Author: José Oramas

José is a journalist and translator with a keen interest in blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

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Crypto News DeFi Polkadot

Polkadot Project ‘Astar’ (ASTR) Doubles Amid $22 Million Fundraise

Astar Network recently announced it had secured over US$22 million in a fundraising round led by industry-leading crypto companies and angel investors.

Astar Making Waves in DeFi Space

There’s been a lot of movement within the Polkadot ecosystem since the Parachain auctions started in January this year. Hundreds of projects are still competing to secure a slot over the next two years or so.

One of these Polkadot-based projects is Astar Network, a multi-chain DeFi protocol that’s calling the attention of retailers and institutional investors alike due to its wide range of innovative Web3 solutions and financial incentives:

TVL Hits an ATH

The total value locked (TVL) in Astar has reached an all-time high of US$1.3 billion, making it the eighth-largest EVM blockchain. This signals growing interest for the project.

There are now over 100,000+ unique wallet addresses on the ecosystem, a bigger inflow of users, and more decentralised protocols are building on the network, whose TVL now sits at US$1.24 billion.

Source: DeFi Llama

Astar has been hosting numerous protocols since the launch of its mainnet (there are more than 40+ dApps as of now) and it’s planning to host 15 more in April – a month the project has proclaimed as the “Astar Season”:

Big Steps Ahead For Astar

Astar is an ambitious protocol that aims to create a broad, self-sustaining ecosystem with top-quality dApps and better financial incentives for users and developers. Along with its support for bridges, Astar allows developers to deploy existing Solidity and Polkadot native smart contracts on its network.

The next step for the Astar protocol is to create a multi-chain smart contract hub, which the company says is now in progress:

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Binance Crypto News Institutions NFTs Sport and Leisure

Binance Becomes Official Crypto Partner of 64th Annual Grammy Awards

Binance has entered a partnership with the Recording Academy to become the first-ever crypto exchange partner for the 64th annual Grammy Awards, to be held on April 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, US.

As per a statement from Yi He, co-founder of Binance, partnering with the Recording Academy will bring “fresh new experiences powered by blockchain and all the great things Web3 technology can bring to entertainment”:

There are no further details about the partnership as yet. However, it appears Binance is already rolling out plans to make it more than just a branding opportunity. As per the statement:

Binance will continue to work with the Recording Academy throughout the year to bring various Web3 technology solutions and experiences to the organisation’s members, events and initiatives.

Binance statement

Crypto Permeates Entertainment Industry

The increasing popularity of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) is making it harder for leading organisations in the entertainment industry to ignore the potential opportunities to work with this emerging sector, which is taking over the mainstream at a fast pace.

This is the second time the Recording Academy hass collaborated with crypto companies. As Crypto News Australia reported last November, the organisation announced that NFT collectibles would be awarded as prizes at the Grammys thanks to a collaboration with Tezos-based NFT platform OneOf:

Crypto Also Increases its Sports Presence

Binance is not the only exchange making waves in the entertainment world. Just a week ago, Crypto.com became the official crypto sponsor for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with the objective to bring awareness of the brand to billions of users who tune in to watch the tournament.

In January, Crypto.com also announced a five-year A$25 million sponsorship deal with the Australian Football League for both its men’s and women’s competitions.

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Crypto News NFTs

Ethereum-Based Azuki NFT Sells for Record $1.4 Million

Azukies, an Ethereum-based collection of hand-drawn, anime-style profile picture non-fungible tokens, are the hottest trend in the NFT ecosystem. The project reached a milestone this week with the sale of a single Azuki for a record US$1.4 million.

Azukies comprise 10,000 avatars released by a Los Angeles-based group called Chiru Labs. Each Azuki comes with unique traits and stats, some of them being ronin samurais or skateboarders holding a boombox.

Azukies Outsell BAYC and CryptoPunks

These NFTs have garnered huge sales since their release in January, surpassing some of the biggest collections in the market, such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks in terms of sales – over US$300 million across secondary markets in February.

Azuki #9605 sold for 420.7 ETH (US$1.4 million) on the OpenSea marketplace, as revealed by Twitter user trebooomin, who said he and his friends of Red Bean DAO sold it to a buyer with the moniker Bitcoin4Freedom on Twitter:

Azuki #9605. Source: OpenSea

Floor Price Skyrockets

The floor price of Azukies doubled shortly after the sale – 20 ETH (US$64,155) on OpenSea and LooksRare, as per data from CoinGecko:

While Azukies are enjoying tremendous hype in the market, their audience is not immune to malicious actors. Unfortunately, Arthur Cheong – founder of DeFi venture capitalist firm Defiance Capital – last month witnessed his Ethereum wallet being drained of his NFTs, which numbered at least 17 Azukies among other valuable collectibles worth a total of US$1.7 million.

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Blockchain Crypto News Crypto Wallets Gaming Metaverse Opera

Opera Browser Adds BTC, SOL and MATIC Wallets for its 350 Million Users

Popular web browser Opera has this week announced support for at least eight more base networks and various layer-2 protocols in what seems to be a push for a major Web3 browsing experience.

As per a blog post from the Oslo-based company, Opera plans to onboard millions of users to enjoy a “seamless Web3 experience” through built-in wallet support for leading blockchain ecosystems and layer-2s including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Polygon (MATIC), Cosmos-based IXO, Ronin, Celo, and StarkEx:

Seamless Access to Web3

Opera users will be able to access dApps (decentralised applications) from popular ecosystems such as Polygon or Solana and benefit from lower gas fees and faster transactions.

By connecting several layer-1 and layer-2 ecosystems, Opera will remain “chain agnostic” – allowing its 300+ million users to seamlessly access Web3. Users from the popular P2E (Play-to-Earn) title Axie Infinity will also be able to interact with the recently hacked Ronin ecosystem.

The integration of multiple blockchains and notably Layer 2s is a key strategy in Opera’s mission to remain chain agnostic and seamlessly onboard millions of users to Web3 and do so in an environmentally-conscious way.

Opera blog post

Opera Sings Praises of its Browser

Opera has been working on crypto-related products since 2018 when it launched its first web browser with an integrated Ethereum wallet and Web3 support, even before most browsers started integrating different levels of support for blockchains.

It wasn’t until January of this year that Opera unveiled the beta version of its Crypto Browser Project, a fully dedicated Web3 browser with built-in integrations and support for seamless access to dApps, games, and metaverse platforms.

Ever since we started in the Web3 space in 2018, we’ve been sealing partnerships with the most popular and cutting-edge blockchains and Web3 domain name providers in order to accelerate crypto’s evolution from proof-of-concept towards mass adoption.

Jorgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile and Web3, Opera

On February 25, Opera integrated DeversiFi, a decentralised exchange powered by StarkWare, a scaling solution for Ethereum that uses ZK rollup technology.

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Axie Infinity Crypto News Hackers NFTs

Axie Infinity Loses $625 Million in Biggest DeFi Hack on Record

Ronin, the Ethereum sidechain specifically designed for popular NFT game Axie Infinity, has been the victim of a major hack, draining approximately US$625 million worth of WETH and USDC from its bridge.

Attack Started One Week Ago

Sky Mavis – the studio behind Axie Infinity – said the attack started on March 23, almost a week before being noticed yesterday, when a user was unable to withdraw 5k ETH from the bridge. The company is now reportedly in talks with several government agencies to identify the exploiter.

The attack occurred after four Ronin validators and one Axie DAO third-party validator were compromised:

Sky Mavis’s Ronin chain currently consists of nine validator nodes. In order to recognise a Deposit event or a Withdrawal event, five out of the nine validator signatures are needed. The attacker managed to get control over Sky Mavis’s four Ronin validators and a third-party validator run by Axie DAO. 

Ronin Network statement

The attacker drained US$25 million USDC and 173.600 ETH (nearly US$600 million) from the bridge that connects Ronin with the Ethereum mainnet by using “hacked private keys” to execute the exploit. In doing so, they were able to forge two fake withdrawals (transactions 1 and 2) and steal the funds.

Biggest Hack in Crypto History by Now

This is now the largest hack in crypto history, narrowly exceeding last year’s US$600 million Poly Network hack, but still significantly larger than the US$326 million Solana wormhole hack earlier this year.

Sky Mavis is said to be working with Chainalysis to monitor the stolen funds, most of which are still in the hacker’s wallet. Additionally, the company stated that it would migrate its entire node infrastructure, so it might take a while for things to get up and start running again. Also, as a result of the attack, both Ronin and Katana DEX are temporarily halted to avoid further attack vectors.

Jeff Zirlin, co-founder of Sky Mavis, described the hack as “one of the biggest in history” at the recent NFT LA conference:

Categories
Crypto News DeFi Hackers NFTs Scams

Suspicions Raised as $350,000 Bored Ape NFT Sells for Just $115

The owner of a Bored Ape NFT worth US$350,000 sold it for only 115 DAI (US$115) in what appears to be either a costly mistake or some kind of hack of the owner’s OpenSea account.

We’re accustomed to seeing NFTs – especially those from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) – being sold for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Mistakes abound in this space, however. Three months ago, the owner of a Bored Ape mistakenly sold his NFT for US$3,000 instead of its market value price of $300,000.

In this latest case, however, bells started ringing in the NFT community as it’s unusual to see an owner of a valuable Bored Ape accepting such a low offer.

Second Undervalued Transaction, Same Buyer, Same Day

The owner of Bored Ape #835, who goes by the moniker “cchan“, accepted a bid of only 115 DAI – an Ethereum-based stablecoin – for his NFT. But what’s striking is that cchan also sold his Mutant Ape (from the Mutant Ape Yacht Club) #11670 for 25 DAI to the same buyer on the same day.

Bored Ape #835 is now owned by a user with the handle “6315EF”.

Currency Confusion or Tax Dodge?

People on crypto Twitter started conjecturing possible explanations for this event, such as cchan confusing ETH with DAI. Another possibility is tax-loss harvesting, which is selling certain assets at a loss to offset capital gains made via the sale of other assets or stocks, thus minimising the amount of taxes owing.

However, one user on Twitter said cchan was not aware of the situation, which suggests he had his account hacked:

This is quite a significant loss for cchan, having acquired his Bored Ape #835 in August last year for 15 ETH (US$51,000 today).

The NFT space is chock-full of horror stories like this. As Crypto News Australia reported a week ago, a trader with the online handle Dino Dealer sold his US$1.2 million clipart rock for less than a cent after erroneously listing the NFT for 444 wei, the smallest denomination of ETH, instead of 444 ETH.

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Binance Coinbase Crypto Exchange Crypto News

Crypto is Expanding in Brazil as Coinbase Swoops to Buy its Biggest Crypto Exchange

Coinbase is reportedly close to acquiring 2TM, the owner of Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil’s largest exchange, according to a local newspaper that didn’t disclose its sources.

According to the report by Brazilian newspaper Estadão, Coinbase and 2TM have been in talks since April 2021, a year in which the South American nation experienced a massive surge in crypto adoption that tripled stablecoin trading.

Mercado Bitcoin surpassed three million customers in 2021, of which one-third joined the exchange in that same year. During that time, the exchange reached trading volumes of over US$7 billion.

Rio de Janeiro Turns into a Crypto Hub

Shortly after the crypto boom in Brazil, several crypto companies shifted their focus onto the nation, including other leading exchanges such as Binance and Crypto.com.

Rio de Janeiro – Brazil’s third-largest city by population – will reportedly receive crypto for tax payments, making it the first Brazilian city to embrace payments via digital assets. Commenting on the matter was Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who tweeted:

Binance Expands its Brazilian Base

During his visit to Brazil on March 17, Zhao said Binance was set to acquire several banks and payment processors nationally and also looked forward to expanding its 100-person Brazilian team.

Brazil has been one of the few countries in the South American region to have supported and accelerated the development of proper infrastructure for digital assets nationwide.

As Crypto News Australia reported, last year Brazil became the second jurisdiction to approve a Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF). Both Brazil and Peru are now looking forward to developing their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) by the end of 2022.

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Coinbase Crypto News DeFi Tokens

Web3 Token Mina Soars 75% Amid Coinbase Listing and $92 Million Investment

A new Web3 token, MINA, has soared over 75 percent this week following a US$92 million investment and a recent listing on one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, Coinbase.

World’s ‘Lightest Blockchain’ Survives Massive Sell-Off

Self-described as the world’s lightest blockchain with a fixed size of 22 KB, the Mina Protocol is a fast-growing platform for zero-knowledge smart contract development.

The protocol’s native token, MINA, has been recovering from a sharp price drop of over 70 percent from its all-time high of US$6.71 in November 2021. The cryptocurrency now hovers at $2.49 per coin, boosted by bullish sentiment after the protocol sold $92 million worth of MINA tokens to Three Arrow Capital and FTX Ventures.

MINA daily chart. Source: TradingView

The Coinbase Effect

What further boosted MINA’s price was Coinbase’s support for the token, as per an announcement on March 23. Trading will be paired with Tether (USDT), once liquidity conditions are met.

As Coinbase is one of the largest crypto exchanges internationally by trading volume, a listing surely adds massive value to any cryptocurrency project. In January this year, real estate smart contract token Propy soared 227 percent after being listed on the exchange.

Categories
Australia Crypto News Decentraland Metaverse

Indigenous Australians Making an Embassy in the Metaverse

Indigenous Australians are consolidating their presence in the digital landscape by establishing the First Nations Cultural Embassy in the metaverse.

Oldest Culture Explores Emerging Technologies

Last month, the Sovereign Yidindji Nation from the rainforest region of far north Queensland launched its own digital currency, making it the first indigenous enclave in Australia to enter the cryptosphere.

Now, Dr Vanessa Lee-Ah Met and Bibi Barba – representatives of the Yupungathi Meriam Nation and the Darumbal and Yuin Nations, respectively – have issued a discussion paper seeking support to run the first operations of this pilot project, which aims to position the first peoples of Australia in the metaverse.

Dr Vanessa Lee-Ah Mat, Australian scholar from the Yupungathiand Meriam Nation. Source: Griffiths University

Crypto Can Help to Avoid Past Mistakes

One of the reasons to create a cultural embassy in the metaverse is to impart a sense of sovereignty to indigenous people. So far, Australia is the only Western country that abides by the term Terra Nullius, a legal concept that means “land of no one”, and used by the erstwhile British Empire to colonise Aboriginal lands without treaty or payment.

Blockchain is about transparency and trust […] With no recognition of cultural significance, land or indigenous culture, there is a risk of repeating the mistakes of the past.

Dr Vanessa Lee-Ah Mat

“Crypto allows us to be part of the conversation again by adopting the newest digital tech,” added Dr Lee-Ah Mat.

The First Nations Cultural Embassy is now in the design phase. It plans to expand across numerous metaverse platforms, such as Decentraland and Sandbox, and the project has already received offers to donate plots of land.

Using Blockchain to Preserve Australian Indigenous Art

Indigenous Australians are not only using crypto to make their voices heard; it’s also about preserving their art and culture with blockchain. This week, Crypto News Australia reported that artists from the Yolngu nation are digitising their work as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in an attempt to create a new source of revenue and also preserve their art for future generations.

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Crypto News Crypto.com Sports

Crypto.com is Official Crypto Sponsor for 2022 FIFA World Cup

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com will become an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, both organisations announced in a joint statement this week.

While trading cryptocurrencies in Qatar is illegal – it’s banned by the country’s central bank – Crypto.com said the partnership would help drive further awareness of the exchange globally, as the FIFA World Cup is football’s largest governing body and brings over a billion views in each tournament.

The deal also highly benefits FIFA as it will help it grow on a global scale, said its chief commercial officer Kay Madati, citing Crypto.com’s recent related moves in the world of sports:

We are delighted to have a global brand like Crypto.com join us as a sponsor of the exciting and groundbreaking FIFA World Cup in Qatar, ultimately helping to grow our beautiful game on a global scale.

As part of the sponsorship deal, Crypto.com users will be able to attend matches and win exclusive merchandise.

Big Moves by Crypto Companies

Of course, the crypto community viewed the sponsorship as a major move by the exchange. Several crypto institutions are actively gaining ground in the mainstream media, signing partnerships with major organisations and becoming official sponsors of international tournaments:

Last month, Brisbane-based exchange Swyftx made sporting history by inking a three-year partnership with Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) to become its exclusive crypto partner.

In addition, the Australian Football League (AFL) recently signed an A$25 million sponsorship deal with Crypto.com, eclipsing its current deal with Toyota (worth A$18.5 million.)

Crypto.com has been actively working in expanding its reach worldwide with numerous partnerships in the sports industry. In July 2021 it became the first crypto sponsor of the largest mixed martial arts promoter, the UFC, in a US$175 million deal.