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PRESS RELEASE. SAN FRANCISCO – October 15, 2021 – TRON, one of the largest blockchain-based operating systems in the world, is announcing an upcoming partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment today. Tron will provide the gaming company with its blockchain and expertise to enable in-game purchases, trading of in-game items and facilitate fast, cross-border payments on top of the Tron infrastructure. Sony has been at the forefront of blockchain technology, starting as early as 2016 to experiment with the technology, and initiating further development of a blockchain-based system to manage digital rights in 2018. Blockchain makes it difficult to destroy or falsify data and has been well-adapted to manage data and rights. However, the technology bears huge potential for the gaming industry, as has been illustrated by the rapid growth of blockchain gaming, and play-to-earn business models. The major challenge when building blockchain-based gaming companies are faced with are problems with scalability, and high transaction costs. Therefore, the team at Sony decided to start trialing the Tron blockchain for potential improvement of user-experience. As highlighted by SIE President and CEO Jim Ryan: “When building a game, the gaming experience is at the center of all we do. Therefore, we want to make all value-related transactions as smooth as possible, at low cost without sacrificing the benefits of blockchain. That’s why we decided to partner with the Tron Foundation to use their blockchain ecosystem for further gaming development.” Tron was launched by entrepreneur Justin Sun to challenge the existing media industry. Running on top of a delegated Proof-of-Stake mechanism, and written in Solidity, the Tron blockchain offers developers fast transactions at low cost, surpassing the transactions per second of Ethereum. On a mission to facilitate cost-effective ways of sharing content, Tron has started to invest heavily into growing their gaming arm this year, which has been facilitated by the launch of it’s NFT token standard TRC-721 in March 2021. Despite economic incentives for businesses, enabling gaming on blockchain has a huge impact on ownership of items in-game. Justin Sun, CEO of the Tron foundation shares: “As soon as you turn in-game items into NFTs, you provide gamers with actual, and provable ownership of the item whereas in a centralized gaming environment, this ownership could technically be revoked at any point. Additionally, having items as NFTs provides the opportunity to trade them across games, on marketplaces even outside of the game and enables better use of capital. We’re excited to have Sony use the Tron blockchain to benefit from these features.” Sony will use the Tron blockchain to facilitate in-game payments, bringing existing game items on-chain, and is considering to start offering some of these items through the newly developed, official Tron-based NFT marketplace built in collaboration with DeFine. About TRON TRON is dedicated to accelerating the decentralization of the internet through blockchain technology and decentralized applications. Founded in September 2017 by Justin Sun, the company has delivered a series of achievements, including MainNet launch in May 2018, network independence in June 2018, and TRON Virtual Machine release in August 2018. July 2018 also marked the acquisition of BitTorrent, a pioneer in decentralized services boasting approximately 100M monthly active users. About Sony Interactive Entertainment Recognized as a global leader in interactive and digital entertainment, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is responsible for the PlayStation® brand and family of products and services. PlayStation has delivered innovation to the market since the launch of the original PlayStation in Japan in 1994. The PlayStation family of products and services include PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PlayStation®VR, PlayStationStore, PlayStation®Plus, PlayStationNow, and acclaimed PlayStation software titles from PlayStation Studios. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, SIE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation and has global functions in California, London and Tokyo. Media Contact Angela Yang press@tron.network 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. Listen to the latest Bitcoin.com Podcast: View the full article

ETC Group, an ETF issuer company, released a report last month about the evolution of Bitcoin Cash in the years after the hard fork that created it. While the company acknowledged the asset price is lagging compared to its older sibling, it praised the crypto on other aspects like development and actual usage. Bitcoin Cash has improved regarding these two metrics, likely helped by the inclusion in several important platforms such as Paypal. Bitcoin Cash Examined by ETC Group ETC Group, a financial services company based in London, has issued a report on Bitcoin Cash. The report, which touches on several important aspects of the cryptocurrency, establishes that Bitcoin Cash has experienced positive development when it comes to the actual usage of the currency. The report states: Bitcoin Cash has retained its laser focus on facilitating easy, fast, everyday transactions. And this is starting to pay off. Daily active addresses, a proxy for daily active users, have continued to grow strongly in the past two years. What’s interesting about this is that adoption has grown even when spot prices have not accompanied this growth. This suggests that usage, rather than speculation, is the driving force behind Bitcoin Cash adoption, something very different from other cryptocurrencies. However, the report does state that prices have stagnated when compared with other cryptos on the market. Growth may also have been driven by the inclusion of Bitcoin Cash on the initial roster of Paypal’s supported cryptocurrencies in November 2020. This movement put the asset in the hands of people new to the crypto space, providing the option to invest in bitcoin cash to a wide market. Bustling Development The report also states that development has been constant since the 2017 hard fork that gave birth to BCH. This development, according to ETC, is what differentiates Bitcoin Cash from other crypto networks like Litecoin, which has stopped the addition of new features for its targeted use case. The report stresses: There are scores of other utility developments in play that are adding to its practicality, developing tools like smart contracts, prediction markets, and EVM-compatible content. Smartbch just launched earlier this year, bringing smart contract capabilities and Ethereum-like decentralized finance apps to the chain. The nascent project still has a lot of room to grow, but constant development such as this seems to have been an influential factor in ETC Group’s assessment of the peer-to-peer electronic cash system. What do you think about ETC Group’s BCH report? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Visa, one of the leading credit and payments companies, has announced the creation of a program that will allow artists to understand how they can use new technologies like NFTs. According to Visa, NFTs have the potential of evening out the field for artists, allowing them to close the gap between art and its potential consumers. The company will sponsor a group of artists, giving them counsel about the importance of these cryptographic technologies. Visa Wants Artists To Learn About NFTs Visa has announced it will launch a program to introduce artists to the world of NFTs. The company is partnering with former MLB player Micah Johnson, who is now a digital artist, in order to show the benefits that non-fungible token (NFT) technology can provide. Things like new markets for art creations and at the same time, close the gap between consumers and art providers. Micah, who is the creator of Aku, an NFT based character, leveraged NFTs as a way of giving life to a community around its creation. About the possibilities the NFT world can offer, Johnson stated: NFTs unlocked an opportunity for me to build a community of people interested in supporting my work — in a way that goes way beyond simply liking or sharing. Visa will sponsor a small group of creators led by Johnson to teach artists to use blockchain-based tools to produce and sell digital goods. The company will also counsel these artists to learn how to use digital and traditional payment methods to monetize their work. NFT Season Is Red Hot Visa is one of the many companies that jumped into the NFT bandwagon this year, possibly trying to take advantage of the popularity these instruments have reached recently. It announced the purchase of a Cryptopunk NFT back in August for $165K in ethereum (ETH). Cryptopunks is a popular NFT collectible brand in the market, spinning off hundreds of derivatives across several blockchains. After this, Visa issued an NFT report titled “NFTs: Engaging Today’s Fans in Crypto and Commerce,” where it explained the different ways in which NFTs can be leveraged to increase fan engagement, have better management of customer relationships, and find new potential revenue streams for current businesses. The report shows that Visa is considering NFTs as a serious proposition to extend its market and include new businesses that can be paired with its current payments services. What do you think about Visa and its current interest in NFTs? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Any digital currency issued by a central bank must support financial and monetary stability, finance leaders from G7 member states have insisted. State-issued coins should also ensure privacy, transparency, and data protection, the officials stated. The forum adopted 13 public policy principles for retail digital currencies and stressed that “CBDCs are not ‘cryptoassets.’” CBDCs Must ‘Do No Harm’ to Stability, G7 Finance Chiefs Say Recognizing the potential benefits of innovation in digital money and payments, finance officials from the Group of Seven (G7) major economies addressed relevant public policy and regulatory issues at their latest meeting which also produced over a dozen guidelines for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). In a released statement, the participants reaffirmed: Any CBDC should be grounded in our long-standing public commitments to transparency, the rule of law and sound economic governance. A sovereign digital currency designed to be used by households and businesses must “support and do no harm” to a central bank’s ability to maintain monetary and financial stability, the G7 finance leaders said after the meeting on Wednesday. “A CBDC would complement cash” and could serve as “an anchor for the payments system,” they added. It should also meet “rigorous standards” of privacy, transparency, and data protection and be resilient to various risks such as cyber threats, fraud, and illicit use. The G7 finance ministers and central bankers acknowledge the role CBDCs could play in enhancing cross-border payments. At the same time, the high-ranking officials recognize their shared responsibility to minimize what they describe as “harmful spillovers to the international monetary and financial system.” Discussing innovation in private digital money, the policymakers reiterate a commitment to ensure that developments there are safe and consistent with the group’s policy objectives. If not properly regulated, a stablecoin could pose significant risks to financial stability, they point out while also warning that volatile, unbacked cryptocurrencies could not be widely used as a means of payment. G7 Issues 13 Public Policy Principles for Retail CBDCs In a report published by the inter-governmental forum, the differences between digital currencies issued by central banks, on one hand, and cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, on the other, are further highlighted. “CBDCs are not ‘cryptoassets,’” the group’s financial leaders emphasize, noting that the latter are not issued by a central bank and that fiat-backed digital coins are a liability of private entities. The wider infrastructure of CBDCs, however, could involve participants from both the public and the private sector. Pointing out that no monetary authority in G7 has yet made a decision to issue its own digital currency, the authors have organized their recommendations by formulating 13 public policy principles for retail CBDCs meant to facilitate policy deliberations. National governments and international organizations can refer to these guidelines which have been divided into two categories: “Foundational Issues and Opportunities.” Monetary and financial stability is one of the foundational principles. By designing a CBDC that supports public policy objectives, central banks can use the digital currency as an instrument to enhance stability and manage the impacts on financial intermediaries, the report notes. Under legal and governance frameworks, G7 officials mark the need to observe the rule of law and maintain economic governance. Policymakers stress: Appropriate national legal, regulatory, supervisory and oversight frameworks are essential to ensure trust, resilience, security and confidence in any CBDC. Data privacy is another important principle that requires regulators to ensure accountability for the protection of users’ data and transparency in terms of how information is secured and used. This is considered essential for the trust and confidence in a CBDC. Operational resilience and cyber security is the fourth principle that calls for all entities involved in a CBDC ecosystem to adopt data security and cybersecurity strategies. Competition is a key aspect and the G7 finance chiefs believe that “CBDCs should coexist with existing means of payment and should operate in an open, secure, resilient, transparent and competitive environment that promotes choice and diversity in payment options.” While state-issued digital currencies are expected to offer more accessible, faster and cheaper payments, the illicit finance principle puts an emphasis on the commitment to mitigate their use in facilitating crime. Spillovers should be addressed to avoid risks of harming the international monetary and financial system, including the monetary sovereignty and financial stability of other countries. The energy usage of a CBDC is another major consideration. The energy and environment principle envisages the building of efficient digital currency infrastructures that support the international commitment to a ‘net zero’ economy. According to the G7 report, CBDCs present a number of opportunities in areas such as payments to and from the public sector and cross-border functionality where the new digital fiat currencies can potentially reduce frictions. The Opportunities category of principles that the Group of Seven advises monetary authorities to consider also includes digital economy and innovation, international development, and financial inclusion. The new G7 guidelines come after a meeting in June when the group’s finance leaders agreed to publish a set of common rules for central bank digital currencies. The U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and Bank of Russia are among dozens of monetary authorities currently working to develop and issue CBDCs. So far, the People’s Bank of China has the most advanced project, having already launched numerous trials with the digital yuan. Do you expect monetary authorities to follow the public policy principles for CBDCs outlined by the G7 finance chiefs? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The chief executive officer of the world’s largest asset manager, Blackrock, says he is “more on the Jamie Dimon camp” when asked whether he thinks bitcoin is worthless. However, the executive says he is fascinated by people’s interest in crypto and sees “a huge role for a digitized currency.” Blackrock’s CEO Sides With JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon on the Value of Bitcoin Larry Fink, the CEO of the world’s largest asset manager with $9.5 trillion in assets under management, Blackrock, answered some questions about cryptocurrency, particularly bitcoin, in an interview with CNBC Wednesday. He was asked whether he was “still in the Jamie Dimon’s category of ‘bitcoin is worthless'” or whether he saw value in the cryptocurrency. Dimon, the CEO of global investment bank JPMorgan, said earlier this week: “I personally think that bitcoin is worthless.” He also questioned the limited supply of the cryptocurrency. The Blackrock executive replied: I am probably more on the Jamie Dimon camp. But I am fascinated by so many people’s interest. It’s fantastic. I love the fact that more people are looking to invest in different things. I believe this is a very good, positive action. Fink added: “I’m not a student of bitcoin and where it’s going to go. I can’t tell you whether it’s going to be going to $80,000 or zero.” However, the CEO opined: “But I do believe there is a huge role for a digitized currency. And I believe that’s going to help consumers worldwide, whether it’s bitcoin or something else, or more of a governmental official digital currency, a digital dollar — that will play out.” The Blackrock executive further explained that he is fascinated by “the great new technology.” Noting that “It’s attracted so many people,” he expressed: “It’s fantastic seeing how people have become so fascinated about it, that they are showing interest in this. Whether this is going to play out well in the long run, we’ll see.” Fink concluded: I see huge opportunities in a digitized crypto, blockchain-related currency, and that’s where I think it’s going and that’s going to create some big winners and some big losers. What do you think about Blackrock CEO Larry Fink’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Dreamr Labs flagship product, the Dreamr app, continues to gain momentum in new user signups one month after the DMR token launch. Roadmap is being accelerated to meet consumer demand for dreamr technologies. Dreamr (Ticker: DMR) is the community-driven platform created for users to pursue their personal and entrepreneurial dreams. The platform helps people to build a supportive tribe around their declared dream, features an encrypted messenger, and has decentralized financial tools in its roadmap to help users overcome the inevitable monetary obstacles that get in their way. Users can earn DMR tokens by using the dreamr app to declare their dream and connect with others on the platform pursuing their own ambitions and goals. The DMR token has utility in the form of platform governance, which gives token holders a real say in making changes to the dreamr development roadmap. Dreamr has also disclosed plans in its white paper to turn user’s dream content and stories into NFTs to give community members ownership and value while pursuing their dreams. Here are some statistics from the first 30 days of the DMR token being listed on Bittrex Global: Record app downloads of 48,360, +1616.1% month over month Dreamr rose to #18 on the Apple App Store Top Charts (Lifestyle) The DMR Token is +30% from its listing price despite overall market volatility The platform’s philanthropic Dream Machine Tour is generating viral content featuring the dreamr app and its native digital asset (DMR). Tour content has generated over 100M views across social properties during the last 30 days. Original content produced from dreamr’s philanthropic efforts is being utilized to grow its user base ahead of planned monetization. Big dreams from dreamr app users have been coming true on the Dream Machine Tour, landing media mentions from entertainment publications like Billboard, E News, and Newsweek. Dreamr has just released its 3rd drop in its Community NFT series, which are unique to a big dream coming true and only given out (for free) to community members who directly contributed to making that dream a reality. Dreamr CEO, Chris Adams stated; ”Exceeding expectations is every CEOs best case scenario, I’m pleased to announce that we are doing exactly that and putting ourselves months ahead of schedule on several business objectives. The steady increase in app downloads is gratifying to see, as it means our marketing investments are bearing tangible results.” Just 25 days into the tour, Charlie and the Dreamr team have been able to make several big dreams come true. The result is a number of extremely viral pieces of content, totaling well over 100 million views across social media platforms, providing great exposure for the dreamr brand and its native digital asset, the DMR governance token. The dream-making on Dream Machine Tour 21 #DMT21 has brought in collaborations from big brands like Shopify, Bella Canvas, Ben Newman Companies, and Quality One Wireless. Download the Dreamr app and start declaring your dreams today. Connect with @charlie on dreamr to get your dream in front of the Dream Machine Tour team for consideration. ABOUT DREAMR Dreamr® (Ticker: DMR Bittrex Global) is an ecosystem of social networking and financial tools designed specifically to make practical the pursuit of our biggest dreams. The dreamr platform is a positive and powerful space for users to declare their dream and build a supportive community of new, like-minded connections. With web3 integration, the community-based network is thoughtfully designed into an easy-to-use mobile app experience. Founded in July 2015 and operated in stealth until 2019, the dreamr app officially launched on iOS & Android in September 2020. Its team of technologists, entrepreneurs, and creatives have come together around a mission to make the pursuit of our biggest dreams and aspirations more practical for everyone – already raising nearly $2 million to build upon the vision of a digital ecosystem comprised of mobile networking & decentralized financial tools. As a brand, Dreamr is known for infusing a community-first, philanthropic spirit into everything it does. The Dreamr team achieves this by gamifying the process of social networking through its primary networking feature, Dream Connect. With the removal of vanity metrics, the thoughtful approach focuses on allowing anyone’s dream the ability to gain traction across the network. Financial tools in development to help users monetize their dream-network include the new DMR token, Dreamr Crowdfunding, P2P Service Marketplace, and P2P payments. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. Listen to the latest Bitcoin.com Podcast: View the full article

The chief executive officer of global investment bank Morgan Stanley says that cryptocurrency, including bitcoin, is not a fad. Noting that they are not going to go away, he said: “We’re watchful of it, we’re respectful, and we’ll wait and see how the regulators handle it.” Morgan Stanley’s CEO Says Bitcoin and Crypto Aren’t Going Away Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman talked about bitcoin and cryptocurrency during the bank’s third-quarter earnings call with analysts Thursday morning. Emphasizing that crypto is not going to go away, he said: I’ve said it publicly before, I’ll say it again. I don’t think crypto’s a fad. I don’t know what the value of bitcoin should or shouldn’t be, but these things aren’t going away. He added: “The blockchain technology supporting it is obviously very real and powerful.” Morgan Stanley was among the first major banks to embrace bitcoin. In March, the bank revealed that it had begun offering bitcoin funds to clients. In April, the bank added bitcoin to 12 mutual funds’ investment strategies. The global investment bank launched a dedicated cryptocurrency research team in September, led by Sheena Shah, the firm’s crypto analyst. “The launch of dedicated crypto research is in recognition of the growing significance of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets in global markets,” the bank explained. The Morgan Stanley executive explained during the earnings call, “We’re not directly trading crypto for retail clients,” adding that “there are other players who are choosing to do that.” He clarified, “We give access to them to buy crypto through various funds and things.” He further detailed that crypto is currently not a big part of the bank’s business but said it could grow in the future. “For us, honestly, it’s just not a huge part of the business demand from our clients. And that may evolve and we’ll evolve with it,” he opined, elaborating: We’re watchful of it, we’re respectful, and we’ll wait and see how the regulators handle it. Do you agree with Morgan Stanley’s CEO about bitcoin and crypto? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has tweeted about investing in funds that hold bitcoin futures contracts. This has sparked optimism within the crypto community that the regulator may soon approve bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), especially those investing in bitcoin futures. Optimism Grows That SEC Will Approve a Bitcoin Futures ETF Soon The official Twitter account for the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy tweeted Thursday: “Before investing in a fund that holds bitcoin futures contracts, make sure you carefully weigh the potential risks and benefits.” The tweet references an investor bulletin jointly published in June by the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC’s) Office of Customer Education and Outreach. The bulletin urges “investors considering a fund with exposure to the bitcoin futures market to weigh carefully the potential risks and benefits of the investment.” Comments flooded Twitter from people speculating that the SEC will soon approve a bitcoin futures ETF. Many people simply exclaimed, “bullish.” One Twitter user wrote, “They probably wouldn’t post this if it wasn’t going to get approved.” Another commented, “Posting this would indicate with great likelihood a BTC ETF is coming, possibly next week.” A third person said, “This is a clear indication of what is to come very very soon.” As Bitcoin.com News reported, the SEC could approve several bitcoin strategy ETFs this month. Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas, opined: Getting closer: The SEC just tweeted out an edu bulletin they wrote back in June re bitcoin futures and ‘funds that hold bitcoin futures.’ Clearly good sign and we [are] upping our odds to 85%. Balchunas mentioned another sign that a bitcoin ETF approval may be imminent. “Valkyrie just updated their bitcoin futures ETF prospectus (which typically only happens when ducks in row ready for launch). They added their ticker $BTF, altho no fee still. Can’t say this is done deal type evidence but a good sign IMO,” he tweeted Wednesday. However, since the investor bulletin was published in June and the SEC tweeted a similar message about investing in funds holding bitcoin futures back then, some people cautioned that Thursday’s tweet does not indicate a bitcoin ETF approval. Economist and trader Alex Kruger noted: “Market interpreting this SEC post as odds of bitcoin futures ETF increased dramatically but note the SEC had posted the same thing back in June.” Balchunas further detailed that the last time the SEC tweeted this bulletin was on July 26, one day before the Profunds’ bitcoin strategy mutual fund “went effective” and two days before it launched. He concluded that if the pattern holds, “Proshares ETF will be trading Mon or Tue (which was our prediction all along).” The crypto community is hopeful that the SEC will approve bitcoin futures ETFs since SEC Chairman Gary Gensler repeatedly indicated that he is open to this type of investment. He also said that he looked forward to the staff’s review of bitcoin futures ETF filings. Do you think the SEC will approve a bitcoin ETF this year? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The billionaire CEO of Starwood Capital, an investment firm with over $95 billion under management, has revealed that he owns bitcoin and ether. “The U.S. government, and every government in the Western Hemisphere, is printing money now to the end of time, and this is a finite amount of something and it can be traded globally,” he explained. Billionaire Barry Sternlicht Owns Bitcoin and Ether Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, an investment firm with over $95 billion in assets under management (AUM), talked about bitcoin and cryptocurrency in an interview with CNBC Wednesday. According to Forbes’ list of billionaires, Sternlicht’s net worth as of Oct. 14 is $4.4 billion. The Starwood Capital boss revealed that he owns bitcoin and ether, noting that cryptocurrency makes sense as a way to diversify investment portfolios. Commenting on what JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said about bitcoin being worthless, he said, “Gold is kind of worthless too.” Discussing bitcoin as a store of value, he shared: The reason I own bitcoin is because the U.S. government, and every government in the Western Hemisphere, is printing money now to the end of time, and this is a finite amount of something and it can be traded globally. Despite owning BTC, the billionaire CEO described: “Bitcoin is a dumb coin. It has no real purpose other than a store of value, and it’s crazily volatile.” He proceeded to explain why he owns ether. “So, ether … I own some of that. It’s a programmable Bitcoin, and there are tons of other coins built on that system.” In addition, Sternlicht noted that he has “become very interested in blockchain technology as a whole.” Stating that the technology is “going to change everything,” he believes, “We’re probably in inning one.” What do you think about billionaire Barry Sternlicht’s comments about bitcoin and cryptocurrency? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

In mid-July 2017, the largest darknet marketplace (DNM) Alphabay went dark and patrons didn’t know if the administrators were busted by law enforcement or if it was an exit scam. Not too long after the site went dark, law enforcement disclosed that an organized police task force, from various jurisdictions, infiltrated Alphabay alongside the DNM Hansa. Thailand police also arrested Alexandre Cazes, the alleged administrator for the Alphabay marketplace. Now over four years later, Alphabay (AB) has allegedly returned as the original AB admin “Desnake” has ostensibly ‘proven control’ over the AB administrators’ PGP key. The So-Called Return of the Alphabay, New Platform Unstable, Veracity of Desnake’s PGP Key Questionable During the last few weeks, darknet marketplace (DNM) users, researchers, and observers have been discussing the so-called return of the Alphabay (AB) marketplace. The DNM was the largest darknet market in 2017, and before the publication Deepdotweb was seized, it had shown that AB had a 96% approval rating. When the site went dark that summer four years ago, thousands of AB users flocked to both Hansa and Dream DNMs. Little did Hansa users know the market had been seized by international law enforcement. Netherlands Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office dismantled Hansa in early June and basically operated the DNM, while users flocked to Hansa after AB went down. While operating Hansa, law enforcement collected lots of information on vendors and frequent patrons who leveraged the DNM and seized thousands of bitcoins. Then there was the so-called AB Kingpin Alexandre Cazes who was arrested by Thailand police. It was assumed, that Cazes was or played the role of the AB administrator dubbed “Desnake.” However, Cazes was found dead in his cell after his arrest in Thailand. Fast forward to today, Hansa is gone and the DNM Dream’s administrators decided to close down the shop. In August 2021, visitors who utilize the Dread forum noted the appearance of “Desnake” resurfacing. Desnake also ostensibly proved its identity by leveraging the account’s historical PGP key. Reportedly, a former AB moderator called “disc0” vouched for Desnake as well. The researchers at darkowl.com published an in-depth report of findings tied to the alleged Desnake’s return and how the user promoted the newly launched Alphabay DNM “with services hosted on both Tor and I2P.” Darkowl notes that the new AB has been “unstable” since it returned, and users experience “frequent 503 errors, user registration issues, and login timeouts.” I2P services tethered to the new AB rarely loads and Darkowl claims the AB user base is much smaller than what Desnake has been boasting. “Desnake claims there have been 15,000 user accounts created, 450 vendors registered, and over 400 listings published as of the time of writing,” Darkowl’s report finds. Darkowl Report Says New Alphabay Moderators Speak With ‘Impeccable English,’ Deep Web and Tor Researcher Dark.Fail Comments the Alleged Return Darkowl researchers also suspect that it is possible the AB service on Tor is hosted “alongside Dread services.” This is because the newly launched AB features similar DDoS protection and clock-captcha services as Dread. The in-depth findings Darkowl discovers further show the new AB marketplace is moderated by three individuals dubbed: “TheCypriot,” “tempest,” and “wxmaz.” “All of the moderators speak very formally with impeccable English and gush with unbridled passion about the need for a new concept of decentralized marketplaces, the complex tradeoffs and advantages of peer-to-peer networks, and a deep desire to establish a greater sense of community,” Darkowl’s report notes. “Desnake’s posts are particularly “wordy” with extensive lengthy posts on Dread and the market’s About and FAQ section,” the report adds. In addition to Darkowl’s report, the anonymous journalist and researcher known as “dark.fail” (@darkdotfail) tweeted about the return of the so-called Alphabay and gave a warning. “Alphabay, a #1 darknet market seized by law enforcement four years ago, recently returned,” dark.fail said on Thursday. “Desnake proved their control of [an] old PGP key, an original site admin. Many naive people are trusting it. We’ll see how this plays out. [Law enforcement] can seize PGP private keys just like anything else,” the researcher added. The ostensible return of AB follows the recent White House marketplace retirement announcement which stresses that another White House marketplace will not return in the future. Oftentimes, malicious entities like to create phony DNMs with the names of legendary markets in order to gain more trust from the community. White House was a monero (XMR)-only accepting DNM, and screenshots indicate that the new Alphabay features monero acceptance as well. Moreover, what if law enforcement (LE) officials are using the AB PGP keys to lure in unsuspecting victims in a similar fashion to the way Hansa was seized? There are many instances throughout history that show global LE has worked undercover to catch bigger fish. In the Hansa case, Dutch LE officers with partners from Germany, Lithuania, the U.S., and Europol infiltrated Hansa from the inside for more than a month collecting information on every participant. “A total of more than 1,000 bitcoins have been seized,” the Netherlands prosecutor’s office detailed. “On average, 1000 orders were made per day in response to some 40,000 ads. The marketplace counted 1,765 different sellers. Since the acquisition of Hansa Market’s management, more than 50,000 transactions have been counted, especially for soft and hard drugs.” What do you think about the so-called return of Alphabay and the veracity of the Desnake PGP key? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Vulcan Forged has launched a new and revolutionary decentralized exchange for gaming tokens following the success of its gaming metaverse, VulcanVerse. Cardiff, United Kingdom – Blockchain gaming platform, Vulcan Forged, is announcing the launch of the first-ever decentralized exchange (DEX) purpose-built for gaming tokens, VulcanDEX. The DEX will allow users of the gaming platform to trade any gaming token without the need to register. Players will then be able to use their newly acquired tokens in their respective game. Users will also be able to stake gaming tokens to facilitate exchanges in VulcanDEX, with users earning rewards in proportion to their share of specific liquidity pools. The DEX currently has 4 active pools for this purpose, with several more, including $YGG, $SAND $AXS and $VNLA coming soon. Moreover, in-game assets can be farmed in VulcanDEX in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), creating an active economy that involve several popular blockchain-based gaming ecosystems. VulcanDEX is also powered by $PYR, the utility token that is the backbone of the VulcanForged gaming ecosystem. Players can stake PYR in the DEX as well as earn their rewards in it and stake it in pools in addition to other gaming tokens. Pioneering the Decentralized Play-to-Earn Model With the addition of VulcanDEX to its portfolio of games and products, Vulcan Forged has become a veritable pioneer in the “Play-to-Earn” (P2E) space. P2E is a gaming business model that creates open economies within gaming ecosystems and rewards those who add value to games by contributing to their development. This can be in the form of contributions such as game design and development, and even beta testing new games. The idea is to give access to potential players who would otherwise pay a premium to play popular games. Vulcan Forged has merged this emerging concept with the principles of decentralized finance (DeFi), allowing participants in VulcanForged’s gaming platform to contribute gaming tokens and other crypto assets to facilitate their exchange between decentralized gamers. Moreover, the P2E industry is relatively new, with players such as Axie Infinity and Decentraland only gaining significant popularity this year. This puts Vulcan Forged at the cutting edge of this new emerging industry. Building on Success That Vulcan Forged is in this pioneering position is no surprise given its recent success. Combined, the Vulcan Forged games are set to surpass the milestone of 200,000 users by the end of 2021. This is as a result of a number of successful developments since the start of the year for the Vulcan Forged team, including securing the intellectual property rights for iconic pieces of art to be included in their flagship in-game world, the VulcanVersre. The works include “Egyptian Queen” by Frank Frazetta, a painting which sold earlier in the year for over $5.4 million. Frazetta is a world-renowned fantasy and science fiction artist most famous for his Conan The Barbarian illustrations. Moreover, Vulcan Forged also partnered with Arkane Network to support game-focussed NFTs built on Polygon. The expansion to other popular ecosystems in the crypto space is part of Vulcan Forged’s longer-term plan to expand access to its pioneering games and game development ecosystem. About Vulcan Forged Designed as an easy-to-play and easy-to-build ecosystem, Vulcan Forged is a community-based project that promotes the development of world-class blockchain games by supporting developers through its development programs. ‘incubation and crowdfunding. For blockchain game enthusiasts, Vulcan Forged is a one-stop-shop where they can access popular games and a huge NFT marketplace to buy and sell digital assets in-game. The entire ecosystem is powered by its own PYR settlement, staking and utility token. The ERC20 compatible PYR is a cross-platform currency that can be used in game titles that are part of the Vulcan Forged ecosystem. For more information about Vulcan Forged’s revolutionary new DEX, visit their website here. Follow Vulcan Forged on Twitter Join the Vulcan Forged community on Telegram Like Vulcan Forged on Facebook Stay up to date via Vulcan Forged’s Discord Media Contact Details Contact Name: Jimi Exohus Contact Email: PR@VulcanForged.com VULCANFORGED 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. Listen to the latest Bitcoin.com Podcast: View the full article

On Wednesday, October 13, 2021, the market capitalization of all the stablecoins in existence is around $134 billion, which is 5.60% of the entire $2.4 trillion crypto economy. While centralized stablecoin projects dominate the pack of dollar-pegged tokens, a great number of decentralized stablecoins have been moving in on these centralized competitors. Algorithmic or defi-styled stablecoin market caps have accrued billions of dollars this past year. While Tether and USD Coin Eclipse the Market, Algorithmic Defi Stablecoins Still Shine Tether (USDT) is one of the oldest and the largest stablecoins by market cap today, while the second-largest stablecoin valuation belongs to usd coin (USDC). Data from Coingecko’s stablecoin-by-market-cap metrics indicates that on October 13, there’s $134 billion in stablecoin assets. A great majority of those funds belong to tether and usd coin as USDT has a market cap of around $70.9 billion and USDC commands $33.3 billion. Despite controversial discussions concerning the backings of some of these large stablecoin markets, they are the market leaders when it comes to dollar-pegged tokens. Both USDT and USDC combined make up ​​77.61% of the $134 billion stablecoin economy that exists today. However, decentralized competitors that back their own stablecoins in a myriad of different ways, have started to see their market caps swell. For instance, the stablecoin DAI has been the most popular decentralized stablecoin and the asset is backed by over-collateralization via the Makerdao project. The stablecoin DAI also commands the fourth-largest market valuation just under Binance’s BUSD stablecoin. DAI’s market cap on October 13, is $6.7 billion and the crypto asset has seen $343 million in 24-hour trade volume on Wednesday. DAI is considered an algorithmic stablecoin that is tied to the value of the U.S. dollar. Terra USD, Magic Internet Money, Liquidity USD, FEI Rise Below Makerdao’s Algorithmic Stablecoin Terra usd (UST) is also an algorithmic stablecoin and its market cap is below DAI’s with $2.7 billion today. UST is followed by another decentralized stablecoin called magic internet money (MIM) which holds a $1.5 billion market valuation on Wednesday. The most active trading platform today swapping MIM tokens is the decentralized exchange (dex) Trader Joe. Similar to other decentralized stablecoin projects, magic internet money is issued by users of the lending protocol abracadabra.money. The ninth-largest stablecoin cap held by liquidity usd (LUSD) is around $658 million today and Uniswap V3 is the stablecoin’s most active exchange. LUSD is issued by the Liquity Protocol which is another decentralized finance (defi) lending protocol. There’s also the defi stablecoin project called Fei which issues a stablecoin called FEI, like the algorithmic stablecoin DAI. The market cap of FEI on Wednesday is $543 million and it commands $79 million in 24-hour trade volume. The aforementioned decentralized or algorithmic stablecoins that are not backed by a company providing audits and are produced by the crypto community at large, represent 8.95% of today’s stablecoin market cap. That’s only $12 billion of the $134 billion worth of stablecoins in circulation today. For now and for quite some time, it is very probable that centralized competitors like USDC and USDT will not be displaced. However, many of these algorithmic or defi-styled stablecoins have become top contenders in the market and made their mark without corporate backing and little controversy. What do you think about the stablecoin market today and the 8.95% of defi and algorithmic stablecoins making headway in the crypto economy in recent times? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

After China has reigned for a number of consecutive years as the dominant bitcoin mining epicenter of the world, the United States has “taken the leading position in bitcoin mining,” according to new data from Cambridge University. Data Shows US, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation Rule the Bitcoin Mining Roost In mid-July, researchers from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) project published new data from the website’s “Bitcoin Mining Map,” which had not been updated since April 2020. In that specific report, CBECI researchers noted that China’s hashrate dominance was much lower than in previous estimates. On October 13, CBECI researchers published updated data on all the countries participating in bitcoin mining and where most of the mining activity is taking place these days. “The latest update to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) has confirmed the impact of the Bitcoin mining crackdown in China,” the report detailed. “[It shows] that the leading share of global Bitcoin network hashrate now sits in the US, followed by Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.” The CBECI researchers added: This new data (to the end of August 2021) shows the US with a global hashrate share of 35.4% (up from 16.8% at the end of April), Kazakhstan with 18.1% (up from 8.2%), and the Russian Federation with 11% (up from 6.8%). This confirms the hashrate trajectory identified in the last update (to end April 2021) which showed those three countries were already gaining market share prior to the crackdown in China. China’s Crackdown ‘Increased Geographic Distribution of Hashrate Across the World’ Since June 28, 2021, the Bitcoin network hashrate climbed 101.44% from 69 exahash per second (EH/s) to today’s 139 EH/s hashpower measurement. Michel Rauchs, digital assets lead at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, discussed how China’s crackdown helped fuel the shift in global bitcoin mining. “The immediate effect of the government mandated ban on crypto mining in China was a 38% drop in global network hash rate in June 2021 – which corresponds roughly to China’s share of hashrate before the clampdown, suggesting that Chinese miners ceased operations simultaneously,” Rauchs suggested. Besides the new top three countries leading the hashpower race, the next largest hashrate shares reside in countries like Canada (9.55%), Ireland (4.68%), Malaysia (4.59%), Germany (4.48%), Iran (3.11%), and Norway (0.58%). CBECI’s report highlights that while the U.S. got some hashrate from fleeing Chinese miners, the crackdown also “increased geographic distribution of hashrate across the world.” “It is worth noting that the shares for Ireland and Germany are likely due to a growing number of miners rerouting through those countries via VPNs or proxy servers, rather than growing mining activity for which there is little or no evidence,” the CBECI report explains. What’s also interesting is the fact that at least four out of the five top mining pools today originally stem from China and now many of them operate internationally and in unknown regions. F2pool, formally known as “Discus Fish” started mining bitcoin (BTC) on May 5, 2013, and was originally based in China. F2pool commands 26.76 EH/s in hashpower and around 19.39% of the global hashrate today. Antpool, owned and operated by Bitmain, also initially came from China and is the second-largest hashing pool on October 13. Antpool captures 16.59% of the global hashrate with its 22.89 EH/s of hashpower. There’s also the top mining pools Viabtc and Poolin, which begs the question: Where do these mining facilities and pools originate from now? What do you think about the recently published Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) mining map report? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

During the second week of October, bitcoin market values have maintained prices between $54K to $57K. Meanwhile, myriad alternative crypto assets have not yet seen the gains the leading crypto asset has enjoyed during the last two weeks. For instance, cardano used to be the third-largest crypto market in terms of valuation, but after losing 4.8% cardano has slid down to the fifth position this past week. Cardano Drops from 3rd-Largest Crypto Market Cap to 5th-Largest The digital currency cardano (ADA) has seen some decent gains during the last 12 months as ADA has increased by 1,840.5% year-to-date. Even Kiss frontman Gene Simmons told the world on October 10, why he invested $300K in cardano (ADA) and how it’s paid off for him so far. However, during the last month, ADA is down 18% and 4.8% over the last seven days. ADA’s market cap is not small and just under the stablecoin tether’s (USDT) overall valuation as cardano’s market cap is around $68.1 billion on Wednesday. ADA markets on Wednesday are seeing around $1.9 billion in global trade volume and the crypto exchange Binance currently captures the top cardano trade volume. Tether (USDT) is the top pair with cardano on Wednesday with 58.58% of all ADA trades. This is followed by BTC (10.91%), USD (5.75%), BUSD (5.61%), and EUR (3.89%). The Korean won commands the sixth-largest position with 3.44% of ADA swaps, while ETH commands around 2.69% of cardano exchanges today. Cardano Prices Down 30% Since All-Time High Cardano reached an all-time high on September 2, 2021, reaching $3.09 per unit but is now down more than 30% since that day. ADA is currently swapping for prices just above the $2 handle and the crypto asset binance coin (BNB) now holds the third-largest position in terms of market cap. Despite the dip to the fifth position, cardano still captures 2.86% of the entire $2.386 trillion crypto-economy among 10,000+ digital assets in existence. ADA needs to gain more than 15% in value in order to contend for the third-largest market position — BNB’s $77.7 billion market valuation. The crypto asset’s market cap, however, is only 2.34% lower than tether’s overall market valuation of $69.8 billion. Moreover, ADA is not the only smart contract crypto that has taken a hit in recent times. Solana (SOL) is down 10% this week, terra (LUNA) slid by 18.7%, and Avalanche (AVAX) lost 14.3% this past week. What do you think about cardano’s market performance this past month? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Russia is not going to follow China’s course and does not plan to ban its citizens from purchasing cryptocurrency on foreign exchanges, a high-ranking government official has indicated. Russians will not be able to pay with digital coins in their own country but are free to use crypto wallets beyond its borders. Russians Can Purchase Cryptocurrencies on Foreign Exchanges Unlike the Chinese government, authorities in Moscow do not intend to impose restrictions on the purchase of cryptocurrency on digital asset exchanges based abroad, a statement by Russia’s deputy minister of finance Alexey Moiseev has revealed. Speaking to reporters this week, he noted that settlements in cryptocurrency are prohibited in the country but explained: At the same time, citizens can buy [cryptocurrencies] and use wallets outside the Russian Federation. It will remain so, I think. There are no plans to change anything yet. On Tuesday, during a lecture devoted to the digitalization of financial markets at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Moiseev reiterated that Russia will not allow cryptocurrency to be used as a means of payment within the country. Quoted by Interfax, the government official said: The position now is to ban operations with cryptocurrencies on the territory of the Russian Federation. Answering questions from students, he pointed out that allowing crypto payments could lead to loss of control over money supply and insisted the matter comes down to financial sovereignty. Nevertheless, Alexey Moiseev added that regardless of the ban, Russians can have a cryptocurrency wallet outside the country. The deputy finance minister also emphasized that many new financial terms, such as digital currency and blockchain information, will have to be defined in Russia’s Civil Code and other relevant laws. He further elaborated: Blockchain will obviously occupy its own niche and will be used where equal rights are needed. However, Moiseev’s comments come after last week’s statement by the head of the parliamentary Financial Market Committee, Anatoly Aksakov, who revealed that Russian lawmakers are considering legal restrictions on the amount of money non-qualified investors will be allowed to put into crypto assets. Aksakov believes the measures are needed to protect private investors in Russia as cryptocurrencies attract billions of dollars around the world. Do you think Russia will maintain its current policy regarding crypto purchases on foreign exchanges? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Binance, the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency platform, has launched a $1 billion Growth Fund for Binance Smart Chain, to accelerate adoption of digital assets and blockchain technology. In the span of next few months multiple programs will be set-up under its umbrella to empower the growth of cryptocurrencies worldwide. Designed to incubate rising blockchain-crypto projects the fund will also run advanced technological development programs. “BSC’s growth has attracted 100M+ DeFi users with just an initial funding of $100 million.” said Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO at Binance. “With the new contribution of $1B, it can disrupt traditional finance and accelerate global mass adoption of digital assets to become the first-ever blockchain ecosystem with one billion users,” he added. The $1 billion fund will be divided into 4 broader categories:- Talent Development – Innovation A total of $100M funds are reserved for Talent Development which includes mentoring developer communities, educating new crypto investors, providing academic scholarships to institutions, running bootcamps and supporting R&D around Cryptography, High performance Consensus protocol, Cross chain/Multi-chain infra, RegTech & Deep Analytics and more. Liquidity Incentive Program – Trading The Liquidity Incentive initiative will run sub-programs to encourage participation from traditional financial markets as well as crypto. It will provide flexibility and support for professional traders and institutions to provide more liquidity in DeFi protocols. For instance, more contribution in liquidity pools in Automated Market Makers, borrowing and lending in money markets, yield farming in vaults, higher arbitrage gains and more. This will be targeted in developing compliant relationships between investors and evolving emerging digital asset markets. A total of $100M funds are reserved under the Liquidity Incentive initiatives. Builder Program – Technological startups The Builder Program will be boosted with an additional $300 million. Of which, $100 million will be utilized to conduct regional and global hackathons, joint bug bounty programs, developer conferences and will support existing mainstream development programs. The remaining $200 million will be used to incubate 100 innovative dApps/infra building on top of BSC who will receive mentoring from top Venture Capitalists and infrastructural support from the BSC core community. Investment/Incubation Program for Industrial development To accelerate mainstream adoption and bring disruption to financial infrastructures a total of $500 million will be reserved. This fund will be utilized to grow decentralized computing, gaming, metaverse, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and blockchain-based financial services. With collaborations from industry-leading organizations, the investment fund will target scaling blockchain technology for real-life use cases and will bridge the gap between crypto-blockchain and the current technical-financial sectors. “The thriving blockchain startup ecosystem has encouraged us to invest our time, efforts and resources in helping companies build from 0 to 1. With the $1 billion initiative, our focus will be widened to building cross-chain and multi-chain infrastructures integrated with different types of blockchains. We’re gearing up to bolster the adoption of crypto and blockchain to accelerate its growth globally.” said Gwendolyn Regina, Investment Director, BSC Accelerator Fund With concentrated focus on blockchain-rich regions such as Russia, India, South East Asia, Europe, US and South America; the BSC community will lead the growth of BSC regionally. The BSC core community will work closely with leading fintech companies, crypto advisors, blockchain researchers and influential people across the globe to spread the basic vision of financial inclusion and sovereignty. About Binance Binance is the world’s leading blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider with a financial product suite that includes the largest digital asset exchange by volume. Trusted by millions worldwide, the Binance platform is dedicated to increasing the freedom of money for users, and features an unmatched portfolio of crypto products and offerings, including: trading and finance, education, data and research, social good, investment and incubation, decentralization and infrastructure solutions, and more. For more information, visit: https://www.binance.com About Binance Smart Chain Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is a sovereign smart contract blockchain delivering Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible programmability. Designed for lightning transaction speeds and low transaction fees while adding Smart Contracts functionality for dApps – BSC tops in infrastructure performance as the biggest DeFi blockchain with 100M+ users. For more information on Binance Smart Chain, please visit: https://www.binance.org This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. 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Investors defrauded by the Russia-based cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme Finiko have sent the crypto pyramid an average exceeding 720,000 rubles, or more than $10,000 at current exchange rates. The assessment comes from a survey of victims conducted by a public non-profit organization. Fifth of Finiko Investors Parted With Over 1 Million Rubles Russia is still trying to grasp the magnitude of its largest financial scam since the notorious MMM pyramid in the 1990s. While the officially registered losses to Finiko have reached 1 billion rubles (close to $14 million), some estimates suggest the total is likely to exceed $4 billion. According to Chainalysis, the Ponzi scheme received over $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in less than two years. Citizens of Russia, Ukraine and other countries in the former-Soviet space, EU member states, and the U.S. are among the people who sent 800,000 separate deposits to Finiko. Around 3,300 of the victims have been identified so far, but the actual number is likely far greater. Due to the size of the fraud, the Interior Ministry in Moscow took over the investigation from law enforcement in Tatarstan, where Finiko was based and several of its key members arrested. Around 200 of the defrauded investors have filed complaints with the Federal Foundation for Protection of Investors and Shareholders’ Rights, a public non-profit organization in Russia, local media reported. Marat Safiulin, head of the foundation, told the business news portal Ufatime.ru that 154 of them have been polled over the phone regarding their investments. Based on their feedback, the foundation has established that the average financial loss per investor amounts to 724,000 Russian rubles (over $10,000). Around 22% of the investors lost more than 1 million rubles (almost $14,000), and another 73% sent Finiko at least 300,000 rubles each (over $4,000). More than half of the surveyed victims took loans to invest in the Ponzi scheme. Finiko, which was never incorporated as a legal entity, advertised itself as an “automatic profit generation system.” The pyramid was offering people enticing profits if they would send their money, which it promised to spend on crypto investments and share the profits with them. Investors were told they could use the quick and high returns of up to 30% to cover a loan, buy a car or property at discounted prices, or withdraw cash when they need it. The offices of Finiko in Tatarstan’s capital, the city of Kazan, were first searched in December 2020. Its activities were designated by the Central Bank of Russia as having signs of a pyramid scheme in June of this year. Despite that, the scam continued to attract new investors. The Ponzi scheme stopped making payments in July and eventually collapsed. Authorities in the Russian Republic of Tatarstan have so far detained a number of high-ranking Finiko executives, including the pyramid’s founder, Kirill Doronin, two of its vice presidents, Ilgiz Shakirov and Dina Gabdullina, as well as Lilia Nurieva, who rose to the rank of a so-called “10th Star.” International arrest warrants were issued for three of Doronin’s associates, Zygmunt Zygmuntovich, and Marat and Edward Sabirov, who managed to leave the Russian Federation before the investigation was launched in July. Do you think the average amount lost by Finiko investors will grow as more victims of the Ponzi scheme are identified abroad? View the full article

Kenya has the fourth-highest interest in cryptocurrency globally, a new research study by Broker Chooser has found. According to the study, only three countries — Ukraine, Russia, and the United States — have had higher searches for cryptocurrency in the last 12 months than Kenya. Crypto Searches in Kenya Highest in Africa According to a Citizen newspaper report, searches for cryptocurrencies originating from Kenya during the twelve-month period topped 99,810. Alternatively, this means there was an equivalent of 18 searches per 10,000 people during this period. The ranking of Kenya as the country with the fourth-highest searches for cryptocurrency globally means there is greater interest per capita in the East African state than in Nigeria and South Africa. Furthermore, the study estimates the number of cryptocurrency owners in Kenya to be approximately 4,580,760. In terms of awareness of crypto, the study found Kenya’s score to be 5.5 out of a possible 10. Despite the surging interest in cryptocurrencies by Kenyan citizens, authorities in the country, as well as the Central Bank of Kenya, have so far refused to recognize cryptocurrencies. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, this refusal and the resulting uncertainty are hampering the growth of digital assets in Kenya. Do you agree with the findings of this study? Tell us what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

Consensys, the Ethereum-based software boutique, is aiming to get a valuation that could reach $3 billion dollars in its upcoming funding round. The company would be taking advantage of the bullish climate the industry is experiencing right now to achieve this important milestone. Also, Consensys is flexing its economic muscle by acquiring Treum, developer of Music NFT service EulerBeats. Consensys Aims for Billion+ Valuation in Next Funding Round Consensys, one of the main software providers in the Ethereum ecosystem, is reportedly aiming to achieve a valuation that could reach $3 billion in its upcoming funding round, according to information published by FT. The company, led by Ethereum OG Joseph Lubin, would be aiming to leverage its position in the ecosystem and the brewing bull market to achieve the breakthrough goal. Consensys provides several iconic software offerings in the Ethereum ecosystem, having developed Infura, a service that eases development and deployment of Ethereum-based apps. Metamask, a ubiquitous defi wallet that was also developed by the firm, is used by more than 10 million active users monthly. Down and Up Again But Consensys has not always enjoyed the preference that investors are giving it today. The company has gone through rough times, having to cut part of its workforce just last year during a slump period. However, the rise of the decentralized finance sector and the interest in the future of Ethereum by various heavy-hitting institutional partners have made Consensys rise again as one of the most important software boutiques of the ecosystem. The latest funding round the company conducted happened in April, when the company raised $65 million from several important companies such as JPMorgan, Mastercard, UBS AG, Protocol Labs, the Maker Foundation, Fenbushi, The LAO, and Alameda Research. At that time the company stated these funds would be used to “accelerate the convergence of decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 applications on Ethereum with enterprise blockchain infrastructure.” However, Consensys is now flexing its economic muscle, as it announced today it has acquired and integrated Treum for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition of Treum, developers of Eulerbeats (an Ethereum-based project of algorithmically generated art and audio tracks), will give the company a new focus related to the NFT market that has boomed during this last year. What do you think about Consensys’ latest funding round and its recent acquisition of Treum? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. UniLend Finance published their protocol update blog introducing UniLend v2. The Binance Innovation Zone project has earlier this year enabled Lending for every token along with Flash Loans. The team published an initial blog explaining various innovative features in their upcoming version, which will equip UniLend to handle Lending and Borrowing of more than 9000 assets. The protocol went live with the Permissionless listing of any token this august. As a result, it already has more than 25 cryptocurrencies live for Lending and uncollateralised borrowing through Flash Loans. This Major protocol update will equip UniLend to tap into the untapped $1 trillion+ crypto market cap without significant competition. First, let’s take a look at the Key Features of the UniLend V2: Dual Asset Pools – UniLend v2 introduces pools for dual assets similar to the UniSwap liquidity model. Dual asset pools prevent the tokens in a specific pool to be immune to price and liquidity fluctuations of assets in other pools. Non-Fungible Tokenisation – The tokenisation of lending/borrowing positions into debt NFTs enables the users to trade their lending/borrowing positions in open markets. On-Chain Price Feed – The protocol has built a proof mechanism to fetch the price feed from on-chain market data to determine assets position. Gas Optimisation – According to CTO and Founder Suryansh Kumar, the protocol has taken high gas optimisation approaches that make the UniLend Finance core functionalities of lending borrowing financially viable. Security – UniLend’s v1, Lending & Flash Loans version is audited by leading smart contract auditor Certik. UniLend Finance’s V2 is sought as the most decentralised Money Market protocol by the community. UniLend’s V1 is already live on three prominent Blockchains Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain and Polygon, and anticipating that V2 will also be live on all of them. Chandresh Aharwar, CEO & CoFounder of UniLend, Tweeted: The current untapped market cap sits around $500 Billion 😁 We are building future of #DeFi @UniLend_Finance ✌️ Welcome to the permissionless world 🙌 https://t.co/Dkz4shaatJ — Chandresh Aharwar (@chandresh1091) October 11, 2021 It is worth noticing that Chandresh was leading Marketing and Strategy at Matic (now Polygon) before Co-Founding UniLend. When he introduced UniLend last year to the world, the Total value of assets locked in DeFi was just around $15 billion, which now has grown more than 6x to $90 billion+. And the market UniLend is tapping into is soaring above $500 billion from $16.7 billion last year. 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. Listen to the latest Bitcoin.com Podcast: View the full article

The Bank of Spain, the central bank of the country, criticized the adoption process El Salvador chose when declaring Bitcoin legal tender last month. In a report titled “The role of crypto assets as legal tender: the example of El Salvador,” the bank examines several pain points the country encountered while applying its bitcoin strategy, and raises concerns about how some actions have been taken with little transparency. Bank of Spain Scrutinizes El Salvador’s Bitcoin Bet The Bank of Spain issued a report scrutinizing and reflecting upon the entrance of El Salvador into the Bitcoin world. The report, titled “The role of crypto assets as legal tender: the example of El Salvador,” written by Sergio Gorjón, of the General Directorate of Operations, Markets and Payment Systems, states that as every first-mover, El Salvador committed many mistakes in the implementation of Bitcoin as legal tender. One of the principal worries of the Bank of Spain has to do with the relative lack of transparency the project has exhibited. The report states: The opacity and lack of consensus with which the project has been carried out has been another limiting factor. Thus, the main global rating agencies agreed to carry out a downward revision of El Salvador’s sovereign credit rating. Other Problems Found The Bank of Spain found other problems regarding El Salvador’s move towards Bitcoin. The institution agreed with the opinion of Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, who stated that virtually forcing Bitcoin on an untrained, non-crypto-savvy population was risky. The Bank of Spain stressed: With just over 50% of its population with Internet access and a market share of smartphones that barely reaches 40%, El Salvador is at the bottom of the Central American countries in terms of the level of digital training. However, the bank praised El Salvador for the measures it is taking to address the worries of using bitcoin as a means of financing terrorism or for money laundering purposes. The bank stated that the regulation issued by the country contemplates these problems in a thorough way, and makes it possible to reinforce control measures against these risks. What do you think about the Bank of Spain’s opinion on El Salvador? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Crypto exchange Binance has launched a $1 billion fund which it calls “the biggest funding program of its kind in the whole cryptocurrency industry.” The company aims for the fund to “push the adoption” of the Binance Smart Chain and “the whole blockchain industry.” Binance Launches ‘the World’s Largest Crypto Accelerator’ Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced Tuesday the launch of a $1 billion Binance Smart Chain (BSC) Fund. The announcement states: Binance announces the biggest funding program of its kind in the whole cryptocurrency industry — the $1 billion fund to push the adoption of not only BSC but the whole blockchain industry. The Binance Smart Chain mainnet launched in September last year. At the time, the company announced a $100 million BSC Accelerator Fund to support Dapps building on BSC. It seed-funded over 40 projects with up to $1 million. In addition, over 60 projects have been incubated under the company’s Most Valuable Builder (MVB) Accelerator Program. According to Binance, BSC’s community has more than 1 million daily active users spread across more than 900 Dapps. Binance divides the new $1 billion fund into four different categories: $100 million for talent development, $100 million for the liquidity incentive program, $300 million for the builder program, and $500 million for the investment & incubation program. The company described: With a total of $1 billion in available funding, this is the world’s largest crypto accelerator. The program is designed to boost the growth and innovation of projects and bolster the wider community and create a crypto-native pool of talent that will pave the future of crypto. What do you think about Binance launching this $1 billion fund? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is launching a peer-to-peer marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The Nasdaq-listed company says that “Coinbase NFT” will make “minting, purchasing, showcasing, and discovering NFTs easier than ever.” In addition, Coinbase says, “We’re going to grow the creator community exponentially, a win for artists and for fans.” Coinbase NFT to Help Grow Creator Community ‘Exponentially’ The Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced Tuesday that it is launching a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Sanchan Saxena, VP of Products at Coinbase, wrote: Today, we’re announcing Coinbase NFT, a peer-to-peer marketplace that will make minting, purchasing, showcasing, and discovering NFTs easier than ever. “Just as Coinbase helped millions of people access bitcoin for the first time in an easy and trusted way — we want to do the same for the NFTs,” he added. Coinbase further explained: “All NFTs are on-chain. The initial launch will support Ethereum based ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards with multi-chain support planned soon after. We’ll provide the best user experience, but we’ll never lock creators in.” Interested users can now sign up for early access. Noting that “Industries such as fashion, gaming, and music are recognizing the power of NFTs to unlock new forms of creativity and ownership,” the Coinbase VP noted, “If you’ve tried to create or purchase an NFT, you’ve probably found the user experience lacking.” Coinbase aims to make the process simpler, stating: “We’re making NFTs more accessible by building user-friendly interfaces that put the complexity behind the scenes. We’re adding social features that open new avenues for conversation and discovery.” The VP emphasized: We’re going to grow the creator community exponentially, a win for artists and for fans. What do you think about Coinbase launching an NFT marketplace? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Americans are still concerned about dealing with inflation, as the cost of goods and services has continued to rise significantly in a short period of time. The Federal Reserve has published the latest Survey of Consumer Expectations report and U.S. households believe inflation will be up 5.3% one year from now. In addition to the dreary economic outlook, gas prices across the U.S. have skyrocketed up more than $1 from a year ago. New York Fed’s Survey of Consumer Expectations Continues to Look Gloomy After 2020’s massive monetary expansion, in order to help the economy combat the coronavirus outbreak and help facilitate the lockdown orders that subsequently followed, inflation has crept into the wallets of every American. Month after month, the Federal Reserve has published the central bank’s Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) reports, and every month, inflation expectations jump higher. Once again, the latest Fed SCE report published on Tuesday indicates that Americans are still expecting higher inflation and low purchasing power a year from now. The inflation expectations have surged to all-time highs and are the highest levels since 2013, with an expectation of 5.3% one year from now. Furthermore, the New York Fed (the branch that publishes the SCE report), once again mentions the coronavirus. “Median inflation uncertainty – or the uncertainty expressed regarding future inflation outcomes – was unchanged at the short-term horizon and decreased at the medium-term horizon,” the Fed survey highlights. “Both measures are still well above the levels observed before the outbreak of Covid-19.” The recently published Fed SCE report leverages a rotating panel of 1,300 households. IMF Warns Central Banks Like the Fed to Tighten Monetary Easing Policy In addition to the SCE report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has noted, in the world organizations’ quarterly update on global economic conditions, that central banks may need to tighten monetary easing policy. The IMF emphasized countries like the U.S. and the U.K. where “inflation risks are skewed to the upside.” IMF warns of need to be ‘very, very vigilant’ over rising inflation risk We have gone from very transitory to we have to be very, very vigilant. Got it… — Gold Telegraph ⚡ (@GoldTelegraph_) October 12, 2021 “While monetary policy can generally look through transitory increases in inflation, central banks should be prepared to act quickly if the risks of rising inflation expectations become more material in this uncharted recovery,” the IMF’s economic counselor and director of research, Gita Gopinath stressed in the report. “Central banks should chart contingent actions, announce clear triggers, and act in line with that communication.” Supply Chains Buckle, Gas Prices per Gallon $1 Higher Than Last Year To make matters worse, the U.S. supply chain (and internationally) has been dealing with significant issues and gas prices across the country have risen significantly since last year. The media in the U.S. continues to tell tales of a buckling supply chain and some are blaming supply chain issues on the conflict between the U.S. and China. Just 8 states have average #gasprices still under $3/gal: OK $2.88 MS $2.89 TX $2.89 AR $2.91 LA $2.97 KS $2.98 AL $2.98 MO $2.99 — Patrick De Haan ⛽️📊 (@GasBuddyGuy) October 11, 2021 Supply chain shortages and rising gas prices have fueled the inflation crisis in the U.S., so much so that doesn’t seem to be ‘transitory.’ Every week, headlines show that “the return of empty shelves” has returned in the United States as well as the United Kingdom. Grocery stores in nearly every state across the U.S. are starting to see empty shelves again. U.S. gas prices have also risen by $1 since last year and the average price of gas in the U.S. today is $3.25 per gallon. Only eight states in the U.S. have gas for under $3 a gallon. What do you think about the current inflation woes Americans are dealing with in 2021? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

HIVE Blockchain is set to expand its data center campus in New Brunswick, Canada with 40 megawatts capacity. It is the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency miner, listing in Toronto on the Venture Exchange back in 2017 and added to NASDAQ in 2021. It mines both Bitcoin and Ethereum using 100% green energy in facilities across Canada, Sweden, and Iceland. HIVE Blockchain to Expand Data Center in New Brunswick, Canada HIVE Blockchain Technologies (NASDAQ: HIVE, TSX.V: HIVE) will soon begin testing a new high-performance computing cloud hosting operation. At the company’s largest data center campus in New Brunswick, Canada, where it owns the land, the team is currently building expansions from the ground-up (“greenfield expansions”), which will provide it with 40 megawatts of data center capacity. HIVE currently operates 5 data center campuses, where they are mining both Bitcoin and Ethereum. HIVE’s data centers already have access to approximately 50 megawatts of power, placing it among the largest and most diversified of any publicly-listed cryptocurrency miner. These facilities are located in Canada, Sweden, and Iceland, countries that offer a winning combination of cool climates and politically stable jurisdictions. Additionally, these locations offer unique access to abundant green energy, so all of the HIVE data centers are powered by clean, low-cost hydroelectric or geothermal power. Owning the facilities where they are operating data centers is key to HIVE’s long-term strategy. For one thing, they don’t have to worry about any landlords raising the rent at these facilities. And as you can see they can choose locations with access to some of the cheapest, greenest, and cleanest power in the world. Owning data centers also gives the company greater flexibility in a few ways. For example, if there’s another “crypto winter”, the company could offer hosting services while still mining crypto with its own machines, and holding as many of the coins mined as possible until the prices rise again. A Bridge Between Digital Currency and the Stock Markets HIVE is a growth-oriented technology stock in the corporate blockchain industry. As a company whose shares trade on a major stock exchange, they are building a bridge between the digital currency and blockchain sector and traditional capital markets. Since the beginning of 2021, HIVE has held in secure storage the majority of its ETH and BTC coin mining rewards. Its shares thus provide investors with exposure to the operating margins of digital currency mining, as well as a portfolio of cryptocurrencies such as ETH and BTC, in a way that they are familiar with and that complies with regulations. Because HIVE also owns hard assets such as data centers and advanced multi-use servers, the shares offer investors a diversified and robust way to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency space. This is probably why HIVE traded over 2 billion shares in 2020 alone. To learn more about HIVE Blockchain check out the company’s website and follow the team on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. This is a sponsored post. Learn how to reach our audience here. Read disclaimer below. Listen to the latest Bitcoin.com Podcast: View the full article