Category: Crypto Exchange

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Blockchain Coinbase Crypto Exchange Crypto News Cryptocurrencies Ethereum Real Estate Tokens

Real Estate Smart Contract Token ‘Propy’ Soars 227% Amid Coinbase Listing

Tokenised real estate is now a reality thanks to NFTs. The global real estate store Propy offers a faster, simpler and more secure process for buying and selling property through smart contracts.

On January 14, Coinbase announced it would list Propy (PRO) on its website’s blog. Coinbase is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US and the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume globally.  

Propy is a project focused on expanding the functionality of NFTs beyond the digital art world. The Ethereum-based protocol integrates blockchain technology with the real estate sector and offers an automated closing process for international real estate transactions.

The PRO token is used to pay for platform fees to process tasks such as modifying and creating title and deed contracts. Read the whitepaper here.

First Real Estate NFT in the US

Along with the recent Coinbase listing, Propy has an upcoming sale in Tampa, Florida, which will be the first real estate NFT sale in the US. These two factors appear to have boosted the price of the PRO token:

PRO price movements. Source: Coinbase.com

PRO was worth US$1.12 on January 12 before news of the Coinbase listing. The price moved 227 percent to hit a daily high at US$3.67 on January 14 and has since continued to climb beyond US$4.00. The token has ballooned by an impressive 5192.6 percent in just one year and is still climbing the ranks, currently sitting at #257.

Meanwhile, HeroX announced the tokenisation of the first property in Australia last September. As house prices remain out of reach for many new investors, NFTs seek to disrupt the global real estate market by offering the tokenisation of property around the world.

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Crypto Exchange Crypto News Regulation Security

Crypto Advertising Crackdowns Kicking in Around the World Again

As quickly as cryptocurrency is increasing its pace of adoption, so too is regulation pertaining to its promotion. Spain, Singapore, and the UK are the latest jurisdictions to have made changes to their advertising regulations.

Spain Releases New Rules for Crypto Influencer Posts

Spanish regulators are advocating to control the way crypto is marketed, focusing specifically on restrictions on influencers’ promotions. The Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), the governmental organisation responsible for the financial regulation of Spanish securities markets, issued a release on January 17 outlining its new rules.

The CNMV now stipulates that promoting crypto assets must include the following disclaimer: “Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be appropriate for retail investors and the full amount invested may be lost.”

Influencers or outlets with more than 100,000 followers must also now notify the CNMV on the content of promotions related to crypto with a minimum of 10 days’ notice. Spain’s new rules come into effect next month, and non-compliance may result in fines.

Crypto.com billboard in Singapore’s Orchard Plaza. Source: bloomberg.com

Although this is the first strict regulation for the EU, several other countries have also moved to control how crypto firms and agencies advertise their services. The UK recently banned two ads from Crypto.com because they were deemed to be misleading by the UK’s advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA determined that the Singapore-based exchange’s ads took advantage of consumers’ “inexperience” and failed to make it clear that crypto investments aren’t regulated in the UK.

Singapore Curbs Crypto Marketing

Singapore has also cracked down on crypto marketing to curtail a recent surge in retail trading of digital assets. According to guidelines issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, “the public should not be encouraged to engage in the trading of [digital payment tokens (DPT)].” The regulatory body advised service providers to only market their goods on their own websites, social media and apps, and that they should take care not to trivialise the risk of investing digital assets.

Singapore has also made the decision to ban all ATMs that deal in digital currencies, citing that their convenience and accessibility may mislead the public to trade crypto assets on impulse.

Common Themes? 

The recent cryptocurrency ad crackdown has mainly been fuelled by companies and influencers taking advantage of unwitting and inexperienced crypto customers. Regulation thus far had served to protect consumers against the risks still associated with the unregulated market.

Last year, Google reviewed its policy on advertising after lifting its ban in August, adding specific requirements to which advertisers had to adhere.

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Blockchain Crypto Exchange DeFi Markets Tokens

Bullish Signals Push DeFi Token ATOM Up 90% in the Past Month

The Cosmos blockchain (ATOM), one of the OGs in the space, has seen exceptional growth in the past month through the sea of red washing over the market, thanks to its cross-chain approach and new decentralised exchange (DEX).

A Cross-Chain Future for Cosmos

Cosmos is a community-owned and operated blockchain, and one could say it functions as a layer 0 on which other blockchains can be built and liquidity shared between chains. Cosmos can connect and exchange data and assets with other sovereign blockchains; this is made possible by using the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol (IBC).

This technology is now being used to connect various blockchains and is considered “the safest and most secure and decentralised way to move assets across different blockchains, unlocking interoperability across multiple chains”.

ATOM Price Spike

During the past month, the ATOM token has soared close to 90 percent from just over US$21 on December 14 to around $40.83 at the time of writing. With an estimated US$162 billion in digital assets under management and 262+ dApps and services, the chain is poised for further growth.

As more chains are bridged, the total trading volume will increase. Since the release of cross-chain bridges that connect the Cosmos (ATOM) ecosystem with other Ethereum (ETH) Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible networks, the trading volume has expanded considerably.

OSMO price and DEX trading volume. Source: Token Terminal

Ups and Downs for Osmosis

Osmosis (OSMO) is one of the first DEXs to service chains connected through the IBC, and has already begun benefiting from its position. One week ago it was in the top 3 DEXs, however, at the time of writing, the exchange had gone down to rank 12th.

OSMO’s massive increase in trading volume has also been one of the factors causing the price to surge 81 percent from a low of US$4.05 on December 17 to a new all-time high of US$9.57 on January 12.

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Crypto Exchange Crypto News Crypto Wallets Cryptocurrencies Hackers

Crypto Exchange LCX Hot Wallet Hacked for $7.94 Million

Liechtenstein-based crypto exchange LCX has had one of its hot wallets compromised, the hacker getting away with almost US$8 million in various cryptocurrencies.

First Big Hack of the Year

On January 9, the LCX team and crypto-security firm PeckShield detected a breach of one of the LCX hot wallets. On further inspection, it was established that the theft had taken place on January 8 between 11:23pm and 11:37pm CET.

Only LCX Hot Wallet Compromised

According to the LCX update, the hacker got away with an estimated US$7.94 million in Ethereum (ETH), USDC, Sand Token (SAND), LCX Token (LCX), and various others. The exchange did, however, manage to freeze US$700,000 and commented that none of its users or other LCX wallets were impacted.

Coins stolen by the LCX hacker. Source: Etherscan

The assets were moved to the hacker’s ETH wallet address (0x165402279F2C081C54B00f0E08812F3fd4560A05), which has since been flagged. In the meantime, the platform has paused all deposits and withdrawals, and the incident has been reported to several Liechtenstein authorities. It hasn’t yet been revealed how the hacker got access to the hot wallet.

Hopes for a More Secure DeFi in 2022

This latest hack follows on the heels of the US$200 million BitMart hack that took place in early December and the $450 million Bilaxy hack just before that.

Last year was a rough one for the DeFi ecosystem, having sustained an estimated US$10.2 billion in losses from hacks, bugs, fraud, exploitations and other malevolent activities, according to a report by IMMUNEFI. This represented a 137 percent increase on the losses suffered in 2020.

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Australia Crypto Exchange Crypto News

MyCryptoWallet Liquidation Commences, Amount of Crypto Held Remains Unknown

Liquidators for MyCryptoWallet are in the process of establishing the amount of cryptocurrency held, if any, by the now-defunct Australian crypto exchange. In the interim, out-of-pocket investors are left with little choice but to hope for the best.

Liquidation Under Way

According to documents lodged with the corporate regulator, MyCryptoWallet’s former chief executive, Jaryd Koenigsmann, first contacted the insolvency practice, SV Partners, on November 22. This drove the company into liquidation proceedings on December 3.

Soon after, the appointed liquidators commenced their campaign to sell various parts of the business, the most valuable component being its intellectual property and technology stack.

My preliminary investigations reveal that the company’s online platform and its technological infrastructure is commercial to realise … Accordingly, I have engaged lawyers and valuers to assist me with the process of securing the online platform and the sale of the company’s website and intellectual property.

Terry van der Velde, liquidator, SV Partners

Last week, SV Partners released a report to creditors where it indicated that, as of yet, it had failed to identify whether the failed business had any of its own crypto reserves.

My investigations are ongoing with respect to the coins and wallets … Creditors will be updated in further reports.

Terry van der Velde, liquidator, SV Partners

Low Prospect of Recovery?

When asked about whether individual customers could access their funds, SV Partners outlined the liquidation process:

All assets of the company vest in me as liquidator of the company for the benefit of creditors … Customers [who] invested money and had their coins stored through the company’s website, and can verify their deposits, may be entitled to receive a dividend. However, at this stage the quantum and timing of any such dividend is unknown.

Terry van der Velde, liquidator, SV Partners

While the assets of MyCryptoWallet remain unknown, liquidators confirmed that its bank accounts were empty and that it had an outstanding debt of A$250,000, owed to a related party.

As per the report, MyCryptoWallet had around 19,500 registered customers. Given the average retail investor’s proclivity to leave their crypto on exchanges, the number of creditors is expected to run into the thousands. Naturally, this would be very concerning to investors, some of whom may have lost as much as A$40,000.

A subsequent statutory report to creditors is scheduled to be released on or before March 3.

What are the chances that creditors will recover their funds in full? Undoubtedly, that ship has sailed. At best, aggrieved investors can hope to recover a portion of their investment, together with a brutal, albeit elementary, lesson – not your keys, not your coins.

As Rick tells Morty, “not your keys, not your coins”. Source: @AUnderwar
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Australia CBDCs Crypto Exchange Payments Regulation

Treasury Moves to Consider Feasibility of CBDC and Crypto Legalisation Reforms

The Australian government is making strides in reforming consumer and business payments as well as building a framework for the regulation of the crypto market as innovations in payment technology rapidly increase.

The Rise of New Payment Technology

Australia has long been working on the possible implementation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and a year-long study by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has determined that a CBDC could be used by the wholesale market for the funding, settlement and repayment of a tokenised syndicated loan on Ethereum-based distributed ledger technology (DLT). Research will continue accordingly.

The report comes as the Australian government is in the process of overhauling its regulatory framework for payment systems for the first time in more than 20 years. The concern with emerging payment technologies – such as those provided by Ant Group Co or even Tether – is that a digital currency pegged to the US dollar could pose a threat to monetary regimes and add a new layer to cross-border payments.

If we do not reform the current framework, it will be Silicon Valley that determines the future of our payments system […] These are significant shifts which we need to be in front of.

Josh Frydenberg, Australian Federal Treasurer

According to the Australian Taxation Office, more than 800,000 Australians have made transactions with digital assets since 2018. Since the technology is available and people are using it, the country has also opted to broaden its payment laws to cover online transaction providers such as Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, as well as buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) providers like Afterpay Ltd. This would effectively end their run of operating without direct supervision.

Australia Leading Crypto Regulation

Leading up to the reform, in October an Australian Senate committee released a 12-point crypto reform plan to assist in the regulation of the growing digital asset ecosystem. Now full-scale crypto regulation is coming to Australia, and it includes licences for exchanges, laws for DAOs, action on de-banking and a review of tax settings.

The move to regulate digital assets is an important one with many factors to consider, but consultation and discussion are essential first steps with the support of key individuals in government positions.

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Australia Crypto Exchange Crypto News Crypto Wallets

Australian Exchange MyCryptoWallet Goes into Liquidation

MyCryptoWallet, an Australian exchange claiming to be the first to offer zero fees trading, has collapsed and gone into liquidation. This has left some users with a sinking feeling after being have been unable to access their accounts to withdraw their investments.

Not the First Issue?

Earlier this year, Crypto New Australia reported that alarm bells had been raised when the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had been called in to investigate complaints from several MyCryptoWallet users claiming they were unable to access their crypto assets. But this wasn’t even the first complaint.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Melbourne-based exchange is said to have signed up over 20,000 users in its first three months of operation, after launching in late 2017. However trouble arose in 2019 following a dispute with NAB which resulted in the company’s accounts being frozen.

Later that year, the company once again ran into difficulties, this time with its technology partners, leaving users unable to withdraw funds from the exchange. Thereafter, the complaints continued with some users being unable to access their accounts, others unable to trade using 2FA systems or some, not being able to load the company’s website at all.

Jaryd Koenigsmann, former CEO MyCryptoWallet. Source: MyCryptoWallet

A Bitter Ending for MyCrypto Wallet – Liquidation

This past Friday, December 3, the company’s 28-year-old chief executive Jaryd Koenigsmann called in administrators, according to documents lodged with the corporate regulator.

Shortly after, Terry van der Velde of SV Partners was appointed as liquidator of the company. While it is too early to establish how many creditors there were and how much is owed, a report is expected to be filed December 17.

To help creditors recover at least a portion of their investments, Mr Van der Velde is now on the hunt to find a buyer for MyCryptoWallet’s technology infrastructure.

SV Partners will be formally releasing an Expressions of Interest Memorandum by approximately 10 December for an opportunity to purchase the technological infrastructure of the business.

Terry van der Velde, SV Partners

Much like in the past, the exchange’s collapse has left an unknown number of aggrieved customers unable to access their funds. The writing appears to have been on the wall for some time as as users have been unable to get in touch with anyone from MyCryptoWallet.

Mr Koenigsmann too appears to have foreshadowed what was coming, having reportedly listed his Melbourne home for sale in July with an asking price of A$1.3m.

The story of MyCryptoWallet, although unfortunate, is a cautionary one. It provides a timely reminder that investors must conduct a due diligence into the credibility and track record of a crypto exchange, or any crypto company for that matter. Bad customer service and blocking withdrawals are just two of the red flags users should be looking out for.

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Crypto Exchange Crypto News Crypto Wallets Hackers Tokens

BitMart Exchange Hacked for $200 Million

The centralised US crypto exchange BitMart has been hit by one of the most devastating hacks to date, draining an estimated US$196 million in various cryptocurrencies.

According to a Twitter thread by Sheldon Xia, founder and CEO of BitMart, on December 5 a “large-scale breach” of its Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) hot wallets was discovered. The losses were estimated to be around US$200 million by security firm PeckShield, who picked it up as it was happening.

Attackers Targeting Important Private Keys

According to an official update, withdrawals have been suspended and all other wallets are secured and unharmed, as fortunately “ETH hot wallet and BSC hot wallet carry a small percentage of assets on BitMart”. Xia later announced that the breaches had been caused by a stolen private key that the attackers used to gain access to the wallets.

The hacker made away with a mix of more than 20 tokens, including altcoins such as Binance Coin (BNB), Safemoon, BSC-USD and BNBBPay (BPay), as well as sizeable amounts of memecoins such as BabyDoge, Floki and Moonshot.

After the funds were leached, they were systematically swapped for Ether (ETH) using decentralised exchange (DEX) aggregator 1inch, and thereafter deposited into privacy mixer Tornado Cash, which made the hacked funds harder to track.

In August, Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency trading platform Bilaxy also suffered a serious attack, losing an estimated US$450 million.

BitMart to Compensate Affected Users

In terms of asset deposits and withdrawals, BitMart is confident that these functions will gradually begin from December 7. The affected users at least have a silver lining after BitMart made a statement that they would be compensated and pools refunded.

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Crypto Exchange Crypto.com Sports Tokens

CRO Token Soars 30% Amid $700 Million Deal with Los Angeles Lakers

News of Crypto.com securing naming rights to Los Angeles’ iconic Staples Center has seen the price of the exchange’s coin (CRO) soar, hitting an all-time high of just below US$0.57.

Crypto.com announced on November 16 that it had entered a 20-year partnership with sports entertainment company AEG, which owns and operates the Staples Center – home to four professional sports teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Kings, and a premier venue for concerts, special events and awards shows, including the Grammy Awards.

The partnership agreement includes:

  • renaming the Staples Center to Crypto.com Arena, effective December 25;
  • Crypto.com featured across the venue via branding and signage throughout the interior and exterior of the facility; and
  • Crypto.com becoming an official cryptocurrency platform partner of NBA team the LA Lakers and NHL team the LA Kings.

Commenting on the agreement, Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek said:

We’re very excited about partnering with AEG and investing long-term in this city, starting with Crypto.com Arena in the heart of downtown, and using our platform in new and creative ways so that cryptocurrency can power the future of world-class sports, entertainment and technology for fans in LA and around the world.

Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO, Crypto.com

Todd Goldstein, chief revenue officer of AEG, added:

This partnership represents the fastest-growing cryptocurrency platform and the biggest sports and live entertainment company in the world converging to drive the future of sports and live entertainment as well as the incredible legacy of this arena for decades to come.

Todd Goldstein, chief revenue officer, AEG

The CRO token increased in value earlier this month after being listed on Coinbase, reaching almost US$0.40 within two days after tracking sideways under $0.20 previously. 

It seems Crypto.com’s aggressive marketing and focus on sporting sponsorships is paying off. The exchange also partners with the UFC, Formula 1, and in September signed a deal with French football powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain.

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Coinbase Crypto Exchange Crypto News Crypto.com Tokens

CRO Token Rallies 30% Amid Coinbase Listing

Crypto.com’s CRO token is now available on the Coinbase.com exchange and the value of the asset has increased as a result, hitting a new all-time high of almost US$0.40. On November 4, after listing on Coinbase, it pumped to US$0.39 within two days after months of tracking sideways under US$0.20.

CRO is ranked the 28th-largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalisation of almost US$9 billion. Boasting more than 10 million global users, Crypto.com is among the world’s five biggest centralised exchanges and has been growing fast.

Crypto.com’s new advertising campaign includes celebrity partnerships with Matt Damon’s Water.org, and team sponsorships for UFC, Formula 1 and French football powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain, which aims to establish the brand in front of a wider mainstream audience and bring crypto to the masses.

Aggressive Marketing Campaign

This classy high-budget commercial (see below), featuring A-list actor Damon, is an example of the strong video marketing the brand is using as part of its promotional campaign to aggressively grow Crypto.com’s presence and establish the exchange as a top player in the cryptocurrency marketplace.