Author: Ibiam Wayas

Ibiam is an optimistic crypto journalist. He loves to associate with like-minded individuals and collaborate with them on similar projects. He spends much of his time honing his writing and critical thinking skills.

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Crypto News Ethereum NFTs

Ethereum-based NFTs Have Caught Fire Surging 546% Monthly Trading Volumes

Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea has seen an exponential increase in volumes following the recent frenzy in the NFT market.

Several metrics including trading volume, monthly sales, fees and active traders on the platform have surged significantly since the beginning of August, according to analytics data.

OpenSea Sees 546% Increase in Volume

At the time of writing, OpenSea gained over US$1.8 billion in monthly trading volume, which represents about a 546 percent increase from the previous volume in July. The record today is significant given that OpenSea only saw about US$284 million in July trading volume. This is over 60 percent of the US$2.7 billion all-time volume on the platform.

NFT Frenzy Statistics – Dune Analytics

Additionally, OpenSea has done over 1.1 million in NFTs sales since the start of August, and only 458,052 NFTs were sold on the platform in the previous month, as per Dune Analytics. The number of registered users on the platform also increased significantly, which shows more people are still jumping into the NFT market. 

Number of NFT Sales – Coin Metrics

The number of sales on OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, reached a peak of over 60,000 per day over the last week, which is close to 8x the peak reached in March, according to a report by Coin Metrics.

Going by the 30-day volume, OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace, followed by Axie Infinity, CryptoPunks, NBA Top Shot and many others.

NFT Mania is Only Getting Bigger

The massive increase in user activities on OpenSea coincides with a growing interest in NFT trading. More people are joining the NFT market and millions of dollars are being traded on a daily basis, featuring content from musicians, artists and celebrities.

Rapper Tyga is creating an NFT Platform

Crypto News Australia recently reported that the latest edition of Floyd Mayweather’s NFT collection was launched on August 13. The retired boxer also claimed that a substantial portion of his portfolio worth “over a billion dollars” is invested in digital currencies.

German automaker Audi is among the few big-name companies to launch an NFT collection and aggregator platform for car NFTs.

Categories
0x Blockchain Crypto News DeFi

Polygon Looks to Onboard 100 Million More DeFi Users by Launching Own DAO

Having seen massive adoption from DeFi protocols, interchain scalability solution Polygon is planning to debut a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) with the aim of improving users’ DeFi experience while also attracting the next 100 million users to the DeFi sector.

Polygon to Bootstrap DeFi Growth Through DAO

Polygon is a Layer-2 scalability solution that targets DeFi projects on the Ethereum blockchain. In a recent announcement, the company said it had seen massive adoption and economic activity from several DeFi protocols, including Sushiswap, Curve, Aave, Balancer and others, all of which are based on Ethereum.

These projects brought along with them more than just TVL but their communities.

Polygon

In order to further streamline the DeFi experience, Polygon will be creating a DAO. The DAO will allow developers and communities to build a better DeFi and Web3 ecosystem and essentially helps onboard the next 100 million DeFi users to the Polygon network.

What is DAO?

DAO is an organisational model for DeFi that spreads the governance of a protocol or system to the community or network rather than a central body. Basically, it’s a governance system that eliminates centralisation. 

Polygon says it will use part of the US$100 million #DeFiForAll Fund to accelerate the creation of the DAO system. This won’t be the first time Polygon gets involved in DAO development. Previously, the company collaborated with 0x protocol to spearhead a US$10 million DAO for projects that use 0x APIs on their network. 

It’s safe to mention that Polygon is running more like life support for most DeFi projects on Ethereum. Owing to Polygon properties, QuickSwap has been able to grow into a US$1 billion TVL decentralised exchange. Forked from Uniswap, QuickSwap allows users to swap tokens at lightspeed due to Polygon’s scalability solution.

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Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum

Institutions Love Ethereum: Report Reveals 43.7% of ETH is Held by Whales

Ethereum whales are still increasing their holdings. Over 43 percent of all Ether (ETH) in circulation is held by whale addresses, according to recent data from crypto analytics platform Santiment.

Additionally, ETH balance on exchanges has been dropping significantly, which suggests most investors are HODLing. 

Whales Are Still Buying ETH

There has been renewed interest in Ether since the Beacon chain went live last year. This is evident as the ETH accumulation rate has been on an upward trajectory, especially for the whale investors. 

As of August 2, Santiment reported that 39.2 percent of ETH supply was accumulated by Ethereum’s millionaire addresses that hold at least 1,000 to 100,000 ETH. As recently as August 13, the addresses holding 100,000 ETH accounted for 43.7 percent of all ETH in circulation. According to Santiment, this represents a 7.9 percent increase from the previous record of 35.8 percent in 2018. 

What is an ETH Whale?

Ethereum whale simply refers to an address holding a large amount of ETH – at least 1,000 ETH, equating to US$3.149 million on today’s price. Whale addresses can be owned either by individuals or an organisation. Whale accumulation is usually seen as a bullish indication for continuous price growth.

Besides the increase in ETH supply held by whales, data also shows that retail investors are buying, which confirms the presence of demand for ETH. Glassnode tweeted on August 19 that addresses holding  0.1+ ETH had reached an ATH of 5,471,300. 

Additionally, there’s a spike in the number of new addresses created on the Ethereum network, which Santiment has termed to be bullish.

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Australia Crypto News NFTs

Aussie NFT Llama Project Promises Refunds Amid Error-Plagued Launch

The development team of Australian-based Llama NFT platform Sollamas has announced it will refund or otherwise compensate all disgruntled users affected by its error-plagued launch earlier this month.

What Happened With Sollamas’ Llama Auction?

Based on the Solana blockchain, Sollamas intended to algorithmically issue 10,000 unique llamas on August 17. Each llama was listed for 4 SOL and the collection sold out a few hours after the platform went live.

However, the launch didn’t go as planned as some of the users began complaining they didn’t receive the llamas they minted. Other investors ended up receiving more or less than they paid for: 

The team at Sollamas admitted the incident was a result of an error and proposed issuing another iteration to the first sold-out set of llamas. They also planned to refund the investors who overpaid or didn’t receive the llama they initially paid for. 

Aussie Koalas Set for NFT Debut

Although the Llama project has come to grief, the Australian NFT market is in rude health regarding other animals. Crypto News Australia reported this week that the so-called Koala Intelligence Agency would be auctioning 10,000 unique NFT koalas on the Ethereum blockchain, from August 23 at 18:30 EST.

Last month, Aussie digital entertainment firm Virtually Human Studio announced it had raised US$20 million from The Chernin Group, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Red Beard Ventures to accelerate the expansion of its horseracing NFT platform ZED RUN.

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Coinstop Crypto Hardware Wallets Crypto News Ethereum

ETH Staking Now Available Directly From Your Ledger Hardware Wallet

Leading crypto hardware wallet provider Ledger has announced that customers are now able to stake Ether (ETH) directly from the Ledger Live wallet. This was made possible through a partnership with an Ethereum 2.0 liquid staking platform, Lido. 

As per the announcement, Ledger will only provide users the gateway to Lido’s Ethereum 2.0 staking service, and won’t manage users’ staked assets: “We do not manage it but rather provide you with a secure way to access it.” 

What Are the Estimated Earnings?

Ether staking is a function of the network’s transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus mechanisms. As Ethereum 2.0 launches, staking will become the new approach to securing and validating transactions on the network. Users who stake their coins will be rewarded in return. 

At the time of writing, 6,956,617 ETH – equivalent to US$21.7 billion – had been staked on the deposit contract since it went live last December. The estimated annual percentage return (APR) decreases as more coins are staked on the deposit contact. 

For instance, the initial APR for validators (node operators with at least 32 ETH staked) was around 21.6 percent. However, the APR has reduced to 5.9 percent. So if you stake US$100,000 worth of ETH, your estimated annual return would be around US$5,900, assuming the price of ETH remained constant. 

Where To Get a Ledger Live Wallet?

In Australia, you can get the Ledger hardware wallet from Coinstop, one of the reputable hardware wallet stores operated in the country. Founded by Johnathan Ross, Coinstop also ships other wallets, including Trezor and CoolWallet Pro. 

You can also order the Ledger wallets directly from the website. 

What Are the Risks of Staking It With Lido?

Note that the currently staked ETH are illiquid, meaning they can’t be withdrawn from the network until a transfer function is deployed on the beacon chain. This is also what Lido intends to solve by issuing an equivalent amount of “stETH,” a tokenised ETH, in return for all coins staked with them.

While stETH is liquid, there are only a few platforms that support it, meaning it cannot be used extensively like ETH. Users should also be aware that they don’t own full control of their assets when staked with Lido, unlike running their validator node (32 ETH). Also, you will need an equal number of stETH to unlock your staked ETH.

Categories
Betting Crypto News Dogecoin Sports Tokens

Dogecoin Scores Premier League Spot on Watford FC Player Shirts

Popular meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE) has made it to the English Premier League. Stake.com, a cryptocurrency sports betting platform, has reportedly sealed a sponsorship deal with Watford FC, which will see the club’s players wear a Dogecoin logo on their sleeves. 

Watford FC to Play with Dogecoin

As The Athletic reported on August 14, the betting platform has signed a £700,000 (almost US$1 million) agreement with the football club. The sponsorship deal is expected to last throughout 2021-22, meaning Watford players will wear the Dogecoin logo for the rest of the EPL season, which kicked off last week. 

In addition to the Dogecoin sponsorship, Stake.com will give away US$2 million worth of DOGE, as per the report. This is bullish for Doge fans, as it creates heightened awareness for the much-derided meme cryptocurrency.

Dogecoin saw an uptick in price amid the announcement, and is currently trading at US$0.3386 – a 38.5 percent increase over the past seven days. 

The crypto and sports industries are increasingly getting along, thanks to the concept of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and fan tokens, and sponsorship. This marks the second time Watford FC has secured a crypto-related sponsorship deal. Players wore a Bitcoin logo during the 2019-20 season under a sponsorship deal with Sportsbet.io. 

In related news, earlier this month Aussie cryptocurrency exchange Coinjar became a “platinum partner“ of another EPL football club, Brentford FC. It already sponsors high-flying AFL team the Melbourne Demons.

Aston Villa to Launch $AVL Token

In a recent blog post, EPL club Aston Villa announced it would launch a fan token in partnership with Chiliz, a blockchain-based sports tokenisation platform. Among other benefits, holders of $AVL will get a chance to participate in the club’s votes every season.

Last season’s EPL champions Manchester City launched their own digital token “$CITY” in March.

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Blockchain Crypto News Fan Tokens

Messi Paid $35 Million Worth of $PSG Fan Tokens in Transfer Deal

Argentinian football superstar Lionel Messi was paid with the Paris St Germain (PSG) fan token as part of his “welcome package” to the French club. PSG confirmed this on August 12, asserting that the transaction marks the first high-profile signing in football using cryptocurrency. 

New Paris St Germain signing Lionel Messi with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Source: Reuters

Messi’s Total Sign-On Fee Up to $35m

The former Barcelona player has signed a two-year contract with the French club, according to media reports, and was paid a “large number” of the $PSG fan token, which was trading at US$40.89 at the time of writing. 

The exact number of $PSG paid to him wasn’t disclosed by the team, but the total sign-on fee is estimated to be around US$29-35 million. Messi hasn’t publicly shown interest in cryptocurrency and so it remains unknown if he will keep the tokens. 

PSG launched its fan token last year via Socios.com as another revenue stream and a medium to boost fan engagement. 

Fully embracing Socios.com and $PSG fan tokens has proved a massive success for the club. We have been able to engage with a new global audience, creating a significant digital revenue stream.

Marc Armstrong, chief partnerships officer, Paris Saint-Germain

Following news of the Messi transfer, the cryptocurrency spiked by over 50 percent, which shows PSG supporters are pleased, to say the least, with the development. The total $PSG token in circulation is currently worth US$118.5 million.

Fan Token Ecosystem is Getting Huge

Cryptocurrency has been gaining massive adoption in the sports industry as a fan token in the past year. Many professional football clubs now have their own native cryptocurrency, including Everton FC,  Barcelona and Manchester City. Known as the $CITY, the Manchester City token was launched in March in partnership with Socios. 

Categories
Crypto News Dogecoin Markets

Dogecoin Up 40% in Past Week Amid Announcement of Chainalysis Coverage

Popular meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE) is making headlines again. In about seven days, the cryptocurrency recorded up to a 40 percent increase in value and significant growth in trading volume, following an announcement that Chainalysis will start providing insight on crypto.

Dogecoin Records US$199 Billion in Transactions

As the crypto market continued to bounce back from the mid-April crash, Dogecoin recorded over US$199 billion worth of transactions, making it the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by 30-day trading volume. 

Even with those numbers, the current price of Dogecoin is 62 percent below its all-time high of US$0.73 on CoinMarketCap. However, it’s worth noting that the cryptocurrency has already risen by 29 percent since the start of August at today’s price of US$0.2745, following the announcement from Chainalysis.

  • Dogecoin price chart. Source: CoinMarketCap

Dogecoin investors are generally triggered by bullish development, which usually incites enough buying momentum to push the price upwards, as seen in the case of its Coinbase listing and tweets from Elon Musk. 

Chainalysis to Provide DOGE Coverage

Going forward, the blockchain data and analysis company will provide insight on how Dogecoin is used, alongside other popular cryptocurrencies. According to Chainalysis, the data will help users and organisations to stay compliant.

As Dogecoin has grown in popularity, it has become susceptible to malicious actors. There have been reported cases where scammers ran fake Dogecoin giveaways, making more than US$40,000. In some cases, Musk was impersonated in 10x pay-back crypto scams.

Dogecoin has become the most frequently requested new coin for Chainalysis to cover from our customers in both the public and private sectors. We’re excited to answer their calls today.

Chainalysis
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Banking Blockchain CBDCs Crypto News

Jamaica Mints Nation’s First CBDCs with $230 Million JMD Pilot

Jamaica has become one of the few nations to release a central bank digital currency (CBDC) this year. On August 10, the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) celebrated the minting of the Caribbean nation’s first batch of CBDCs in a pilot phase. The country began working on CBDC last year amid rapid growth in digital payments and the economy. 

Jamaica Plans to Boost Financial Inclusion with CBDCs

Following the announcement, the central bank issued the first batch of the CBDCs worth J$230 million (about A$2 million). As part of the pilot program, the Jamaican CBDCs will be issued to deposit-taking institutions and authorised payment service providers in the country. The pilot exercise will last until December. 

During the minting ceremony, the country’s Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr Nigel Clarke, noted that a legislative amendment would be introduced before year’s end to accompany the CBDC.

The Jamaican government believes the CBDC will improve cash management processes and costs for the central bank and deposit-taking institutions. Additionally, it anticipates the CBDC will increase financial inclusion since it can facilitate more efficient and secured payments. 

Central Banks Embrace CBDC

The CBDC concept became more popular among the world’s central banks following the outbreak of Covid-19 last year. Notably, the pandemic resulted in a rapid transition to digital mediums for financial transactions, especially cryptocurrency. However, most central banks argue crypto is privately issued and can expose users to certain risks. 

Hence they embraced the idea of central bank-issued digital currencies. The Republic of China is among countries working towards a CBDC, as well as Australia.

In a recent report, the Reserve Bank of Australia reiterated it is researching possible use cases of a potential CBDC. However, “[it] does not consider that a policy case has yet emerged for issuing a CBDC“.

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Blockchain Crypto News NFTs

Audi Drops NFT Collection on xNFT Protocol

Prestigious German car manufacturer Audi has released its non-fungible token collection in collaboration with xNFT Protocol, a decentralised creation and aggregator platform for NFTs. 

Audi NFT Collection Goes Live on xNFT

Audi intends to mint and release a limited-edition NFT collection exclusively on the platform. 

In the 15-minute teaser video on Weibo with texts in Mandarin, the automaker disclosed that the NFTs are being issued in collaboration with Robb Report and FAW-Volkswagen, a jointly owned company that manufactures Audi and Volkswagen passenger cars for the Chinese market. 

Dubbed “Fantasy Express”, the Audi NFT collection features about six digital artworks inspired by the new Audi A8L 60 TFSIe, reads the translated Weibo notice. Audi is the latest carmaker to jump on the NFT bandwagon following last week’s announcement that Porsche would issue exclusive design sketches as NFTs.

Top Companies and Celebrities in NFTs

Audi’s announcement proves the NFT craze isn’t limited to musicians and athletes. Crypto News Australia reported that Coca-Cola released its NFT collection on the P2P marketplace, OpenSea, on July 30. The objective was to commemorate International Friendship Day as well as to help raise funds for Special Olympics International.

Crypto News also reported on June 30 that Australian artists were holding their own physical NFT exhibitions. Last month, Rolling Stone Australia released the magazine’s first NFT cover with homegrown Aussie pop star Tones and I as its subject.