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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Aave Avalanche Crypto News DeFi

Avalanche Launches $290 Million Program to Support ‘Multiverse’ Development

Avalanche (AVAX) has committed a whopping US$290 million, or 4 million AVAX tokens, as an incentive to attract gaming, DeFi and NFT ‘Subnets’ to its platform. The goal of the “Multiverse” incentive fund is to create a network of application-specific blockchains according to a press release on its Medium page.

Multiverse an ‘Ongoing Initiative’

The Avalanche Multiverse will be an ongoing initiative with no specified end date, along with six phases to support various projects, according to the foundation. Subnets, also known as subnetworks, are validators that allow others to establish their own Layer 1 or Layer 2 blockchains on Avalanche. Because Avalanche is proof-of-stake, projects can become validators staking $AVAX tokens.

DeFi Kingdoms, a play-to-earn game built atop the Ethereum sidechain Harmony, has created its own Avalanche subnet as part of the multiverse initiative, along with a new Avalanche-native token, $CRYSTAL.

The entire DeFi Kingdoms universe is written into smart contracts, pushing the envelope of what is possible with blockchain technology. We began looking very early on for technology that could help us scale and introduce new features like using our native tokens for gas fees, without sacrificing security or decentralisation. Avalanche’s revolutionary subnet technology is the perfect fit.

Frisky Fox, executive director, DeFi Kingdoms

Ava Labs, which helps drive the development of Avalanche, has partnered with Aave, Golden Tree Asset Management, Wintermute, Jump Crypto, Valkyrie, and Securitize to build the subnet. Participants will need to undergo know-your-customer (KYC) checks, allowing traditional financial institutions to build on the blockchain.

Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave, said in a statement: “Avalanche Subnets enable us to create an ideal environment for institutions to migrate on-chain.” He added: “This is a significant leap toward a future where the barriers between traditional and decentralised finance cease to exist.”

According to Emin Gün Sirer, director of the Avalanche Foundation, “Subnets will be the next growth engine in crypto, enabling novel functionality only possible with network-level control and open experimentation on a scale we haven’t yet seen.”

Avalanche Rife with Issues of Late

In September last year, Avalanche DeFi project Vee Finance lost over US$35 million in a hack. In late February, the Avalanche-based DeFi protocol “polite” rug pulled investors and the protocol was shut down within the first day of its launch.

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Australia Crypto News Surveys

Survey Reveals That More Than Half of Aussies Will Never Invest in Crypto

A survey by consumer insights provider Toluna has revealed that 52 percent of Australians have no interest or intention of ever investing in cryptocurrencies. The survey also found that 51 percent in the Asia-Pacific region believe that crypto is high-risk.

APAC had the highest perception of risk re crypto. Source: Toluna survey

Resistance to Crypto In Australia Highest in the World

Globally cryptos are met with resistance in that 43 percent perceive them to be a risky investment, with 40 percent citing lack of knowledge of the space as the main reason for hesitation. The survey however found that resistance to cryptocurrency in Australia is significantly higher than in the rest of the world and within the Asia-Pacific region.

Globally, 10 percent of survey respondents indicated they would never invest in the space and a whopping 20 percent of people in developed APAC (Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong) nations believed that digital currencies or assets were just hype. Fear of crypto’s associated risks seems to be the main reason for investment hesitation by 44 percent of Australians, while 34 percent cited their lack of understanding of digital assets. While the global average for lack of awareness of crypto is 61 percent, Australia sits at 65 percent.

Age Is a Key Factor

According to Toluna, “The study found that older respondents were more sceptical about crypto and regard it as ‘hype’, while younger respondents were more positive about crypto becoming a genuine currency in the long term.”

The study found that among Gen Z respondents, those aged between 18 and 24, 53 percent globally thought cryptocurrencies would take an upward trend over the long run, while 38 percent of Baby Boomers (aged 57-64) and 22 percent of Gen Xers (41-56) regarded digital assets as a bubble that would soon burst.

Crypto is clearly favoured by the younger generation. Source: Toluna survey

The results found by the study confirm an earlier survey reported by Crypto News Australia which found that only one in 10 Australians knows what a cryptocurrency is, with individuals older than 65 knowing even less. Gender also plays a role in terms of crypto knowledge. In Australia, around 21 percent of men claim to know something of worth regarding cryptos, while only seven percent of women do.

A ‘Global Crypto Awareness’ survey conducted last October compiled a list of the world’s top 10 crypto aware countries; Australia barely made the list, scoring only 3.77/10. Perhaps crypto education and a clear regulatory framework are needed to increase adoption in Australia.

Categories
Crypto News MetaMask NFTs OpenSea Russia

OpenSea Updates Banned Countries List, Sparking Decentralisation Debate

OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, has updated its list of banned countries according to the US sanctions list and has many bringing up the issue of decentralisation.

US-based OpenSea has reportedly begun barring Iranian users from its platform, which has led to outrage from NFT collectors and sparked a fresh debate regarding decentralisation in the crypto space. The list has expanded since last week, adding Iran to the list after only users in separatist areas of Ukraine were banned, along with users from Venezuela who were added to the list in error.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to the national security, foreign policy or economy of the US.

US Office of Foreign Assets Control

Iranian Artist Vents to 4,700 Followers

Last week, Iranian users of OpenSea woke up and started posting on Twitter that their accounts had been deactivated or deleted without prior warning from the platform. “Bornosor”, an NFT artist from Iran, vented his frustrations to 4,700 followers in a tweet that gained traction very swiftly, garnering 342 retweets and 1,000+ likes within just a few hours:

According to an OpenSea spokesperson, OpenSea reserves the right to block users based on sanctions:

“Our terms of service explicitly prohibit sanctioned users or users in sanctioned territories from using our services. We have a zero-tolerance policy for the use of our services by sanctioned individuals or entities and people located in sanctioned countries. If we find individuals to be in violation of our sanctions policy, we take swift action to ban the associated accounts.”

As it stands, current US sanctions outline that American companies are not allowed to provide goods or services to any users based in countries on the sanctions list, including Iran, North Korea, Syria, and now also Russia:

Actions from OpenSea Provoke Decentralisation Debate

The actions taken by OpenSea have fostered new debates about whether large blockchain-based firms and services are adequately decentralised, with the MetaMask wallet joining in on enforcing sanctions:

According to MetaMask’s Twitter account, Venezuelan users were accidentally banned from accessing their wallets after blockchain development company Infura inadvertently broadened the scope of its sanctions to the South American country.

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Crypto News OKX Sports

Premier League Champs Man City Sign Multimillion Dollar Deal With OKX Exchange

Current English Premier League titleholders Manchester City have announced a multimillion-dollar deal with the world’s second-largest exchange by spot volume, OKX.

Manchester Embraces Crypto

Thus far in 2022, we’ve seen several crypto-related announcements emanating from England’s second-largest city, including the champion football team’s development of its own Etihad stadium in the metaverse. This followed news that cross-town rivals Manchester United had last month inked a deal with Tezos for a reported US$27 million.

Kevin de Bruyne in this weekend’s win over Manchester United. Source: The Guardian

We are pleased to welcome OKX as an Official Partner of Manchester City today as they look to venture into the world of sports. The new partnership aligns our shared values of innovation, drive for success and being at the cutting edge of our respective industries. Their broad and inclusive approach to targeting diverse audiences resonates with our approach. We look forward to working together throughout the partnership.

Roel De Vries, chief operating officer, Manchester City Football Group

The sponsorship announcement by Manchester City represents OKX’s first foray into the world of sport and entertainment, with the official press release reporting that the partnership will include both the men’s and women’s teams, as well as the club’s esports operations.  

OKX Has a Userbase of 20m+ in 180+ Markets

OKX enjoys a userbase of over 20 million people in more than 180 markets, making it one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges. In its official announcement of the partnership, when asked “Why Manchester City”, OKX noted that:

Neither our team nor Manchester City is a stranger to fierce competition. We both know firsthand the challenges that present themselves on the way to the top. With closely aligned values, we’re excited to field our new partner’s colours as they take on English and European football’s elite.  

OKX announcement

As part of the deal, OKX’s global customer base will apparently enjoy access to exclusive experiences at Etihad, as well as future innovation projects. Jay Hao, CEO of OKX, cited inclusion and community as being core to the partnership, adding:

Football and crypto share something important: they are for everyone, they create inclusivity within society. We [OKX] are entering the Premier League for the first time as City’s official crypto partner to celebrate this community spirit in the world of football because it’s something we both share.

Jay Hao, CEO, OKX

Whatever one’s thoughts on Manchester City or OKX, one thing is undeniable – digital assets are increasingly crossing the chasm into the mainstream. Billions of eyeballs tune in for Premier League fixtures each week and sponsorships such as this serve only to accelerate the inevitable process of mainstream adoption.

Categories
Crypto News Ethereum MetaMask NFTs OpenSea

OpenSea and MetaMask Block Users from ‘Some’ Countries

MetaMask wallet and OpenSea users from Iran and Venezuela have been blocked in Ethereum transactions after the platforms cited compliance issues. It was later confirmed that Ethereum’s Infura cut off users to separatist areas in Ukraine, accidentally blocking Venezuelan users as well.

Users in Iran and Venezuela began reporting problems this week with accessing their digital wallets, with hordes of users saying none of their transactions sent through MetaMask was realised.

The first instances of bans were noticed on the NFT platform OpenSea, which reportedly locked and deactivated several Iranian users. Users from Venezuela began reporting problems with accessing their own wallets soon after, with thousands of messages popping up on social media.

The issue was briefly addressed by MetaMask on its support page, saying that MetaMask and Infura would be unavailable in certain jurisdictions due to legal compliance issues. When attempting to use MetaMask in one of those regions, users received a message stating that MetaMask was unable to connect to the blockchain host.

While users were able to see their MetaMask balances and transaction histories, any attempt to interact with the Ethereum network was blocked, meaning that the ban stemmed from Infura, the Ethereum API infrastructure developed by ConsenSys.

Iran Users Blocked from OpenSea

MetaMask and Infura are not alone. Reports are also circulating on social media of users from Iran being blocked on OpenSea:

NFT artist Parin Heidari also reported that her NFT collection on OpenSea was showing 404s in response to the previous tweet.

These episodes follow a recent call from Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister for crypto exchanges to block Russian users.

Categories
Ethereum Hackers OpenSea Polygon Solana

White Hat Hacker Reveals OpenSea Plans to Integrate Solana NFTs 

Images allegedly leaked from the leading NFT marketplace, OpenSea, indicate that the platform may soon introduce Solana-based NFTs. The images were discovered by tech blogger Jane Manchun Wong, well known for leaking information about yet-to-be-released features from specific technology platforms:

https://twitter.com/wongmjane/status/1486072506532626432

OpenSea is the market leader when it comes to NFTs and, as it stands, supports both the Ethereum and Polygon blockchain networks. Since its inception, OpenSea has recorded about US$22.73 billion in NFT sales, with 1,358,052 traders leveraging the platform.

Wong Gets It Right Again?

Wong, who in December was also first to report that Twitter would integrate Ethereum into ‘Tip Jar’, tweeted in January that “OpenSea is working on Solana integration, as well as Phantom wallet support”. She added: “OpenSea’s Chains Filter [shows] Solana as an option.”

https://twitter.com/wongmjane/status/1486077324630302721

This discovery is not the first time rumours of OpenSea adding Solana features have surfaced. The animator and Solana advocate @bhaleyart tweeted a similar image of OpenSea’s blockchain filter in mid-November:

White Hat Hackers to the Rescue

White hat hackers, also known as ethical hackers, have been widely active of late in the crypto space. Apart from leaking information, they have saved many companies from attacks. Just a couple of weeks ago, a white hat hacker chose to accept a US$2 million bounty instead of “printing unlimited Ethereum”.

Categories
Crypto News NFTs Russia

Ukraine Flag NFT Raises $6.75 Million to Fund War Efforts

An NFT of the Ukrainian flag has sold for 2,258 ether – about US$6.75 million – with the proceeds directed to ‘Come Back Alive’, an organisation that donates supplies to Ukrainian civilians and members of the military.

DAOs to the Rescue

The sale of the NFT was organised by UkraineDAO – a crowdfunding effort led by radical Russian art collective Pussy Riot and NFT token studio Trippy Labs to support Ukraine’s efforts against the Russian invasion. The bid that won the sale for the 1-of-1 flag was placed on behalf of a group of 3,271 donors via a service called Party Bid:

This is where the DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation) was able to purchase the NFT from itself through donations from its members. On February 27, Pussy Riot had already organised the DAO to raise money for Ukrainian soldiers facing down the Russian Army:

The project is taking cues from other politically minded fundraiser DAOs such as AssangeDAO and ConstitutionDAO. UkraineDAO joins the government itself in asking for crypto donations to aid the resistance against Russia.

Ukraine Turns to Crypto for Aid

Cryptocurrencies have been proving to be Ukraine’s financial saviour amid the turmoil the country is currently experiencing. The Ukrainian government recently succeeded in raising US$37 million in crypto after appealing to the public for assistance. The Ukrainian vice prime minister has also called on crypto exchanges to block Russian and Belarusian users from accessing their crypto accounts.

Categories
DeFi Tokens Waves

DeFi Protocol Waves Surges 120% in a Week Amid New Partnerships

Developments in the crypto space never cease, and projects that continually evolve and survive in the long term are those that remain at the forefront. At the moment, it is the Waves protocol staying atop the innovation wave, and the biggest reason for its latest price increase is its just-announced partnership with Allbridge.

About Waves

Waves, launched in 2016, is a global open-source platform for decentralised applications (dApps). Based on proof-of-stake consensus, Waves aspires to make the most of blockchain, with a minimal carbon footprint. Waves’ technology stack can benefit in any use cases that demand security and decentralisation, such as open finance, personal identification, gaming, and sensitive data.

Data from TradingView suggests that the price of WAVES has rallied 120 percent since its low of US$8.28 on February 22. As it stands, WAVES is trading at US$17.99, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Why Waves is Pumping

The recent surge of WAVES’ price can be attributed to three different factors:

  • the announcement that the protocol will migrate to Waves 2.0;
  • the partnership with Allbridge that will connect Waves with other popular blockchain networks; and
  • the upcoming launch of a US$150 million fund aimed at fostering Waves’ growth in the US.

Other DeFi tokens such as Anchor Protocol also soared this week amid a new tokenomics model.

Waves’ Partnership with Allbridge

Boosting the price of Waves is its new partnership with Allbridge, a protocol focused on facilitating the transfer of assets between all blockchain networks:

The partnership is part of the larger goal of Waves 2.0 towards universal bridge integration. The intended goal is “to create a unique bridge between Waves and supported EVM as well as non-EVM chains such as NEAR protocol, Solana and Terra”.

According to Waves developers, the goal is to have Allbridge fully integrated by the end of May.

Another DeFi token making waves is Anchor Protocol (ANC), who recently surged 50 percent following the announcement of its new tokenomics model.

Categories
Crypto News NFTs

In Largest Ever NFT-Backed Loan, 101 CryptoPunks Put Up as Collateral

MetaStreet, a liquidity routing and scaling solution for the NFT collateralisation platform, has announced it has secured US$3 million in seed financing and an additional US$11 million in initial protocol liquidity to jumpstart the expansion of the quickly developed collateralised NFT lending market.

In what has been billed the largest-ever NFT-backed loan, an anonymous borrower took out a US$8 million loan collateralised by their collection of 101 CryptoPunks. The loan, with an APR (annual percentage rate) of 10 percent and a 30-day duration, was facilitated by liquidity scaling solution MetaStreet on peer-to-peer lending platform NFTfi:

Nexo, Three Arrows Set Precedent

This is not the first time NFTs have been used as collateral. In December, world-leading crypto lending specialist Nexo teamed up with Singaporean hedge fund Three Arrows Capital to launch its new NFT-backed lending service. It meant that clients were from that point able to borrow digital assets and use NFTs as collateral.

This round of financing is seen by participants in the crypto world as a bellwether for lending secured by digital collectibles, as the market continues to boom at an astronomical pace. Conor Moore, co-founder and CEO of MetaStreet, has said the loan is “orders [of] magnitude larger” than any previous NFT financing. Moore did not disclose the identity of the borrower but referred to “him” as a whale – a person who holds vast amounts of crypto.

MetaStreet has only eight full-time employees but has secured US$3 million in seed financing and an additional US$11 million in initial protocols liquidity so far this year. The firm provides a layer of financial infrastructure to NFTs, specifically lending protocols such as NFTfi and Arcade.

David Choi, Moore’s fellow co-founder and CEO of MetaStreet, has said NFT collectors want to free up capital more efficiently and don’t want their crypto assets to accumulate virtual dust:

By having an active borrowing and lending market [in NFTs], you create productive assets that are otherwise viewed as unproductive.

David Choi, co-founder and CEO, MetaStreet
Categories
Crypto News NFTs

FriesDAO Raises $5.4 Million to Buy Fast Food Restaurant

In the latest flurry of ambitious projects, a decentralised autonomous organisation called FriesDAO has raised an impressive US$5.4 million with plans to buy fast-food restaurants.

The first target on FriesDAO’s radar is a Subway franchise. According to the DAO, its token holders will be able to vote on how the franchise operates but will not receive a profit share:

It’s The Year of the DAO

News of this DAO comes only a week after “BuytheBroncos” flagged its intention to acquire National Football League (NFL) team the Denver Broncos. In other DAO-related news, the Marshall Islands has now officially recognised DAOs and aims to become a global DAO hub.

You Want FRIES Tokens With That?

After raising US$5.4 million over the week ended February 20, FriesDAO has distributed FRIES tokens to its participants. The token will not confer any ownership rights of the restaurants, or give holders any share of the profits, but they can be used to vote on proposals regarding how they operate:

Ketchup With Those FRIES?

From next week, token holders can start staking their FRIES to receive KCHUP tokens, which can then be used to buy NFTs that will provide them with incentives such as free burgers:

The DAO has said that the plan is to buy at least one fast-food restaurant in the first year. Should this not be realised, the funds raised will be returned to the community, minus any expenses.

According to FriesDAO’s Discord server, the first restaurant it is trying to acquire is a branch of sandwich chain Subway. It has asked its token holders to review the financial details ahead of a potential vote on the purchase.