Author: Jana Serfontein

Jana has keen interest in what cryptocurrencies have to offer in regards to NGO’s, governments and the financial system. And is also intrigued with the psychological effect that cryptocurrencies have on society.

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Banking Bitcoin Crypto News Trading

US Bank Facilitates First Over-The-Counter Bitcoin Transaction

Goldman Sachs (GS) has become the first financial institution to make an over-the-counter (OTC) crypto options trade as it expands its digital assets team. GS has partnered with Galaxy Digital, a New-York based cryptocurrency investment firm, on the bank’s Bitcoin futures trading desk, which facilitated the transaction.

The digital asset trading unit at GS made its OTC crypto transaction in the form of a bitcoin non-deliverable option (NDO). An OTC Bitcoin NDO means that GS has essentially bought a contract betting on the future price of Bitcoin, rather than buying the digital asset itself. GS also added another digital assets VP to its team.

The company describes the move as a sign of maturity of the asset class in the eyes of institutional players. According to Damien Vanderwilt, co-president and head of global markets at Galaxy Digital:

We are pleased to continue to strengthen our relationship with Goldman and expect the transaction to open the door for other banks considering OTC as a conduit for trading digital assets.

Damien Vanderwilt, co-president and head of global markets, Galaxy Digital

Options Trading On the Rise

The move also follows the investment banking giant becoming more involved in the crypto space after restarting its bitcoin trading desk in March last year. Options trading has become an increasingly popular way of investing in crypto. Instead of traders buying and selling digital assets, they buy and sell contracts that bet on the prices of the assets.

Goldman Sachs Gets Bullish on Bitcoin

After the exciting news of the OTC NDO was announced, we see GS becoming ever more bullish on Bitcoin. Earlier this year, it released a note to its investors saying that a US$100,000 price tag for bitcoin is possible this year if it continues to erode gold’s utility as a store of value.

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Crypto News DeFi NFTs Social media Surveys

Twitter Marketing Report: Crypto and NFT Topics Explode 240%

Twitter Trends 2022 has given us the statistics on the hottest topics on Twitter and has revealed some interesting, but not surprising, results. For instance, talk about non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto topics in general has surged an astonishing 242 percent.

The Twitter report’s findings suggest that the three top trends are:

  • “The Great Restoration”, healing the planet by healing ourselves;
  • “Fan-built Worlds”, digital communities calling the shots; and
  • “Finance Goes Social”, speaking to many of the Gen Z and Millennial population getting into investing – especially in digital assets.

300 Million Tweets About Crypto in the Past Three Months

Twitter users alone have posted almost 300 million tweets regarding digital assets. Twitter’s report revealed its biggest trends over the past two years, and finance – including digital assets – is number one on the list. Financial tweets have gone up by 78 percent year-over-year among average users, meaning the subject has gained traction even among non-professionals who do not work in the industry.

Money matters used to be closely held secrets of the few. But these days, a new crowd’s getting in on the action – and having fun.

Twitter Trends 2022

The most talked-about crypto topics on Twitter include Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple, followed by Cardano, DeFi, Coinbase and Binance.

Discussions of topics such as stablecoins, NFT marketplaces, decentralised apps and decentralised exchanges have ballooned by 242 percent – with DAOs another hot topic under the heading of “user-empowered communities”.

Some Words of Wisdom from Twitter

Twitter offered some advice to businesses and content creators recommending finding ways to make a brand more entertaining, exciting and inclusive. And while companies are dropping NFTs left, right and centre, the social network encourages giving a greater deal of thought to why digital assets are being offered in the first place:

“Don’t blindly jump on the NFT bandwagon – create something that’s meaningful to your community. For example, a sportswear brand didn’t just drop a logo NFT, they put their gear on the hottest NFT avatars to connect two passions their fans care about.”

Seems the NFT Bubble Has Burst (For Now)

The NFT bubble might have finally burst, with weekly NFT sales trending downward and interest in the sector dropping 45 percent over a 30-day period in late January and February 2022. Worldwide Google Trends data shows that interest plunged 45 percent in terms of internet searches. During the second week of January, the search query “NFT” sat comfortably at 100, the highest trend score a query can register, but by early March had dropped almost half to a score of 55.

Categories
Crime Crypto News Hackers NFTs OpenSea

$790,000 Worth of Rare Bear NFTs Stolen in Brazen Phishing Attack

Members of the Rare Bears NFT community woke on March 16 to find it had lost assets to the tune of US$790,000 due to a phishing scam. According to the team, weakened security of its Discord group allowed a perpetrator to spread a phishing link.

Rare Bear is a collection of 2,400 NFTs of cartoon-themed bears built atop the Ethereum blockchain. It was launched via a public mint last week and created by a New-Zealand-based digital artist called Enox.

Attacker Poses as Moderator

The phishing attack took place when an unknown person gained unauthorised access to the project’s Discord server, posing as an official moderator. There, the attacker was able to share a phishing link designed to steal people’s funds. The project took to Twitter to inform its community:

The attacker shared a message saying there was a new NFT mint, and then provided a link to a phishing site. Another user known as “steldes” on Twitter posted a screenshot of the phony announcement on the Discord server, with the scammer named Zhodan.

Malicious Smart Contract Allows Control Over Wallets

The fake announcement informed members of an additional 1,000 rare NFTs being added to the collection at a mint price of 0.1 ETH, or US$280. The website hosted a malicious smart contract that, when interacted with, allowed control over the victims’ wallets. As a result the hacker stole 179 NFTs and other assets belonging to everyone who participated in the mint:

The hacker then moved the assets to their Ethereum address. Soon after, most NFTs were sold one by one to the tune of 286 ETH, amounting to US$790,000. Exactly 213 ETH of the total was routed through mixing service Tornado Cash and 72.3 ETH was sent across three wallets:

Phishing Scams Rife in NFT Space

Due to the unregulated nature of the digital asset space, scams are an all too often occurrence, targeting NFTs heavily. A popular method of stealing NFTs is via phishing attacks. In January, a Bored Ape collector lost NFTs worth a whopping US$2.2 million. OpenSea also experienced a phishing scam in February in which at least US$3 million worth of NFTs were stolen.

Categories
Crypto News Ethereum NFTs Polygon Rarible Tezos

Rarible Adds Polygon to Newly Released Wallet Housing All Your NFTs

NFT marketplace Rarible has been quite busy in the past couple of months and has now announced the addition of Polygon NFTs as well as multi-wallet support. Polygon joins Ethereum, Flow and Tezos as part of the platform’s vision for multi-chain commerce.

Tezos joined Rarible in December and was integrated with Flow in November. Rarible’s biggest competitor and marketleader, OpenSea, supports Ethereum, Polygon and Klatyn, and added Polygon-based NFTs in October.

Polygon is a sidechain scaling solution for Ethereum that enables faster and cheaper transactions than the Ethereum mainnet. Unlike Ethereum, which uses energy-intensive proof-of-work, Polygon relies on the eco-friendlier proof-of-stake consensus model that remains backed by the security offered by Ethereum.

Rarible Aims to Clear ‘Roadblocks’

As Rarible’s co-founder Alexei Falin said, “We have enjoyed watching the NFT market grow rapidly throughout the past two years but acknowledge that there are certain roadblocks that exist within the space, including high gas fees and ecosystem limitations. As a top NFT protocol and marketplace we have a responsibility to solve issues related to NFT creation and consumption, which is at the core of our multi-chain vision.”

Rarible Rolls Out ‘Multi-Wallet’

The marketplace has also launched a multi-wallet profile feature on Rarible.com that lets users sign in with up to 20 wallets at a time across different blockchains. By doing so, users with multiple wallets across various supported ecosystems won’t have to constantly sign in and out when buying and selling NFTs on the platform.

Falin has said, “We have seen firsthand how inconvenient it is to log in and out of wallets that hold collectibles spanning blockchains. To streamline this process for our users, the multi-wallet profile can support collections across any Rarible-supported blockchain in one place, so you can access items with one simple click.”

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Australia Crypto News DeFi Synthetix

Australia’s ‘Block Earner’ Raises $6.5 Million to Bring DeFi to the Masses

As part of its plan to bring DeFi to the masses, Sydney-based blockchain-powered fintech company Block Earner has made some key hires as it readies itself for launch later this month.

Among the key appointments are:

  • Apurva Chiranewala, a former eBay and Sendle executive, as general manager, tasked with overseeing global operations, growth, and strategic partnerships;
  • former Tyro Payments and Capify Australia marketing head Colin Williamson, as head of digital and growth;
  • Tawanda Mangere as head of risk and compliance; and
  • Baris Yilmaz as head of finance.

According to Chiranewala, “I have seen very few financial services companies that have the potential to positively impact human life quite like Block Earner.” He added that the company is a rare start-up with “capability, vision, and backing to shake up the financial industry in Australia, which is ripe for disruption.”

Making High Yields More Accessible

Block Earner, a Synthetix-backed platform best illustrated as a bridge between traditional finance and decentralised finance, has the goal of making high yields of DeFi more accessible to everyday Australians. The company wants to solve issues of adoption by channeling high-yield investments in DeFi into an easy-flowing, accessible process for anyone, regardless of how clued up they are in the crypto space.

In December 2021, Block Earner managed to raise US$6.4 million in a seed round of funding and claims its yields will generate 7 percent fixed annual yield or variable returns from 2-18 percent.

Potential earnings with Block Earner. Source: Block Earner

The funding round was led by American VC firm Framework Nentures, along with Coinbase, DeFi Alliance, Longhash Ventures, Synthetix founder Kain Warwick, Avalanche’s Emin Gün Sire and AAVE founder Stani Kulechov. Block Earner will generate returns using the stablecoin USDC and DeFi lending and borrowing protocols Aave and Compound.

No Lock-Ups to Contend With

Holders of a Block Earner Yield Account can choose between the aforementioned return rates, which are USD-based yield on funds deposited. Through the entire life of the holder’s account, users will have constant access to both their capital and yield, meaning they can withdraw at any time with no lock-up period to contend with.

Aussies Successfully Raise Capital

While Block Earner’s seed funding round generated US$6.5 million, others have raised even more impressive amounts of late. Australia’s Immutable X successfully raised US$200 million, pushing the company’s valuation up to US$2.5 billion. Also, Aussie NFT project ‘SolChicks’ managed to raise A$77 million is just six months.

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Bitcoin Crime Crypto News Illegal

Darknet Ecstasy Kingpin Forfeits $2.3 Million in Bitcoin

A 25-year-old man from Massachusetts in the US has been sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for selling illicit drugs for cryptocurrencies on the dark web. In addition, he also had to forfeit US$2.3 million worth of bitcoin after starting “EastSideHigh” on the darknet.

At the age of 22, Binh Thanh Le set up “EastSideHigh”, a storefront on the Wall Street Market illegal marketplace on the darknet, selling illicit drugs such as Xanax, ecstasy (MDMA), and ketamine. Le’s illegal business netted him a profit of 59 bitcoin, which was originally seized in March 2019. At the time the funds were worth US$200,000, but now amount to a whopping US$2.3 million.

Le and Two Associates Arrested with 20+ kg of Ecstasy

Along with his bitcoin, Le also held over US$114,000 in cash and another US$42,000 generated from a sale of a car. He was indicted in June 2019 with two other people for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute drugs. At the time of his arrest and seizure, law enforcement officials found over 20 kilograms of ecstasy, approximately 6.8 kilograms of ketamine, and more than 10,000 Xanax pills in Le’s possession.

After serving his prison sentence, Le will be supervised on release for a further three years. US District Attorney for Massachusetts Rachel Rollins said: “This sentence sends a clear message to dark web criminals – the federal government is entering this space. We will find you and we will hold you accountable.” She added:

Thanks to the incredible work of our law enforcement colleagues, there is one less cybercriminal hiding in the shadows.

Rachel Rollins, US District Attorney for Massachusetts

Crypto Seizures Add Up to Massive Numbers

Recently, the US Justice Department impounded US$3.6 billion in bitcoin and arrested a wannabe rapper and her husband for conspiring to launder the funds. A January report also revealed that US$33 billion had been laundered via crypto by cybercriminals over the past five years.

Categories
Crypto News GameFi Genopets Play to Earn Solana

STEPN Token Soars 128% Following Web 3.0 Move-to-Earn Token Sale

STEPN token has soared 128 percent following its Web 3.0 token sale. The app allows users to earn money while exercising and adds to the very small market of move-to-earn. STEPN joins Genopets which was the first move-to-earn initiative.

Burn Calories, Earn Tokens

STEPN is a Web3 lifestyle app built with in-game GameFi and Social-Fi elements. Players can make “handsome earnings by walking, jogging, or running outdoors”, according to the project’s website. The first project to bring to life a functioning move-to-earn concept, STEPN finished in fourth place out of 500+ projects at the Solana Ignition hackathon 2021.

Users in the game equip themselves with NFTs in the form of sneakers. Through movement, users earn game currency to be used in-game or cashed out for profit.

Towards Wider Web3 Adoption

The goal of STEPN is to utilise GameFi to move millions of people towards a healthier lifestyle, combat climate change, and connect the public to Web 3.0. Along with all of that, the project hinges on its Social-Fi aspect to build a long-lasting platform to foster user-generated Web 3.0 content.

Naturally, users are excited and many took to Twitter to share their elation:

Move-to-Earn Is On the Move

STEPN joins Genopets, the world’s first mobile move-to-earn NFT game that aims to bridge the physical and digital worlds. Genopets, like STEPN, is built on the Solana blockchain and allows users to create an NFT connected to their fitness data.

Categories
Crypto News Stablecoins Tether

$4 Billion Hedge Fund Makes a ‘Big Short’ Bet Against Tether

Fir Tree Capital Management has its sights firmly set on shorting the stablecoin Tether amid regulatory scrutiny and fears regarding ties with the Chinese debt market. The firm will hedge an asymmetric bet that will limit the downside but if it proves correct, will be enormously profitable:

New York-based Fir Tree has over US$4 billion under management and has structured its position on Tether (USDT) as an “asymmetric trade”, which means the downside risk is small and the potential payoff is large. The fund started to explore taking a short position on USDT in July 2021, reasoning that much of the token’s US$24 billion in commercial backing is tied to Chinese real-estate developers, which are currently struggling.

Therefore, if the paper loses value, it will lead to a potential big drop in Tether’s reserves and the coin’s price. Fir Tree had previously said that betting on this decision could generate profit within 12 months.

Chinese Real-Estate Market Facing Massive Debt Issues

The entire Chinese real-estate market is facing debt of its own, led by the China Evergrande Group, whose liabilities exceeded US$300 billion as of December 2021 when it missed a payment deadline. Tether, the company, has indicated that it does not own any commercial paper linked to Evergrande, but it has been reported that Fir Tree expects some of the commercial paper it does own to lose value.

Tether’s Reserves in Question

Many have queried of late whether Tether has enough cash reserves to back itself. The stablecoin’s quarterly assurance opinion published last month showed a decrease of 21 percent in commercial paper holdings over the past quarter.

In May last year, Tether released a breakdown of its reserves for the first time since 2014, which indicated that as of March 2021, the company held almost 76 percent of the its reserves in cash or cash equivalents. In this category, commercial paper comprised the majority, with 65 percent.

Tether has previously claimed it was 100 percent cash-backed, but the breakdown of the company’s reserves showed that less than 3 percent were actually held in cash. In October, Tether faced a US$41 million fine for lying about its reserves.

Categories
Crypto News Events NFTs

Warner Bros is Creating 6 Million DC Comics with Redeemable NFTs

Warner Bros Consumer Products along with Cartamundi are launching DC Hybrid NFT trading cards. The ‘hybrid’ card packs will be priced from a modest US$5 to US$120, with buyers using an app called Hro to gain access to their physical cards’ redeemable NFTs.

Warner is creating over six million DC Comics-inspired physical trading cards packaged with redeemable NFTs, available later this month. Cartamundi, a card and board game manufacturer, is responsible for the design of the cards, which will feature 155 different superheroes. The accompanying NFTs will be minted on the Ethereum sidechain Immutable X.

Beginning with the first DC-based hybrid NFT trading cards, Hro will give fans the opportunity to own a physical trading card with an NFT component, bringing blockchain technology together with physical in-store presence for the first time. Using NFTs minted on Immutable X, DC Hybrid Trading Cards by Hro will hit shelves and digital wallets in March 2022, with additional and limited-edition content coming throughout the year.

Cartamundi and Warner Bros joint release

Warner also has plans to issue a few limited-edition cards using images from characters in the latest DC Comics hit movie, The Batman. This is not the first NFT endeavour for WarnerMedia-owned DC Comics. Last year, the two companies announced a partnership with Palm NFT Studio to create a new line of free NFTs tied into upcoming events. For its part in the collaboration, DC offered up digital collectibles based on popular comic book covers such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn.

NFTs the New Trading Cards

NFTs are akin to the trading cards of the past because of their subjective value, collectible ethos, and variable rarities.

As Pam Lifford, president of WarnerMedia Global Brands and Experiences, has said, “Trading cards have been a favourite of fans for decades. Combining that enthusiasm for collecting with a custom NFT is just brilliant, and this program brings the DC brand to fans in a way that’s never been done before.”

Categories
Australia Crypto Art NFTs

Sydney Plays Host to ‘Satellite’ International NFT Art Exhibition

Sydney, Australia’s largest city, is the first to host Satellite, a major international contemporary NFT art exhibition utilising and showcasing non-fungible token technology.

The event, taking place from March 10 to April 3 at beachside Bondi’s Twenty Twenty-Six Gallery, serves as an introduction to the world of digital art. Satellite aims to engage and educate the public on the fast-evolving NFT art movement through a digitally immersive and sensory experience. The exhibition is designed to empower artists in digital media and to inspire both existing and new audiences to embrace the evolution of the digital art world:

Exhibition Will Shape the NFT Space and Creative Economy

The Satellite audience will be invited to connect with NFTs beyond the screens of personal devices by using QR codes in the exhibition space that link to the NFT marketplace Foundation, where art can subsequently be bought.

The curator of the exhibition, David Porte Beckefeld, says the exhibition at a Sydney fine arts gallery is the fulfilment of his dream, but not so much in regard to anything relating to blockchain or tokens. Beckefeld has brought together over 40 NFT artworks from an array of leading Australian and international artists, thereby shaping the NFT space and creative economy.

Artists include Jonathan Zawada, Serwah Attafua, David McLeod, BossLogic, LIŔONA, Mikaela Stafford, Chris Golden, Jessica Ticchio, Yambo, Trevor Jones, and Beeple.

Satellite to be Carbon Neutral

The exhibition is committed to sustainability and will work to offset the carbon footprint of all NFTs included in the event, including carbon emissions associated with NFT minting, bidding, sale, and transfer of ownership. To compensate for emissions, Satellite will buy carbon credit units from Carbon Neutral’s reforestation project located in the Yarra Biodiversity Corridor of Western Australia.

For all other information about the exhibition, visit Satellite’s website.

Australia Leads in NFT Art Exhibitions

Last year was the year of the NFT. In June 2021, the art world launched Australia’s first physical NFT gallery exhibition. Hobart’s Museum of Art & Philosophy also launched the country’s first NFT gallery in the Tasmanian capital, where digital and traditional artists from all around the world could display their creations.

Australia auctioned off its most valuable photo collection as NFTs last year, after more than 100,000 original photographs dating back to the 1880s and spanning five generations were found in the home of a Melbourne family. The collection is said to be worth millions.

Australia is clearly an early adopter of NFTs and art, so it was surprising to read news of a survey in December 2021 that determined most Australians still have no idea about cryptos or NFTs.