get the firm limelight. “Crypto genuinely is for everybody… Going into different sports just allows me to reach everybody where they are,” Kalifowitz explained. “Super Bowl is just one more step into that, where it’s as mass as you get.” The Super Bowl announcement follows Crypto.com’s multi-year deal with the Los Angeles Angel City Football Club. Furthermore, the digital asset exchange purchased the naming rights to the Los Angeles Lakers’ arena and it is now called Crypto.com Arena. In July, Crypto.com revealed that the exchange partnered with the mixed martial arts promotion company UFC. Crypto.com’s Super Bowl ad purchase also follows ad time acquired by the digital currency exchange FTX. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried: ‘There Is No Bigger, More Mainstream Event to Share a Message’ FTX has also been dealing with a great number of sports-related partnerships and the exchange acquired the naming rights to the NBA’s Miami Heat arena. In October, FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried told Bloomberg that there was “no bigger” event to share a message. Bankman-Fried said the Super Bowl ad acquisition motivation was to purchase “the scale of the audience that the Super Bowl reaches,” Bloomberg’s Katherine Greifeld wrote at the time. “Our message throughout this year has been that crypto is safe, accessible, and ready for the mainstream,” Bankman-Fried further explained to Greifeld. “We’re inviting everyone to check it out, and here to help them on their journey. There is no bigger, more mainstream event to share a message like that than the Super Bowl.” It seems Crypto.com executives feel the same way Bankman-Fried does and the firm is following the same pattern. What do you think about Crypto.com and FTX airing Super Bowl ads for the NFL’s 2022 championship football game? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

On December 22, Twitter trends indicate that thousands of people on social media are talking about the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) “Great Reset” agenda, as Reuters and the BBC had run fact-checking posts on the subject. According to the reports, the Great Reset has been tied to various conspiracy theories and the initiative was launched in June 2020. BBC, Reuters Fact Checkers Claim Great Reset Initiative Has Been Hijacked by Conspiracy Theories Ever since the outbreak of Covid-19, an agenda called the Great Reset has been discussed far and wide across the globe. The subject has been tied to a number of theories that claim the global elite are planning to reset society and the economy to “build back better.” A Reuters fact check article says that the initiative was named the Great Reset in June 2020. In recent times, Reuters journalists claim that an image circulating on the internet inviting Dutch politicians to a Great Reset-themed forum in Davos “has been taken out of context.” Essentially, the Great Reset is an idea that claims society and the economy can be recrafted into an equitable world, one that aims to fix climate change, reform social justice, and create a different kind of capitalism called “stakeholder capitalism.” The idea has been embraced by politicians, corporate executives, and financial institutions worldwide. There’s even a greatreset.com website that claims the lockdowns helped reduce global emissions. “Right now we have a small window of opportunity to reset and shape the future we want,” the website explains. In October 2020, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director in Washington, DC, Kristalina Georgieva, called for a “new Bretton Woods moment.” “Once again, we face two massive tasks: to fight the crisis today— and build a better tomorrow,” Georgieva’s article states. People who do not trust the world’s governments and the global elite believe that the Great Reset agenda is meant to reboot the economy in a forceful and immoral fashion. The anti-Great Reset crowd believes that the initiative has been planned by the elite for years, and Covid-19 and the following lockdowns were some of the tipping points to get it started. Theorists further believe that the so-called climate crisis and Covid-19 will give the elite the opportunity to deploy extreme lockdown policies, destroy the economy, and remove the idea of property ownership, alongside enforced surveillance capitalism and forced vaccinations. Journalist James Delingpole believes the Great Reset initiative is a “coup” by the global elite and that the plan is being deployed worldwide. Even the web portal opendemocracy.net published an article that states: Conspiracy theories aside, there is something fishy about the Great Reset. BBC Says Great Reset’s Broad Scope and ‘Lack of Clarity’ Has Led to a Litany of Conspiracy Theories The national broadcaster of the United Kingdom, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), has also been making the same claims as Reuters on Wednesday. The BBC says that the Great Reset initiative was “hijacked by conspiracy theories” and that the initiative was simply drafted in June 2020. “In June 2020, the Prince of Wales and the head of the annual Davos summit launched an initiative calling for the pandemic to be seen as a chance for what they called a Great Reset of the global economy,” the BBC’s report notes. You guys are still pretending this isn't a front for The NWO? — 🕶️ 🇨🇺 Eἶμαι Γουζί Βοωεν 🎹 🤙🏾 (@GuzzyBowen_III) December 22, 2021 The Reuters report further adds that illegitimate reporting on social media has fueled the conspiracy theories. “Social media users shared photographs of letters addressed to Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra and Sigrid Kaag, former minister of foreign trade and development cooperation, saying they have been ‘leaked,’” Reuters details. “However, the ‘leaked letters’ are in fact invitations to the 51st World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, which were released by the Dutch cabinet in response to an MP’s request, according to Hoekstra’s spokesperson.” The fact-checking articles published by the BBC, Reuters, and many others do not discuss some of the old material concerning the Great Reset that has been published by the WEF and other media outlets. BBC’s article does delve into Klaus Schwab’s book called: “Covid-19: The Great Reset.” Schwab is the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum and many of the Great Reset ideas stem from his writings. “Prof Schwab does speak about a ‘wealth tax’ and ending fossil fuel subsidies,” the BBC author says. “But the scope is huge – covering technology, climate change, the future of work, international security and other themes – and it’s difficult to see precisely what the Great Reset might mean in practice.” The BBC article adds: This lack of clarity, combined with the plan being launched by an influential organisation, provided fertile ground for conspiracy theories to grow. ‘You’ll Own Nothing, and You’ll Be Happy’ WEF Tweet From 2016 Deleted, Article Authored by Ida Auken With the Same Message Has Also Been Scrubbed From the Web Some of the old material concerning the Great Reset that the BBC and Reuters articles miss, stems from a now-deleted WEF tweet about eight predictions for the year 2030. The World Economic Forum 2030 prediction tweet describes a world where, “You’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy” and the short clip says that everyone will rent everything they need. The tweet was super controversial after Covid-19 and especially since it was created in November 2016. WEF’s tweet derives from an article, which has also been scrubbed from the internet, authored by a member of the Danish parliament, Ida Auken. Ever since the BBC and Reuters (alongside Twitter’s help) published the Great Reset fact-checking articles, many people commented about the controversial topic. “So we aren’t even hiding it now? Just use the name.. run with it… ” one individual wrote to the BBC on Twitter. “It was created in 1992, not 2020,” another person said. Another individual stressed that the BBC knows exactly what’s happening and the U.K. news broadcaster is simply being open about it. The person wrote: So the article author clearly has not read much into the Great Reset. The whole point of the article was to try and legitimize it by stating that ‘anti-vaxxers’ and ‘new age healers’ are against it. The BBC knows what it is. This is their way of legitimizing it. This has been something that has been happening for a while now, as mainstream media has been publishing fact check reports well after conspiracy theories have been seemingly becoming real and truthful. People believe that these fact-checking reports simply gaslight the issue and never really debunk any of the theories. The thousands of comments that are strewn across Twitter reflect the fact that people are suspicious of the Great Reset initiative. “Piece of advice to everyone. Believe nothing the media says and stop complying,” an individual wrote in response to a Great Reset fact check article. What do you think about the recent fact-checking articles concerning the Great Reset? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Xinhua, the official news agency of China, is going to issue an NFT collection with photographs depicting historic moments of the passing year. The initiative, which comes amid an ongoing crypto crackdown, is seen as a boost for blockchain, the technology that also underpins cryptocurrencies. Xinhua to Create Digital Collectibles Based on Photo Reports The state-owned Chinese news agency Xinhua is preparing to issue a digital collection representing photographic news reports from 2021. The selection of 11 photos, each limited to 10,000 copies, will be released on Dec. 24. They will be issued free of charge via Xinhua’s news app, using non-fungible token (NFT) technology, the agency announced, quoted by Bloomberg and Reuters. The collection, which also features a photo commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, will “imprint digital memories into the metaverse,” Xinhua noted. Euronews remarks that Beijing-controlled media has in the past described the virtual reality space as “an illusionary concept.” Stocks of Chinese firms operating in the field such as Goertek and Perfect World rose on Wednesday. Companies like the social media giant Tencent Holdings and Ant Group have previously issued NFTs on their blockchain platforms. According to a statement by Tencent in November, Beijing is expected to allow the metaverse to operate under domestic rules. While NFTs in particular have not been targeted yet, this year the Chinese government reiterated wide-ranging restrictions on cryptocurrencies initially imposed in 2017. А number of related activities such as trading, exchange, and fundraising through coin offerings were banned. Bitcoin mining, which was left alone until this spring, was hit in a crackdown which began following a decision by the State Council in May. A few days ago, a state-controlled industry organization blacklisted crypto-themed short videos shared online in the People’s Republic. The digital collection, which Xinhua described as “a unique year-end review,” will be issued on a blockchain from Tencent Cloud. The NFTs will feature unique identification and ownership information, the agency noted, while highlighting their “special commemorative significance and collection value.” Do you think other Chinese organizations will issue NFTs? Share your expectations in the comments section below. View the full article

Press Release: Beyondlife․club and Orange Comet have joined forces to launch a special NFT collection dedicated to the legendary Marvel comics founder Stan Lee. 22nd December 2021, Singapore — Chakra The Invincible is a unique NFT collection and tribute to legend Stan Lee, that will launch on his 99th Birthday, (December 28th) on chakra.beyondlife.club. The collection includes an exclusive category dedicated to Stan Lee’s prominence as an artist and narrating the story behind, creating Chakra The Invincible. Beyondlife.club and Guardianlink․io, have associated with Orange Comet and Graphics India to curate a one-of-a-kind superhero NFT collection that signifies Stan Lee’s existence in the creative domain. Chakra The Invincible NFT Collection Stan Lee’s Chakra The Invincible was the first international superhero visualised by the comic legend, created in collaboration with Sharad Devaraj. The Chakra The Invincible NFT collection includes categories that highlight the character’s superpowers and origins. The superhero NFT collection includes: Chakra Artpunks Loot Box (6865 NFTs) Chakra Artpunks (15 NFTs) Animated Living Comic Book Cover (2 NFTs) Comic book covers stills (1250 NFTs) Seven Chakra’s Powers (7 NFTs) Animated NFT Videos (1250 NFTs) 1 single Stan Lee Birthday Special NFT Stan Lee Turns 99 Released in 2012, Chakra The Invincible (Raju Rai) is an Indian superhero character created by Stan Lee, Sharad Devarajan, and Gotham Chopra. Honoring Stan Lee’s 99th birthday on December 28th, this NFT collection launch is an open invitation to every Stan Lee admirer in celebrating his path-breaking legacy by sharing ownership in a limited NFT collectible around one of his first international superheroes. Stan Lee also imagined an animated movie in 2013 from Chakra’s storyline. Thanks to his team’s constant backing after his passing, this NFT collection makes a clear path for almost limitless creation of unique NFT pieces inspired by the art of the great Stan Lee, and accessible for all to buy. Beyondlife․club & GuardianLink․io Beyondlife․Club and GuardianLink have joined forces to bring some of Stan Lee’s most impressive superhero creations to life with the Chakra The Invincible NFT collection. After making history with #AmitabhNFT, beyondlife․club is all set to mark its prominence in making NFTs mainstream in India and across the world. With Stan Lee’s Chakra The Invincible NFT collection GuardianLink․io will develop and provide a space for the upcoming superhero NFT collection as an individual launchpad, and platform for anyone to invest in the growing trend of NFTs. The team at BeyondLife․club stated that: “BeyondLife․Club, dreams of bringing other Indian and international celebrities, creators and brands to come on board and curate their respective NFTs presented to a global audience. By announcing Stan Lee’s co-creation Chakra The Invincible NFT collection, we ensure that its a start of a humongous success and multiple possibilities of curating NFTs beyond boundaries” Orange Comet and Beyondlife․club, powered by Guardianlink․io is expected to launch the Chakra The Invincible NFT collection, co-created by Stan Lee on the 28th December, at 9:00 AM, IST. The unique NFT collection offers an opportunity for everyone to cherish the creations of Marvel Legend Stan Lee and be a part of the growing NFT industry. Beyondlife․club Socials Telegram | Twitter | Discord | Facebook Media Contact Details Contact Name: Ramkumar Subramaniam Contact Email: info@guardianlink.io Guardianlink is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. 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

In advance of presenting its comprehensive view on crypto regulations, the Central Bank of Russia has indicated that it sees no place for cryptocurrencies in the country’s financial market. The monetary authority also announced that the prototype of the platform for its own digital currency is already completed. Bank of Russia to Issue Report on Cryptocurrency Known for maintaining a hardline stance on the question of legalizing cryptocurrencies, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is now preparing a report that will provide its view on the matter in detail. The regulator intends to push for adopting rules to govern the circulation of digital assets through legislative changes, Deputy Chairman Vladimir Chistyukhin revealed in comments to Russian media. “I think that we will resolve the issue through amendments to the legislation. There will be a more precise definition of how cryptocurrencies can be traded,” Chistyukhin said speaking to reporters in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. The official noted that Russian citizens and businesses have the right to purchase and keep cryptocurrency, but not through the country’s financial infrastructure and intermediaries. He made the remark in response to a question of whether the CBR advocates for banning transfers to crypto exchanges from accounts held by Russian citizens. A working group on crypto regulation is set to hold its first meeting at the Duma this month, starting with a review of a CBR report, the head of the parliamentary Financial Market Committee, Anatoly Aksakov, announced in November. Commenting on the contents of the upcoming report, Chistyukhin said: I’ll give you a hint — we don’t see a place for cryptocurrency in the Russian financial market. His statement comes after sources quoted by Reuters indicated that the regulator is considering a ban on Russian crypto purchases. Then, during a press conference on Friday, CBR Chair Elvira Nabiullina reiterated the bank’s skepticism towards cryptocurrencies and insisted that Russia’s financial system should not be used to facilitate crypto transactions. Russia’s Central Bank Ready With Digital Ruble Prototype While clarifying its stance on cryptocurrencies, the CBR has been working to develop a Russian central bank digital currency (CBDC). The prototype of the digital ruble platform is now completed, First Deputy Chair Olga Skorobogatova told journalists this week. Quoted by the Interfax news agency, she added that the authority plans to begin piloting operations with the currency after the holidays in January. A dozen Russian banks will participate in the first of several stages of the trials that will continue throughout 2022. Earlier in December, Bank of Russia explained that it will invite credit organizations and carry out consumer-to-consumer operations during the first stage. The Federal Treasury, along with financial intermediaries, will join at the second stage when transactions between private individuals and corporate entities will be tested. CBR began contemplating a digital version of the Russian ruble three years ago and decided to explore the possibility of issuing the CBDC last year. A consultation paper was published in October 2020 and the regulator gathered feedback from financial sector players. In April 2021, the bank released a digital ruble concept outlining its principal architecture. Besides Russian citizens, the bank plans to also allow non-residents to open digital ruble wallets, use the currency, and convert it to foreign fiat. Do you think Bank of Russia will ban crypto-related transactions through the Russian financial system? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

GSC Game World and Ubisoft, two game development companies, are dealing with backlash about the inclusion of NFT elements in some of their games. While GSC Game World — developer of the popular Stalker gaming franchise — has abandoned its plans in this regard, Ubisoft is pushing forward and has announced a partnership with Aleph.im to store images from its NFT platform. GSC Game World and Ubisoft Take Different Approaches Two game developers that recently announced the introduction of NFT elements as part of their upcoming and existing games are dealing with negative backlash from the gaming public on this issue. However, each one of them is doing it differently. GSC Game World, creators of the Stalker gaming franchise, based in Ukraine, stated that they would stop all plans regarding including NFT elements in Stalker 2, an upcoming game. The company released a statement on Twitter, declaring: We hear you. Based on the feedback we’ve received, we’ve made a decision to cancel anything NFT-related in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. The interests of our fans and players are the top priority for the team. We’re making this game for you to enjoy—whatever the cost is. If you care, we care, too. GSC Game World had stated previously that all funds coming from potential NFT sales would go toward improving the game before its release to make it even better. Ubisoft Pushes Forward However, not all developers have desisted in going forward with their planned roadmap, even with the negative reception coming from users. Specifically, Ubisoft, another game company, has announced today a partnership with Aleph.im, a decentralized storage solution, to save images and info for every NFT saved in its own NFT market, called Ubisoft Quartz. The PR statement on this partnership stated that: The NFT metadata will be stored on aleph.im’s fully decentralized storage system of over 70 nodes, while all NFT ownership will be tracked on the Tezos blockchain. Quartz, which is the platform already in use by the company to bring NFTs to games like Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, debuted on December 9, and is built on top of the Tezos blockchain. Ubisoft promotes the development as “energy-efficient playable NFTs,” but the December 8 announcement of the platform was received with almost universal criticism, with more than 95% of viewers disliking it on Youtube. What do you think about the backlash that game developers have received for introducing NFTs to their games? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The Central Bank of Argentina has announced it is making inquiries regarding cryptocurrency investment companies. Specifically, the bank stated they are investigating companies that are offering extraordinary returns with cryptocurrency investments, which are not reasonable. These companies could be operating as Ponzi schemes, according to the bank, and it is currently examining the possibility of taking legal action against them. Central Bank of Argentina Investigates Crypto Investment Companies The Central Bank of Argentina issued a statement yesterday explaining the actions they are taking against some cryptocurrency investment companies. The institution announced it is scrutinizing some companies that offer “returns through operations with crypto assets and cryptocurrencies that are not compatible with reasonable parameters in financial operations.” The bank is also alerting users about the use of these platforms whose performance and investment risk cannot be evaluated by the institution. The bank has already taken action against these companies in some regions of the country, inspecting them through the Superintendency of Financial and Exchange Entities, issuing cease and desist orders on these activities. The bank will now exert judicial action against the administrators of these companies. Concentrated Activities Some of these suspected operations have concentrated their efforts in specific provinces of the country, using publicity campaigns as a hook to pull in more investors. The Central Bank of Argentina detected such activity in two provinces, La Rioja and Catamarca, that aimed to gain followers to participate in “non-transparent asset management schemes.” Cryptocurrency-related scams are not new to Argentina, but have multiplied this year. The NGO Bitcoin Argentina warned against this type of scheme earlier this year, noting that such groups are taking advantage of the popularity of crypto assets in the country. At that time, Javier Madariaga, CEO of the organization, stated: We are seeing that pyramidal or Ponzi schemes with crypto are being repeated in different provinces of the country, and the common denominator of these scams is an intermediary that promises a great economic return by making a capital contribution, something that is not guaranteed in any investment . Regarding these operations, the Central Bank of Argentina has also started to take action to control the rise of these activities. The institution revealed that it is now contacting these companies to ask them not to perform investment activities, and is analyzing whether to take legal action against the alleged Ponzi schemes. What do you think about the investigation that the Central Bank of Argentina is carrying out against crypto investment companies? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has rebounded in fiat value after suffering some losses last week. Statistics indicate that the $248 billion TVL in defi has increased 3.46% during the last 24 hours and the blockchain Terra has overtaken the Binance Smart Chain in terms of TVL in defi. Terra Protocol’s Defi Value Swells, LUNA Taps an All-Time High The Terra protocol has been making waves as the blockchain’s native crypto asset (LUNA) has increased more than 45% over the last week. The digital currency recently tapped an all-time high (ATH) and LUNA is now the ninth-largest crypto asset in terms of market valuation. In addition to LUNA’s recent ATH, the blockchain network has overtaken the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) in terms of TVL in defi. For most of the year, BSC was the second-largest blockchain network in terms of defi TVL. However, this week the Terra protocol has surpassed BSC by a few billion dollars. Terra’s TVL today, according to defillama.com, is around $19.34 billion while BSC is around $16.67 billion on Tuesday. The Terra TVL in defi is 16.01% larger than BSC and its increased 65.99% during the last week. Terra TVL in Defi is 7.79% of the Aggregate Value Locked Across All Chains Lots of the swelling value is due to Terra’s native token LUNA reaching new price highs, Terra protocol’s stablecoin UST increasing its tokens in circulation. Bitcoin.com News recently reported on how UST surpassed the stablecoin DAI and 30-day stats indicate UST has increased by 29.2%. LUNA’s biggest trading pair is tether (USDT) today with 62.25% of all LUNA trades, and BTC follows behind tether with 14.81% of trades. Global pairs show LUNA has a strong relationship with BUSD (10.42% of all LUNA trades), BNB (3.49%), USD (3.09%), and KRW (2.55%). The most active exchanges swapping LUNA today include Binance, Okex, Kucoin, Huobi Pro, and Bithumb Global respectively. While Terra protocol’s TVL in defi has increased a great deal, it still has a long ways to go to catch up with Ethereum’s TVL in defi. Ethereum has $155.2 billion which is 62.58% of the $248 billion locked in defi today. Terra protocol’s TVL in defi is only 7.79% of the aggregate $248 billion locked in defi and BSC has 6.72% of that total. Other TVLs in decentralized finance increased a great deal during the last seven days include Avalanche which increased 19.25% and the Chronos (CRO) network increasing 16.29%. What do you think about the Terra protocol’s recent increase in decentralized finance surpassing BSC? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Most crypto-oriented gaming projects usually run on the likes of Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), EOS (EOS) and Tron (TRX). Despite Ethereum’s (ETH) dominance however, a growing number of game developers are now launching on Polygon (MATIC). GensoKishi Online Metaworld is a part of this list, and it’s simple to understand as to why that is. Polygon is a very active network which is quickly developing to scale Ethereum and also be a dependable platform with relatively cheap trade costs. Polygon is extremely scalable, enabling for the deployment of large decentralised applications without compromising privacy. As such, GensoKishi Online Metaworld launched its own Telegram channel earlier this month, enabling community members to stay up to date on the project’s progress. Needless to say, the metaverse-based game will be vast, as projected, given the team’s intentions for the metaverse, GameFi, and NFTs. What Is GensoKishi Online Metaworld Exactly? Simply put, GensoKishi Online Metaworld can be thought of as a new GameFi and metaverse iteration of GensoKishi Online, which won the ‘Game of the Year Gold Award’ in Taiwan in 2012 and had 8 million players. Essentially, the game uses blockchain technology to construct a digital world ecosystem, and GenoKishi Online Metaworld thus combines aspects of Web 3.0 with the metaverse. Its objective is to construct a metaverse environment that surpasses the constraints of the physical world and continues to grow for the foreseeable future. Combining the Worlds of Gaming, Decentralised Finance, Blockchain, NFTs and the Metaverse GensoKishi has been re-imagined to leverage the power of blockchain and a P2E paradigm to support a complete digital economy. As a result, players will have a better experience due to this set-up. At the same time, users can turn their gaming enthusiasm into real-world benefits by exchanging in-game assets that exist as valuable non-fungible tokens which can then be exchanged for ETH via the OpenSea platform, a prominent marketplace for NFTs. With that being said, a unique feature of GensoKishi Online Metaworld is the possibility for gamers to create their own characters and material directly within the game. Moreover, the decision to tilt their metaverse toward the gamer and give them the ability to create custom characters with one-of-a-kind characteristics, skills and attributes that can be traded for various other gaming items as well as fungible assets via the aforementioned NFT marketplace shall certainly provide GensoKishi Online Metaworld with a distinct advantage over numerous other games built around cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Partnership with TrustPad Earlier today, GensoKishi Online revealed a new partnership with TrustPad, which will assist in promoting GensoKishi on its platform as well as publicise this initiative to its large investor base. TrustPad is the inaugural decentralised multi-chain fundraising platform that allows projects to obtain funds while assuring early stage investors with security and ease-of-access. As an added bonus of this collaboration, GensoKishi shall receive complete support from the DeFi Launchpad Association. In related news, GensoKishi was supposed to list its MV governance token on both Quickswap and Uniswap in December. After consulting with their launchpad partners however, the team has concluded that it is instead preferable to postpone the IDO in order to fully capitalise on the additional awareness, marketing, and new users that this partnership would bring in. Other members of the launchpad organisation shall also assist the GensoKishi IDO, expanding public access and visibility to the initiative. More information will be made available in the near future. A Game That Has It All The ability to earn money while you play is already an attractive reason to get involved with GensoKishi Online Metaworld, but when the game’s strong infrastructure and innovative ecosystem are also taken into consideration, it really does not take much to see why millions of people are already playing the game. Not only is the game free to play, but it also supports Android and iOS compatible devices, and can even be played on desktops and laptops. Furthermore, the fact that the game relies on Polygon is yet another strong indicator of its value and future worth. Polygon is one of the top projects in the entire cryptocurrency industry and its native token, MATIC, is still in the top 15 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization as of this time. Polygon’s Arjun Krishan Kalsy stated that GensoKishi Online Metaworld is a Japanese game which has already been launched on popular gaming platforms and systems and that it is a GameFi adaptation of a game that already has existing users within the gaming metaverse. He also stated that his team is pleased that such a traditional game has joined the cryptocurrency sector and been deployed on Polygon, and that they would keep supporting Gensokishi’s future growth. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. View the full article