Category: Ethereum

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Crypto News Ethereum Gaming Investing Metaverse NFTs

Humans of the Metaverse is Launching In-Game Virtual NFT Art Auctions

Humans of the Metaverse, a new and unique collection of Meta-Human NFTs, is launching in-game virtual NFT art auctions. In Q1 of 2022, users will be able to access one-for-one artwork NFTs, all using the project’s native token, $HOTM.

Humans of the Metaverse (HOTM token) has exciting prospects amid the metaverse boom. The project comprises a collective of 6,500 unique Meta-Human NFTs, stored as ERC-721 tokens on the Ethereum blockchain and hosted on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), which is essentially a distributed system for storing and accessing files, websites, applications and data.

Humans of Metaverse Character Designs on OpenSea

Residents of the Metaverse are represented by a unique composition from 200 traits collected from the most notable and influential personalities, taken from all temporal spaces. The project is on the road to creating the “MetaCity” – a fully integrated Web3 ecosystem where HOTM token holders will reside and be able to spend the project’s native token, $HOTM, in an increasing number of ways, giving long-term value and utility to holders as the city grows.

Holders of Humans NFTs will be able to perform various activities and “interact” with a range of buildings within the HOTM ecosystem via the $HOTM token.

Humans of the Metaverse Roadmap

Within the MetaCity, Humans will be able to generate tokens via ‘jobs’ – another trait conferred on the NFTs. Each job determines the specific NFT’s $HOTM generation rate, and ‘salaries’ will range between 10-30 $HOTM/day. Along with token generation, holders will be able to invest in real estate by buying land and city essentials, along with buildings, each of which is upgradeable to allow evolution and expansion.

Within the metaverse will be a museum where Human NFT holders will be able to spend $HOTM on 1/1 artworks, personalised Humans tailored to their holders’ likeness, along with NFTs from other projects. The project, however, wants to make it clear that 1 $HOTM = 1 $HOTM, which means these tokens do not have a monetary value.

Initial Humans NFTs Sold Out But More Available on Secondary Market

According to the HOTM website, the initial set of Humans NFTs sold out within 15 minutes on the OpenSea marketplace, and over 100 ether (ETH) was traded in the first hours of the sale. Do not fear, however – Humans NFTs are available for purchase on the secondary market to all those who missed out during the initial sale.

The Metaverse: The Next Big Thing

The term “metaverse” is relatively new to the world of cryptos, but that has not stopped the concept booming. Exhilarating projects are on the rise and it is fast becoming the next big investment theme, according to financial powerhouse Morgan Stanley.

Last month, the global banking giant issued a statement to its investors in which it notes the metaverse is garnering much attention, with both Meta (formerly Facebook) and Microsoft venturing into the space. Accordingly, Morgan Stanley said, “it can fundamentally change the medium through which we socialise with others”.

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Crypto Art Crypto News Ethereum NFTs

Wikipedia Co-Founder’s First Post to Be Sold as an NFT

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales is auctioning off “The Birth of Wikipedia”, made up of the very first post on the reference site in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT), along with the strawberry iMac computer used by Wales when Wiki launched on January 15, 2001.

The token will be sold through London-based auction house Christie’s and will run until December 15. Part of the proceeds will be used to support WT.Social, “a decentralised, non-commercial social network free of advertising, tracking, information harvesting, and misinformation”, which Wales launched in 2019.

The NFT, which reads “Hello, World!”, written on the Ethereum blockchain, will be launched as a JPEG and will incorporate an interactive feature – allowing the buyer to edit the window, along with a timer that will reset it to its original state after five minutes. Christie’s hopes that the NFT will sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, as this novel art form has become a staple of auction houses and the art market.

The strawberry-coloured iMac used by Jimmy Wales at the time of the Wiki launch. Source: Christie’s
The NFT of the very first Wikipedia edit made by Jimmy Wales circa 2001. Source: Christie’s

When Wales sent out his initial greeting in 2001, he could not have imagined that the project would grow so massively. “I always say I’m a pathological optimist,” he admits. “I thought if we did a really good job we might be a top 100 or top 50 website, but I didn’t really know that we would have this really fundamental impact.”

Today, Wikipedia has recorded 228 million daily visitors in the past month, with each person reading nearly four minutes online from Wiki’s 6,408,480 articles.

Exciting Developments in NFT World Where ‘Cool’ Rules

Amid the current market hype, NFTs have facilitated a number of, for lack of a better word, “cool” events to take place. What could be cooler than owning a unique piece of internet history such as the first Wikipedia entry? But the question remains, why even buy the NFT if you can’t show it off?

Cyber now offers its users NFT bragging rights by making “virtual reality NFT galleries” available. By using Cyber’s platform, digital collections can be displayed in an owner’s gallery for everyone to see. Snoop Dogg is the latest celebrity to join the craze by dropping his own NFT, and naturally, the owner is likely to want to proudly display it.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Ethereum Markets

Crypto Markets See Red Following $2.5 Billion in Liquidations Over the Weekend

Over the weekend of December 4-5, a confluence of factors led to a dramatic crash in crypto markets. Against an uncertain macro backdrop of potential tighter monetary policy, surging inflation and fears over the new Omicron variant of Covid-19, derivative markets added fuel to the fire resulting in some US$2.5 billion in liquidated positions in 24 hours.

Longs liquidated. Source: Cryptorank

Double-Digit Drawdowns Across the Board

As the NASDAQ dropped 2 percent on December 3 against a broader risk-off sentiment, crypto markets tanked, resulting in all of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap, save for stablecoins, posting double-digit losses within 24 hours. BTC dropped 18 percent within 24 hours, while ETH faired slightly better, dropping 17 percent in the same period.

According to CoinGecko, the market cap of the entire crypto market dropped by 15 percent to US$2.34 trillion, down from a high of over US$3 trillion when bitcoin soared above $US$69,000.

Commentators have suggested that large institutional selling triggered a broader market shift, with reports indicating that one institution alone sold over US$500 million in bitcoin. This, the report continues, triggered “aggressive liquidations” in the crypto derivatives market:

The other factor driving the sharp declines across the board was that, comparatively speaking, the market was “thin” as it occurred outside of typical trading hours.

Leveraged Liquidations, Nothing New

By definition, leveraged trading amplifies both gains and losses. When the market is bullish, traders tend to go long and pile on the leverage. This works well until the market moves against you. When that happens, traders need to post more collateral to maintain the margin requirement, or face forced liquidation. At scale, a failure by traders to meet their maintenance margin creates a cascading liquidity flush, creating rapid double-digit declines as seen in April this year.

Following April’s meltdown, many exchanges reduced leverage available to traders from 100x to 20x. Notwithstanding, bloodbaths such as those experienced over the December 4-5 weekend remain largely driven by leverage.

Will Clemente, a leading on-chain analyst who is known in the community for “calling it like it is”, pointed out the benefit of flushing liquidity and maintained his overall bullish view toward Bitcoin.

Justin d’Anethan, Hong Kong-based head of exchange sales at cryptocurrency exchange EQONEX, believes many investors will view this recent decline as an opportunity:

If anything, this is the opportunity to buy the dip for many investors who might have previously felt like they missed the boat.

Justin d’Anethan, head of exchange sales, EQONEX

Following the meltdown, crypto markets have recovered to a limited extent. At the time of publication, both ETH and BTC are up from the weekend’s low. ETH is up 11 percent, trading at US$4,122, while BTC is up only 5 percent, trading at US$48,656.

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Crypto News Ethereum Social media

White Hat Hacker Discovers Twitter Will Soon Integrate ETH to ‘Tip Jar’

A white hat hacker – otherwise known as an ‘ethical’ hacker – has revealed that Twitter will soon integrate Ether (ETH) to the Tip Jar.

The hacker in question is Hong Kong-based Jane Manchun Wong, who discovered that users can receive tips in the form of ETH while not being included on the app.

The tipping function was rolled out in September, allowing Bitcoin tips via the Lightning Network. But it seems Wong managed to find a way to add the ETH address option in the Tip Jar by tweaking the Twitter interface to add Ethereum wallets. There was a user who had managed the feat first when the tipping function went live.

Note that the ETH address option is not available, but this suggests Twitter will soon integrate the option to allow users to receive tips in the form of Ether.

Not the First Time Wong Has Beaten Twitter to the Punch

Wong has previously discovered hidden functions on the social media platform. In early November, she managed to connect her ETH wallet to Twitter and set her Twitter NFT Avatar. Twitter soon blocked her access to the NFT Avatars feature.

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Australia Bitcoin Crypto News ETFs Ethereum

Australia’s First Spot Crypto ETFs Launching Through ‘ETF Securities’ and ’21Shares’

ETF Securities will partner with 21Shares to provide Australian investors with access to the country’s first direct Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), along with a best-in-class blockchain education and research centre.

Australia Gets its First Direct BTC and ETH ETFs

Subject to regulatory approvals, the ETFS 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (EBTC) and ETFS 21Shares Ethereum ETH will provide Australians with a way to invest in Bitcoin and Ethereum, via funds operated by the new partnership between ETF Securities and 21Shares. Zurich-based 21Shares, backed by Cathie Wood, has currently almost US$3 billion in assets under management in its 20 European crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) available across eight exchanges. 21Shares has managed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs for three years and was additionally responsible for creating the world’s first physically-backed crypto ETP in 2018.

Graham Tuckwell, executive chairman of ETF Securities Australia, had this to say:

Once we had decided to build a range of crypto ETFs for the Australian market, there was only one partner we wanted to work with and that’s 21Shares. They are [at] the cutting edge of crypto ETPs in the world today.

Graham Tuckwell, executive chairman, ETF Securities Australia

Along with the ETFs, the partnership will also offer a research and education centre to be built on 21Shares’ investment-grade and cutting-edge research – some of the world’s most comprehensive. The research covers a vast array of different blockchains and cryptos, not only Ether and Bitcoin but also lesser-known, fast-growing cryptos such as Avalanche, Solana and Polygon.

The centre aims to explain in simple English how the often-complicated crypto and blockchain-verse works, and will also feature the latest crypto news, various blockchain metrics, price action and important news on miners, custodians and other companies involved in the supply chain.

Hany Rashwan, chief executive of 21Shares, expressed that the company was excited to take on the partnership to launch cryptos ETFs for Australian investors: “This partnership is an opportunity to combine our expertise to provide the simplest and most transparent way to access the best performing asset class of the last 10 years.”

Australian ETFs Undergo Explosive Growth

The announcement of the partnership between ETF Securities and 21Shares comes as welcome news amid Bitcoin ETF applications growing out of control. There are 34 Bitcoin ETF applications currently pending approval, with the number rising every day.

The ETF joins BetaShares ETF in offering crypto investment to the Australian market. BetaShares, an Australian crypto ETF, launched in early November and surpassed all expectations as A$5.2 million was traded in only five minutes, smashing Australian Securities Exchange trading records.

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Crypto News Ethereum Fan Tokens Gas NFTs

Matrix Resurrections NFT Site Crashes Amid Drop, Users Left Fuming

After thousands of fans lined up on November 30 to buy The Matrix Resurrections movie on Nifty, they were left disappointed when the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace crashed during the sale due to overwhelming demand ahead of the action/sci-fi movie’s release later this month.

Furious Fans Left in Limbo Overnight

Warner Bros announced last month that it would mint a set of 100,000 NFTs of Matrix-inspired avatars at US$50 each on Nifty. In anticipation of the launch, hundreds of thousands of fans were lined up on the marketplace to buy the NFTs, but within just an hour of the site opening, the company had to pause the sale as systems were overloaded.

Sale Restarted But Crashes Again

Nifty briefly restarted the sale but again had to pause it, leaving furious users in limbo overnight. By December 1, more than 330,000 fans were still waiting in the queue to buy the collectibles.

The marketplace conceded that the launch of the Matrix avatars did not go “the way we had hoped it would”, but said on Twitter “even as the queue continues to be paused, we want to assure you all of a few things – we’re very actively working on a solution, along with our partners”.

Demand More Than Nifty Could Handle

The chaos surrounding the launch proved that the initial demand for the Matrix avatars was more than Nifty could handle. However, the marketplace recommended that users still in line to buy the collectibles add their email addresses to the “please notify me when it is my turn” field on the website, “so that you’ll know specifically when you have made it to the front of the line”.

Nifty’s customer-support site added: “Due to such high traffic, there may be a delay with the Matrix Avatar NFTs appearing in your account. Please allow some additional time (up to eight hours) to determine if your NFTs have arrived successfully.”

Naturally, users were not entirely happy with Nifty’s response to the crash:

Nifty responded by saying the company plans “to make it up to fans and give all Nifty’s users who queued yesterday for a Matrix Avatar a free ‘glitch in the Matrix’ NFT”.

On the evening of December 1, Nifty issued a statement and said it had reopened the purchase queue for the Matrix NFTS after completing an audit of its platform. After about an hour, the platform said it had officially sold out.

NFT Madness Causes Pandemonium on Marketplaces

The Matrix NFT sale is not the first launch to have overloaded and crashed a system. In September, Time magazine announced a new collection of NFTs offering “unlimited access” to its website throughout 2023. Within minutes, all 4,676 tokens tied to the digital artworks had sold out. The rush clogged the Ethereum blockchain and consequently sent gas fees through the roof, causing such chaos that buyers spent almost four times as much on transaction fees as they did on the NFTs themselves.

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Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum Privacy

ETH Mixer Website ‘Tornado Cash’ Deploys on Layer-2 Solution Arbitrum

Tornado Cash is a fully decentralised protocol for private transactions on Ethereum and is now ready to integrate with Arbitrum, the layer 2 solution that leverages optimistic rollups for Ethereum dApps. Faster speeds, lower fees, and transaction privacy. What’s not to love?

The Ethereum-based crypto mixer lets users swap ERC20 tokens over the Ethereum network while providing on-chain privacy by breaking the transaction link between the sender and recipient address. Tornado Cash allows withdrawals to be deposited to a different address, which cannot be linked back to the original deposit address.

Lower Transaction Fees Seal the Deal

Arbitrum’s L2 scaling solutions will not only allow Tornado Cash to process Ethereum transactions at a much faster rate, it will also make transactions cheaper for users. On-chain layer one transaction costs are notoriously expensive on the Ethereum network and can become even more so when the network is heavily congested during busy times. According to l2fees.info metrics, L1 fees on Ethereum are around US$35.41 per transaction, whereas on Arbitrum, users pay only around US$4.85 per transaction.

Arbitrum has already collaborated with other blockchains such as Polygon, Avalanche, Binance Smart Chain, and xDai.

Tornado Cash is growing in popularity and volume. Last week xDai tweeted that total deposits for Tornado Cash had crossed the US$1 million threshold.

Crypto Mixing Services of Concern to Authorities

Crypto mixing services have attracted the concern of authorities because they allow people to trade in goods and services anonymously with cryptocurrency. This anonymity makes it possible for criminals to “wash” their crypto from transactions on darknet and illegal online marketplaces such as Silk Road.

In April this year Crypto News Australia reported that the operator of Bitcoin Fog had been arrested in Los Angeles after the IRS investigated transactions that went through the Bitcoin mixing platform over a period of 10 years.

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Blockchain Crypto News DeFi Ethereum Scams

$31 Million Stolen in MonoX DeFi Hack

The decentralised finance (DeFi) market has been hit by yet another hack, with US$31 million in a variety of cryptos stolen from MonoX Finance in the latest episode.

MonoX released a statement in which it apologised to users and regretted its security measures had somehow been breached:

First, we want to extend immediate, sincerest apologies toward the incident and we assure you our entire team and partners are all working on this right now. Security of users’ funds is of utmost importance to us and we have had multiple security audits and a security adviser firm that work with us on an ongoing basis. However, unfortunately, we were still exploited.

DeFi Déjà Vu

The hacker attached MonoX Finance’s smart contracts, exploiting the single token liquidity platform and draining the funds of tokens across Ethereum and Polygon.

MonoX, which launched last month on Polygon and Ethereum, is a DeFi platform that offers liquidity pools in which traders can place their tokens and receive tokens in return. Rather than a standard pool model, MonoX pools function by grouping a deposited token “into a virtual pair with our virtual cash stablecoin (vCASH)”.

The hack netted US$18.2 million in wrapped ether (WETH) and US$10.5 million in Polygon (MATIC). Polygon, formerly Matic, is a proof-of-stake blockchain that helps take some of the load from the Ethereum blockchain. Other tokens taken included WBTC, LINK, GHST, DUCK, MIM and IMX.

In August, the largest DeFi hack on record took place on the Poly Network, a multi-chain platform that provides interoperability between blockchains. The attack, which took place on the Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum and Polygon, siphoned off a record-breaking US$600 million.

‘REKT By Their Own Token’

The hack was made possible via price manipulation of the project’s native token, MONO. The platform explained that the price of MONO tokens was artificially boosted, enabling the hacker to use tokens to buy the other assets in the pools at much cheaper rates.

Hacks, Hacks, and More Hacks

DeFi hacks have become increasingly prevalent, with devastating effects on a range of projects. Earlier this year, Zabu Finance, a DeFi project built atop the Avalanche blockchain, was exploited for around US$3.2 million worth of its native token, Zabu, plummeting its price to zero in minutes.

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Crypto Art Crypto News Ethereum Metaverse NFTs

Budweiser Launches NFTs That Unlock Future Benefits in ‘The Budverse’

Delivering on a promise made three months ago, iconic American beer brand Budweiser has launched its debut NFT collection … with one eye firmly on the metaverse.

A total of 1,936 collectibles (the number referencing the year Budweiser began marketing its beer in cans) will serve as access points to an as-yet-unrevealed ‘Budverse’. Sound familiar?

Priced from US$499 (core edition) to $999 (gold, limited to 36), each NFT features elements of classic photos, ads and design aspects charting the history of the brand. Tokens can be bought only via the official website with fiat currencies, credit card or bitcoin/ether via Coinbase Commerce, with a maximum purchase of US$10,000 per person per day, including fees and sales tax.

No Transaction Fees (Except a Gas Fee, That Is)

“These NFTs [minted on the Ethereum network and sold on leading NFT marketplace OpenSea] will act as your key to the Budverse and can unlock exclusive benefits, rewards and surprises,” Budweiser announced on its official Discord server. In a move ostensibly designed to shield buyers from exorbitant Ethereum transaction fees, Budweiser will itself mint the NFTs before distributing them. However, each NFT purchase attracts an additional charge to cover a gas fee of US$75. Go figure, as the Americans say.

Phallic Symbols Fly Through the Cryptosphere

Parent company Anheuser-Busch has also changed Budweiser’s Twitter name to “beer.eth”. At the same time as it purchased a Bud-themed piece from Tom Sachs’ Rocket Factory collection and used it for the brand’s official Twitter page in August, Budweiser bought its new Twitter handle from the Ethereum Name Service (ENS). An ENS name is used to point to an Ethereum wallet, in the same way a URL or domain name points to a website.

The Tom Sachs-designed Budweiser rocket ship. Source: decrypt.co

However, within hours of posting its Rocket Factory NFT, Budweiser’s wallet was bombarded with similarly penis-shaped NFTs sent by other collectors. All very adolescent, really, so it comes as a shock to be reminded that buyers of alcohol-branded collectibles must be certified as being over 18 years of age.

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Blockchain Crypto News Ethereum NFTs Play to Earn Solana

First Projects Set to Launch on ‘StarLaunch’, Solana’s IDO Launchpad

The creators of CardStarter have delivered “StarLaunch”, an initial DEX offering (IDO) launchpad for the Solana (SOL) blockchain, and new Solana based projects are ready to launch.

StarLaunch is an incubator for blockchain projects built atop Solana, which aims to connect them with their community of backers. As the first insured IDO launchpad and incubator for Solana blockchain projects, its stated goal is to connect its “community of backers with trusted and thoroughly vetted Solana blockchain projects”.

What is an IDO?

An initial DEX offering platform, or IDO platform, is one where crypto projects are listed and work as an investor pool. Investors can then invest in projects listed on the launchpad with the IDO model, whereby the crypto coin or token is launched via a decentralised liquidity exchange to fund the projects.

Think of an IDO as a sort of decentralised and permissionless crowdfunding platform, which now opens up a whole new way of fundraising in the cryptosphere.

About StarLaunch

starlaunch.com website

The StarLaunch model could be compared with that of Polkastarter which has been successful at crowdfunding Polkadot-based projects in a similar way over the past year or so. Check out the StarLaunch Slide Deck to learn more about the project.

StarLaunch promotes these three key aspects:

  • Selective listing – employing stringent and formulaic project vetting.
  • Insurance fund – offering insurance to protect its community. Your IDO investments are insured for the first three months after staking.
  • Propulsion program – offering advisory support for its approved projects.

For comparison, and to see what sets StarLaunch apart, this table will prove insightful:

Comparison between StarLaunch and CardStarter. Source: StarLaunch

The $STARS token itself has seen quite an increase, rising from under US$3 to more than US$15 within the past week or so.

STARS/USD – source coinmarketcap.com

How to Participate

Disclaimer: Before you get started with these new projects and tokens, please understand that you may lose all your capital. DeFi projects get rugged all the time and some investors lose everything.

In order to get started with StarLaunch, stake your $STARS tokens to generate $N2H4, which is the token used to participate in the initial IDOs that launch on the platform.

So a typical process for option 1 might look like this:

  1. Do your own research
  2. Make your plan
  3. Complete KYC on starlaunch.com
  4. Buy SOL (from your exchange or such)
  5. Send SOL to your Solana Phantom wallet (or such)
  6. Use Raydium.io to swap SOL into STARS (or such)
  7. Go to app.starlaunch.com and stake your STARS
  8. When the IDO launches, you can stake your $N2H4 into the project

There is a more detailed explanation of everything on the Starlaunch blog post.

IDOs Set to Launch Soon

It has been announced that MonkeyBall, a SOL-powered play-to-earn game, has been selected as the launch partner of StarLaunch, courtesy of the game’s large community, investor backing and strong fundamentals, all of which cement it as a top play-to-earn game in the future.

We’ll keep you updated on any other IDOs set to launch on the platform as soon as we find out about them.