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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Crypto News Gaming NFTs Solana

World’s First ‘Move to Earn’ NFT Game Genopets Raises $8.3 Million

Genopets, the world’s very first mobile ‘Move-to-Earn’, or ‘play-to-earn” (P2E) non-fungible token (NFT) game, has raised US$8.3 million in seed round funding to “bridge the physical and digital world(s)”, the company announced on October 18.

Genopets is an innovative game built atop the Solana (SOL) blockchain in which users can create a Genopet – an NFT connected with their fitness data. Genopets is one of three exciting P2E games launching on Solana. The game allows users to do real-world exercises to earn rewards within the game, which they can later cash out.

The funding round was co-led by Pantera Capital and Konvoy Venture (investors and board observer at Axie Infinity).

Exercise Brings Measurable Rewards

Genopets has said that the money raised in the seed round will fund its goal “to bridge the physical and digital world(s)”. The game aims to “provide income to individuals as an incentive to stay physically active”, CEO Albert Chen said in a statement.

Josh Chapman, managing partner at Konvoy Ventures, added:

Genopets is a liquid digital asset representation of a gamer’s physical activity in the real world. It sits at the intersection of gaming, play-to-earn, and physical activity. This platform connects a gamer’s real-world steps with their progression, customisation, and value creation in the Genopet universe.

Josh Chapman, managing partner, Konvoy Ventures

P2E Is a Key Force Behind the Massive Growth of NFTs

The announcement of the seed funding round comes at a time when the NFT space, and specifically the NFT-gaming industry, is exploding. Other NFT gaming platforms such as Sydney-based “Immutable” recently raised A$82 million (US$60 million) in a Series B funding round, bringing its total funding raised to A$105 million. Creators of SimCity also recently launched Proxi – a blockchain-based AI-driven game that employs NFT technology.

Paul Veradittakit, partner at Pantera Capital, had this to say about the booming NFT gaming industry:

Play-to-Earn pinpoints an intersection of gaming and blockchain that has struck a chord with users – earning real money proportional to in-game performance.

Paul Veradittakit, partner, Pantera Capital
Categories
Bitcoin Investing Trading

True Story: Pending Bitcoin ETF Has Ticker Symbol, ‘Buy The F*cking Dip’

Hot on the heels of the Proshares Bitcoin Futures ETF that went live yesterday, Bloomberg has reported that the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF may commence trading as early as next week. Much of the focus on Twitter has been directed towards the ticker symbol, which in an apparent nod to the community, mysteriously changed from $BTF to $BTFD, or ‘buy the f*cking dip’.

Ticker Symbol Change – Intentional?

In August this year, Valkyrie Funds applied for an ETF but notably omitted a ticker symbol at the time:

Ticker symbol missing from August application. Source: SEC

Then just yesterday, Bloomberg ETF correspondent Eric Balchunas tweeted an image of Valkyrie’s application saying that listing on the NASDAQ with the ticker symbol $BTF appeared imminent:

Ticker symbol BTF. Source: Eric Balchunas

Then, strangely without explanation, the ticker symbol appeared to be changed to $BTFD, which was spotted by eagle-eyed investors watching Bloomberg’s terminal:

$BTFD ticker symbol. Source: Bloomberg

Is this some sort of cruel joke or a smart route to win over sceptics? Probably the former, but we won’t know until it is actually listed.

Valkyrie ETF, Also Futures-Based

The Valkyrie ETF is much like the Proshares ETF in the sense that it is futures-based, not based on the spot price of bitcoin.

If listed this week, the Valkyrie ETF would successfully have managed to skip a growing queue of applicants, largely on account of it being a first-time issuer. This appears to align with a statement by NASDAQ.

A list of outstanding ETF applications was published some time ago by Bloomberg and it will be interesting to see how many of these are approved this month.

Outstanding Bitcoin ETFs. Source: Bloomberg

In any event, the real celebrations by Bitcoiners, if any, are likely to be reserved for when a true spot bitcoin ETF is approved.

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Australia Banking Bitcoin Crypto News Cryptocurrency Law Trading

Precedent Set? ANZ Settles Debanking Case Brought by Bitcoin Trader

Allan Flynn, crypto trader and owner of Australian local exchange BitcoinCanberra, has settled his first complaint with the ANZ bank after being debanked because of his occupation as a digital currency exchange (DCE).

The bitcoiner announced the settlement in a Tweet late last week:

Flynn had lodged a claim against two of Australia’s biggest banks 20 months earlier after both had debanked him. The claim with ANZ has been settled but another continues with Westpac, to be heard later this week.

Understanding Debanking

‘Debanking’ is a recently coined term that refers to the process in which financial institutions, such as retail banks, cease delivering services to customers for whatever reason. Flynn was debanked by ANZ and Westpac based on his occupation as a crypto trader and for offering trading services to clients. Flynn alleged his human rights had been discriminated against because he ran a crypto operation.

ANZ released a statement in which it said:

ANZ acknowledges that it closed Mr Flynn’s accounts because it detected he was operating a DCE (digital currency exchange), and without seeking information from Mr Flynn about the particular circumstances of his DCE business, including the ML/TF (money laundering/terrorism financing) risks and policies of that business.

ANZ statement

At the moment, ANZ and other major financial institutions in Australia refuse to bank with operators of DCEs due to concerns of non-compliance with money laundering and terrorism financing risks.

Aussie Businesses Being Debanked

Flynn’s case is no longer unique, and people are starting to wonder about the motives behind debanking. Last month, Fintech Australia CEO Rebecca Schot-Guppy and 150 members of her organisation had been debanked with no apparent cause or means to appeal.

Michaela Juric, founder of Bitcoin Babe, has said that her banking services had been terminated 91 times since establishing her crypto brokerage firm seven years ago. Juric stated that some of her family members had also been affected, making it difficult for them to access utilities such as electricity, internet, water and insurance.

Local Australian brokerage Aus Merchant has been debanked four times in the past year. Managing director Mitchell Travers has concluded that anti-competitive practices might have been the true motive behind these decisions.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Crypto Wallets Lightning Network

US Employees Can Now Get Paid in Bitcoin Using Strike App

Lightning Network payment platform Strike is allowing its users in the US to instantly convert all or a portion of their paycheques into bitcoin. The company, well known for its work in El Salvador, is following the lead of Coinbase, which recently started allowing its users to convert their salaries to crypto and be paid in bitcoin (BTC).

‘Pay Me In Bitcoin’ Now Active

From October 15, Strike’s “Pay Me In Bitcoin” feature allows users to enable direct deposits and configure any amount of money coming into their accounts to be converted into bitcoin with no fees attached.

Strike began experimenting with the feature last year when National Football League player Russell Okung used the payment platform to split his salary between bitcoin and fiat. Several other athletes and content creators have since followed in Okung’s footsteps.

“Pay Me In Bitcoin” gives anyone in the US easy access to sound money for anybody eligible for a Strike account, regardless of who they work for. In the words of company founder and CEO Jack Mallers, “Today, anyone with a Strike account, no matter who their employer, can get paid in bitcoin.”

Seeking to Give Financial Freedom

The new feature seeks to give financial freedom to those who cannot get paid directly in BTC. Almost anybody in the US or El Salvador can sign up for Strike and start saving a portion of their income in BTC automatically. It will also enable users to shield themselves from high inflation rates and have more control over their money.

If you are not getting a 25 percent raise every year and you are saving in dollars, you are not out-earning or out-saving the rate of inflation or the increase in cost of living, and your quality of life will degrade as time goes on.

Jack Mallers, founder and CEO, Strike

Mallers has been vocal as to the benefits of BTC:

Strike Involved in El Salvador and Twitter Tips 

Twitter has recently rolled out Bitcoin Tips, which allows users to tip each other using Bitcoin’s Lightning network. One of the two payment options Twitter has made available is through Strike, which can connect to the Lightning Network.  

Since the Central American republic made bitcoin legal tender last month, Strike has been integral in helping El Salvador build its national bitcoin-based payments system.

This latest announcement from Strike comes at a particularly good time for Lightning Network, which has seen 122 percent growth in the past few months.

Categories
Blockchain CBDCs Crypto Art Crypto News Ethereum NFTs

New Visa NFT Program Aims To ‘Help Creators Reach New Audiences’

Financial services giant Visa has partnered with former major league baseballer Micah Johnson to launch an initiative to help digital creators learn about using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies, the company announced in a media statement.

In August, Visa sprang across the NFT board by purchasing a CryptoPunks NFT avatar for US$150,000 worth of Ethereum. The company now aims to bring more NFT awareness to a larger audience, in a new initiative it has launched jointly with Johnson.  

Bringing Blockchain to a Wider Audience

Johnson, a former MLB player turned crypto artist and creator of the NFT series character Aku, has launched along with Visa a program aiming to assist digital creators and small-business owners to better understand how NFTs work, and how blockchain can be used to create and mint digital art.

The initiative will select a group of creators, sponsor them and consult with them on NFTs and using blockchain to enter the digital art scene.

Johnson came onto the digital art scene in 2020 when he launched Aku, an animated astronaut character that became the first NFT to be optioned for a feature film.

Visa also aims to build connections between NFT creators and its current network of payment partners. Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, explained that Visa will help participants “navigate both crypto and traditional payment infrastructure”:

Visa Aims to Operate as a Universal Payment Channel

The financial services powerhouse is very active in the blockchain and crypto space. Earlier this month, Visa announced plans for the development of a protocol to make cross-border payments with Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins from any blockchain connected to its network.

Visa is developing the protocol to allow customers to send digital currencies between blockchains so as to operate as a “universal payment channel” (UPC). The payment channel will connect CBDC networks between countries and will link CBDCs with private stablecoins.

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Coinbase Crypto Exchange Crypto News Ethereum NFTs

Coinbase’s 43 Million Users Will Soon Be Able to Buy NFTs

US crypto exchange Coinbase has announced that it too will be joining the non-fungible token (NFT) game, with “Coinbase NFT” expected to launch by the end of this year.

Coinbase’s NFT marketplace will allow its 43 million users to buy and sell Ethereum-based collectibles, the company announced on October 12. Coinbase currently relies on its exchange fees but is now branching out into other revenue streams.

Today, we’re announcing Coinbase NFT, a peer-to-peer marketplace that will make minting, purchasing, showcasing and discovering NFTs easier than ever. Just as Coinbase helped millions of people access Bitcoin for the first time in an easy and trusted way, we want to do the same for NFTs.

Coinbase announcement

Coinbase Cashes In On NFT Madness

NFTs have certainly been the talk of the crypto-town in recent months, with transaction volumes topping US$10 billion in the third quarter of 2021, and Coinbase has got on board.

Coinbase NFT will include “social features” and tap into the creator economy of people making money by posting content online. NFTs have become a great way to fairly compensate artists who have been negatively affected by the availability of digital media.

The crypto exchange’s newest release will provide direct competition for NFT marketplace OpenSea, currently home to the majority of Ethereum-based NFT trading.

Coinbase Making Strides in the Crypto World

News of an NFT marketplace may console Coinbase users who were left furious when the platform failed during the September 7 crypto crash. Soon after that unfortunate event, Coinbase announced that US workers could be paid in crypto via the platform.

Categories
Crypto News Ethereum NFTs Sports

Magnus Carlsen Awarded NFT Trophy For Chess Tournament Win

Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen has been awarded the world’s first non-fungible token (NFT) chess trophy after winning the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour (MCCT).

The tournament minted a couple of NFT trophies and collectibles to preserve the game’s most defining moments. Carlsen has praised the crypto ecosystem for its support of virtual chess tournaments and cited MCCT’s recent partnership with the FTX crypto exchange, which allowed professional chess players to compete for a prize of 2.1825 bitcoin (BTC), worth approximately US$81,079.

Identical Signed Trophy Sells For 6.88 ETH

Carlsen’s trophy is one of two identical NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain. Both were signed by the grandmaster and auctioned off to collectors at the new Chess Champs digital marketplace.

The second NFT trophy has already sold for 6.88 Ethereum (ETH), worth US$24,750 at the time of purchase.

At the presentation, Carlsen spoke of his appreciation for NFTs and cryptos in general:


NFTs help the chess community celebrate great moments and possibly also reward those that have already invested so much time in growing the game. With Chess Champs, this is just getting started and I look forward to seeing it evolve. 

Magnus Carlsen

Before the chess trophy was unveiled, MCCT director Arne Horvei said: “For the first time in the history of chess we are going to provide a trophy that is an NFT-only trophy and, as far as I know, there is no other competition with professionals that has ever done that.”

To have NFT trophies and copies with a real trophy is one thing but to have an NFT-only trophy, as far as I know, we are the only one to have done that.

MCCT director Arne Horvei

NFTs: Bridging the Gap Between Sports and Digital Entertainment

The NFT market is still exploding and there is no sign it will stop any time soon. Current NFT use is only in buying and hoping the value increases, but a company called SynFutures is now allowing investors to short the booming industry.

Sports fans and collectors alike are loving NFTs. In Australia, and all over the globe, people are going crazy over sports NFT trading cards. The NFT market is taking full advantage of fans’ and collectors’ love of the industry, with many now offering sports trading cards that capture famous sporting moments as NFTs.

Categories
ChainLink Crypto Art Crypto News NFTs Scams

Banned Convicted Art Forger Launches NFT Collection; Will It Succeed?

Convicted German art forger Wolfgang Beltracchi has entered the NFT world, launching his very own digital NFT museum. Beltracchi is recreating the world’s most expensive painting, da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, in the form of 4,606 NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.

Recreating “The Greats”

In a new project, aptly named “The Greats”, Beltracchi will be recreating – not forging – one of the most controversial paintings in art history.

Painted in whole or in part by Leonardo da Vinci between 1499-1510, Salvator Mundi was in 2017 sold at a Christie’s auction to a proxy for Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman. It had been mistaken for a copy for the previous 500 years until the truth was finally revealed in 2011.

Salvator Mundi, believed to have been painted by da Vinci between 1499-1510.

According to The Greats’ website, the project will feature seven different takes on Salvator Mundi, based on the seven different eras of art history. Beltracchi is said to have redesigned the famous painting in 4,608 copies in his style.

The infamous forger conned the art world out of approximately 35 million euros between 1980 and 2011 before he was finally arrested by German authorities and sentenced to six years in prison, of which he served only three.

Since his incarceration, Beltracchi has been barred from exhibiting and selling his art by art museums, auction houses and galleries, hence his entry into the NFT market:

The NFT market offers artists a platform to market themselves independently and makes them independent from traditional art market mechanisms.

Wolfgang Beltracchi

Not all of the NFTs are currently exhibited on the website, with a spokesperson indicating they would only be revealed when the sale starts later this month.

In order to ensure the NFTs are not exploited, The Greats will be making a “hidden sale”. Chainlink’s Verifiable Random Function (VRF) will prevent buyers knowing which NFT they are minting.

Will Beltracchi Be Able to Pull It Off?

Confidence in NFT artists is not all that high of late, and many collectors are no doubt wondering if investing in the work of a convicted criminal is their best bet. Just last week, Crypto News Australia reported on the ‘Evolved Apes’ rug-pull in which investors lost a cool US$2.7 million.

Investors in Iconic Sol, an NFT project on the Solana blockchain, were also left in the lurch after the company failed to deliver several pieces of art and made off with US$500,000.

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Crypto Exchange Crypto News Investing New Zealand

New Zealand’s Easy Crypto Exchange Raises $11 Million, May List on Stock Exchange

New Zealand-based exchange Easy Crypto has just come off a Series A funding round, led by venture capital fund Nuance Connected Capital, securing US$11.75 million.

In an October 6 announcement, the company claimed this was the largest first funding round successfully completed by any New Zealand firm, and that the round was oversubscribed by 50 percent. Investors included Pathfinder, Icehouse Ventures, Even Capital, and US-based Hutt Capital.

Easy Crypto Reaches ‘Significant Milestone’

Janine Grainger, CEO and co-founder of Easy Crypto, said that the funding represents a significant milestone for the company and the future of cryptos in New Zealand. Investment had been difficult to secure, as it took 13 months for Easy to attract its first influx of capital.

Cryptocurrency is seen as a bit fringe still [in New Zealand], a bit volatile and I think it’s taken us a while to find investors who perhaps had that forward-looking and strategic vision to be able to take a punt on what we’re doing.

Janine Grainger, CEO and co-founder, Easy Crypto

Grainger is also co-founder of Vault Digital Funds, which has just established New Zealand’s first bitcoin-only fund, to be managed by Implemented Investment Solutions.

Using Funds to Accelerate Growth

Easy Crypto is a retail platform that enables its customers to buy, sell and trade over 150 cryptos. Co-founded three years ago by Grainger and her sibling Alan, the company has since experienced rapid growth, generating US$760 million (NZ$1.1 billion) in sales and increasing platform user numbers almost fivefold over the past 12 months.

Janine Grainger has said that the funds will be used to accelerate further growth by expanding product development and will move into new customer markets in South-East Asia such as Indonesia and the Philippines:

The reason we’re targeting those markets was that there is a large population of people who are unbanked or underbanked, and don’t have the same access to financial products as you and I do.

Janine Grainger, CEO and co-founder, Easy Crypto

Easy Planning to Go Public

Grainger has said that a share float might be on the cards in the long term: “We’re still working out what that looks like, and what plans there are for us into the future, but very likely we would be looking at an IPO [initial public offer].”

For now, however, the company’s focus is on what it can deliver to customers both locally and internationally.

Australia’s trans-Tasman neighbour is quickly realising the benefits of crypto. In November last year, Crypto News reported that New Zealand had built a green energy plant, paid for partly in bitcoin.

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CBDCs Coinbase Crypto Exchange Crypto News DeFi Regulation Stablecoins

SEC Chair Confirms It Has ‘No Plan to Ban Crypto’, Leaves It Up to Congress

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Gary Gensler has confirmed the regulator has no intention of banning digital currencies and adopting a policy akin to the Chinese government’s, instead stating that any such ban “would be up to Congress”.

Gensler was appointed earlier this year, much to the joy of the crypto industry for his pro-blockchain and Bitcoin stance. Until recently he has been quiet regarding his stance on cryptos but has since broken his silence.

CBDC Looking Unlikely

At a hearing before the US House Committee on Financial Services on October 5, Gensler was questioned about whether the regulatory body had any intention of banning cryptos in favour of a prospective central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The chairman indicated that it would be up to Congress to enact such a ban. He added that the focus of the government was to ensure the crypto industry complies with investor and consumer protection, anti-money laundering and tax laws.

It’s a matter of how we get this field within the investor consumer protection that we have, and also working with bank regulators and others. How do we ensure the Treasury department has it within anti-money laundering, tax compliance? Many of these tokens do meet the test of being an investment contract, or a note, or security.

Gary Gensler, SEC chairman

Last month, the SEC issued threats to sue the crypto exchange Coinbase if it were to proceed with launching its Lend program, on the basis that Lend is a security.

Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, similarly stated it had no intention to limit or ban the use of the US$2.2. trillion asset class.

During the house committee hearing, Gensler further addressed questions regarding cryptos, stablecoins, and the regulation of exchanges and decentralised finance (DeFi). The requirement for digital asset firms to sign up with the regulatory body was also discussed, with Gensler hinting that decentralised exchanges (DEXs) could be required to comply with the same rules.

Even in decentralised platforms – so-called DeFi platforms – there is a centralised protocol. And though they don’t take custody in the same way [as centralised exchanges], I think those are the places that we can get the maximum amount of public policy.

Gary Gensler, SEC chairman

The SEC has been “actively investigating” Uniswap Labs, the parent company of the leading DEX, Uniswap.

Stablecoins Are Like “Poker Chips” at the Casino

Gensler consolidated his position on stablecoins, indicating they may prove to be a risk for the economic system. With an estimated US$125 billion tied up in stablecoins, Gensler has described them as “poker chips” in the crypto casino, raising concerns that the market, which has grown tenfold in the past year, might be creating a system-wide risk.