Blockchain technology is claimed to be according to blockchain proponents to be one of the most impactfull discoveries in the recent history. It is promised to have a massive potential to change how we handle online transactions. Despite some skeptics, the majority of experts agree that blockchain has the potential to disrupt the banking and financial industry, and many other ones! To put it simply, blockchain enables decentralized transactions across a P2P network. There are applications where those propertied can be very useful, but there are many cases where blockchain migh not be the best solution even though it is hyped to be solution for very many application (remember to ask Do you need a blockchain? often).
This 16 Blockchain Disruptions (Infographic) by bitfortune.net tries to help you understand how the blockchain technology can and will improve 16 different industries, from music to government.
Infographic by bitfortune.net
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Cybercriminals laundered $8.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2021 https://therecord.media/cybercriminals-laundered-8-6-billion-worth-of-cryptocurrency-in-2021/
Cybercriminal gangs laundered an estimated $8.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency last year, in 2021, a 30% rise from the previous year, according to a Chainalysis report published today. Original at https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/2022-crypto-crime-report-preview-cryptocurrency-money-laundering/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Three things Web3 should fix in 2022: make crypto transactions safe and reliable, make blockchains efficient, develop tech for mitigating harassment and abuse
Three things web3 should fix in 2022
A viral video highlights some very real shortcomings in the next-generation internet
https://www.platformer.news/p/three-things-web3-should-fix-in-2022
Last weekend, it felt like everyone I knew was sending me the same link. “The Problem With NFTs,” a long video essay by the Canadian media critic Dan Olson, ricocheted around all corners of the tech world since it was uploaded on Friday. (It now has 2.6 million views and climbing.) Over 138 meticulously researched minutes, Olson traces the history of the 2008 financial crisis, the creation of Bitcoin and Ethereum, and the rise of NFTs and DAOs, and reaches the conclusion that what we have taken to calling “web3” is effectively beyond saving: the technology is too broken, and its creators too indifferent to its failures, for it to ever to live up to the promise of its most starry-eyed backers.
Few of Olson’s criticisms are entirely new, and on my Twitter timeline this week, I saw many crypto enthusiasts dismiss them out of hand. Few people working in the space will be surprised to learn that crypto3 is awash in grifts; that current blockchains are energy inefficient and expensive; or that digital wallets are difficult to use and fraught with danger. Many web3 builders will also bristle at Olson’s tone, which is smug and hectoring in the house style of the YouTube video essayist; his audience is not people working in crypto, but rather everyone he thinks ought to be afraid of those people.
And yet the collective force of Olson’s arguments is substantial. His essay explains the rise of cryptocurrencies through the lens of rising inequality; pandemic-era isolation and loneliness; self-dealing venture capitalists; and a desperate sense among young strivers that the future is only ever getting smaller. All of which feels particularly timely, given this week’s crash in crypto prices.
Because whatever you make of Olson or his overall argument, it’s undeniable that today web3 is a mess — and not just in a “we haven’t finished building it” sort of way. Web3 is a mess of a kind that it could take five or more years to fix, and that assumes the work gets started soon.
But between Olson’s essay and Moxie Marlinspike’s recent critical explorations of the space, it’s clear that in too many areas progress has been slow to nonexistent. So with that in mind, let’s talk about three things crypto people should actually work on in 2022.
Make crypto transactions safe, reliable, and approachable to normal people.
Here’s a story about the blockchain. The other day some people figured out that some high-priced NFTs listed on the trading platform OpenSea had been listed multiple times, some for a small fraction of what they are worth today. These people took advantage of this fact to buy and then immediately re-sell the NFTs for hundreds of thousands of dollars, without the seller ever realizing what was happening.
On a good marketplace, you would only be able to list a product for sale once, and at the price you intend to sell it for. At OpenSea, though, multiple listings were possible. And blockchain-based transactions are irreversible. So as with so many things in crypto, the losers here could only fall on the mercy of the platform, which did in the end reimburse them. But I was struck by what OpenSea told CoinDesk about the issue:
An OpenSea spokesperson told CoinDesk via email that “this is not an exploit or a bug” but rather “an issue that arises because of the nature of the blockchain.”
Try to imagine you had just lost several thousand dollars because it turned out that you had inadvertently listed the same product twice for wildly different prices. And then imagine calling up the marketplace to complain and the person on the other end of the phone saying “good news, this is not an exploit or a bug. This is simply an issue that arises because of the nature of the blockchain.”
I can’t imagine you would do business with that company again. More to the point, I can’t imagine regular people ever doing business with this kind of company at all. In the early dot-com days, I used to think people who refused to give their credit card information to e-commerce sites were being a little paranoid. On web3, paranoia is a requirement to do any sort of business, period.
In his video, Olson memorably says that every “smart contract” is a bug bounty. The OpenSea story is a vivid example of how. But even though “scams” and “crypto” have been inextricably linked in the public conversation for the better part of a decade, it’s remarkable how little progress has been made on that front. Wild new scams pop up constantly; here’s an alert about hackers sending people free tokens that trick them into emptying out their entire wallets.
If the web3 world is likely to tackle any issue here, it’s this one; their businesses depend on them making services that are broadly safe, accessible, and popular. But it’s not enough to way “we know, we know.” If web3 can create comprehensive solutions here, it’s time to prove it, and soon.
Make a moderately efficient blockchain “computer.”
Web3 backers love to talk about how blockchain networks are computers that can be programmed to do anything you imagine, given superpowers by the fact that they are also decentralized. Ethereum was the first of these computers to get real traction, but it was quickly overwhelmed by traffic. Traffic is managed by charging fees to use the computer, and the fees to complete a single transaction on the Ethereum network can run over $100. Imagine spending $75 to create a “free” Facebook account, and another $75 every time you wanted to post something, and you have a sense of what it would be like to participate in a social network on the blockchain today.
Ethereum is in the midst of a transformation designed to make it more efficient — which is to say, faster, less expensive, and less wasteful of energy. In the meantime, technologists routinely appear announcing that they have built a more efficient blockchain. Solana, for example, is a company that raised $314 million last year to build what it calls “the fastest blockchain in the world.”
“As the price of cryptocurrencies across the board slid during Friday’s trading session, traders large and small found themselves unable to execute transactions on Solana’s blockchain — a protocol that has been touted by proponents for its scalability and fast transaction speeds. Transactions per second (tps) were down significantly. ”
And so, it seems, Solana is the world’s fastest blockchain until a lot of people want to use it at the same time, at which point it performs just like any other blockchain, which is to say badly.
I don’t know, maybe this is all just a Moore’s Law thing, and in the future our quantum computers will effortlessly validate new entries to blockchain ledgers for small fractions of a cent within seconds. But if web3 wants to be broadly accessible, it can’t be nearly so slow, expensive, and wasteful.
On this front, nobody seems to be particularly close to cracking the code.
Develop technologies for mitigating harassment and abuse.
Keeping people safe on platforms today rests on a handful of assumptions that we take for granted: that our posts, purchases, and other activity is mostly private; that offending materials can be removed; that bad actors can be prevented from evading bans by keeping record of phone numbers, IP addresses, and other signals.
On the blockchain, none of that is true. Transactions are public; transactions are immutable; and regaining access to a platform is as simple as creating a new wallet. In his video, Olson speculates about how corporations or governments could scan blockchain transactions and use them for the purpose of discrimination; it’s one of his points that landed the hardest with me.
It seems likely that, to the extent that any of the issues above are solved, it won’t be by decentralized networks of computers, but by centralized platforms that build those costs into their business models. At which point web3 will look like the Web 2.0 do-over that Olson describes it as.
All that said, I keep an open mind about blockchain technologies, if only because of the enormous amount of talent and money that is now working on it.
But the time to start is now. The rapid growth of web3 is bringing increasingly savvy critics like Olson and Marlinspike into the space, and their views cannot be dismissed as sour grapes from haters and luddites. Blockchain technologies can no longer truly be said to be new, and yet answers to many basic questions are still proving to be elusive.
By the end of this year, here’s hoping web3 has a little more to show for itself.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Alphabet’s Google Cloud division has formed a group to build business around blockchain applications and plans to hire a slew of blockchain experts — – Alphabet’s Google Cloud division is forming a team to win blockchain business after making a concerted effort in retail and other industries.
Google Cloud is hiring a legion of blockchain experts to expand its business
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/27/google-cloud-blockchain-team-to-seek-new-business.html
Alphabet’s Google Cloud division is forming a team to win blockchain business after making a concerted effort in retail and other industries.
Google Cloud customers include blockchain companies such as Dapper Labs, Hedera and Theta Labs.
In the future Google Cloud could accept payments in cryptocurrencies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
David Yaffe-Bellany / New York Times:
A growing number of US mayors are embracing crypto and blockchain tech, hoping to create revenue streams with NFTs or mining, attract tech talent, and more
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/25/business/crypto-mayors.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Ethereum Smart Contract Hacking Looks Like
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P8LXLoTUJ5g&feature=share
In this video you can see me working over 10h on hacking an Ethereum smart contract. The attack was done on a private chain, so no actual Ethereum users have been affected.
This was a challenge called `Montagy` from the Real World CTF 2019 competition.
Even though this was part of a competition, the methodology and technologies used are the tools used in real-life Ethereum hacking as well.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Daren Fonda / Barron’s Online:
Source: White House is readying an executive action to task federal agencies with regulating Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a matter of national security — The Biden administration is preparing to release an executive action that will task federal agencies with regulating digital assets …
White House Wants Crypto Rules as a Matter of National Security
By Daren Fonda
Jan. 27, 2022 3:00 pm ET
https://www.barrons.com/articles/white-house-executive-action-regulate-cryptos-national-security-51643312454
The Biden administration is preparing to release an executive action that will task federal agencies with regulating digital assets such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a matter of national security, a person familiar with the White House’s plan tells Barron’s.
The national security memorandum, expected to come in the next few weeks, would task parts of the government with analyzing digital assets and assembling a regulatory framework that covers cryptos, stablecoins, and NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, this person…
Tomi Engdahl says:
President Joe Biden Is Going After Bitcoin, Other Cryptocurrencies And NFTs
https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftrib.al%2F5Lc0PlF&h=AT28eTnpx1YGLA8cZeRmB-nEx7f2IXmBilL2-jjrjhQACn-pmvoN7z7NCpRrkiHMiCi7HUlhHpZKW-5Rt4FVRLo6puaqplX7Y4Sj7UyvzKlHWs-Miu65giACUfxonDdX_w
President Joe Biden is planning an executive action for federal agencies to regulate cryptocurrencies, digital assets and bitcoin, as he contends this is a matter of national security. He’s striking at a time when the crypto sector, along with the stock market, is going through a tumultuous time, losing large amounts of value, as the Federal Reserve said it will start raising interest rates to cool down inflation. His sights aren’t only on bitcoin. Regulators will look into stablecoins and NFTs. The Biden administration will also coordinate efforts with regulators and global leaders.
While bitcoin and other coins aren’t yet considered securities, the regulators will dig into finding out if there are instances of money laundering, pump-and-dump schemes, shady business practices, wash sales and market manipulations. This would be a complete game changer if Biden’s administration goes full throttle on this matter.
If the regulators find irregularities, substantial fines and tax levies may be extracted from everyone involved in the crypto ecosystem. The United States Treasury Department is already looking into what entities will be considered a crypto broker under the infrastructure bill Congress passed last year, and the reporting of any capital gains or losses to the IRS.
It’s reasonable to believe that there will be an aggressive hiring campaign at the SEC and other regulatory agencies. Strict examinations, audits and reviews of the securities and cryptocurrency industries will occur. To keep the banks and financial institutions safe and out of the crosshairs of the regulatory bodies, there may be a substantial increase in hiring of compliance, risk, audit, legal and regulatory professionals.
Tomi Engdahl says:
LÜM Transitions Into An NFT-First Platform Aiming To Decentralize The Music Industry
https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftrib.al%2FRepOkKb&h=AT1LjiRM89ey-6XjB86LuOM0accGhwJfw9ZyRDH–0iySjO9pjxH2cJuR3Rxe-AIgrA_8ix9XHcLU3u36xitLPUvTR-jCawwcIL52oKH72KwPnZ0ti2jd7gRSVE76dzA0w
Music discovery platform LÜM is transitioning into an NFT-first platform aiming to connect fans to artists with exclusive content, experiences and merchandise. LÜM’s initially launched in 2020 as a streaming and discovery application enabling emerging artists to circulate their music to larger audiences, grow their fan base and make money. Artists were able to upload their content and connect with fans, while fans could discover artists and circulate music by sharing and engaging with their friends and peer communities. One of LÜM’s missions has always been rooted in finding ways to give emerging artists direct-to-artist financial support. In that mission, LÜM has found that the power of blockchain and NFTs can serve as a long-term solution for not only the artist but their fans as well.
With LÜM’s old model, only the artist had a monetary benefit from the platform but now fans that purchase NFTs from artists have a chance to also make money. Ideally, the NFTs will include things like special access to music, events, concerts, meet and greets, etc. that are only accessible if you own one of the artist’s NFTs. If the fan later down the line decides to sell the artist’s NFT to another fan, there is a profit to be made. The decentralization of artist-to-fan relationships seems to be the next major trend in music. Doja Cat sold an NFT for $188,000 and Blau gave away 50% of the streaming rights to his song “Worst Case” to 333 fans via NFTs. Allowing fans to make money alongside their favorite artists is beneficial for emerging and established artists. Record labels are also leaning into NFTs for their artists upcoming albums and worldwide tours. LÜM’s system will work with artists not as users, but as partners. LÜM works with the artist and labels to educate them and their teams on blockchain and key messaging. “We are a white-glove service for the artists we work with, all while making it as easy as possible for everyone. LÜM also leverages the likeness of an artist and doesn’t work through an artist’s music IP to avoid complexity and offer the easiest onramp for the artists and their fans,” explained CEO, Max Fergus. From there, we are able to work with an artist to develop meaningful roadmaps that create a structure for LÜM’s platform and fans, while giving the artist infinite creative control to serve their individual communities as well. This means that artists share the collective value of being in an ecosystem that allows for the cross-pollination of fanbases – maximizing discovery and revenue generation from fans old and new.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon showing off their NFTs is the longest 77 seconds ever
By Andy Chalk published 4 days ago
https://www.pcgamer.com/paris-hilton-and-jimmy-fallon-showing-off-their-nfts-is-the-longest-77-seconds-ever/
The awkward segment, which aired last night on The Tonight Show, is further evidence that NFTs are a terrible idea.
In what may be the most compelling evidence I’ve yet seen that NFTs are multi-dimensionally awful, here’s a clip of Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon awkwardly showing off their low-quality drawings of apes in stupid hats to an audience that seems equal parts bemused and bored (embedded below).
https://mobile.twitter.com/etienneshrdlu/status/1485956332989693953?s=20
Tomi Engdahl says:
Arijit Sarkar / Cointelegraph:
China tests using blockchain across 15 cities and 164 organizations in manufacturing, energy, government data sharing, law enforcement, taxation, and more — Some of the key areas of blockchain development include manufacturing, energy, government data sharing and services, law enforcement …
China pilots nationwide blockchain development over real-world use cases
https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-pilots-nationwide-blockchain-development-over-real-world-use-cases
Some of the key areas of blockchain development include manufacturing, energy, government data sharing and services, law enforcement, taxation, criminal trials, inspection, and cross-border finance.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced the commencement of an in-house effort to expedite blockchain development and innovation across 15 zones and 164 entities.
The initiative aims for the large-scale implementation of blockchain technology across businesses and government organizations in China.
The CAC, along with other government agencies, directed the regulatory authorities to “promote the intensive and balanced layout of blockchain technology infrastructure in the region, form a large-scale production-level cross-chain data exchange support capability, and promote the formation of a multi-party collaborative blockchain industry ecology.”
The key areas of blockchain development include manufacturing, energy, government data sharing and services, law enforcement, taxation, criminal trials, inspection, copyright, civil affairs, human society, education, healthcare, trade finance, risk control management, equity market and cross-border finance.
The circular also emphasizes the need for regulatory departments to coordinate the advancement and promotion of the pilot projects “and give full play to the role of blockchain in promoting data sharing, optimizing business processes, reducing operating costs, improving collaborative efficiency, and building a trusted system.”
Despite a strong stance against crypto adoption, the Chinese government continues to show interest in related ecosystems including blockchain and nonfungible tokens (NFT).
Most recently, the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), a government-backed blockchain project in China, was reportedly working on an infrastructure to support businesses and individuals in building NFT-focused platforms and apps.
As Cointelegraph reported, the project aims to support the deployment of platforms capable of trading non-crypto NFTs via fiat currency.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Samantha Hissong / Rolling Stone:
Profile of artist Seneca, who says she is the lead designer behind the original Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection and has seen relatively little compensation — The Bored Ape Yacht Club lit up the internet — but its lead designer, Seneca, has been watching from the shadows
The NFT Art World Wouldn’t Be the Same Without This Woman’s ‘Wide-Awake Hallucinations’
The Bored Ape Yacht Club lit up the internet — but its lead designer, Seneca, has been watching from the shadows
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/seneca-bored-ape-yacht-club-digital-art-nfts-1280341/
Her creativity helped fuel a technological revolution she knew almost nothing about. Although the Bored Ape Yacht Club — now, arguably, the world’s biggest NFT project — first appeared online in May and quickly started selling for millions, the woman who drew its primary characters had no idea that the collection was a hit until she Googled the name months later.
These cartoonish primates have since generated more than a billion dollars and lassoed mainstreamers into the crypto scene. Yet Seneca — the 27-year-old Asian-American artist who played an integral role in bringing their ideas to life — gets little credit.
Watching NFT enthusiasts graffiti every corner of the Internet with variations of her work has been bittersweet. Imagine casually walking into a museum only to stumble upon your own art hanging on the wall behind velvet ropes; when Seneca logged onto Twitter, where she’s known as All Seeing Seneca, and saw that Steph Curry was using an avatar she birthed as his profile picture, her eyes bulged. “It really took me some time to wrap my head around all this,” she tells Rolling Stone over Zoom.
Yuga Labs co-founder Gargamel says he was struck by the “expressiveness” of her characters. “There’s a whole mood that gets conveyed,” he tells Rolling Stone via email. “For the apes, we arrived at exactly the mood we were after: existential boredom.” Muniz agrees: “She’s particularly skilled at expression and bringing characters to life.”
Though Seneca wasn’t familiar with NFTs at the time, Yuga Labs gave her a lot of room to play in the collaboration. “They said, ‘We want punk apes. What do you think that would look like? What kind of style would you like? What do you think will look good?’” She imagined herself as an ape’s neighbor in a grungy city where the primates roam free as citizens. She saw “an ape that’s kind of jaded and tired of life but has all the money and time in the world, and hangs out at a metal bar” and ran through fictitious interactions with the creature. “That’s where that idea came from.”
Creating the apes’ aesthetic poured out of her naturally: A self-declared metalhead, Seneca plays a Gibson SG — which Muniz says she “slays” — and listens to bands like Megadeth, Behemoth, and Bullet for My Valentine. But she’s also a lover of Nineties gross-out animation, from which she drew inspiration. “I just love the grit of it all,” she says.
To be clear, Seneca was not the project’s sole illustrator. “I am the lead artist behind the original collection,” she says. The ape body itself, she adds, is “exactly line-for-line” her drawing. Other production artists — “Thomas Dagley, Migwashere, and a couple who chose to remain anonymous,” according to Gargamel — handled the traits and environment. However, she points out, she did develop some of the major traits, like the grinning mouth, the popping eyes, and the beanie.
“Not of ton of people know that I did these drawings, which is terrible for an artist,” she says. Word of mouth has been growing, though, and she hopes that will help her find more collaborations. In the meantime, she’s focusing on her solo work.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Zack Seward / CoinDesk:
Blockdaemon, which provides blockchain infrastructure for node management and staking, raises a $207M Series C at a $3.25B post-money valuation — Sapphire and Tiger Global led the latest round, which follows a $155 million Series B last September. — The unicorn valuations are still …
Crypto Infrastructure Firm Blockdaemon Raises $207M at $3.25B Valuation
Sapphire and Tiger Global led the latest round, which follows a $155 million Series B last September.
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/01/26/crypto-infrastructure-firm-blockdaemon-raises-207m-at-325b-valuation/
The unicorn valuations are still here despite the crypto market’s current sea of red, with Blockdaemon being the latest example.
The blockchain infrastructure firm said Wednesday it commanded a $3.25 billion post-money valuation after a $207 million Series C led by Sapphire and Tiger Global. Blockdaemon had been valued at $1.3 billion in its September 2021 Series B. Earlier Wednesday, crypto exchange FTX US announced a $400 million funding round that valued the firm at $8 billion.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bitcoin miners believe global hash rate to grow ‘aggressively’
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-miners-believe-global-hash-rate-to-grow-aggressively
Despite the price of BTC, the Bitcoin network is the strongest it’s ever been, according to industry experts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Frank Holland / CNBC:
Visa says customers made $2.5B in payments with its crypto-linked cards in fiscal Q1 2022, which was 70% of its crypto volume for all of fiscal 2021
Visa says crypto-linked card usage hit $2.5 billion in its first quarter
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/28/visa-says-crypto-linked-card-usage-hit-2point5-billion-in-its-first-quarter.html
Visa said during its recent earnings call that customers made $2.5 billion in payments with its crypto-linked cards in its fiscal first quarter of 2022.
“People are using their crypto-linked cards to spend in a variety of ways — retail goods and services, restaurants, travel,” Visa CFO Vasant Prabhu told CNBC in a phone interview.
Visa has started a crypto consulting service and invested in crypto platforms as part of a push for digital currency adoption.
Visa said during its recent earnings call that customers made $2.5 billion in payments with its crypto-linked cards in its fiscal first quarter of 2022.
That was 70% of the company’s crypto volume for all of fiscal 2021.
“To us, this signals that consumers see utility in having a Visa card linked to an account at a crypto platform. There’s value in being able to access that liquidity, to fund purchases and manage expenses, and to do so instantly and seamlessly,” Visa CFO Vasant Prabhu told CNBC in a phone interview, providing insight as the company reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue after the bell Thursday.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
DeFi service Qubit Finance says a hacker stole ~$80M in Binance coins on January 27 and offers them a bug bounty in exchange for returning the cryptocurrency
Qubit Finance platform hacked for $80 million worth of cryptocurrency
https://therecord.media/qubit-finance-platform-hacked-for-80-million-worth-of-cryptocurrency/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Andrew Hayward / Decrypt:
NFT marketplace LooksRare has amassed $9.5B+ in trading volume since its January 10 launch; CryptoSlam: $8.3B+ is users “wash trading” between their own wallets — CryptoSlam says the vast majority of the hot NFT marketplace’s sales are illegitimate trades made to manipulate the token rewards model.
LooksRare Has Reportedly Generated $8B in Ethereum NFT Wash Trading
https://decrypt.co/91510/looksrare-has-reportedly-generated-8b-ethereum-nft-wash-trading
CryptoSlam says the vast majority of the hot NFT marketplace’s sales are illegitimate trades made to manipulate the token rewards model.
In brief
New NFT marketplace LooksRare is rife with wash trading as users attempt to game the trading rewards model, according to analytics firm CryptoSlam.
CryptoSlam estimates that LooksRare has generated more than $8.3 billion worth of wash trades, making up the vast majority of its sales volume to date.
LooksRare seemingly came out of nowhere to become the biggest rival yet to leading NFT marketplace OpenSea earlier this month, but there’s a big asterisk on the astronomical trading figures coming out of the platform.
It’s marred by rampant wash trading, as users buy and sell NFTs between wallets they control in an effort to manipulate daily trading rewards. Now we have a sense of how severe the wash trading has become since LooksRare launched on January 10.
NFT analytics firm CryptoSlam reported today that it has identified more than $8.3 billion worth of wash trading from LooksRare, making up the vast majority of trading volume on the marketplace to date.
Most of the wash trading comes from royalty-free collections, which means that sellers don’t have to pay the creators a secondary sale fee. Larva Labs’ Meebits has seen the most wash trading at $4.4 billion, with Terraforms at $2.9 billion, Loot at $705 million, and CryptoPhunks (a CryptoPunks derivative project) at $251 million, plus $62 million from other projects.
LooksRare has amassed more than $9.5 billion in total Ethereum trading volume since its launch. I
Why are some LooksRare users selling NFTs at vastly inflated prices? It all comes down to the platform’s trading rewards model. LooksRare offers token rewards for users who buy and sell NFTs on the site, offering them a percentage of the day’s total sales via the site’s own LOOKS token.
Users can game the system by selling NFTs back and forth between their own Ethereum wallets via artificially inflated prices, with the aim of earning more in LOOKS rewards than they’d spend on LooksRare’s 2% marketplace fee and the Ethereum network’s own gas fees.
LooksRare also provides Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) rewards for users who stake their LOOKS tokens in the platform, providing further incentive to amass and then hold a large number of them. The community reward models set LooksRare apart from OpenSea, but with trading rewards at their highest level during the platform’s first 30 days, some users are abusing the system.
LooksRare’s staggering initial trading numbers looked suspect, and the platform did not institute measures to disincentivize users from buying and selling their own NFTs at exaggerated prices. In fact, LooksRare retweeted a thread from an investor that called such tactics “genius.”
In brief
New NFT marketplace LooksRare is rife with wash trading as users attempt to game the trading rewards model, according to analytics firm CryptoSlam.
CryptoSlam estimates that LooksRare has generated more than $8.3 billion worth of wash trades, making up the vast majority of its sales volume to date.
LooksRare seemingly came out of nowhere to become the biggest rival yet to leading NFT marketplace OpenSea earlier this month, but there’s a big asterisk on the astronomical trading figures coming out of the platform.
It’s marred by rampant wash trading, as users buy and sell NFTs between wallets they control in an effort to manipulate daily trading rewards. Now we have a sense of how severe the wash trading has become since LooksRare launched on January 10.
NFT analytics firm CryptoSlam reported today that it has identified more than $8.3 billion worth of wash trading from LooksRare, making up the vast majority of trading volume on the marketplace to date.
Most of the wash trading comes from royalty-free collections, which means that sellers don’t have to pay the creators a secondary sale fee. Larva Labs’ Meebits has seen the most wash trading at $4.4 billion, with Terraforms at $2.9 billion, Loot at $705 million, and CryptoPhunks (a CryptoPunks derivative project) at $251 million, plus $62 million from other projects.
According to public blockchain data collected by Dune Analytics, LooksRare has amassed more than $9.5 billion in total Ethereum trading volume since its launch. If the figures from both sources—which pull data from the public Ethereum blockchain—are accurate, then about 87% of LooksRare’s trading volume to date matches CryptoSlam’s criteria of wash trading.
Why are some LooksRare users selling NFTs at vastly inflated prices? It all comes down to the platform’s trading rewards model. LooksRare offers token rewards for users who buy and sell NFTs on the site, offering them a percentage of the day’s total sales via the site’s own LOOKS token.
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Users can game the system by selling NFTs back and forth between their own Ethereum wallets via artificially inflated prices, with the aim of earning more in LOOKS rewards than they’d spend on LooksRare’s 2% marketplace fee and the Ethereum network’s own gas fees.
LooksRare also provides Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) rewards for users who stake their LOOKS tokens in the platform, providing further incentive to amass and then hold a large number of them. The community reward models set LooksRare apart from OpenSea, but with trading rewards at their highest level during the platform’s first 30 days, some users are abusing the system.
OpenSea is a leading Ethereum NFT marketplace. Image: Shutterstock
OpenSea Update Leaves Some Creators Unable to Mint New NFTs
UPDATE: Following backlash to its new limits, OpenSea announced on Thursday night that it has reversed the decision to limit collections minted with its smart contract. OpenSea attributed the …
News
NFTs
5 min read
Andrew HaywardJan 27, 2022
Soon after the January 10 launch, data from CryptoSlam showed that LooksRare users were selling Meebits, Loot, and other royalty-free NFTs back and forth between the same wallets for upwards of $50 million worth of ETH each way. At the time, the average sale price for a Meebits NFT over the previous week at OpenSea was 4.1 ETH ($13,800 at the time).
LooksRare’s staggering initial trading numbers looked suspect, and the platform did not institute measures to disincentivize users from buying and selling their own NFTs at exaggerated prices. In fact, LooksRare retweeted a thread from an investor that called such tactics “genius.” LooksRare did not respond to Decrypt’s earlier requests for comment.
CryptoSlam—which recently raised $9 million from Mark Cuban and others—removed wash trading data from its total sales metrics last week, and has implemented a tracker for each NFT collection that shows the total amount of wash trading to date. Today, the company shared an extensive post about why it made the moves and how it has approached the situation.
if any wallet flagged for the first point then buys and sells an NFT after holding it for less than 30 minutes, those transactions are likewise categorized as wash trades. On top of all of that, CryptoSlam manually reviews any transactions for NFTs that are “clearly way above the norm and not legitimate,” Wasinger explained.
In brief
New NFT marketplace LooksRare is rife with wash trading as users attempt to game the trading rewards model, according to analytics firm CryptoSlam.
CryptoSlam estimates that LooksRare has generated more than $8.3 billion worth of wash trades, making up the vast majority of its sales volume to date.
LooksRare seemingly came out of nowhere to become the biggest rival yet to leading NFT marketplace OpenSea earlier this month, but there’s a big asterisk on the astronomical trading figures coming out of the platform.
It’s marred by rampant wash trading, as users buy and sell NFTs between wallets they control in an effort to manipulate daily trading rewards. Now we have a sense of how severe the wash trading has become since LooksRare launched on January 10.
NFT analytics firm CryptoSlam reported today that it has identified more than $8.3 billion worth of wash trading from LooksRare, making up the vast majority of trading volume on the marketplace to date.
Most of the wash trading comes from royalty-free collections, which means that sellers don’t have to pay the creators a secondary sale fee. Larva Labs’ Meebits has seen the most wash trading at $4.4 billion, with Terraforms at $2.9 billion, Loot at $705 million, and CryptoPhunks (a CryptoPunks derivative project) at $251 million, plus $62 million from other projects.
According to public blockchain data collected by Dune Analytics, LooksRare has amassed more than $9.5 billion in total Ethereum trading volume since its launch. If the figures from both sources—which pull data from the public Ethereum blockchain—are accurate, then about 87% of LooksRare’s trading volume to date matches CryptoSlam’s criteria of wash trading.
Why are some LooksRare users selling NFTs at vastly inflated prices? It all comes down to the platform’s trading rewards model. LooksRare offers token rewards for users who buy and sell NFTs on the site, offering them a percentage of the day’s total sales via the site’s own LOOKS token.
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Users can game the system by selling NFTs back and forth between their own Ethereum wallets via artificially inflated prices, with the aim of earning more in LOOKS rewards than they’d spend on LooksRare’s 2% marketplace fee and the Ethereum network’s own gas fees.
LooksRare also provides Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) rewards for users who stake their LOOKS tokens in the platform, providing further incentive to amass and then hold a large number of them. The community reward models set LooksRare apart from OpenSea, but with trading rewards at their highest level during the platform’s first 30 days, some users are abusing the system.
OpenSea is a leading Ethereum NFT marketplace. Image: Shutterstock
OpenSea Update Leaves Some Creators Unable to Mint New NFTs
UPDATE: Following backlash to its new limits, OpenSea announced on Thursday night that it has reversed the decision to limit collections minted with its smart contract. OpenSea attributed the …
News
NFTs
5 min read
Andrew HaywardJan 27, 2022
Soon after the January 10 launch, data from CryptoSlam showed that LooksRare users were selling Meebits, Loot, and other royalty-free NFTs back and forth between the same wallets for upwards of $50 million worth of ETH each way. At the time, the average sale price for a Meebits NFT over the previous week at OpenSea was 4.1 ETH ($13,800 at the time).
LooksRare’s staggering initial trading numbers looked suspect, and the platform did not institute measures to disincentivize users from buying and selling their own NFTs at exaggerated prices. In fact, LooksRare retweeted a thread from an investor that called such tactics “genius.” LooksRare did not respond to Decrypt’s earlier requests for comment.
CryptoSlam—which recently raised $9 million from Mark Cuban and others—removed wash trading data from its total sales metrics last week, and has implemented a tracker for each NFT collection that shows the total amount of wash trading to date. Today, the company shared an extensive post about why it made the moves and how it has approached the situation.
Randy Wasinger, CryptoSlam’s founder and CEO, told Decrypt via email that the firm currently uses both automatic and manual methods to detect wash trading in a multi-step process. First off, CryptoSlam automatically classifies a transaction for an NFT that was sold and then repurchased by the same wallet within the last seven days as a wash trade.
Furthermore, if any wallet flagged for the first point then buys and sells an NFT after holding it for less than 30 minutes, those transactions are likewise categorized as wash trades. On top of all of that, CryptoSlam manually reviews any transactions for NFTs that are “clearly way above the norm and not legitimate,” Wasinger explained. Eventually, that last step may be automated as the platform’s algorithm is refined.
LooksRare has generated a lot of buzz right out of the gate, and has routinely delivered $20 million or more worth of total daily rewards to users since launch. It comes as OpenSea itself enjoys a record sales month, with Ethereum NFT trading volume now over $4.3 billion for all of January, topping the previous record of $3.4 billion from August 2021.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wash Trading: Who, What, Why, and What Should We Do About It?
https://blog.cryptoslam.io/wash-trading-who-what-why-and-what-should-we-do-about-it/
Many in the NFT community have been clamoring for more competition in the NFT marketplace landscape. One of the reasons for this is concerns about the concentration of volume on one centralized platform (OpenSea). Another is purely due to economics – transaction fees are high right now and as in any market, competition will drive these fees down and ultimately create a better user experience for the end consumer. So naturally, anytime a new marketplace launches, it is met with much excitement and anticipation. Throw in a token airdrop and things get even more interesting.
The LooksRare Marketplace launched as a “community-first” NFT marketplace on January 10th, 2022 as the latest contestant in the race to steal market share from OpenSea. In an attempt to quickly bootstrap volume on the marketplace, they launched what is known as a “vampire attack” on OpenSea (another “community-first” marketplace, Infinity, tried something similar last year). If you aren’t familiar with a vampire attack, here’s a tldr – Because of the open nature of the blockchain, anyone can look at the on-chain transaction data and identify OpenSea transactions. LooksRare did this and decided to airdrop $LOOKS tokens to incentivize users to participate in their new marketplace.
This was a brilliant way to get OpenSea users to list items on LooksRare, but due to the aggressive emissions schedule of the $LOOKS token trading rewards (more on this below), participants in the LooksRare marketplace have engaged in rampant “wash trading” (buying and selling between two wallets, both of which they control) to capture the daily trading rewards.
Once you have $LOOKS tokens, you can either sell them or stake them. Staking them earns you staking rewards in the form of WETH that is accumulated by the 2% marketplace transaction fee. The transaction fees are calculated at the end of each 6,500 block period (~24 hours) and then distributed proportionally based on % of staked $LOOKS tokens held by each user, similar to trading rewards. So if you are a trader doing a lot of volume, this is great because if you are staking the $LOOKS you are earning from trading you can recover some of the fees you are paying on transactions.
So what is a “Wash Trade” and why are they comprising ~99% of the volume on LooksRare right now.
Tomi Engdahl says:
India proposes 30% tax on crypto and NFTs income
https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/31/india-proposes-30-tax-on-crypto-and-nfts-income/?tpcc=tcplusfacebook
India on Tuesday proposed launching a digital rupee by next year and a 30% tax on income from transfer of virtual digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs in one of the most remarkable tech and business-focused federal budgets presented by New Delhi.
“No deduction in respect of any expenditure or allowance shall be allowed while computing such income except cost of acquisition. Further, loss from transfer of digital asset cannot be set off against any other income,” she said. “Gift of virtual digital asset is also proposed to be taxed at the hand of the recipient.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
We talk to Opera about why we should care about a new crypto browser
By Daryl Baxter published 2 days ago
Interview: Opera goes crypto – but why?
https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.techradar.com%2Fuk%2Fnews%2Fwe-talk-to-opera-about-why-we-should-care-about-a-new-crypto-browser&h=AT3cK_5A7dq9T3xEkY5WKS4rLFRoexg2qClENgEPsBNQ8ifr3-ypF9uCLL_kTpW6SLHONiEKlMpR0jUAt8ZQyb8T2CjD6oJEkmBL1kGiUmdDiOjoAdfkF5pCvr7sTzoYBQ
Tomi Engdahl says:
They claim that “The animal cells will remain active under this preservation technique,” but as the mouse will be dead it’s not clear what is meant by “active”.
Not The Onion: Crypto Group Wants To Insert Bitcoin Into A Mouse
https://www.iflscience.com/technology/not-the-onion-crypto-group-wants-to-insert-bitcoin-into-a-mouse/
The collective, called BitMouseDAO, says that the project will use “cold wallet technology” (storing the cryptocurrency offline), and then generate a private key offline.
First mouse with bitcoin in its body
0xBd86
January 25th, 2022
We are experimenting with genetic technology to put a bitcoin inside a mouse.
https://mirror.xyz/0xBd8609CEe8FdD21C477b4D9d0A66B3F4332aFA74/AlC2O4mYpa6odn64fH1HjjXk36cbOAjaQOQYwKXBMiQ
Tomi Engdahl says:
Worms emerges from the mud to issue NFTs
By Rich Stanton published 1 day ago
“You’ll regret that!”
https://www.pcgamer.com/worms-emerges-from-the-mud-to-issue-nfts/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=socialflow
Team17 has announced that, yes, it hasn’t made quite enough scratch from Worms over the years: So it’s crypto time, baby. The publisher is partnering with Reality Gaming Group, probably best-known for that dodgy looking Doctor Who NFT card game, to release NFTs based on the muck-dwelling annelids, which will cover the 26 year history of the series.
As with all these things the press release kind of bends over backwards to make these digital images seem more special than they are. “Worms digital collectibles are one-of-a-kind and cannot be copied, which makes them scarce and potentially quite valuable.” ‘Potentially’ doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Psst, try right-clicking.
There’s also an unverifiable claim that these NFTs will be “low energy consuming” which seems unlikely when they’re a “side-chain” of Ethereum and ultimately feeding that power-hungry ecosystem. The fact that the big crypto chains are bad for the environment is one of the critiques that’s acquired purchase, and so most new projects are now trying to head it off at the pass: Another claim to ecological consciousness here is that a portion of each NFT’s sale goes to an outfit called Coin 4 Planet, which based on the name I hate already. How about Time 2 Burn.
Team 17′s only the latest publisher to hop on board the NFT bandwagon, though feelings across the industry are split, to say the least.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nick Statt / Protocol:
EA CEO Andrew Wilson says NFTs are not something the company is “driving on”, just three months after calling NFTs and blockchain “the future of our industry”
EA CEO said NFTs were ‘the future of the industry.’ Now he’s not so sure
https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/ea-ceo-nfts-blockchain-backtrack
EA’s chief executive Andrew Wilson appeared to back away from crypto in an earnings call on Tuesday.
Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson appeared to reverse his position on non-fungible tokens in an earnings call on Tuesday, saying it was not something the company was currently “driving in.” Just three months ago, Wilson called NFTs and the broader blockchain gaming market “the future of our industry.”
“I believe that collectability will continue to be an important part of our industry and the games and experiences that we offer our players. Whether that’s as part of the NFT blockchain, well, that remains to be seen. And I think the way we think about it is we want to deliver the best possible player experience we can. And so we’re going to will evaluate that over time, but right now, it’s not something that we’re driving on,” Wilson said, in response to a question about any potential investments in NFTs or blockchain gaming.
In Wilson’s last earnings call in November, he sounded more confident on the prospects of combining crypto and gaming. “I think that in the context of the games we create and the live services that we offer, collectible digital content is going to play a meaningful part in our future,” Wilson said at the time. “So, it’s still early to tell, but I think we’re in a really good position, and we should expect us to kind of think more innovatively and creatively about that on a go-forward basis.”
Although investment in blockchain gaming and NFT-related gaming companies has skyrocketed in recent months, scores of players, developers and critics have come out against the technologies, both for their environmental impact and the risk of financial scams, fraud and other forms of consumer exploitation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yogita Khatri / The Block:
Solana Labs launches Solana Pay, a payments protocol that lets merchants accept payments directly from customers in USDC, SOL, or other Solana-based tokens
Solana Labs launches Solana Pay, a payments protocol for digital commerce
https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/132644/solana-pay-launch-payments-protocol-digital-commerce
Quick Take
Solana Labs has released a payments protocol for digital commerce.
The protocol, called Solana Pay, will let merchants accept crypto payments directly from consumers.
Solana Labs has launched a payments protocol called Solana Pay to let merchants accept crypto payments directly from consumers.
With Solana Pay, merchants can accept the USDC stablecoin, Solana’s native token SOL, and other Solana-based tokens on the Solana blockchain. Transactions will be instant, said Solana Labs, adding that merchants will receive “real-time” payments.
They will also incur lower costs due to Solana’s lower fees, according to Solana Labs. “Merchants and consumers want a frictionless experience without taking on unnecessary volatility risk, and consumers don’t necessarily want to transact with their investments,” Sheraz Shere, head of payments at Solana Labs, told The Block.
“If people can seamlessly transact on-chain just like they do with cash, we believe that will spur interest and create new innovations which is why the protocol is designed to allow for developers to build new commerce experiences on top of it.”
When asked if Solana Pay is looking to compete with companies like Visa and Mastercard, Shere said Solana Pay is rather “trying to change the whole paradigm of payments to one that puts merchants in control by creating rails that are decentralized, permissionless and P2P [peer-to-peer] and enable new commerce experiences in web3.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Blockchain bridge Wormhole confirms a hacker stole $322M worth of ether, and has moved its site into maintenance mode
Cryptocurrency platform Wormhole hacked for an estimated $322 million
https://therecord.media/cryptocurrency-platform-wormhole-hacked-for-an-estimated-322-million/
A threat actor has abused a vulnerability in the Wormhole cryptocurrency platform to steal an estimated $322 million worth of Ether currency.
The attack took place earlier today and impacted Wormhole Portal, a web-based application—also known as a blockchain “bridge”—that allows users to convert one form of cryptocurrency into another.
Bridge portals use “smart contracts” on the Ethereum blockchain to convert an input cryptocurrency into a temporary internal token, which they later convert into the user’s desired output cryptocurrency.
Tomi Engdahl says:
In January, the US Federal Reserve Board released its initial concept paper for a CBDC, a key innovation for the future of the dollar. So why is the U.S. taking so long to build a digital dollar?
https://trib.al/ovMC5eW
Tomi Engdahl says:
NFTs Explained – The BIG Problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pWTRsztTtY
Everything you need to know about NFTs – What is an NFT? Why are NFTs so expensive? The Problem with NFTs?
Viewer comments:
Seriously, out of a hundred videos that I’ve seen about NFT’s, your’s was the most complete one, not only do you talk about how it works, but also how it can be a good thing and how it can be an awful thing, usually people focus on only one of those points, so thank you, now I finally understand NFT’s
My daughter just told me about NFTs for the first time today. It was extremely hard for her to explain to me exactly what they are. And why they even are. So, I searched YouTube, where I learn everything. And what do you know? My favorite tech channel had this awesome video. Perfect explanation and non-biased review. Thanks so much.
This guy always has the right outlook on crypto, he’s consistently pretty accurate. He pulls up the news that actually has the most impact on crypto. thank you so much.
I think that NFTs won’t leave, but slowly die out. They had gigantic initial growth, like any mainstream trend. And, like any mainstream trend, will stay in culture.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Blake Brittain / Reuters:
Nike sues online reseller StockX for selling unauthorized NFTs of its shoes, citing its trademarks, and promises “a number of virtual products” later this month — Sneaker giant Nike sued online reseller StockX in New York federal court on Thursday for selling unauthorized images of Nike shoes …
Nike cries foul over virtual shoes, suing retailer that sells sneaker NFTs
https://www.reuters.com/technology/nike-cries-foul-over-virtual-shoes-suing-retailer-that-sells-sneaker-nfts-2022-02-04/
Feb 3 (Reuters) – Sneaker giant Nike sued online reseller StockX in New York federal court on Thursday for selling unauthorized images of Nike shoes, marking the latest lawsuit over digital assets known as non-fungible tokens.
Nike said StockX’s NFTs infringe its trademarks and are likely to confuse consumers. Its lawsuit asked for unspecified money damages and an order blocking their sales.
Detroit-based StockX, a platform for reselling sneakers, handbags and other goods, was valued at more than $3.8 billion last year.
Nike said StockX last month began selling unauthorized NFTs of its sneakers, telling buyers they would be able to redeem the tokens for physical versions of the shoes “in the near future.”
The complaint said StockX has sold over 500 Nike-branded NFTs.
The lawsuit said complaints about the NFTs’ “inflated prices and murky terms of purchase and ownership” and buyers’ doubts about the legitimacy of StockX’s model have hurt Nike’s business reputation.
Nike said it will release “a number of virtual products” later this month in conjunction with the digital art studio RTFKT, which it acquired in December.
NFTs have recently exploded in popularity, and lawsuits over them have begun to hit U.S. courts. Miramax sued director Quentin Tarantino in November over his plans to auction NFTs related to the 1994 film “Pulp Fiction,” which he directed and the studio distributed.
Last month, Hermes sued artist Mason Rothschild over his “MetaBirkin” NFTs of the French company’s Birkin bags.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
GameStop plans to launch an NFT marketplace in 2022, built on the Ethereum-based Immutable X platform, and is creating an “up to $100M” fund for game developers
GameStop is launching its own NFT marketplace
It hopes a $100 million fund will make developers use it
https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/3/22914855/gamestop-nft-marketplace-immutable-x-ethereum-announcement?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
GameStop plans to launch its own marketplace for non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) and is co-creating an “up to $100 million” fund for game developers who use it. The marketplace will mark GameStop’s expansion from a popular meme stock to a company that dabbles in cryptocurrency and Web3 tech — although it may also provoke the wrath of gamers who are stridently opposed to NFTs.
The new GameStop NFT marketplace is supposed to launch later this year. It’s built on Immutable X, a platform based on the popular Ethereum cryptocurrency blockchain. Designed by Immutable, the company behind the NFT trading card game Gods Unchained, Immutable X is intended to mitigate the biggest drawbacks of Ethereum: its massive energy consumption and the high associated “gas fees,” which can add exorbitant processing costs to any transaction. The protocol combines hundreds of thousands of sale records into a single transaction that’s written to the Ethereum blockchain; Immutable promises to make up for the environmental costs it does incur by paying for carbon offsets.
Immutable’s existing partnerships are supposed to give the new GameStop initiative a boost since companies that already use Immutable X will be able to feature their NFTs on the marketplace.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninabambysheva/2022/02/03/bitcoin-veteran-raises-150-million-to-bring-daos-and-nfts-to-the-first-cryptocurrency/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kamranrosen/2022/02/03/singing-icon-john-legend-set-to-launch-own-music-nft-platform/?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ephrat Livni / New York Times:
Coinbase partners with TurboTax to let users directly deposit state and federal tax refunds into their accounts and automatically buy cryptocurrency
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/03/business/turbotax-tax-refunds-coinbase.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
Andrew Thurman / CoinDesk:
Wormhole’s parent company replaces $322M worth of ETH stolen by a hacker on Wednesday; the bridge’s operations resumed after the attack vector was patched
Jump Trading Backstops Wormhole’s $320M Exploit Loss
Wormhole’s parent company has stepped in to prevent chaos across the Solana DeFi landscape.
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/02/03/jump-trading-backstops-wormholes-320m-exploit-loss-sources/
After one of the most devastating exploits in crypto history, the parent company for a popular cross-blockchain bridge has reportedly stepped in to backstop funds – a move that may have prevented widespread damage in the Solana decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Metaverse tulee, oletko valmis?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cZwwaL6TbEA&feature=youtu.be
250 000€ JPG kuvasta?!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rJVlBTVyrEI
Tomi Engdahl says:
While the proposal from the SEC doesn’t mention crypto, its new rules would let regulators probe crypto platforms and even decentralized finance protocols
The SEC Introduces A ‘Trojan Horse’ Crypto Regulation As The Price Of Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Solana, Cardano, XRP Rebounds
https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftrib.al%2FYw98BlV&h=AT26HsasQE_rkQgRU3jIFZMWDM7FsuTtIMjR4XXRl6wWC_g2LPnXkZ1c0c0hUKUMOMFnLwv_BSVePzxBlsKB7Bgisx2kK8sTZ8ObyNzfFNs4lsCMgar8jNnUahomv8VEqg
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are wrapping up the lackluster week on a high note. Today the bitcoin price rose 3.2%. Ethereum’s price jumped 8%. BNB leapt 3.8%, cardano 2.8%, XRP 2.7%, and solana 8.5%.
Meanwhile, SEC watchdogs are plotting to ambush crypto markets with a “Trojan Horse” regulation.
Last week, the SEC introduced a seemingly unrelated 654-page plan aimed at regulating “Treasury markets platforms.” Pro-crypto Commissioner Hester Peirce, however, warns it’s a sweeping crypto regulation in disguise. While the proposal doesn’t mention crypto, its new rules would let regulators probe into crypto platforms and even decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
“The proposal includes very expansive language, which, together with the chair’s apparent interest in regulating all things crypto, suggests that it could be used to regulate crypto platforms,” Peirce wrote in an email, as reported by Bloomberg” She added: “The proposal could reach more types of trading mechanisms, including potentially DeFi protocols.”
[Ed note: Investing in crypto is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]
Tomi Engdahl says:
Billionaire investor Ray Dalio warns the easy-money era is over — and says the crypto craze is overblown
https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftrib.al%2FDwNV9Rp&h=AT020b7-luCO8POBHZYXZfG-bBMM_rJ2rO7QQmEIhHzTZLEZtEa2LWdU2zjJXekW0iMtU3xxbRY0ks_KkUZYpLUrceoYpwyTKN3hah7lHPQmVOnaBsKExwVywM_xYW90Yw
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/02/3-views-what-does-line-go-up-tell-us-about-the-state-of-the-nft-art-market/
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Big Does Your Quantum Computer Need To Be To Break Bitcoin Encryption or Simulate Molecules?
https://scitechdaily.com/how-big-does-your-quantum-computer-need-to-be-to-break-bitcoin-encryption-or-simulate-molecules/
“Different hardware platforms will vary greatly on key hardware specifications, such as the rate of operations and the quality of control on the qubits (quantum bits).”
Quantum computers are exponentially more powerful at breaking many encryption techniques than classical computers. The world uses RSA encryption for most of its secure communication. RSA encryption and the one Bitcoin uses (elliptic curve digital signature algorithm) will one day be vulnerable to a quantum computing attack, but today, even the largest supercomputer could never pose a serious threat.
The researchers estimated the size a quantum computer needs to be to break the encryption of the Bitcoin network within the small window of time it would actually pose a threat to do so — in between its announcement and integration into the blockchain. The greater the fee paid on the transaction, the shorter this window will be, but it likely ranges from minutes to hours.
“State-of-the-art quantum computers today only have 50-100 qubits,” said Webber. “Our estimated requirement of 30 [million] to 300 million physical qubits suggests Bitcoin should be considered safe from a quantum attack for now, but devices of this size are generally considered achievable, and future advancements may bring the requirements down further.
“The Bitcoin network could perform a ‘hard-fork’ onto a quantum-secure encryption technique, but this may result in network scaling issues due to an increased memory requirement.”
“Four years ago, we estimated a trapped ion device would need a billion physical qubits to break RSA encryption, requiring a device with an area of 100-by-100 square meters,” said Webber. “Now, with improvements across the board, this could see a dramatic reduction to an area of just 2.5-by-2.5 square meters.”
A large-scale error-corrected quantum computer should be able to solve important problems classical computers cannot.
Tomi Engdahl says:
So…. This is trying to be a thing .
https://www.tampabay.com/news/real-estate/2022/02/04/this-tampa-bay-home-is-being-sold-as-an-nft/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://boingboing.net/2022/02/05/someones-selling-the-rights-to-colors-as-nfts.html
The Color Museum wants to monetize the building blocks of NFT avatars by licensing out the exclusive rights to specific hexadecimal colors on the Blockchain, which you can select and name yourself. I fucking hate that sentence. By doing this, they claim, the owner of each color will somehow get paid a royalty every time that color is used in someone else’s NFT avatar.
https://color.museum/
Yes really.
Own your color for eternity—or as long as Ethereum exists*. As a new primitive, the tokenID associated with your color resolves completely on-chain, now and forever.
We convert the hexadecimal associated with your color into pure number and use that for the NFT’s tokenID, which is the primary immutable component of the ERC-721 specification. This makes it suitable for computation and—experimentation.
*And as long as you (and your heirs) exist. You can also trade your Color NFT on any open NFT marketplace that supports the ERC-721 standard, such as OpenSea.
WE ARE BUILDING AN OPENSEA COMPETITOR IN WHICHTRANSACTION FEES ARE SHARED WITH COLOR NFT OWNERS BASED ON THE PROPORTIONAL USE OF THEIR COLORS IN TRADED NFTS.
They offer an example on their website: that Bored Ape Yacht Club #9245 contains 398,151 pixels, which breaks down to the following percentages:
65.47% #E4E4A8
4.71% #6C6F5F
5.12% #F5979E
6.01% #E3C8A1
5.77% #FFFFFF
32% “other”
If you own the NFT of #E4E4A8, the Color Museum explains, you would be owed $5738.54 in transaction fees the next time that particular NFT avatar sells. This calculation is based on a 1.25% fee, using the “current offer of 247.1 ETH for this ape.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Anyway who wants to invest in my new NFT platform to privatize letters of the alphabet?
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2600net/permalink/3232126227010480/
First off, I pride myself in being a cyber Pirate. Doing so, I have “Stolen” literally millions upon millions of dollars worth of NFTs by simply right clicking and saving.
HOWEVER….
…the fact that something as simple as “right click and save” to be considered an Illegal act is dumbfounding in the least.
For starters, let me address the NFT aspect of it.
NFTs are images and sound bites that contain “matrix code” that ables it to be used in the metaverse as well as other Web3 areas. When I simply right click and save an image, I capture the image only and not the matrix data. Therefore, I never actually stole an NFT so much as I made a copy of NFTs that I am interested in.
Next off, I’d like to address tapping on a screen and legal actions due to click click clicking…
I have many times wiped junk of the screen of my devices, and instantly saved something, sent something or followed a link by mistake. I have also had shattered screens that continually tap random places, thinking I had touched the devices. This happens more so when the phone that is cracked gets sweat in the cracks from sweating and talking on the phone.
And now the part about KIDS…
Kids are the world’s leading button pushers and click searchers. This makes is very possible for kids to not only save images by mistake, but even go as far as buying a brand new moonshine still off of eBay.
Now, as I have explained many many many times to the law enforcement agencies that come down on me for entering sites I probably shouldn’t had been in…
… verification and security protocols are VITAL!
If I can use only my computer mouse or just one thumb on a touch screen and enter a “Protected Site”, then the site would be at fault for not being “Protected” by proper protocols.
As i told one of the Alphabet gangs that came to my house on Temperance, if they feel the information should be kept restricted from World Wide Web access.
Jus my $0.02
An IP lawyer explains what counts as NFT theft when ‘stealing’ is as easy as right-click and save
https://fortune.com/2022/02/04/nft-theft-stealing-copying-right-click-save-law-lawyer/
In the wild world of digital tokens, the legality of copy-and-pasting an NFT is blurry.
Amid the booming blockchain space, digital artists have raked in millions of dollars by selling images as NFTs—unique digital tokens that trade on a blockchain and are often bought and sold in the industry’s native currency, Ethereum.
Last year, total NFT sales totaled $25 billion worldwide, according to market tracker DappRadar. The most expensive was a digital artwork produced by Beeple that sold at Christie’s for $69 million in March. But the surge in sales has also sparked a surge in “thefts.”
Detractors of the NFT marketplace often brag about “stealing” NFTs worth millions of dollars by simply right-clicking on the image and saving it. At best, NFT owners call the “right-click savers” annoying. At worst, they call them thieves.
Is ‘right-click and saving’ an NFT illegal?
Most NFTs today have low functionality, because there are few platforms where you can really utilize them. The most popular use case for the digital images now is to make them profile pictures on social media, like Twitter. But Twitter has also become a hotbed for NFT “theft,” as users right-click and save NFT profile pictures to use as their own.
“Right-clicking and making a copy without a license to do so is a copyright infringement,” says Adrian Lawrence, head of law firm Baker McKenzie’s Asia Pacific technology, media, and telecommunications group. “Let’s call it a theft.”
In fairness, this “copyright infringement” isn’t theft in the truest sense. An NFT thief is making a copy of an image, but the NFT buyer still owns and has access to the original. In fact, some crypto enthusiasts argue that to right-click and save an NFT is no more theft than taking a photograph of the Mona Lisa would be.
However, if you start using that photo of the Mona Lisa or that copy of an NFT—by setting it as your profile picture, for example—then you enter a legal gray zone.
“Certain uses, particularly noncommercial and not-for-profit uses, won’t necessarily be an infringement…Whereas monetizing [a copied NFT] to put on T-shirts, for example, probably would be,” Lawrence says. But even then, in a legal sense, the victim of the crime often isn’t the owner of the NFT.
Who owns the copyright of an NFT?
What you buy when you purchase an NFT depends entirely on the fine print of the smart contract etched into the digital token. In some cases, an NFT acts as a voucher that can be exchanged for a physical product but usually—in the case of artists producing NFTs of their work—the NFT is simply a receipt linked to a digital image.
“In a standard NFT sale, what you’re really buying is that singular instance of the image, with a certification of the purchase,” Lawrence says. “In most cases, you’re not buying the underlying rights to exploit that work. That copyright will belong to the artist.”
In the real world, ownership of physical art functions much the same way. Last year, some crypto enthusiasts learned that lesson the hard way after spending $3 million on what they thought were the rights to a rare illustrated version of Dune. But, in fact, they had just bought the book. Owning the very expensive book didn’t permit the collective to make and sell derivative products as NFTs, which had been their plan. The book’s author retained those rights.
In much the same way, a person who right-clicks and saves an NFT might be committing copyright infringement, but it is the artist, not the owner of the NFT, who will have to take legal action to stop them.
Who’s responsible for protecting NFT rights?
Sometimes, an artist might be violating a copyright or trademark claim by creating an NFT in the first place.
The Nike suit is just the latest case of legal wrangling over the ownership and fair use of NFTs.
Last November, Miramax sued film director Quentin Tarantino for producing NFTs tied to his 1994 film Pulp Fiction
So far, lawsuits over NFTs have targeted individuals who create, or mint, NFTs rather than marketplaces such as OpenSea, where users can create, buy, and sell the digital assets. But as NFTs grow in popularity, those marketplaces will likely need to take responsibility, too.
“There are still some significant legal questions about what responsibility a platform should have for the transactions that it facilitates,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is Bitcoin the ‘first religion of the 21st century’?
Why Are People Calling Bitcoin A Religion?
https://www.iflscience.com/technology/why-are-people-calling-bitcoin-a-religion/
Read enough about Bitcoin, and you’ll inevitably come across people who refer to the cryptocurrency as a religion.
Bloomberg’s Lorcan Roche Kelly called Bitcoin “the first true religion of the 21st century.” Bitcoin promoter Hass McCook has taken to calling himself “The Friar” and wrote a series of Medium pieces comparing Bitcoin to a religion. There is a Church of Bitcoin, founded in 2017, that explicitly calls legendary Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto its “prophet.”
RELIGION’S DIRTY SECRET
So does Bitcoin’s having prophets, evangelists and dietary laws make it a religion or not?
As a scholar of religion, I think this is the wrong question to ask.
The dirty secret of religious studies is that there is no universal definition of what religion is. Traditions such as Christianity, Islam and Buddhism certainly exist and have similarities, but the idea that these are all examples of religion is relatively new.
The word “religion” as it’s used today – a vague category that includes certain cultural ideas and practices related to God, the afterlife or morality – arose in Europe around the 16th century. Before this, many Europeans understood that there were only three types of people in the world: Christians, Jews and heathens.
Emerging market fund manager Mark Mobius, in an attempt to tamp down enthusiasm about cryptocurrency, said that “crypto is a religion, not an investment.”
His statement, however, is an example of a false dichotomy fallacy, or the assumption that if something is one thing, it cannot be another. There is no reason that a religion cannot also be an investment, a political system or nearly anything else.
Mobius’ point, though, is that “religion,” like cryptocurrency, is irrational.
A PATH TO SALVATION
Finally, some Bitcoiners view bitcoin as not just a way to make money, but as the answer to all of humanity’s problems.
“Because the root cause of all of our problems is basically money printing and capital misallocation as a result of that,” McCook argues, “the only way the whales are going to be saved, or the trees are going to be saved, or the kids are going to be saved, is if we just stop the degeneracy.”
This attitude may be the most significant point of comparison with religious traditions.
This model can be applied to Bitcoin: The problem is fiat currency, the solution is Bitcoin, and the practices include encouraging others to invest, “stacking sats” and “hodling” – refusing to sell bitcoin to keep its value up. The exemplars include Satoshi and other figures involved in the creation of blockchain technology.
So does this comparison prove that Bitcoin is a religion?
Not necessarily, because theologians, sociologists and legal theorists have many different definitions of religion, all of which are more or less useful depending on what the definition is being used for.
However, this comparison may help people understand why Bitcoin has become so attractive to so many people, in ways that would not be possible if Bitcoin were approached as a purely economic phenomenon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Max Read / Read Max:
Many celebrities promoting NFTs, like Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon, are either represented by, or have links to, OpenSea investor Creative Artists Agency — Where do celebrities even hear about “bored apes”? Who is recommending that they buy one? Is this really the best thing any of them can think to do with their money and fame?
Mapping the celebrity NFT complex
https://maxread.substack.com/p/mapping-the-celebrity-nft-complex
Where do celebrities even hear about “bored apes”? Who is recommending that they buy one? Is this really the best thing any of them can think to do with their money and fame?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Crypto faces a backlash from gamers because NFTs are often a way for game developers to extract more money, whereas music fans treat NFTs more like souvenirs — A tale of two fandoms — Today, let’s talk about the very different reactions that two different types of fandoms are having …
Why gamers hate crypto, and music fans don’t
A tale of two fandoms
https://www.platformer.news/p/why-gamers-hate-crypto-and-music
Today, let’s talk about the very different reactions that two different types of fandoms are having to blockchain-based products — and whether that tells us anything about what average people might actually want out of crypto.
The fandoms are gaming and music. And while you’re always going out a limb when you try to draw conclusions about such large, diverse groups, I can’t help but feel like I’m seeing a trend in the way they have responded so far to efforts from industry to sell them various blockchain-related things.
Why are these projects so unpopular?
Reading through angry social media posts, a few key themes emerge. One, gamers and developers are engaged in a perennial battle over how games are monetized. Gamers generally want to pay one low price to play a game forever; developers are forever experimenting with exotic new financing schemes to grow their profits. Gamers have already been subjected to premium downloadable content; subscriptions, micro-transactions, and randomized loot boxes, each of which has been more poorly received than the last.
What these have in common is that they generally do not make games more fun to play; they do, however, make them more expensive. And so when Ubisoft says it will integrate NFTs into its shooter franchise Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and its players revolt, this is why. For the moment, it appears that the game’s NFTs will simply be collectible cosmetic items, like digital hats or jackets. But it’s easy to imagine Ubisoft eventually limiting access to parts of the game based on NFT ownership, at which point the whole thing has become one more micro-transaction to add to the pile.
This, in addition to all the usual crypto concerns — bad for the environment, full of scams, and so on — helps explain the gamer hatred of crypto. They see it as a force likely to warp the gaming industry into something less entertaining and less accessible. It’s now clear that gamers will resist that force wherever they see it.
That brings us to the world of music, where the response to crypto has been decidedly more muted.
Coachella tweeted its announcement this week, and while some of the expected dunking materialized, it was far lighter than anything so far endured by game developers. Plenty of people seemed legitimately excited by the chance to bid on a lifetime pass. “The same people calling NFTs a scam in 2022, will be questioning how they missed out on a lifetime Coachella Ticket in 2022 via NFT mint,” one person responded. (Then again, someone else responded to that with a photo of a person pushing a button labeled “cringe.”)
What’s important is that that the plan is moving forward. No angry mob materialized, and the auction will take place Friday as planned. I’m sure there are some people who might boycott Coachella over this, but the majority response seems to be somewhere in between indifference and enthusiasm. Not much to brag about, perhaps, but that’s a space that game developers would love to get to.
So what’s the difference between gaming NFTs and music NFTs? And what explains the different reactions?
One, live entertainment has always done a healthy business in collectibles; gaming hasn’t. Lots of people buy T-shirts when they go to a concert; it stands to reason that some of them would pay for a unique digital item as well. Many NFTs are sold with the implicit promise that they are investments; projects like Legend’s or Coachella’s, on the other hand, can represent themselves more honestly as souvenirs.
In practice, some gamers do buy souvenirs from the games they play. But not as many as buy concert T-shirts. And gamers’ souvenirs, whether posters or action figures, are separate from the game itself, and have no bearing on how fun the game is to play. That seems important.
Two, music NFTs can more easily be positioned as helping artists.
Meanwhile, game developers are generally large, profitable corporations whose relationship with their fans is fraught as best.
Three, the music NFT projects I’m describing this week are entirely optional. You can still stream Legend on Spotify without buying one of his NFTs; you can still go to Coachella without winning an auction for a lifetime pass. The music industry has so far approached crypto as a way to sell extras to an artist’s most hardcore fans, and it’s natural that those hardcore fans have not rioted in response. They like the artist; they like the festival. If some people want to blow a lot more money on it, what’s the big deal?
Compare that to the gamer, who faces the prospect of having to compete in a shooter game against people who have paid to look superior to them, or have different levels of access or other perks thanks to crypto. There, the NFTs cannot be ignored — they’re warping the whole experience for everyone.
To some extent this already happens in a game like Fortnite, where players can pay for skins and other cosmetic items. But Fortnite is free to play, and many of those items can be earned for free through gameplay; the same cannot be said for most of the NFT plans that game developers have announced so far.
Why does any of this matter?
One of the refrains in “The Problem with NFTs,” Dan Olson’s epic video on the subject that I wrote about last week, is that most crypto projects exist only to get you to buy crypto. NFTs, DAOs, “play-to-earn” games — the whole point is to get you to stock up on Ethereum or some other cryptocurrency, which will raise the value of that currency and eventually allow its current holders to cash out at a profit.
Looking at music NFTs, I see flashes of something that goes beyond a scheme to get the world to buy crypto. Festival passes, digital art, pressure on record labels — there’s a hint of something practical there. And it seems telling that, in the court of public opinion at least, it’s those nascent projects that seem to be getting a pass.
The world that enthusiasts call “web3” is still a mess, for all of the reasons I wrote about last week and more.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Line Goes Up – The Problem With NFTs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_xWvX1n9g&t=1828s
If someone pitches you on a “great” Web3 project, ask them if it requires buying or selling crypto to do what they say it does.
Three things web3 should fix in 2022
A viral video highlights some very real shortcomings in the next-generation internet
https://www.platformer.news/p/three-things-web3-should-fix-in-2022
Tomi Engdahl says:
Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed News:
An investigation reveals the identities of two founders of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection: Gargamel is Greg Solano and Gordon Goner is Wylie Aronow — The buzzy NFT collection has raked in millions and the eager support of dozens of celebrities. But its founders’ anonymity raises questions …
We Found The Real Names Of Bored Ape Yacht Club’s Pseudonymous Founders
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/bored-ape-nft-founder-identity?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
The buzzy NFT collection has raked in millions and the eager support of dozens of celebrities. But its founders’ anonymity raises questions about accountability in the age of crypto.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ian Bogost / The Atlantic:
Digital assets like NFTs give us a glimpse into a future where every aspect of human life that can be digitally recorded is collateralized and securitized
The Internet Is Just Investment Banking Now
The internet has always financialized our lives. Web3 just makes that explicit.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/02/future-internet-blockchain-investment-banking/621480/?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
Twitter has begun allowing its users to showcase NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, as profile pictures on their accounts. It’s the latest public victory for this form of … and, you know, there’s the problem. What the hell is an NFT anyway?
There are answers. Twitter calls NFTs “unique digital items, such as artwork, with proof of ownership that’s stored on a blockchain.” In marketing for the new feature, the company offered an even briefer take: “digital items that you own.” That promise, mated to a flood of interest and wealth in the cryptocurrency markets used to exchange them, has created an NFT gold rush over the past year. Last March, the artist known as Beeple sold an NFT at auction for $69.5 million. The digital sculptor Refik Anadol, one of the artists The Alantic commissioned to imagine a COVID-19 memorial in 2020, has brought in millions selling editions of his studio’s work in NFT form. Jonathan Mann, who started writing a song every day when he couldn’t find a job after the 2008 financial collapse, began selling those songs as NFTs, converting a fun internet hobby into a viable living.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NFTs have become both memes and marketing, too.
Tomi Engdahl says:
People Working At Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency Exchanges Can Earn More Than $1 Million A Year: https://trib.al/1AtX8Gy
Tomi Engdahl says:
Despite a $101 million impairment loss last year, Tesla’s crypto stash is worth more than the bitcoin holdings of Marathon Digital, Square and Coinbase—combined.
Tesla’s Bitcoin Investment Hits Nearly $2 Billion—Here’s How That Compares To Billionaire Novogratz’s Galaxy, Dorsey’s Square And More
https://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fjonathanponciano%2F2022%2F02%2F07%2Fteslas-bitcoin-investment-hits-nearly-2-billion-heres-how-that-compares-to-billionaire-novogratzs-galaxy-dorseys-square-and-more%2F%3Futm_campaign%3Dforbes%26utm_source%3Dfacebook%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_term%3DGordie&h=AT1HaAyxhsKzAgaSXyfGIgHuJv7VqvrSsO_VgbQDXns2VyiAoKXYqw1O0F3BU-tn8M_uU6jP1WAbTq7qjSWhrYchUj_PXYnKT_LWyoqgsNsXlQvxAY3FVRP1cw1-G1voBA
Electric carmaker Tesla revealed in a public filing Monday that the value of its bitcoin holdings ballooned to nearly $2 billion by the end of December, confirming the firm helmed by billionaire Elon Musk sold no cryptocurrency in the latter half of last year and cementing its position as the U.S. corporation with the second-largest bitcoin stash.
In its annual report released Monday, Tesla disclosed the market value of its bitcoin holdings skyrocketed to $1.99 billion as of December 31 after its $1.5 billion investment in the first quarter, representing roughly 10% of its liquid assets (including cash and marketable securities).
Despite revealing an accounting loss of $101 million spurred by bitcoin’s volatility last year, the firm reported $272 million in profits from the sale of digital assets last year and said it “believes in the long-term potential of digital assets, both as an investment and also as a liquid alternative to cash.”
$10 billion. That’s roughly how much about 20 public companies with a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion have invested in bitcoin, according to London-based crypto firm Nickel Digital Asset Management.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Turner Wright / Cointelegraph:
Several crypto companies, including Coinbase and BitMEX, launch a coalition to “maintain fair and orderly digital asset markets and prevent market abuse”
Major crypto firms and groups form coalition aimed at promoting ‘market integrity’
https://cointelegraph.com/news/major-crypto-firms-and-groups-form-coalition-aimed-at-promoting-market-integrity
“Harmonizing a broad global approach to digital assets and competition in the digital currency space race, can improve U.S. competitiveness, security and lower fundamental costs for basic financial access,” said Dante Disparte of Circle.