Category: Crypto News

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Blockchain Crypto News Terra

Whistleblower Claims LUNA ‘Isn’t Community-Owned’ After Token Drops 56%

A Terra whistleblower has taken to Twitter to rubbish claims by founder Do Kwon that the newly launched Terra 2.0 network is “community-owned”, accusing Kwon and his company, Terraform Labs (TFL), of holding substantial amounts of LUNA 2.0 in what he (the whistleblower) calls “shadow wallets”: 

These accusations follow a rough week for LUNA 2.0 in which it lost over 50 percent of its value. At the time of writing, CoinGecko shows LUNA 2.0 valued at US$4.59, down from its recent high on May 31 of US$10.24, a drop of 56 percent in seven days.

Accusation of Shadow Wallets

The accusations of TFL holding secret stashes of LUNA come from Twitter user and prominent Terra critic FatMan. On June 6, FatMan posted a Twitter thread laying out his evidence that TFL and Kwon secretly hold large quantities of LUNA. FatMan listed several Terra accounts linked to TFL and Kwon which collectively hold approximately 42 million LUNA, currently valued at around US$200 million:

This is a serious accusation as Kwon has repeatedly insisted the newly launched Terra blockchain is community owned and controlled. According to FatMan, his evidence shows this claim is not true, tweeting:

“Do Kwon has stated numerous times that TFL has zero new LUNA tokens, making Terra 2 ‘community-owned’. This is an outright lie that nobody seems to be talking about. In fact, TFL owns 42M LUNA, worth over $200m, and they’re lying through their teeth.”

Claims Secret Holdings Used to Manipulate Governance

FatMan further claimed that Kwon used his LUNA holdings to influence governance of the new blockchain and approve his own proposal, claiming in another tweet:

“Do [Kwon] used his shadow wallet to approve *his own proposal* through governance manipulation (TFL is not supposed to vote), told everyone it would be a community-owned chain, and then gave himself a nine-figure score. These are just the verified wallets – there are many others.”

Terra 2.0 Dogged by Issues

Most responses to FatMan’s thread expressed concern about the alleged dishonesty and called for Kwon to be held accountable:

However, some users also questioned the significance of these allegations and accused FatMan of conspiratorial thinking:

Terra 2.0 was launched in late May following the collapse of the original Terra ecosystem. Since its launch the new blockchain has struggled, losing almost 80 percent of its value immediately after going live and continuing to be dogged by accusations of shady practices.

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Crime Crypto News DeFi Hackers

97% of Crypto Hacks Were Against DeFi Projects, Chainalysis

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has published a new report about criminal activities in the cryptocurrency space, stating that 97 percent of crypto hacks have targeted DeFi projects since the beginning of 2020.

North Korean Hacking Groups Largely Responsible

According to the report, DeFi protocols accounted for 97 percent of the US$1.68 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen. Most of the stolen funds, approximately US$840 million, have gone to hacking groups associated with the North Korean government, the report says.

On March 30, Axie Infinity lost over US$600 million in the biggest DeFi hack on record. The US government linked the heist to a notorious North Korean-based hacking group called Lazarus.

Source: Chainalysis

Another recent incident occurred on May 3 when a hacker stole US$80 million from DeFi platform Rari Capital.

DeFi-Based Money Laundering on the Rise

DeFi protocols have also seen an uptick of illicit funds coming into their networks. According to the report, 69 percent of all funds in DeFi were sent from addresses linked to criminal activity.

DeFi protocols allow users to trade one type of cryptocurrency for another, which can make it more complicated to track the movement of funds – but unlike centralised services, many DeFi protocols provide this ability without taking KYC information from users, making them more attractive to criminals.

Chainalysis report

Another key finding of the report was the incidence of NFT wash trading. This practice consist of artificially inflating the price of an asset by buying and selling the same instrument at the same time.

Chainalysis put up as an example two wallets that generated over 650,000 WETH in transaction volume by selling the same three NFTs back and forth to one another. The wash trade was done in the same marketplace, as it rewards transactions on its marketplace.

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Australia Crypto News Tokens

Move-to-Earn Token GST Drops After STEPN Hit With DDoS Attacks

Australian move-to-earn fitness application STEPN has reported multiple distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks in the wake of a major anti-cheating upgrade on its platform:

As mentioned in the above tweet, STEPN was expecting to secure and recover the servers in anywhere up to 12 hours but had not posted an update for 20 hours at the time of writing.

“Our engineers are working hard to fix the problems. We will announce here once recovery is complete. Thank you so much for everyone’s patience,” STEPN further tweeted.

The DDoS attacks occurred after the platform introduced “STEPN’s Model for Anti-Cheating” (SMAC) on June 3. The security-based system aims to eliminate fake users from the platform as well as prevent fraudulent motion data on the STEPN app.

Token Numbers Inflated by Bots and GPS Fudges

Launched last December, STEPN is an NFT game that allows users to earn tokens (either GST, the utility Green Satoshi Token, or GMT, STEPN’s governance token, aka the Green Metaverse Token) by exercising outdoors while wearing NFT sneakers. Apparently some players had been using bots and GPS fudging to inflate the number of tokens generated by using the application, hence STEPN’s SMAC system.

In the past 24 hours, both tokens recorded declines. GMT suffered a 6 percent slide with a 20.56 percent drop in trading volume, although increased distribution appeared to be under way at time of writing:

Source: CoinMarketCap

Just last week, GMT plunged almost 40 percent in 24 hours following news that mainland Chinese users would be barred from the service from July 15 this year. In April, STEPN reported that GMT’s value had increased five-fold over the previous month after securing a sneaker deal with Japanese brand Asics.

Meanwhile, the GST-SOL token recorded a 19.18 percent loss, though at time of writing volume was up 11.53 percent, consistent with a bear market correction.

Source: CoinMarketCap
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Binance Crime Crypto Exchange Crypto News

Binance Denies $2.4 Billion Money Laundering Allegations

According to a new report by Reuters, US$2.4 billion in stolen funds have been laundered through the cryptocurrency exchange Binance between 2017 and 2021. Binance, however, has vehemently denied the allegations, calling the report a “woefully misinformed op-ed”.

‘Analysis False’, Says Binance CCO

The report was conducted using court records, speaking with law enforcement, and working with monitoring firms Chainalysis and Crystal Blockchain to trace illicit funds moved across the exchange. It quotes Patrick Hillman, Binance chief communications officer, who told Reuters that he believed the analysis was false.

According to Hillman, Binance is in the process of assembling “the most sophisticated cyber forensics team on the planet” that would “further improve our ability to detect illegal crypto activity on our platform”.

In a post, Binance defended itself but Reuters maintains its claims. The charge of a “hub” for illegal activity was due to the possibility of users opening accounts and moving funds on Binance with an email address alone, and Reuters claims that the platform allowed them to operate with little to no “Know Your Customer” requirements until August 2021. During this time, the report alleges there were amounts of money flowing through the exchange from malicious actors.

Binance has previously been under investigation by the US Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice in an effort to uncover unreported crypto income from US citizens and other illegal activities on the platform.

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Alpha Finance Lab Balancer Crypto News Gala Market Analysis Trading

Top 3 Coins to Watch Today: GALA, BAL, ALPHA – June 8 Trading Analysis

Let’s take a closer look at today’s altcoins showing breakout signals. We’ll explain what the coin is, then dive into the trading charts and provide some analysis to help you decide.

1. Gala (GALA)

GALA aims to take the gaming industry in a different direction by giving players back control over their games. Gala Games’ mission is to make “blockchain games you’ll actually want to play”. The project wants to change how players can spend hundreds of dollars on in-game assets and countless hours playing the game, all of which could be taken away from them with the click of a button. It plans to reintroduce creative thinking by giving players control of the games and in-game assets with the help of blockchain technology.

GALA Price Analysis

At the time of writing, GALA is ranked the 78th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is US$0.08352. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

After setting a low last week, GALA turned into a recovery trend to make the new monthly highs.

The following 78% plummet found support near $0.06439, sweeping under the 40 EMA into the 60.8% retracement level before bouncing to resistance beginning at $0.07920.

This area could continue to provide resistance, possibly causing a retracement to the 9 EMA and 18 EMA near $0.08612, where aggressive bulls might begin bidding. The level near $0.09154, which has confluence with the 40 EMA, may see more interest from bulls loading up for an attempt on probable resistance beginning near $0.09985. 

However, if Bitcoin continues its sideways trend, much lower prices could be seen. The old support near $0.06380 could provide at least a short-term bounce. If this level fails, the old highs near $0.05835 might also give support and see the start of a new bullish cycle after retesting these support levels.

2. Balancer (BAL)

Balancer BAL is an automated market maker (AMM) that was developed on the Ethereum blockchain and launched in March 2020. It was able to raise a $3 million seed round by Placeholder and Accomplice. Balancer protocol functions as a self-balancing weighted portfolio, price sensor, and liquidity provider. It allows users to earn profits through its recently introduced token, BAL, by contributing to customisable liquidity pools.

BAL Price Analysis

At the time of writing, BAL is ranked the 414th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is US$7.11. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

Since the beginning of Q2, BAL has retraced 70% – a relatively high amount compared to many other altcoins. However, it continues to creep to monthly lows, suggesting that the consolidation period may be near its end.

Aggressive bulls could look for entries in new possible support between $6.90 and $6.78. A dip below this area might also find support near $6.70. However, a daily close near $7.25 brings bullish strength into question. 

A sudden drop in the market is likely to test possible support beginning near $7.00. This retracement would create extensions suggesting $6.55-$6.13 as a potential target for bulls. 

Currently, extensions indicate a reasonable take-profit zone near $7.36 to $7.63, with $7.95 having the most confluence. If bulls can maintain strength, confluent extensions point to $8.32-$9.00 as a reasonable next target.

3. Alpha Finance (ALPHA)

Alpha Finance Lab ALPHA is a cross-chain DeFi platform that looks to bring Alpha to users across a variety of different blockchains, including Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Ethereum. The platform aims to produce an ecosystem of DeFi products that address unmet needs in the industry while remaining simple to use and access. ALPHA is the native utility token of the platform. Token holders can earn a share of network fees by staking ALPHA tokens to cover any default loans. Other use cases for the token include liquidity mining and governance voting.

ALPHA Price Analysis

At the time of writing, ALPHA is ranked the 346th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is US$0.1522. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:

Source: TradingView

ALPHA‘s 65% rally from its Q1 lows met resistance near $0.5995, before creating a new range for Q2.

After a bearish flip of the 9, 18 and 40 EMAs, the price broke below $0.2110. This area, which has confluence with multiple swing lows and the May monthly open, may provide resistance on any future retest.

The price might find support near $0.1475 to $0.1408 if the overall market’s conditions turn more bullish. This zone has confluence with the 61.8% to 78.6% retracements and accumulation zone for Q1’s rally.

Suppose the price does rally through the probable resistance near the monthly open. In this case, the Q2 swing highs and above, near $0.2561, could provide resistance again. A shift back to more bullish market conditions could push the price to the 50% extension of the summer’s swing, near $0.2834.

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Where to Buy or Trade Altcoins?

These coins have high liquidity on Binance Exchange, so that could help with trading on AUD/USDT/BTC pairs. And if you’re looking at buying and HODLing cryptos, then Swyftx Exchange is an easy-to-use popular choice in Australia.

Categories
Bored Ape Yacht Club Crypto Art Crypto News Metaverse Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs

Snoop Dogg to Open Bored Ape-Themed Dessert Restaurant

Superstar rapper, recording mogul and NFT enthusiast Snoop Dogg has linked up with the Food Fighters Universe team to launch “an immersive retail dessert experience” to be known as Dr Bombay’s Sweet Exploration.

Food Fighters Universe is the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club-themed fast food restaurant Bored & Hungry, which opened in Los Angeles earlier this year.

A Bored Ape Eatery in All But Name

As the owner of a Bored Ape NFT, Snoop Dogg is lending the name of his BAYC avatar, Dr Bombay, to his eponymous sweets-only eatery. BAYC, created by Yuga Labs, grants its NFT holders the right to commercialise their owned images. So while Snoop’s project is not an “official” Bored Ape restaurant, the rapper is within his rights to attach his own NFT image to it and trade on BAYC goodwill.

Snoop rules the metaverse.

Like Bored & Hungry, Dr Bombay’s Sweet Exploration will feature branding and decor inspired by Bored Ape and Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFTs owned by the restaurant’s creators. Food Fighters Universe also plans to launch its own NFTs providing a range of benefits around its fast food outlets.

Last year, Snoop Dogg outed himself as the owner of an NFT collection worth US$17 million. In February, the rapper announced his acquisition of famous hip-hop recording entity Death Row Records, which he planned to turn into the world’s first NFT music label. “I want to be the first major in the metaverse,” Snoop said at the time.

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Crypto News Scams

Crypto Scams Raked in $1 Billion in 2021, US Regulator Reports

According to a report by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), more than 46,000 people have been scammed out of US$1 billion-plus since the beginning of 2021.

The ‘Data Spotlight’ report says almost half of those scams began with some sort of post on a social media platform.

Facebook and Instagram Loom Large in Scams

The report detailed that Instagram was responsible for 32 percent of the scams, while Facebook, also owned by Meta, accounted for 26 percent. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has announced its intention to sue Meta over its failure to block crypto advertisements involving public figures that are in breach of Australian consumer law.

Most of the reported losses derived from investment schemes that offered massive returns and took advantage of people’s lack of knowledge regarding cryptocurrencies. Around US$575 million of total losses suffered were attributed to bogus investment opportunities, while a distant second was romance scams, which stood at US$185 million lost.

Retirees Record Highest Individual Losses

The report also found that people aged 20 to 49 were three times more likely to report losing money to a crypto scammer than those in an older cohort. However, the median age for individual losses was people in their 70s, with an average of US$11,708 lost.

The total losses suffered may officially stand at US$1 billion, but that figure fails to take into account the billions lost in last month’s implosion of Terra/Luna:

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Coinbase Crypto News Gemini

Coinbase to Downscale, Announces Hiring Freeze and Rescinds Accepted Offers

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase recently announced it would extend its hiring freeze “for the foreseeable future” as a response to current market conditions. Additionally, the company intends to rescind accepted offers from candidates who had taken employment positions but had yet to start in their roles.

Coinbase Responds to Crypto Market Conditions

As per a blog post written by chief people officer L.J. Brock, Coinbase is looking at implementing cost-cutting measures as a response to “current market conditions and ongoing business prioritisation efforts”.

Moreover, Brock said the exchange would have to rescind “a number of outstanding offers for people who have not started yet”.

This is not a decision we make lightly, but is necessary to ensure we are only growing in the highest-priority areas.

L.J. Brock, chief people officer, Coinbase

In February, Coinbase announced it was on a hiring spree for 6,000 new employees. Less than a month ago, Brock published a tweet saying the firm was actively hiring, though shortly after it was announced that Coinbase had halted the process.

It seems the company is now taking a more severe turn. Naturally, the decision has impacted a vast number of candidates who had been accepted for roles within the company – some of them had pinned their hopes on a position to stay in the US legally:

On May 26, Crypto News Australia reported that Coinbase had entered Fortune 500, a list ranking the 500 top US companies by revenue. However, the firm’s Q1 financial results for 2022 weren’t so encouraging as it suffered a US$430 million loss:

Exchanges Feeling Pain of a Bearish Market

It seems exchanges are feeling the pain of a bearish crypto market, and Coinbase has been one of the most affected firms. As Crypto News Australia reported last month, a lot of retail investors are leaving the crypto market.

Coinbase isn’t the only cryptocurrency exchange that seems compelled to downscale its headcount. A few days ago, Winklevoss-led Gemini announced it would part ways with 10 percent of its workforce due to market conditions.

Categories
Crypto News Justin Sun Stablecoins TRON

Tron Stablecoin Over-Collaterises 200% to Prevent UST-like Collapse

TRON has announced that its recently launched algorithmic stablecoin, Decentralised USD (USDD), will be over-collateralised by a ratio of at least 130 percent in an effort to prevent a UST-style depegging event and to inspire confidence in the new coin.

When USDD launched on May 5, just before the Terra collapse, it was structured like most other algorithmic stablecoins with little in the way of collateral backing its value. Since then, TRON has prioritised increasing USDD’s collateralisation – according to data on the TRON DAO Reserve website, the ratio at the time of writing was 219.8 percent.

Ratio Among Highest In Crypto

The claimed guaranteed minimum 130 percent collaterisation of USDD touted by TRON makes it perhaps the most highly collateralised stablecoin in all of crypto, outdoing the previous standard bearer, DAI, with its collateralisation ratio of 120 percent.

According to TRON, the TRON DAO Reserve (TDR) currently consists of around US$1.37 billion of what it describes as “highly liquid assets”, including 10,500 Bitcoin (BTC), 240 million Tether (USDT), and 1.9 billion in TRX, TRON’s own coin. Currently there is around US$667 million USDD in circulation.

Move Intended to Instill Stability, Confidence

TRON founder Justin Sun says the over-collaterisation of USDD is one of several strategies being used to maintain the coin’s stability and promote market confidence:

Spearheading the Stablecoin 3.0 era, the upgraded, over-collateralised USDD will add more diversified features to underpin its stability. The US$10 billion reserves pledged by the TDR will enable USDD to become the most reliable decentralised stablecoin with the highest collateral ratio in blockchain history. Currently, the 200%+ collateral ratio offers USDD a very strong safety net.

Justin Sun, founder, TRON

As seen with the catastrophic collapse of Terra, having collateral as backing is no guarantee that an algorithmic stablecoin won’t suddenly and spectacularly lose its peg. During Terra’s collapse, the Luna Foundation Guard deployed billions in Bitcoin and other assets to restore UST’s peg, to no avail.

Since the launch of USDD, TRON has become the third-largest blockchain for DeFi by total value locked (TVL), soaring to over US$6 billion and promising intrepid users Terra-like annual rates of return of over 20 percent.

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Crypto News Japan Regulation Stablecoins

Japan to Regulate Stablecoins to Protect Citizens Following UST Implosion

The Japanese government has agreed to pass a law that will regulate stablecoins, defining them as digital money and protecting Japanese citizens from potential losses on their crypto investments.

This follows last month’s implosion of Terra’s UST and LUNA:

Safety Net for Investors

In 2021, Japan’s Financial Services Agency prepared a bill to clarify the legal status of stablecoins. This week, that bill successfully passed through the upper house of Japan’s parliament and will come into effect in 2023. Under the legislation, stablecoins must be linked to either the yen or another legal tender, with holders guaranteed the right to redeem their stablecoins at face value.

The move will mean a safety net for investors who are currently on edge or recovering from large losses after the TerraUSD (UST) crash that saw LUNA tank. The legislation also means that stablecoins can only be issued by a licensed bank, trust company, or registered money transfer agent:

Currently, Japanese exchanges do not list stablecoins, and it is worth noting that this newly passed law will not address overseas asset-backed stablecoins and their algorithmic equivalents. The law also takes aim at money laundering.

Controversies Surround Stablecoins

Following last month’s fall of Terra, a South Korean LUNA investor attempted to take matters into his own hands after losing US$2.4 million in the collapse. The investor literally knocked on the front door of Do Kwon, founder of Terraform Labs, to speak with him about the loss. While the act was not technically deemed to be trespassing, the investor was arrested and is likely to face a fine.

Last week, the Bank of England (BoE) agreed to “rescue” collapsed stablecoins to protect holders. The announcement came from HM Treasury and suggested that the BoE is eager to amend financial legislation to pull crypto under its jurisdiction.

Closer to home, the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) announced plans to extend the usage of A$DC – its cash-backed stablecoin – to meet demands from institutional customers.