CryptoPunk 3860 is a male with distinctive features: cigarette, big shades, shadow beard and mohawk. The previous owner paid US$69,369 on July 29 before the NFT collectible was snapped up for less than one cent on August 4 and immediately flipped for $136,675.
According to blockchain data, new owner fazebank.eth paid 22 ETH (US$57,000) to ensure he won the sale.
According to Jonathan Clark, co-founder of DeFi platform Float Capital, the owner intended to sell the punk in a whitelisted sale but accidentally made it available on the open market, meaning anybody watching the market closely could see the listing go live and snipe the sale.
The user put the punk up for general sale at 99wei instead of creating a whitelist sale so only they could buy it 😂
The CryptoPunks project, developed by American studio Larva Labs, has inspired the modern CryptoArt NFT movement and propelled punk-fever bidding wars – seeing the sale price for some skyrocket into the millions. In June, a whopping US$11.8 million – a new world record price – was paid for one CryptoPunk at a Sotheby’s auction in London.
CryptoPunks
Total Value of All Sales (Lifetime) 278.46KΞ ($745.58M)
CryptoPunks are a collection of 10,000 NFTs. Each punk is unique and its value is based on the rareness of its features. These pixelated faces of humans, apes, zombies and aliens have become a highly sought-after commodity among members of the crypto community who sport them as their online avatars.
ETH is on the move again as it climbs steadily back up towards the $3,000 mark in its longest ever continuous winning streak. According to data from Coinbase, it is up over 43 percent, achieving daily price gains over the past 12 days straight.
ETH daily chart. Source: TradingView
This price gain is leading up to the ETH London Hard Fork which will happen on Aug 5. The upgrade has been long-awaited and highly anticipated following April 15’s Berlin hard fork, which at the time pushed the price of ETH to its all-time high.
The London upgrade is meant to complement the Ethereum 2.0 transition that will change Ethereum from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) model. This may see ether becoming a store-of-value as it moves to become a deflationary asset, like Bitcoin.
#Ethereum has notched a 12-day winning streak, the longest ever
The IOMAP indicator reveals that $ETH is sitting on strong support while facing the last 2 key levels of on-chain resistance on its path to $3k once again
A fortune in Ethereum valued at over half a billion dollars is on the move as crypto whales relocate their bags of ETH. On July 30, blockchain tracker Whale Alert sighted a series of massive transactions in which large Ethereum holders moved 237,419 ETH in just over 10 hours.
Ether trading volumes have been higher than Bitcoin in the first half of this year as institutions invest heavily. Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap with a current trading volume of over US$300 billion.
For now, HODLers are enjoying the ride:
Starting to get a bit worried, my eth has been up for 12 days and doesn't appear to be going down.
The funds will help defray production costs for the first feature-length documentary about Ethereum, which includes interviews with creator Vitalik Buterin. It has a cool NFT movie poster too:
excited to share my latest work, one of the first movie posters as an NFT- for none other than the first feature-length, crowdfunded (@viamirror) documentary on Ethereum. @EthereumFilm
August 4 sees the long-awaited London hard fork activated on the Ethereum blockchain. This is a significant upgrade that will improve the efficiency of transactions on the network, at least until Ethereum 2.0 (known as “Serenity”) is fully deployed in 2022.
The Ethereum London hard fork will introduce a deflationary model for Ether (ETH) – where half of the transaction fees will be burned. However, this isn’t too exciting for miners since it means a reduction in transaction fees paid to them.
Below is a quick summary of the five Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) included on the London hard fork:
EIP-1559: Change in Ethereum fee structure
EIP-3198: Improve the user experience of smart contracts
EIP-3529: Reduce refunds that had no impact
EIP-3541: Make future updates easier
EIP-3554: Make it easier to migrate to ETH 2.0 PoW to PoS
What ETH Token Holders Need to Know
If you’re holding ETH, then it won’t affect you too much.
All major exchanges are supporting the ETH hard fork. It seems uncertain at this time if a new coin will be created as part of the fork (as it was when BTC hard forked into BCH). There seem to be two scenarios:
No new coin is created – everything will resume as normal. or
A new coin is created – the exchanges will elect to choose the chain with the stronger hashrate and then create a 1:1 ratio distribution of your ETH holdings from the snapshot date of the fork.
If scenario 2) happens, then it could be likely you’ll end up with two ETH coin holdings that both have “value”. But it’s more likely that one of them might become useless and its dollar value will crash to zero.
You no longer need to select GAS price for transactions fees (it will be set automatically).
EIP-1559 will change the current transaction fee structure to a “base fee” for each block. This means there will be a fixed price for transactions so users don’t need to be pricing gas fees in order to increase the chances of having their transactions confirmed earlier. The blockchain will burn the fee, reducing the overall supply of Ether (ETH). This effect will create deflationary pressure on the cryptocurrency.
ETH deposits and withdrawals on exchanges will be paused until the upgrade is completed.
Binance will suspend ETH and ERC-20 tokens deposits and withdrawals at approximately 9:30pm AEST on August 5, 2021. Please ensure that you leave sufficient time for your ETH and ERC-20 tokens transfers to be fully processed prior to the above time. We will handle all technical requirements for users holding ETH and ERC-20 tokens on Binance. More information on specific trading markets affected here.
Some GAS tokens will now be useless and staking users may be refunded.
Among those assets affected by the hard fork will be Ethereum’s gas token GST2 and its improved version developed by the 1INCH team – CHI. Those gas tokens “will become useless after London”. Projects such as 1INCH that are using those gas tokens are implementing refunds to their communities.
This is a temporary upgrade until ETH 2.0 is released.
The PoS transition of Ethereum 2.0 is planned for 2022, so the implementation of the London hard fork is still time-limited and temporary. Developers are working on scaling up the ethereum network by adding more side networks and linking them. Ethereum insiders hope this will reduce congestion and transaction costs.
Ethereum Community Reaction to Ethereum 2.0
It’s evident that Ethereum users are optimistic about Ethereum 2.0, judging by the rapid increase in the number of coins staked on the deposit contract. At the time of writing, 6,681,276 ETH had been staked so far, equivalent to US$16.6 billion.
In anticipation of the upcoming upgrade on the network, Ethereum whales are increasingly accumulating ETH:
🐳 #Ethereum has made it to a high of $2,691 for the first time since June 7th. The near 2-month high comes as the percent of $ETH held by the whale 'Millionaire Tier' just reached a high of 39.2%. This is their largest supply portion owned since May 12th. https://t.co/7pXMQn1lT0pic.twitter.com/ro790oGuuG
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. Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum ETH is a decentralised open-source blockchain system that features its own cryptocurrency, Ether. ETH works as a platform for numerous other cryptocurrencies, as well as for the execution of decentralised smart contracts. Ethereum’s own purported goal is to become a global platform for decentralised applications, allowing users from all over the world to write and run software that is resistant to censorship, downtime and fraud.
ETH Price Analysis
At the time of writing, ETH is ranked the 2nd cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$3,578. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:
After a 61% decline from May to June, ETH has ranged between A$3956 and A$2308.
The recent rally is approaching probable resistance near A$3679 but could be aiming for stops above the relatively equal highs near A$3956 Continuation of the bullish move could target the daily gap near A$4073.
Aggressive bulls might add to positions near A$3410 and A$3288. Price action near A$3152 may be more likely to provide support – if the price reaches it – during any retracements.
Relatively equal lows clustered around A$2300 seem likely to be swept if the bearish trend resumes. If this move occurs, the price might find support at the significant higher-timeframe level near A$1930.
2. The Graph (GRT)
The Graph GRT is an indexing protocol for querying data for networks like Ethereum and IPFS, powering many applications in both DeFi and the broader Web3 ecosystem. Anyone can build and publish open APIs, called subgraphs, that applications can query using GraphQL to retrieve blockchain data. GRT is a work token that is locked up by Indexers, Curators and Delegators in order to provide indexing and curating services to the network.
GRT Price Analysis
At the time of writing, GRT is ranked the 34th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$0.9129. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:
GRT‘s 85% retracement from its February highs set a low near A$0.5847 during its consolidation that began in mid-May.
Relatively equal highs near A$1.09 could be the current target if the price breaks through resistance beginning near A$0.9958. Bullish continuation might reach through the next significant swing high near A$1.32 into the daily gap near A$1.33.
If bullish strength continues, the zones just below the monthly open near A$0.84 and A$0.8124 could halt any retracement.
A bearish shift in the market might seek the relatively equal lows near A$0.7136 into possible support near A$0.6982. If this down move occurs, the swing low near A$0.5433 and possible support near A$0.5214 may be the primary objective.
3. Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR)
Hedera Hashgraph HBAR is a public network that allows individuals and businesses to create powerful decentralised applications (DApps). It is designed to be a fairer, more efficient system that eliminates some of the limitations that older blockchain-based platforms face, such as slow performance and instability. Unlike most other cryptocurrency platforms, Hedera Hashgraph isn’t built on top of a conventional blockchain. Instead, it introduces a completely novel type of distributed ledger technology known as a Hashgraph.
HBAR Price Analysis
At the time of writing, HBAR is ranked the 50th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$0.2966. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis:
After retracing nearly 70% from its March high, HBAR set a low near A$0.1982 as it formed its current range.
Last week, the price swept highs near A$0.2936, which now also marks the August monthly open. Relatively equal daily highs near A$0.3085 provide a reasonable target, although resistance beginning near A$0.3155 could cap the move. A break of this resistance is likely to target the swing high near A$0.3524 into higher-timeframe resistance beginning near A$0.3769.
The current area near A$0.2652 could provide support, although bulls may be more likely to buy near the price fractal near A$0.2437 if a retracement reaches this level. A break of this area could continue down to sweep the June low near A$0.2048 into possible support beginning near A$0.1874.
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. However, you can also buy these coins from different exchanges listed on Coinmarketcap.
The new animated adult show Stoner Cats lost close to its total of 310 Ethereum (US$719,000) from failed minting of associated NFTs. Due to the huge demand, the NFTs sold out in record time, spurring an incident where miners were mostly only able to process high gas fee transactions.
The latest non-fungible token (NFT) craze took place on the Ethereum blockchain this week with the release of Stoner Cats, an animated cartoon series with a few hard hitters on board such as Chris Rock, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, and even Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
The first drop on July 27 made a total of 10,420 NFTs available and they were selling for 0.35 ETH each on the Stoner Catswebsite. (The NFT doubles as exclusive early access to the show before opening to the public, and provides lifetime access to the future episodes.) The high demand for the cartoon drove the network to capacity:
Selling out in minutes, the volume of purchases drove the gas price off the scale. When transactions are conducted on the Ethereum blockchain, like most blockchains it requires gas (gwei for Ethereum) in order to enable miners to process transactions or mint NFTs.
Users who didn’t set a high enough gas price had transactions that were left uncompleted as miners opted for higher-priced transactions.
In this case the gas limit wasn’t set high enough to cover all steps in the transaction, so the transaction failed. However it’s not failing until it runs out, so ~100% of allocated gas is actually being used even without the transaction succeeding.
Daniel Kuhn, Coindesk
During such situations, competition for transactions to be written into the block increases, incentivising miners to prioritise the highest-priced transactions. The developers are being held responsible for not setting the default gas limit high enough.
Blockchain a New Funding Medium for TV?
Stoner Cats is the first TV show to be funded entirely from the sale of NFTs. The team behind it says this was done to escape TV network censorship and retain creative control. The production team, led by producer Mila Kunis and husband and fellow actor Aston Kutcher, plans to release a further 3,000 NFTs per episode and will continue making the series as long as fundraising goals are met.
The profit realised by the NFT sales indicates the Stoner Cats team must have made more than US$8 million on the 10,000 NFTs.
The upcoming Ethereum documentary Ethereum: The Infinite Garden has also recently had its very successful funding round and is planned to premiere by 2023.
An American family purchased 3,000 ETH in the 2014 presale, now worth a staggering US$5.8 million. Shockingly, they cannot access this fortune because of a password issue.
Yuki and Art Williams, of Washington DC, jumped at an opportunity to purchase 3,000 ETH coins in 2014 during a pre-sale offered by the Ethereum Foundation, the price of which has since skyrocketed. The couple used Coinbase and spent 1.5 bitcoin (BTC) to make the purchase.
The family claims that a password was created, but the all-important JSON file was never completely downloaded online. A JSON file is a small file that acts as a private key used to open a crypto wallet. The coins appear in the wallet, but the wallet cannot be opened.
The instructions were to leave your computer on for an hour and a half and as the progression bar showed it populating the JSON file would appear. Unfortunately for us, it did not appear.
Art Williams
Devastating Loss for Williams family
According to Art Williams, the foundation’s presale website instructed him to email the Ethereum Foundation, following which it would send an email containing a backup JSON file. This, however, did not happen.
— Scott Taylor 7 News I-Team (@ScottTaylorTV) July 21, 2021
Following this, Williams contacted the Swiss-based foundation to hand over proof of purchase and screenshots indicating the issue he was experiencing. When he did not hear anything back from the foundation, Williams contacted a law firm in Switzerland in 2018 to explore a solution to their problem.
Discussion of a settlement offer was reported, but since then the foundation has told Williams’ legal team that Ethereum has “no liability for lost wallets, passwords, and private keys”.
Making Sense of It All
It is clear that the Williams family has been pursuing this issue for years without success. Media company Mashable has been able to find what it believes to be the Williams wallet, which does in fact contain 3,000 ETH. The coins have remained untouched since July 30, 2015 – the actual date of the ETH launch.
Comments on the Etherscan transaction page confirm that the account belongs to Art and Yuki Williams. But some aspects of this saga do not make sense. A JSON file is a very small file and should take less than a few seconds to download.
The fact that the ETH presale page told Art Williams to wait “an hour and a half” for the file to download also makes no sense. A search of previous versions of the ETH presale page did not reveal any such indication.
‘Not Your JSON, Not Your Coins’
Speaking to Mashable, author and crypto critic David Gerard issued concerns regarding cryptocurrencies. Gerard explained that once you have spent fiat currency on digital coins, you should not expect anything in return. He added that once you buy a coin, your cash money is gone.
When investing in crypto, you worry about a bad investment and in the worst-case scenario you may lose your money entirely. This seems to be what has happened to the Williams family.
News such as this instills pain like that of British IT manager James Howells, who in 2013 accidentally threw out a hard drive containing 7,500 BTC.
Adding insult to injury, ETH is becoming increasingly scarce given its astronomic growth performance recently. Currently, there is less than 20 million ETH available on all crypto exchanges.
[It’s] devastating, to say the least. Obviously, that’s life-changing money.
The world’s most recognisable beverage brand is set to release a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to mark International Friendship Day and raise money for Special Olympics International.
Peer-to-peer marketplace OpenSea is holding a three-day auction for Coca-Cola-branded NFTs from July 30. The collections, created in partnership with digital designer Tafi, were “inspired by video-game loot boxes” and contain “hidden surprises” available only to those who purchase the artwork.
The so-named “Friendship Boxes” include a classic Coca-Cola esky, a wearable bubble jacket that can be used in the Ethereum-based VR world Decentraland, and a friendship card.
That Familiar Fizz of Effervescence
An added feature is a “sound visualiser” that plays audio of a bottle opening, a beverage being poured over ice, and the accompanying familiar fizz of effervescence common to carbonated beverages.
Coke enthusiasts can place their bids in Ether through OpenSea until August 2.
Each NFT was created to celebrate elements that are core to the brand, reinterpreted for a virtual world in new and exciting ways. We are excited to share our first NFTs with the metaverse.
Global Coca-Cola trademark president Selman Careaga
Coca-Cola says it will donate auction proceeds to Special Olympics International, a sports organisation dedicated to ending discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities.
In May, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin donated US$60 million in ETH after dumping his huge stash of three dog-theme coins. Buterin dispersed the resulting funds to various non-profit organisations, donating the dog-themed tokens and even some of the ETH he made in the sale.
Coke Bottlers Cotton On to Crypto
Though the company is not renowned for its involvement in the crypto and blockchain space, some of Coca-Cola’s bottling partners use decentralised ledger technology for supply chain management.
The 129-year-old Atlanta-based beverage behemoth retains an interest in the potential of blockchain technology, however. In September 2020, its Australasian arm Coca-Cola Amatil partnered with Centrapay to allow Australians and New Zealanders to buy Coke from vending machines using bitcoin and other cryptos.
Cats have choked the Ethereum network once again, but this time it isn’t CryptoKittys but Stoner Cats – the hot new NFT collection of feline characters from the much-anticipated animated series Stoner Cats, developed by actor/producer Mila Kunis and guest-starring Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
Fans were at the mercy of an Ethereum gas war as 10,420 Stoner Cats NFTs sold out at 0.35 ETH (about US$837) each within 40 minutes. But some fans were left without their money and without a cat. A post titled Some poor guy loses $13k in fees for a failed transaction appeared on reddit, showing how one buyer lost 5.8 ETH (US$13,916) in a single transaction fee trying to buy his Stoner Cat token.
Stoner Cat, Baxter. Source: stonercats.com
Dune Analytics reported that many others suffered the same fate, showing that 344.6 ETH (US$825,000) were lost to failed transactions. According to DeFi news site The Defiant, many users lost trying to mint their Stoner Cats NFTs (20 was the maximum allowed) without manually adjusting the gas limit in Metamask. Those whose bids were placed earlier didn’t have enough gwei to pay for the entire transaction, which caused the transactions to fail.
Once again the Ethereum network could not meet the high demand of a popular release, as too many users caused gas prices to be pushed higher, resulting in failed transactions and lost funds to exuberant gas fees.
It’s possible that Stoner Cat developers failed to anticipate the demand for the project and set the minimum gas price too low. This is something that needs to be considered moving forward for fundraising efforts such as this, to avoid leaving supporting fans out of pocket.
Stoner Cats is the first TV show of this kind to be entirely funded by NFTs. The show raised over US$8 million on Wednesday through the sale of the Stoner Cats NFTs. The production team – headed by known crypto lover Ashton Kutcher and wife Mila Kunis – plans to release a further 3,000 NFTs per episode.
The series’ first episode, “Stoned Awakening”, is set to premiere today, July 30. Watch the Stoner Cats trailer on Youtube here.
How ETH Gas Fees Work
When a transaction fails on the Ethereum network, users are still charged. This is a common complaint from frustrated users of the biggest blockchain in DeFi. Etherscan will provide an estimate of how long it will take for a transaction to go through, but when the network is overloaded users may experience the dreaded processing loop, eventually resulting in the status: Fail.
The insanely expensive gas fees on the Ethereum network have seen many opting into other blockchains such as the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), where fees are much lower. In February, ETH gas fees hit all-time highs of up to US$20,000.
Documentary project Ethereum: The Infinite Garden has raised 1,036 ETH in just three days to complete its fundraising proposal to create the first feature-length documentary about Ethereum.
The original fundraising goal of 750 ETH (US$1.7 million) was surpassed in a matter of days, finishing up at 1,036 ETH ($US2.3 million). These funds will finance the documentary that will feature co-founder Vitalik Buterin and key members of the Ethereum Foundation and the wider community.
It’s exciting to document @Ethereum as it not only powers innovative decentralized applications but simultaneously pushes itself to become more efficient, secure, and scalable with the upgrade to proof of stake. This community is an infinite garden. pic.twitter.com/RHlI83fprK
— Ethereum: The Infinite Garden (@EthereumFilm) July 15, 2021
The Garden That Grows On Forever
In this film, we approach Ethereum as an “infinite garden”. Instead of thinking of Ethereum as a machine controlled by a central brain, we see it as a decentralised ecosystem with soil, plants and insects that need to be cared for in order to grow.
Ethereum: The Infinite Garden official website
Ethereum: The Infinite Garden will “explore the innovative real-world applications of the Ethereum blockchain, the die-hard community of enthusiasts and developers, and its creator, Vitalik Buterin, whose vision for the internet has the potential to change the world”, according to the project proposal.
The film will be directed by Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci, creators of features for HBO, Netflix and National Geographic that have been screened at major international film festivals. Production will be managed by Optimist, a Los Angeles-based independent studio.
NFT Movie Posters with Film Credits Embedded
Funds were raised by allowing contributors to bid for their own animated movie posters alongside a number of other rewards, such as receiving credits in the film. The animated posters were created by well-known digital artist pplpleasr, who has created digital effects for movies such as Wonder Woman, Batman v Superman, and Star Trek Beyond. The top three contributors received one-off posters with unique colouring, lighting and exclusive producer titles embedded into the credits section.
After the wildly successful fundraising campaign, the team is now entering the pre-production phase where it will establish connections with members of the Ethereum Foundation and the wider community. The team is aiming to have a rough cut of the film done by the northern summer of 2022, and all going to plan it will premiere in the winter of 2023.
No Lack of Vitalik
Buterin is everywhere at the moment, especially in the arts and entertainment industry. He will voice an old, taxidermied cat in Mila Kunis’s short animated series, Stoner Cats, which will be released to NFT holders. Also in the art world, a portrait known as the ‘Crypto Mona Lisa’, signed by Buterin, will be listed on Australian platform NFT STARS on July 30.
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, will star in an animated comedy series called Stoner Cats alongside Chris Rock and a number of other A-list actors and comedians.
Created and produced by actor Mila Kunis, Stoner Cats revolves around a lovable old cat lady, Ms Stoner, and her five house cats which become sentient after inhaling their owner’s “magic” medical marijuana. Buterin voices Lord Catsington, an old taxidermied cat that provides wisdom and guidance to the other cats in the show.
Non-Fungible Television
The show will also star Kunis’s husband, Ashton Kutcher, as well as Seth MacFarlane, Chris Rock and Jane Fonda. Viewers will have to mint a non-fungible token (NFT) to get access to the first five-minute episode, but that token will function as a lifetime pass for all Stoner Cats episodes. The NFTs will sell for 0.35 ETH, or around $US800 at the time of writing.
The true genius of Kunis and her team is that minting a token to watch the show will also generate a unique NFT cat, which can presumably be traded among other collectors. Each cat is “algorithmically generated by combining 500+ unique traits with varying rarity across six categories (Eyes, Expression, Collar, Left Side, Right Side, Accessories). Incredibly rare NFTs featuring limited edition characters are also available.”
NFTs are hot topic right now, and combining them with cats, which are always extremely popular on the internet, is a brilliant move and one that could propel this project to great success.
NFTs Continue to Soar
NFTs are one of the most talked-about topics in the crypto community right now. NFT platforms continue to explore the implications on the distribution of artworks and entertainment media. A digital artwork known as the ‘Crypto Mona Lisa’, signed by Stoner Cats’ own Vitalik Buterin, will be listed on Australian platform NFT STARS on July 30.
CryptoMother, aka the ‘Crypto Mona Lisa’. Source: BTC Art Gallery
There has been further interest from traditional film and TV studios in using NFTs as a new way to distribute entertainment media. Last month, Fox Entertainment announced it was investing $US100 million into developing its own NFT platform. Earlier this month, it was announced that Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins’ latest film, Zero Contact, will be released exclusively as an NFT on Vuele.
