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.
PSG have confirmed that part of Messi's "welcome package" was paid in cryptocurrency fan tokens đ€ pic.twitter.com/5XvKdv0nci
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.
A Californian judge has upheld a legal claim by a cryptocurrency investor who exploited a coding flaw on the ICON decentralised network to amass 14 million ICX tokens worth almost US$17 million.
Staker Mark Shin filed a lawsuit against ICON for interfering with his property rights after the blockchain network discovered the error in its protocol and froze access to Shinâs ICX tokens.
In an order issued on August 9, US Federal District Judge William H. Orrick denied ICONâs attempt to dismiss the complaint, finding that Shin had âa plausible claim” – allowing the lawsuit to proceed.
DeFi Case Raises Novel Legal Issues
Shin amassed his huge stash of ICONâs native tokens by repeatedly exploiting a bug whereby the protocol added 25,000 newly minted ICX tokens to his account every time he initiated a redelegating process (transferring staked tokens between network nodes).
The judge said that while it was disputable whether common law property rights should apply to digital assets, Shin had made a case for his ownership of the tokens. As Judge Orrick stated:
Shin plausibly asserts that he has a stronger claim to possession of and title to the ICX tokens than ICON because he minted, created, and staked a claim to the ICX tokens on the blockchain.
Judge William H. Orrick
Denial of the motion to dismiss does not resolve the legitimacy of Shinâs ownership of the tokens.
Exploitation and Hacks on Blockchain Platforms
A number of decentralised platforms have been compromised of late. Just this week Poly Network was the victim of the biggest DeFi heist in history, losing over US$600 million in a white-hat hack, though a portion of the funds have since been returned.
Last month, an unforeseen bug on Thorchain exposed the network to an attack that drained US$4.9 million worth of Ethereum from the protocol. Also in July, decentralised NFT platform Bondly Financeâs token crashed in value after an alleged exploit, although many suspect it was an exit scam.
With the increase of fake Covid-19 vaccine certificates circulating on the web, Australian specialists are calling for a nationwide roll-out of a blockchain-based vaccine certificate system.
According to a report published by The Australian newspaper, international fraudsters are selling fake Australian Covid-19 certificates for as little as A$120, claiming they have sold over 200 certificates to their alleged 900 interested customers.
The counterfeiters claim their certificates are so realistic, âYouâll be the only one to know youâve not been vaccinatedâ. Another group of forgers claims it can convince medical doctors to enter false information straight into the Australian Immunisation Registry.
With networks spanning the globe, some providers claim they have partners in Australia, the US, Europe, and some parts of Asia. Darknet marketplaces have also been a source of fake certificates and stolen vaccines where clients can pay with cryptocurrencies. With so many sources of fraudulent certificates, a system needs to be designed to combat the criminals.
Why Use Blockchain?
According to Robert Potter of cybersecurity firm Internet 2.0, it would be a good move for Australia to utilise blockchain technology to create a vaccine certificate system to ensure the current certificate system isnât compromised.
We are able to give you a foolproof system that we solely are able to use, however we really need a worldwide system that everybody can use.
Robert Potter, Internet 2.0
However, Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen insists the current Covid-19 certificate application has âenhanced anti-fraud featuresâ and that “where there are discrepancies [âŠ] Services Australia will contact the provider to ensure accuracy of this information and correct the record if required”.
By using blockchain technology, certificates can be digitally verified to check someone’s vaccination status, and its immutable properties mean issued certificates can’t be tampered with. However, our fallible brethren might still be persuaded to add fake certificates to the system.
International conglomerate IBM has also developed a blockchain-powered digital health pass built-in with Amadeus, an airline reservations system utilised by more than 450 carriers around the globe.
Blockchain Australia deputy chair Karen Cohen believes a blockchain-based Covid certificate system may pave the way for the safe exchange of health information worldwide, stating: âThis would be a really wonderful test case as a globally secured way of sharing health data.”
The endangered Seychelles magpie robin is now available to purchase in digital form in a series of collectible NFTs, sales of which will help fund the rare bird’s conservation efforts.
The magpie robin NFT set is the first in a series of Digital Species Collectibles. There are a total of 59 unique bird NFTs that each represent one of the 59 protected Seychelles magpie robins living on Cousin Island Special Reserve. There are only about 460 of these birds left in the wild, inhabiting the Seychelles islands of Fregate, Cousin, Cousine, Denis and Aride.
A variety of different industries are now incorporating the sale of NFTs to boost their fundraising efforts and raise awareness about important issues. With the help of NFTs, wildlife conservation efforts such as the magpie robin project will benefit from the additional revenue raised outside traditional funding methods.
As traditional sources of funding have dried up, we need innovative ways to support long-term programs that are the backbone of successful conservation. This is just the beginning of experiments to find new income streams.
Dr Nirmal Shah, CEO, Nature Seychelles
Environmental organisation Nature Seychelles has partnered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (a marketplace where nature conservation meets fintech) and Swiss charity Porini Foundation (which helps environment and nature-focused organisations utilise blockchain technology) to launch the worldâs first Non-Fungible Token for Conservation (NFTC) for the magpie robin NFT project.
Tagged Seychelles Magpie Robin
All proceeds from the initial sale of magpie robin NFTs will go directly to Nature Seychelles to fund the care and survival of the threatened bird. As magpie robin NFTs are bought and sold, additional income will be generated for this and other nature and wildlife conservation projects.
To support the #NatureCollectibles project and own one of the worldâs first Digital Nature Collectibles, visit the Porni Foundation shop on Shopify.
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.
At a short ceremony this morning, Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) minted Jamaicaâs first batch of central bank digital currency (CBDC).
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, â[it] does not consider that a policy case has yet emerged for issuing a CBDC“.
Poly Network, a multi-chain platform that provides interoperability between blockchains, reportedly suffered an attack on Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum and Polygon, losing over US$600 million, making it the biggest DeFi heist in history.
Important Notice: We are sorry to announce that #PolyNetwork was attacked on @BinanceChain@ethereum and @0xPolygon Assets had been transferred to hacker's following addresses: ETH: 0xC8a65Fadf0e0dDAf421F28FEAb69Bf6E2E589963 BSC: 0x0D6e286A7cfD25E0c01fEe9756765D8033B32C71
The protocol urged all miners of the affected blockchain and crypto exchanges to blacklist tokens coming from a list of addresses from the hacker (or hackers). However, one user told the attacker(s) to try depositing the stolen funds without Tether – which they did, placing all the addresses into Curve.
As a show of gratitude for the help, the hackers gifted the user US$45,000 in Ethereum.
Hacker Returns $258M
At about 4:00 am UTC, the hacker sent an ETH transaction to himself with a private note saying “ready to return the fund”. In a subsequent message, he asked for a multisig wallet to transfer the funds to after failing to contact Poly.
The protocol provided the hacker with three different addresses from BSC, ETH and Polygon to return the funds. “We are preparing a multisig address controlled by known Poly addresses,” Poly Network said in a private message embedded in an ETH transaction to the address provided by the hacker(s).
$260 million (As of 11 Aug 04:18:39 PM +UTC) of assets had been returned: Ethereum: $3.3M BSC: $256M Polygon: $1M
The remainings are $269M on Ethereum, $84M on Polygon
Media Outlets Scramble to Cover Biggest Ever Heist
This is the most controversial theft in the history of DeFi, so much that media outlets like Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, CNBC and Reuters have covered it too. Other heists amounted to relatively small sums, such as the US$25 million stolen from Popsicle Finance or the $13 million stolen from THORChain.
After the hacker(s) showed intentions to return the funds, software developer O3 Labs suggested the person(s) behind the hack might be a white hat hacker – an ethical hacker that specialises in penetration testing and other testing methodologies to ensure the security of an organisation’s information system.
The hacker left a final message saying: âItâs already a legend to win so much fortune. It will be an eternal legend to save the world. I made the decision, no more DAO.â
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 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.
Using blockchain technology, the industry aims to reveal the entire supply chain – from farm to fashion – that goes into the “miracle fibre”.
In the digital world, curious consumers are demanding to know more about the products they consume and where they come from, whether or not they are organic and what went into a product for it to end up in our shopping carts.
Concepts like provenance, transparency and sustainability are therefore concerns that need to be addressed. For instance, brands in the fashion industry have come under scrutiny from consumers who are becoming concerned about the sustainability and social and environmental impact of the garments they wear, and companies are needing to provide transparency regarding these issues.
Annually, merino wool contributes A$3.6 billion to the Australian economy and the country accounts for 90 percent of global supply. Merino sheep are renowned for producing some of the softest, finest and most beautiful wool known to the world.
Merino wool. Source: Everledger
Aside from its beauty, merino wool also creates a much lower ecological footprint compared to synthetic fibres. In order to thrive in the global market, the product needs to protect its reputation for quality and authenticity – enter blockchain.
Our solution for @woolinnovation was featured on The Yarn, the number 1 wool industry podcast. John Roberts, COO at AWI: âThe world is crying out for stories of sustainable farming practices, and this is a great avenue for us to be able to tell our story.â https://t.co/HRf6wMJJOB
Getting merino wool into the hands of consumers follows a lengthy supply chain: tending, processing, manufacturing, retailing, buying, shipping, retailing again, and exchanging many hands along the way.
AWI is confident in Australian woolgrowersâ practices to abide by best practice production and wants to share this with the world. The organisation, responsible for protecting the livelihood of 22,000 woolgrowers and their 70 million sheep, aims to promote the traceability of global supply chains so consumers and stakeholders alike will understand the full value of their product.
Everledger is a digital transparency company that will use blockchain to help realise AWI’s provenance goals. Peter Hughes, Everledger’s regional head of Australia and New Zealand, explains the aim of the collaboration with AWI:
It is about being able to validate the journey of that material or product in a way that makes sense, both for a commercial customer, who is buying on a large scale, but also a brand that eventually receives that and wants to take that message through to a consumer.
Peter Hughes, Everledger
Everledger will build and host an Electronic Chain of Custody Tool (ECCT) on its platform that “will track and validate the exchange of ownership of selected wools as they move up the supply chain from farm to overseas processing and through to finished products”.
The ultimate goal is “to demonstrate sustainability and compliance best practices, and provide more confidence on the authenticity and provenance of the product”.
Other Industries Embracing Blockchain
The merino wool industry is not the only one to embrace blockchain. Crypto News Australia reported last week that Australiaâs native Kakadu plum will be traced using blockchain technology to verify its provenance. Tracking the indigenous food will also aid in combating fraud.
The cotton industry in Israel has also adopted blockchain to trace cotton produced in that country. The Israeli Cotton Board recently partnered up with Australian blockchain authentication platform Security Matters to authenticate the origin of the cotton.
And in the US, DApp startup Eggschain is using blockchain to track sperm. The project will revolutionise the reproductive industry by building a blockchain solution to assist in the in vitro fertilisation process.
By Jana Serfontein, Crypto News Australia Guest Author
Eggschain, a startup based in Austin, Texas in the US, is about to revolutionise the reproduction industry. Founder and CEO Wei Escala says the company is building a supply chain solution on the blockchain to assist the process of in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
Eggschain is a DApp built on the Stacks blockchain, which allows people to build decentralised applications for Bitcoin. The Stacks proof-of-transfer (PoX) model also enables smart contracts and digital assets to be settled and verified on Bitcoin blocks.
Why Does IVF Need Blockchain?
By making sperm donations and embryo implantations available through registration on the blockchain, selection will be facilitated for clients across various jurisdictions. Patients’ data will be protected from human error or loss of information, and it will also ensure the system is more transparent.
Information collection on donors is extensive: data on subjects such as hereditary diseases, education level, hobbies, career paths and physical attributes all need to be recorded and kept. Through the use of smart contracts, Eggschain can store all of this data and attach it to each supplied sperm sample stored on the blockchain as an indelible, permanent record, making the selection of sperm a much easier experience.
Escala stresses that Eggschain, as it functions with Stacks, cannot be âbacktrackedâ in such a way that the âfamily treeâ can be traced. âWhen your sperm is donated, that is a transaction that gets hashed onto the blockchain with an indelible time stamp,” she says. Further transactions take place âwhen the sperm is implanted into a woman or into an eggâ.
Just because someone received your donated sperm, it doesnât give them the authority to read through your life – it is almost an invasion of your privacy.
Wei Escala, CEO, Eggschain
Patent Secured for Tracking Genetics on Blockchain
Eggschain has announced its patented solution for tracing the storage and transfer of blood, genome, tissues, organs, DNA, RNA, sperm, eggs, embryos and other biospecimens.
The Eggschain universal tracing and tracking platform will improve the supply chain process for medical professionals accessing information from initial donation through to testing and transfer, and deliver peace of mind for individuals and families undergoing IVF.
Dear community, the moment we have all been waiting for.
We couldn't be happier to announce our first cohort of 25 startups building on Bitcoin w/ Stacks.
August 5 was D-day for Ethereumâs London hard fork and saw its price remain strong following a 12-day winning streak. The long-anticipated upgrade will bring improvements to the efficacy of transactions on the network until Ethereum 2.0 is deployed in 2022.
Ethereum has gone live with some significant changes to its network. Five Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) are under way, the most notable being EIP-1559.
Saving on Transaction Fees
EIP-1559 is said to lower the transaction fees on Ethereum, but this is not entirely true. EIP-1559 will not so much lower the transaction fees as allow a better gauge of the actual transaction fee.
Users will no longer need to âcushionâ transactions with extra gas to ensure that miners process the transaction, allowing users to estimate the transaction cost more precisely and thus pay less. A developer at the Ethereum Foundation, Tim Beiko, has gone on to clarify that the cost will not be a “20x reduction” but instead a “20 percent reductionâ.
âUltra-soundâ era
The London Hard Fork has introduced a deflationary model for Ether (ETH), with EIP-1559 setting the scene for what some have called an âultra-soundâ era for Ethereum.
What is Ultra Sound Money đŠđ?
– Minimal viable issuance. A predictable block subsidy to pay block producers and just enough not to "overpay" for security.
– EIP-1559. Burn a portion of the network fee.
It is deflationary when: -> burnt_network_fee > minimal_viable_issuance
— Patrick McCorry đŠđđ (@stonecoldpat0) July 25, 2021
EIP-1559 will be destroying a large part of the high mining fees on Ethereum. The London hard fork means that transaction fees once paid to miners will now be burned and removed from circulation altogether.
The move has promoted Ethereuns to speculate that this will lead to a supply crunch as more of the coin is removed from circulation. Along with a decrease in supply, DeFi and NFTs within the Ethereum ecosystem increase the demand for Ethereum, so it is expected that the price of ETH will continue to rise.
The price has remained relatively stable following the London hard fork going live, with a drop of 0.14 percent in the past 24 hours. This follows a winning streak of 12 consecutive days and a price gain of 43 percent.Â
It remains to be seen if the price of Ethereum has risen and will continue to rise due to a greater demand for the cryptocurrency.
By Jana Serfontein, Crypto News Australia Guest Author
