Author: Caitlin Carey

Caitlin is a crypto evangelist with a deep curiosity and passion for learning and writing about everything to do with cryptocurrency. She has a background as a performing artist and songwriter and is a digital media enthusiast, with a bachelor degree in Multimedia.

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Axie Infinity Crypto News Gaming Metaverse Tokens

Metaverse Token SLP Up 300% in a Week Amid Big Changes to Axie Infinity

Just before the dawn of the release of Season 20 for the world’s most popular play-to-earn blockchain game, Axie Infinity, the in-game reward token Smooth Love Potion (SLP) shot sky-high. Before a slight pullback, the SLP token went 3X in just days.

SLP Price Chart. Source: CoinGecko.com

The SLP rally follows the announcement of a deflationary update to the game’s economy, removing user rewards for completing certain in-game missions, including Adventure Mode SLP and Daily Quest SLP, which “will be sunset (reduced to 0)”.

Season 20 is close and when it’s released, a variety of important economic balancing changes will be implemented.

axie.substack.com

How Axie Rewards Work

Once players have collected a team of Axies, they can collect SLP tokens by completing battles. Those tokens can be redeemed for new in-game features, including breeding new Axies. 

Among the changes coming in the new Season 20 update will be a 56 percent reduction in the daily supply of SLP tokens. Players will no longer be able to earn SLP from daily questing or playing in adventure mode, thus increasing the tokens’ scarcity. 

SLP Listed on Binance

Earlier this week, Binance added SLP/BNB as a trading pair, allowing traders to directly exchange BNB for SLP on the exchange. Whenever tokens get a listing on a major exchange such as Binance, it often results in a price pump as it makes the token more accessible for new investors.

While Axie Infinity’s SLP has enjoyed notable price pumps over the past few months, is still 9x away from previous highs. The SLP token was trading at US$0.39 only seven months ago. The game continues to adopt more players and attract recognition from investors. In November, Crypto News Australia reported that an Axie Infinity land plot NFT had sold for a record-breaking US$2.48 million.

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Cardano Crypto News Regulation Ripple Solana

XRP Overtakes ADA and SOL, Soaring 50% Amid Positive Developments in SEC Case 

XRP marched from 60 cents to 90 cents in just five days, reaching the #6 rank with a market capitalisation swelling to more than US$42.26 billion amid developments in the ongoing Ripple vs SEC case.

XRP Price Chart. Source: CoinGecko.com

Ripple Moves to #4

If you ignore stablecoins Tether and USD Coin, Ripple is now the world’s fourth-biggest cryptocurrency behind Bitcoin, Ethereum and Binance Coin.

For those who don’t know what all the beef is about, Ripple has been dragged into court after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a suit in December 2020. Ripple stands accused of selling US$1.3 billion in XRP in unregistered offerings between 2013 and 2020.

The SEC alleges that the token is a security and therefore Ripple has broken the rules. It seems, however, that the SEC has broken quite a few rules of its own, having been accused of “deleting” material relevant to Ripple’s lawsuit.

The latest news in the case against Ripple has been bullish for the price of XRP as things look up for the defendants in the court of law.

Key Evidence Unsealed to Favour Ripple

As the case unfolds, sealed documents submitted by Team Ripple are set to be made public by February 17. The SEC argues that the documents show Ripple was well aware of the risk that XRP would be deemed a security under federal law. Ripple rebuts this profusely and says the documents show that its legal team had ultimately concluded its tokens were not securities.

Two memos were attached as sealed exhibits in the motion to dismiss the SEC case by Ripple founder and chairman Chris Larsen. Ripple has previously argued that documents sent to prospective investors in 2012 did not refer to XRP as investment contracts or securities. These documents are to be unsealed as per the ruling by US District Judge Analisa Torres.

According to Ripple general counsel Stuart Alderoty, the documents “will show that in 2012 Ripple received a legal analysis that XRP was not an investment contract”.

This will not be the last time we will see news around the case cause speculation and buying pressure, thus pumping XRPs price. Crypto News Australia reported last year how XRP surged over 100 percent in a month following its last court victory against the SEC.

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Crypto News DeFi Hackers Tokens

Polygon DeFi Protocol ‘QiDao’ Exploited for $13 Million

Another day, another DeFi hack. This time the target was QiDao’s Superfluid vesting contract. User funds on QiDao contracts remain safe, as the exploit was “solely on Superfluid”, as the Polygon-based DeFi protocol tweeted on February 8:

The QiDao protocol allows users to borrow stablecoins against their crypto holdings at zero percent interest. Hackers were able to get away with more than US$13 million in various tokens including QI, WETH, USDC, SDT, MOCA, STACK, sdam3CRV, and MATIC. Rumour has it the stolen funds included team-vested tokens and might have belonged to some of the early backers of the project.

Dump Leads to 65% Price Plunge

The hackers behind the attack started dumping stolen QiDao on the QuickSwap decentralised exchange with high slippage, leading to a 65 percent decline in the price of the governance token:

The QiDao chart felt the pain as the price took a steep nosedive, dropping 68.05 percent in minutes, as reported by @PeckShieldAlert. According to CoinGecko, QI dropped sharply from US$1.24 to $0.18. Impressively, investors bought the dip and the price recovered to $0.80 by press time.

Qi price dip and recovery. Source: CoinGecko

On February 1, Crypto News Australia reported that Qubit Finance had suffered a US$80 million loss in a protocol exploit. With the world of DeFi still in the early stages of development, hacks such as this are common news.

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Bitcoin Crypto News DeFi Ethereum Hackers

ETH Sidechain ‘Meter.io’ Hacked for $4.4 Million 

Blockchain infrastructure company Meter.io has confirmed that US$4.4 million was stolen in an attack on its network on February 6 and has since urged users not to trade unbacked meterBNB circulating on the Moonriver parachain. Meter added in a Tweet that it is working to compensate funds to affected users:

What Went Wrong?

Meter explained that the contract did not execute wrapped tokens correctly. A bug introduced in the automatic wrap, and the wrap of native tokens like BNB and ETH extended by the Meter team, allowed the hacker to fake BNB and ETH transfers by “calling the underlying ERC20 deposit function”.

Blockchain security company PeckShield reported that 1391 ETH and 2.74 BTC were stolen during the incident. Both the Meter network and the Moonriver network were affected by the hack. 

A user named @ishwinder provided a full explanation of the hack on Twitter:

Hacks on DeFi and blockchain platforms have become a regular occurrence. Just last month, Crypto News Australia reported that Grim Finance had been hacked for US$30 million in Fantom tokens.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Security

Michael Saylor Explains Bitcoin is Classed as Property, Every Other Crypto is a Security

MicroStrategy CEO and avid Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor says Bitcoin is the best property money can buy.

Saylor is not afraid of Bitcoin’s volatility. He says that positioning MicroStrategy as an asset-rich company by investing in Bitcoin, for the same reason you would invest in property, will allow for stock value to appreciate over time.

He likens the monetary inflation rate as the wind against the corporate boat’s sails. Rowing against it won’t get you forward, whereas investing in Bitcoin is a vehicle to outperform inflation and get ahead of poor interest rates effortlessly. It’s like sailing with the wind, instead of going against it.

Buying Bitcoin as “digital property” is an easy way to make money, Saylor says. Today, MicroStrategy holds US$5 billion worth of Bitcoin (124,000 BTC) and continues to buy the dip.

Bitcoin as a Store of Value

“Bitcoin is digital gold,” Saylor has been known to say. In the race against inflation and negative interest rates, he maintains Bitcoin is the best appreciating asset to invest in to grow profits and secure financial gains for company shareholders.

Saylor explains that the way he looked at investing for companies had to change because cash was no longer holding up its value over time; in fact it was going backwards, depreciating year on year due to money printing accelerating inflation rates faster than ever before.

For MicroStrategy, the first treasury investment in Bitcoin was purely a matter of keeping money on the balance sheet as a way of holding capital. “It was better to take a risk,” Saylor says, than do nothing.

It paid off. MicroStrategy’s stock rose to its all-time high, beating previous 10-year levels. Not only that, the convertible bond MicroStrategy sold was the best performing bond of any company sold last year. It was a “screaming home run”, says Saylor, who has become one of the world’s biggest champions of Bitcoin.

The MicroStrategy Backstory

MicroStrategy builds, sells, and markets enterprise business intelligence software. The company’s investment strategy is now focused on buying and holding Bitcoin, “like you would buy and hold property”, Saylor explains.

If the money supply is expanding at 10 percent a year … if your top line and your cashflows don’t grow more than 10 percent a year, your stock will tank … so if you want your stock to be a store of value you have to grow your cashflow per share greater than the rate of the monetary inflation.

Michael Saylor, CEO, MicroStrategy

Instead of throwing more money and capital into the core business for it to grow, Saylor’s plan is simply to invest heavily in the “cash cow”, Bitcoin, to ensure the continued financial growth of the company.

Follow Michael Saylor on Twitter @saylor.

Categories
Binance Coin Crypto News Dogecoin Tokens

Fake Grimacecoin Jumps 285,000% After McDonald’s’ Tesla Joke

It seems there’s just no end to pump-and-dump scams for useless meme-based tokens. This time, McDonald’s is guilty of promoting a joke coin based on its fluffy purple McDonaldland character, Grimace.

In a January 26 tweet (above) replying to Elon Musk, the fast-food company joked that if Tesla were to accept payments in Grimacecoin, then it would take Musk up on his offer to eat a Happy Meal on TV if McDonald’s would accept Dogecoin. Then the madness began.

Musk Sparks Grimace-Themed Buying Frenzy

Shortly after the tweet, several Grimacecoin-themed tokens were created across a handful of different blockchains by crypto opportunists wanting to cash in on the buying frenzy that followed.

On the Binance Smart Chain (BSC)-based DEX PancakeSwap, the Grimace token surged as much as 285,641 percent in a matter of hours. Trading started at US$0.0007 and reached U$2 before plummeting to US$0.60. It managed to reach a market capitalisation of nearly U$2 million at its peak and somewhat surprisingly hasn’t yet crashed to zero, bouncing between US$1 and US$1.40 at the time of writing. There are currently 2,005 addresses holding Grimace, according to BSCscan.

Poocoin.app Grimace/BNB. Source: TradingView

None of the Grimace tokens has anything to do with McDonald’s officially. On the BSC network alone, there were 10 different Grimacecoins. Other networks with Grimace-themed tokens included Polygon, Ethereum, Avalanche and Fantom, which all surged as apes rushed in.

Some Investors Will Literally Buy Anything

The launch of Grimacecoin shows that some crypto investors really will buy just about anything, even a token that has zero fundamental value or purpose whatsoever.

The power Elon Musk has over hyping the crypto market is quite ludicrous. Whenever Musk mentions anything about Dogecoin, for example, it causes the price to pump. Similarly, his comments around whether or not Tesla would accept payments in Bitcoin also set the charts off in one direction or another. It’s interesting, if not downright concerning.

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Crypto News Hackers Social media

Leading Crypto YouTube Channels Hacked with ‘One World Cryptocurrency’ Message

A coordinated attack has allowed hackers access to multiple YouTube accounts of more than 30 popular cryptocurrency influencer channels.

At the same time on the same day, January 23, the hackers uploaded a fraudulent video titled “One World Cryptocurrency”, posting it across numerous crypto influencers’ YouTube channels. In the video and description, there was a contact address provided and the scammers called for people to send USDT/USDC/BNB/ETH to receive new crypto called OWCY.

Screenshot of One World Cryptocurrency. Source: Coin Bureau

According to data from BscScan, the scam caused minimal financial damage, with only 2.3 BNB transferred to the hacker’s wallet. In total, there were only 10 transactions worth around US$850 at the time of writing.

How Did the Hackers Gain Access?

Many, if not all, of the hacked YouTube accounts were secured with very strong passwords and Google security keys, which would normally make it almost impossible for a hacker to gain access.

Attacks such as these can be carried out by a process known as SIM swapping, where hackers take control of the phone number linked to an account. Porting the victim’s number to a new SIM allows hackers to get past 2FA (two-factor authentication). This does not appear to have been the case in this instance, as many accounts were breached at one time, raising suspicions of an inside job.

All the accounts the hacker gained access to were logged in from an IP address in the Philippines. YouTube brand accounts are connected to personal accounts. Michael Gu (@boxmining) was one of the YouTubers whose account was hacked. Gu said he conducted an internal sweep after the breach but found no viruses or bugs that might have given the hackers access, adding there had been no logins on his personal Google account, nor was access to his phone compromised. “Seems like YouTube might be responsible,” he said.

Very likely, this is either a hack on YouTube’s side or a rogue employee. That’s how they got so many people at the same time.

Michael Gu (@boxmining)

Account Holders Hint at an ‘Inside Job’

Ivan on Tech was also targeted in the attack, and posted his account in a video below, suggesting that it could have been an inside job.

While Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) continues to step up efforts to make the platform more secure, this latest attack raises huge concerns over YouTube’s ability to protect users from foul play, especially in a case where the culprit has most likely come from within its own walls.

Categories
Crypto News Ethereum Hackers NFTs

OpenSea Bug Sees Bored Apes Sold for 90% Below Market Value

A bug has been exploited by hackers to purchase NFTs from OpenSea users at well below market value. The loophole allowed Bored Ape #8924 to be snatched up for an old sale price listing of only 6.66 ETH (about US$16,200), leaving its seller, VirtualToast.eth, very angry.

VirtualToast.eth expressed his outrage at OpenSea’s negligence and warned other users of the platform’s flaw, urging them to remove all permissions for OpenSea to avoid suffering the same fate:

The bug allows attackers to snap up NFTs at previously listed prices (chosen by the seller in the past), which are often well below current market prices. The exploit relies on the fact that NFT owners are unaware that old marketplace listings for their NFTs are still active. This is due to the seller not delisting the item correctly by paying a gas fee. The Messenger | NFT posted on Twitter to help explain the issue:

Source: @MessengersCry

To protect users, Rarible was quick to temporarily disable all OpenSea orders on Rarible.com. It also developed a tool, Rarible Order Manager, to allow everyone to see and cancel their potentially risky sale orders.

Other NFTs Flipped Following Exploit

Etherscan has dubbed the account in question “OpenSea Opportunistic Buyer”. The exploit allowed the buyer in question (who goes by the name “jpegdegenlove“) to successfully purchase other NFTs at heavily discounted prices, including BAYC NFT #8274 for just under 23 ETH (around $56,000) and BAYC #9991 for just 0.77 ETH (about $1,800). The floor price for a BAYC NFT is currently 86 ETH, worth almost $210,000 at the time of writing.

“Jpegdegenlove” bought seven NFTs in the hack, paying a total of $133,000, before immediately flipping them for $934,000 in ETH and sending the funds through Tornado Cash.

Interestingly, “jpegdegenlove” seems to have partially compensated two of his/her victims, sending 20 ETH ($49,000) to “TBALLER” and 13 ETH ($32,000) to “Vault327”.

This isn’t the first time OpenSea has been criticised for flaws in its code. Just a few months ago, Crypto News Australia reported a bug on the platform that destroyed at least 42 NFTs worth around US$100,000.

Categories
Crypto Memes Crypto News

Crypto Memes of the Week – Jan 21

Let’s have a laugh at this week’s topical memes.

“Can Devs do something?!”

“Okay, Okay, Okay, I need the price to go up. I can’t take this anymore. Everyday I’m checking the price and it’s dipping. Everyday I check the price, bad price. I can’t take this anymore man. I have over-invested, by a lot. It is what it is but I need the price to go up. Can devs do something?“

Tune in next Friday for more meme mayhem!

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Blockchain Coinbase Crypto Exchange Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Ethereum Real Estate Tokens

Real Estate Smart Contract Token ‘Propy’ Soars 227% Amid Coinbase Listing

Tokenised real estate is now a reality thanks to NFTs. The global real estate store Propy offers a faster, simpler and more secure process for buying and selling property through smart contracts.

On January 14, Coinbase announced it would list Propy (PRO) on its website’s blog. Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US and the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume globally.  

Propy is a project focused on expanding the functionality of NFTs beyond the digital art world. The Ethereum-based protocol integrates blockchain technology with the real estate sector and offers an automated closing process for international real estate transactions.

The PRO token is used to pay for platform fees to process tasks such as modifying and creating title and deed contracts. Read the whitepaper here.

First Real Estate NFT in the US

Along with the recent Coinbase listing, Propy has an upcoming sale in Tampa, Florida, which will be the first real estate NFT sale in the US. These two factors appear to have boosted the price of the PRO token:

PRO price movements. Source: Coinbase.com

PRO was worth US$1.12 on January 12 before news of the Coinbase listing. The price moved 227 percent to hit a daily high at US$3.67 on January 14 and has since continued to climb beyond US$4.00. The token has ballooned by an impressive 5192.6 percent in just one year and is still climbing the ranks, currently sitting at #257.

Meanwhile, HeroX announced the tokenisation of the first property in Australia last September. As house prices remain out of reach for many new investors, NFTs seek to disrupt the global real estate market by offering the tokenisation of property around the world.