Robinhood has successfully slashed its offer to acquire London-based cryptocurrency exchange Ziglu. The price of the deal went from US$170 million to US$72.5 million, a whopping 60 percent less than the original price tag, due to market conditions.
The initial deal was made in April 2022 and the purchase marked a step in Robinhood’s plan to scale its digital assets presence in international markets. Ziglu founder and CEO Mark Hipperson reportedly accepted the offer on August 18.
Commenting on the acquisition, a Robinhood spokesperson said in a blog post:
With Ziglu, UK-based customers can buy and sell 11 cryptocurrencies, earn yield via its ‘Boost’ products, pay using a debit card, and move and spend money, even abroad, without fees.
Robinhood blog post
Robinhood is now in a position to expand its operations at a much lower cost, but crowdfunding investors who purchased shares on UK-based equity platform Seedrs have lost out on this deal. Ziglu crowdfunded on Seedrs in 2020 and 2021, raising US$15 million at the time.
Hipperson justified the downgrade, citing market conditions triggered by troubled crypto lenders Celsius, BlockFi and Voyager. Ziglu is listed as one of the top 50 unsecured creditors of Celsius, which could be locked indefinitely as it is quickly running out of money and has been operating at a multibillion-dollar deficit as it undergoes bankruptcy proceedings.
Robinhood Continues Expansion
Along with acquiring Ziglu, Robinhood announced a Web3 non-custodial wallet in May to rival MetaMask. The wallet will give its customer access to NFTs, decentralised exchanges and swap tokens through a new interface. A month earlier, Robinhood also unveiled plans to support Lightning payments for its two million users.
The Ethereum floor price of the world’s largest NFT collection, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), dropped to its lowest level since the start of the year but has since managed to rally slightly. Yet for a brief moment, the second-largest NFT collection, CryptoPunks – also owned by Yuga Labs – saw its floor price top that of BAYC:
Many owners of BAYC and CryptoPunk NFTs, who used the collectibles as collateral to take out loans in Ether, have failed to repay their debts. The situation could trigger the NFT sector’s first massive liquidation. As BAYC struggles, CryptoPunks topped the floor price of the veteran NFT collection for the first time since March, according to NFT Price Floor.
Lending service BendDAO could liquidate up to US$55 million worth of NFTs to recover its loans, in fears that the so-called “health factor” of its debts could dip below one. (An NFT collection’s floor price is a key facet in determining a collection’s health factor.)
CryptoPunks Soldiers On
The past couple of weeks have been good for CryptoPunks, with exciting projects in its view. Early this month, famed jewellery brand Tiffany and Co announced the release of limited edition CryptoPunk pendants. In the midst of the crypto winter, a rare NFT from the collection sold for 2,500 ETH, or approximately US$2.6 million.
Adding to recent consumer consternation caused by illiquid crypto exchanges and lenders, hackers have exploited a zero-day vulnerability in General Bytes Bitcoin ATM servers to steal funds from customers.
General Bytes is the manufacturer of Bitcoin ATMs that, depending on the product, allow users to purchase or sell more than 40 different cryptocurrencies. However, in recent incidents that have seriously compromised their security, when customers have deposited or purchased cryptocurrency using these ATMs, the funds were instead siphoned off by hackers.
Remote Servers to Blame
The Bitcoin ATMs are controlled by a remote Crypto Application Server (CAS) that manages the ATM’s operation, which cryptocurrencies are supported, and executes the purchases and sales of cryptos on exchanges.
According to General Bytes’ security advice, the attacks were conducted using a zero-day vulnerability in its CAS:
The attacker was able to create an admin user remotely via the CAS administrative interface via a URL call on the page that is used for the default installation on the server and creating the first administration user. This vulnerability has been present in CAS software since version 20201208.
General Bytes security advice
General Bytes believes the hackers scanned the internet for exposed servers running on TCP ports 7777 or 443, including servers hosted at Digital Ocean and General Bytes’ own cloud service.
The hackers then exploited the bug to add a default admin user named ‘gb’ to the CAS, and modified the ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ crypto settings and ‘invalid payment address’ to recognise a crypto wallet under the hackers’ control.
Funds Diverted to Hackers’ Wallet
Once they had modified these settings, any cryptocurrencies received by CAS were forwarded to the hackers instead. “Two-way ATMs started to forward coins to the attackers’ wallet when customers sent coins to the ATM,” according to the security advice.
General Bytes, one of the largest manufacturers of cryptocurrency ATMs with almost 9,000 machines installed all over the world, is warning customers not to operate Bitcoin ATMs until they have applied two server patch releases, 20220531.38 and 20220725.22, on their servers. It has also provided a checklist of steps to perform on the devices before they are put back into service.
Most Exposed Servers Are in Canada
While it remains unclear how many servers were breached using this vulnerability and how much cryptocurrency was stolen, according to information provided by security firm BinaryEdge there are currently 18 General Bytes Crypto Application Servers still exposed to the internet, with the majority located in Canada.
Last year, El Salvador led the adoption of bitcoin in Central and South America by launching 1,000 Bitcoin ATMs across the country for buying and selling BTC. However, less than three months later a bitcoin ATM was burned and defaced with anti-BTC messages as protesters demonstrated resistance towards El Salvador’s pro-crypto President Nayib Bukele.
The self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin, commonly known as “Faketoshi” among Bitcoiners, is back at it again. This time, Craig Wright is suing a pseudonomyous Bitcoin website editor for defamation.
To everyone that has donated or helped spread the word so far, thank you so much!
True to form, the Bitcoin community has rallied in support of “Hodlonaut”, raising over US$1 million (52 BTC) to support what is expected to be a costly lawsuit.
With the trial set to commence on September 12 in Oslo, Hodlonaut reached out to the community for support, highlighting that in addition to defending the defamation claims he would also be seeking an order preventing Wright from additional claims in the future:
Hodlonaut call to arms. Source: Twitter
To everyone that has donated or helped spread the word so far, thank you so much!
The Bitcoin community heard the call to action and wave of support followed, with one particularly deep-pocketed Bitcoiner donating 47 BTC:
And to the person, company or group that donated 47BTC… Stepping up like that, with no desire for clout or recognition, just wanting to help, without anyone knowing… that is extremely #bitcoin. Love you, my anonymous brother(s)/sister(s). 🧡
Aside from financial contributions, the community offered its support with the hashtag #WeAreAllHodlonaut. Michael “Gigachad” Saylor, the unofficial corporate king of Bitcoin, tweeted the hashtag on the same day as the massive 47 bitcoin donation was received. Coincidence?
It’s difficult to remember a time when Craig Wright wasn’t embroiled in some or other legal proceedings. Most recently, he won a case against a popular British podcaster for defamation, however ended up with the paltry sum of £1 for deliberating manufacturing evidence.
Wright has routinely threatened media personalities and Bitcoin Core developers with lawsuits, which has ultimately led to the creation of a fundraising page called defendingbtc. Thus far, over 50 bitcoin has been donated and, given the community’s support behind Hodlonaut, that figure is likely to only go up.
Despite having numerous opportunities to conclusively prove that he is Satoshi, Wright has failed in each case. Is Hodlonaut the person to once and for all and finally put to rest Wright’s persistent baseless claims? Time will tell.
In deference to growing awareness of Web3, this year’s MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) will feature an exciting new category, ‘Best Metaverse Performance’, with K-pop sensations BTS, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber and American chanteuse Ariana Grande among the six nominees for their recent metaverse music projects:
Tune in to the VMAs on August 28 to find out who will take out the first ever ‘Best Metaverse Performance’ award. Voting closed on August 8 for the six acts in contention: Justin Bieber and Wave’s ‘An Interactive Virtual Experience’; Fortnite’s ‘the Rift Tour’ featuring Ariana Grande; YouTube and BTS collaboration PUBG Mobile and Blackpink’s ‘The Virtual’; and both Carli XCX’s and Twenty One Pilot’s collabs with Roblox.
MTV’s decision to broaden its categories was based on what it describes as the desire to recognise artists’ efforts to connect with their global fans via virtual metaverse experiences.
We saw the opportunity to highlight and honour some of the best, most impactful executions of this – and celebrate artists who have found creative ways to use these spaces – which led to the addition of a ‘Best Metaverse Performance’ category this year.
MTV spokesperson
The awards show also announced its maiden metaverse foray on August 12, with Paramount Game Studios releasing The VMA Experience to Roblox’s metaverse. The collaboration will be live until early September 2022.
What Else is Happening in the Metaverse?
Just this month, the metaverse real estate ‘bubble’ popped. As happens when the actual real estate bubble bursts, metaverse prices crashed by 85 percent. Beyond waning interest, the downfall of the sector was linked to a wider drop in the value of crypto and NFTs, alongside harsh macroeconomic conditions.
Prior to this, Animoca Brands, the company behind The Sandbox, launched a new decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) called OMA3, with hopes of developing the metaverse’s interoperability standards. Animoca has reportedly established an alliance with other prominent Web3 companies and plans to prioritise users’ asset ownership capabilities in its upcoming changes.
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. Band Protocol (BAND)
Band Protocol BAND is a cross-chain data oracle platform that is able to take real-world data and supply it to on-chain applications, while also connecting APIs to smart contracts to facilitate the exchange of information between on-chain and off-chain data sources.
BAND is the native token of the Band Protocol ecosystem and is used as collateral by validators involved in fulfilling data requests, as well as being the main medium of exchange on BandChain, used for paying for private data.
BAND Price Analysis
At the time of writing, BAND is ranked the 394th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is US$1.40. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:
Like many other altcoins, BAND set a high around April before retracing 80% to the low at $1.20 in Q3.
Price broke through resistance near $1.45, which may mark an area of possible support on a retracement. If this support fails, bulls may also step in near $1.34. However, a drop this far increases the chances of a stop run to $1.25 and possibly into support near $1.19. For now, continuing bullish market conditions could help $1.40 become support.
The swing high around $1.73 gives bulls a reasonable first target, with $1.98 also likely to draw the price upward. Higher-timeframe resistance beginning near $2.10 or $2.19 could cap the move or trigger consolidations. If bullish market conditions continue, bulls might test probable resistance near $2.30.
2. Waves (WAVES)
WAVES is a multi-purpose blockchain platform that supports various use cases, including decentralised applications (DApps) and smart contracts. The platform has undergone various changes and added new spin-off features to build on its original design.
Waves’ native token is WAVES, an uncapped supply token used for standard payments such as block rewards. Waves initially set out to improve on the first blockchain platforms by increasing speed, utility, and user-friendliness.
WAVES Price Analysis
At the time of writing, WAVES is ranked the 72nd cryptocurrency globally and the current price is US$5.02. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:
WAVES has dropped almost 95% from its late-March high and over 64% from its early June high. The price is now rallying toward the middle of its local range.
Bulls may find their first support between $5.00 and $4.80. This area shows inefficient trading on the daily chart inside June 21’s strong bullish impulse. It’s also just below the 9 and 18 EMAs.
The price may be seeking probable resistance near $6.40. This level shows consolidation on the daily chart over the current range’s midpoint. Weekly candle bodies also show that bears rejected bulls near January’s swing lows around this area.
This potential rally could continue over the June monthly open to $7.32. Candle bodies on the weekly and monthly charts show that bulls rejected bears at this level in late January. This area also shows inefficient trading on the weekly chart, which may need a revisit.
Yet relative equal lows near $4.56 offer a very tempting target for bears. The price could find some support under these lows, down to $4.13. This area shows inefficient trading on the weekly and monthly charts. It’s also near the high of September 2020’s consolidation.
A longer bearish move may continue through these possible supports to a zone from $3.87 to $3.45. If the price moves this low, it may be targeting bulls’ stops below weekly swing lows near $3.15. The bottom of this zone also shows inefficient trading on the monthly chart.
3. Ravencoin (RVN)
Ravencoin RVN is a digital peer-to-peer (P2P) network that aims to implement a use case-specific blockchain designed to efficiently handle one specific function – the transfer of assets from one party to another. Built on a fork of the Bitcoin code, Ravencoin aims to solve the problem of assets transfer and trading over the blockchain. Previously, if someone created an asset on the Bitcoin blockchain, it could be accidentally destroyed when someone traded the coins it was created with. RVN coins are designed as internal currency within the network and must be burnt in order to issue token assets on the Ravenchain.
RVN Price Analysis
At the time of writing, RVN is ranked the 104th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is US$0.03178. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:
Since the November high, RVN‘s 70% drop marks the current range as a reasonable area to expect accumulation.
The recent bearish flip of the 9, 18 and 40 EMAs may cause bulls to be less aggressive in bidding. However, possible support near $0.03045 and $0.02738 – between the 61.8% and 78.6% retracements – could see at least a short-term bounce.
Last year’s long-term consolidation suggests that the areas near $0.04846 and $0.05178 may be more likely to cause a longer-term trend reversal.
Bears are likely to add to their shorts at probable resistance beginning near $0.05412, which has confluence with the 18 EMA. A fast break of this resistance could trigger more selling near $0.05729, the start of the bearish move.
If an aggressive bullish move does appear, trapped buyers in the probable resistance beginning near $0.06045 may provide a ceiling for this impulse.
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.
Troubled crypto lender Hodlnaut has announced massive layoffs and pending police proceedings in a blog post that underscores its dire financial and legal situation as it becomes the latest crypto firm to halt customer withdrawals.
The Singapore-based lender has laid off 40 employees in an effort to reduce its costs and has admitted it is subject to action being taken by the Singapore Attorney-General and the Singapore Police Force.
Hodlnaut Cuts 80% of Staff, Interest Rate to Zero
After pausing withdrawals earlier this month, Hodlnaut filed for creditor protection in Singapore seeking time to resolve its liquidity issues. In addition to cutting 80 percent of its staff, the company also slashed annual interest rates to 0 percent in an attempt to “stabilise liquidity”. The company’s founders remain in Singapore and are said to be “working hard on a recovery plan”. They added:
The current team we have retained are, in our assessment, [the] necessary headcount in order for us to carry out key functions.
Hodlnaut blog post
Hodlnaut joins fellow lender Vauld and Asia Pacific crypto exchange Zipmex in an unholy trinity of Singapore-based crypto firms facing liquidity crises. Hodlnaut also applied to be placed under judicial management earlier this month. If successful, the move will hand “ultimate decision-making power on all aspects of the company going forward” to the judicial manager – an independent third party that oversees the process.
An independent review from global accounting giant BDO has reported that the stablecoin issuer’s total assets exceed its consolidated liabilities. Will the FUD finally go away or stick around independent of evidence?
Tether Releases Independent Auditor Report From Top 5 Accounting Firm BDO, Reinforcing its Dedication To Transparency And Revealing Another Major Cut To Commercial Paper Holdingshttps://t.co/an5O5KX8xd
Tether has made available its latest quarterly assurance opinion completed by BDO, a top five-ranked global independent public accounting firm. The attestation reaffirms the accuracy of the firm’s reserves report, which breaks down the assets held by the group as of June 30, 2022.
As of that date, BDO confirmed a more than 58 percent decrease in Tether’s commercial paper holdings over the prior quarter, from US$20 billion to US$8.5 billion. During the same period, the company increased its holdings of cash and bank deposits by 32 percent.
The attestation revealed a continued reduction in commercial paper investments and is said to demonstrate that “the group’s consolidated assets consistently exceed its consolidated liabilities, despite market capitulation in Q2 2022, which led to cascading failures across the industry”.
Further, the note suggests that “emerging from this black swan event [market capitulation, kicked off by Luna], Tether demonstrated its resiliency and continued commitment to transparency, dependability and commitment to removing commercial papers from reserves”.
Management noted that as of June 30, total assets exceeded total liabilities, and highlighted a figure of US$66.2 billion in relation to digital tokens issued.
Paolo Ardoino, Tether CTO, said:
We are fully committed to maintaining our role as the leading stablecoin in the market. Our commitment to transparency and the community is a longstanding pillar in the underlying ethos of the company and aligns with our responsibility as a market leader. We have once again demonstrated that commitment by aligning with BDO, one of the world’s top accounting firms.
Paolo Ardoino, CTO, Tether
‘Tether Truthers’ Silenced
So-called “Tether Truthers” have long asserted that Tether is a fraud and that its collapse would result in the entire crypto market unravelling. To date, that has proven to be a belief lacking in credence, even more so after this latest attestation.
This news would have been poorly viewed by at least one hedge fund, which accumulated a massive short position betting on its its decline. It seems no matter the evidence provided, Tether FUD is one of those persistent issues that are hard to dispose of, once and for all.
With the 2022 AFL finals season about to blast off on September 1, the Australian Football League’s first limited-edition drop of NFTs has galvanised fans of the indigenous code by selling out in less than 12 hours, raising over $130,000 in USDC:
AFL Mint Ripper Skipper AllOWLIST Drop – SOLD OUT
We are happy to announce the AFL Mint AllowList sold out in under 12 hours.
A huge thank you to our community who has participated, followed along and backed this project!
The Ripper Skipper 2022 NFTs, so-named in reference to the captains (“skippers”) of the AFL’s 18 competing clubs, feature 78 significant highlights from the 2021 season, incorporating both video and audio.
Ripper Skipper NFT of Joel Selwood, captain of Geelong, the AFL’s No 1 team.
Another Drop on August 24
While the initial mint sold out in less than half a day, the wider public will gain access to another drop this Wednesday, August 24. The NFTs are launched to members of the public who have signed up to the allowlist, and will sell for A$49 in lucky dip packs of three cards with differing levels of rarity: common (90 percent), deluxe (8 percent), and ovation (2 percent).
Each pack features three “moments” involving selected club leaders in action. There’s also a 10 percent your pack will receive a special, extra-utility-carrying Genesis Ball NFT (pictured, below) as one of the three cards.
AFL Genesis Ball NFT. Source: afl.com.au
“Through our AFL Mint brand, we will launch exciting new moments across our men’s and women’s competitions, plus celebrate past greats and other product releases that will bring a unique fan experience we haven’t seen before,” said Kylie Rogers, executive general manager of customer and commercial at the AFL.
The AFL announced its NFT marketplace in April this year, revealing it had signed a five-year partnership with Be Media, a Perth-based subsidiary of Hong Kong NFT gaming giant Animoca Brands. At the time there was significant pushback from AFL fans who registered their disapproval at the AFL moving into the NFT space. So much for that …
AFL Mint Will Only Get Bigger in 2023
The marketplace will officially launch in 2023, allowing the selling and trading of moments between fans and collectors. AFL Mint has plans to expand on the concept and offer game-day events, tickets and the chance to meet players in the metaverse.
It appears rumours of a downturn in the NFT space, still negatively affecting the crypto world in general, have been somewhat exaggerated.
Canadian cryptocurrency platforms Newton and Bitbuy are imposing a CA$30,000 annual net buy limit on altcoins in some provinces, though the limit will not apply to unrestricted cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash:
We’re excited to finally announce our registration with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and the securities regulatory authorities in all Canadian provinces, Yukon, and Northwest Territories. pic.twitter.com/8zx8UJy2DE
Toronto-based exchange Newton says the limit will apply to what are being called restricted cryptocurrencies, or altcoins. A net buy limit tallies up all crypto purchases minus sells (at average cost) over a rolling 12-month period, according to Bitbuy.
Nine Provinces Affected
Provinces where the buy limits will be imposed are New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. Users can still resell restricted cryptocurrencies to reduce their balance towards the limit, which resets after one year.
The limits, put in place by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and the Canadian Securities Administrators, are calculated based on the amount in Canadian dollars altcoins are worth at the time of trade and are thereby unaffected by increases or decreases in the value of one or more digital assets.
The decision has rightly caused some confusion of frustration among Canadian residents who took to Twitter to express their concern:
I am UNFORTUNATELY located in Toronto and we in Ontario are under restrictions to buy crypto NOW! $30,000 annual buy limit! 🥺 pic.twitter.com/gTRTbQcARE
On the other hand, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is understandably happy about the decision to privilege major coins such as Ethereum:
Glad to see Ethereum people pushing against regulations that privilege ETH over other legitimate cryptocurrencies.
(I have not dug into the details of what specifically is going on and to what extent it's a gov thing vs a compliance decision of one business, but either way…) https://t.co/NDYPh5rqsk
Canada’s crypto scene has caused much confusion and frustration this year after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took unprecedented steps in February by invoking the 1988 Emergencies Act, which enables the government to freeze bank accounts without going through the courts, in an attempt to deny funding to the Canadian “Freedom Convoy”, thus essentially banning cryptocurrencies.
The Freedom Convoy was established through a loose affiliation of truckers and citizens who launched protests over vaccine mandates for truckers crossing the US/Canada border. Many have slated the country’s decision as undemocratic and authoritarian.
