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Kardashian and Mayweather in Hot Water Amid Lawsuit over Ethereum Max Promotion

What do Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and Paul Pierce have in common? They’re all getting sued by an aggrieved investor over an alleged Ethereum Max (EMAX) pump-and-dump scheme.

Another Pump and Dump Endorsed by Celebrities?

In a lawsuit filed in the US District Court of California’s Central District, the plaintiff argues that EMAX co-founders Steve Gentile and Giovanni Perone promoted the currency with the help of celebrities such as reality star Kardashian, professional boxer Mayweather, and former NBA basketballer Pierce. As per the filing:

EthereumMax’s entire business model relies on using constant marketing and promotional activities, often from ‘trusted’ celebrities, to dupe potential investors into trusting the financial opportunities available with EMAX tokens.

On May 31, 2021, EMAX’s price peaked at peaked at a price of US$0.000000597636 following the continuous endorsement of these celebrities via Instagram, Twitter, and other social networks. But it dropped over 80 percent in just 11 days.

After the massive drop, its price experienced a few bullish rallies in June after Kim Kardashian promoted the token on her Instagram, but that didn’t stop the token from falling again. In total, the token has lost 97 percent of its value.

While the plaintiff and the rest of investors were buying EMAX, Kardashian and the other celebrities were already selling for considerable profits.

Price history of the EMAX token. Source: CoinGecko

Be Wary of Coins Promoted by Celebrities

Newcomers to the crypto space should be wary when watching celebrities backing up digital tokens from shady developers. These types of currencies are known as “shitcoins” – worthless tokens with no proper infrastructure behind their design, they are rather made to dupe potential investors out of a lot of money.

The developers behind these shitcoins usually promote their product on popular social media platforms such as TikTok or Instagram. In July 2021, former YouTube star Logan Paul was slammed for promoting a shitcoin called DINK DOINK to his 23 million followers on Twitter.

That same month, Crypto News Australia also reported how TikTok had banned users from promoting all things crypto-related on its video-sharing platform, also banning crypto ads.

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Crypto Art Crypto News Investing Markets NFTs

OpenSea’s Value is 880% Higher Than a Year Ago Following its Latest Fundraising Round

OpenSea has raised US$300 million in its latest funding round, bringing the largest non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace to a US$13.3 billion post-money valuation and adding to the project’s massive growth in sales and user participation.

Paradigm and Coatue led the funding round with participation from new and existing investors.

We are excited to work with these incredible partners, thinkers and builders who collectively bring a depth of experience in Web3, NFTs, and best-in-class consumer experiences.

OpenSea blog post

Via the blog post, the project also announced its new VP of Product, Shiva Rajaraman, whose CV includes stints at Meta, YouTube, Spotify and WeWork. OpenSea’s previous head of product was Nate Chastain, who left the company after it was discovered he had used inside information to buy NFTs before they appeared on the marketplace and sold them at a profit.

OpenSea Sees Massive Growth in 2021

The US$13.3 billion valuation figure OpenSea is reporting demonstrates the growing appeal of NFTs, which can be used as blockchain-based deeds of ownership to any form of digital item. As a testament to their growth, in July 2020 OpenSea was valued at US$1.5 billion after a Series B funding round.

The marketplace has not been slowing down, posting its third-best trading day ever on January 2 with US$243 million in Ethereum NFT volume. OpenSea has recorded US$14.68 billion in sales across 1,387,357 traders worldwide, as well as a major increase in user activity.

Participants Want OpenSea to be User-Owned

Earlier this month, some of the NFT community questioned OpenSea’s ability to intervene in the workings of the platform when it froze 16 NFTs stolen from a collector.

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Survey: 83% of Millennial Millionaires Own Crypto and Intend to Buy More

A new survey by CNBC reveals that a majority of millennial millionaires have invested a good portion of their wealth in cryptos and plan to invest even more in the coming year, despite the recent price declines.

According to the survey, which polled investors with investible assets of US$1 million or more, over half – 53 percent – of respondents indicated that they hold 50 percent or more of their portfolios in crypto investments, with one-third of respondents having already invested at least three-quarters of their portfolios in crypto assets. This is in stark contrast with older generations of millionaires, as only 4 percent of baby boomers hold any cryptos whatsoever and 75 percent of Gen X investors own none at all.

Millennials Bullish on Cryptos

The survey results suggest that cryptos are causing a vast generational divide between investing and wealth creation. While cryptos have become the primary source of wealth creation and asset growth for many younger investors who got in early and saw massive returns, older generations of millionaires are still largely sceptical of digital wealth.

George Walper, president of Spectrem Group – who conducted the survey on behalf of CNBC – noted that rising interest in the cryptos market could become an issue for wealth managers, stating:

I’m not sure the wealth management industry has recognised that they need to think of these as completely different generations. Most firms were hoping to ignore it. But millennial millionaires are not going to just grow out of crypto.

George Walper, president, Spectrem Group

The survey has also highlighted the risk appetite of younger generations regarding crypto investments, with 48 percent of millennial investors planning to add to their crypto portfolios in the coming year, while 38 percent plan to hold. Only six percent indicated that they intend to reduce their crypto exposure in 2022.

Australian Investors Increasingly Interested in Cryptos

Australia is becoming one of the market leaders in terms of crypto adoption, especially among its millennial population, with cryptos expected to overtake fiat in Australia by 2029. During the past year, the country has seen a 10 percent growth in crypto adoption, up from 18.4 percent in 2020.

Recently it was revealed that Australians seem to be increasing their interest in alternative investments, with 40 percent of millennials opting for digital asset investment over traditional assets such as real estate. A new report also reveals that Australians have accumulated over A$7 billion in cryptos assets, with 31 percent of the Gen Z population leading the investment charge.

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Russia Central Bank Moves to Ban Investment in Crypto

According to a report by Reuters, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR) is looking to ban crypto investments. In a directive issued earlier this week, the bank has also barred mutual funds from investing in digital currency.

Russia Rebels Against Crypto

The Russian Federation, which has long argued against cryptos – citing concerns of risks to financial stability, money laundering, and possible financial terrorism – has yet again spoken its mind.

After issuing concerns over the security implications associated with cryptos, the federation eventually gave them legal status in 2020 but banned their use as a means of payment. Following this, the central bank is now in talks with market players and experts regarding a possible overall ban on cryptos.

Should a ban be approved by lawmakers, it would apply to new purchases of crypto assets but not those made in the past. Russia’s current stance amounts to a “complete rejection” of all cryptos, a source close to the bank has said.

According to the bank, the annual volume of crypto transactions conducted by Russians amounts to about US$5 billion, with CBR first deputy governor Ksenia Yudaeva claiming the use of cryptos lowered the efficiency of monetary policy. According to Yudaeva, “The situation in developed market countries more and more resembles the so-called shadow financial system.”

CBR Seeks to Ban Mutual Funds from Investing in Crypto

Adding to the bad news for investors, Russia has issued a directive that prohibits Russian mutual funds from directly or indirectly investing in crypto assets.

According to the CBR, funds cannot invest in digital currencies or in “financial instruments, the value of which depends on the price of digital currencies”. The proposal issued by the CBR, in line with its hard stance on decentralised digital money, comes after the regulator urged stock exchanges to avoid trading securities tied to cryptocurrencies in July 2021.

Despite its firm stance against cryptos, Russia is currently working on a Ruble-backed central bank digital currency (CBDC). A pilot program was set for launch this month, but the deadline has been moved with a prototype expected to be created in “early 2022”.

Hacking a Cause of Concern for Russia

Hacking has become a hot topic in the crypto world as the incidence continues to rise. Of particular concern is the involvement of Russian-based hackers. In October, Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) spent a good deal of time fending off hackers attacking the accounts of YouTubers to hijack and repurpose them to run ads for crypto scams. TAG had found that the perpetrators of the campaign were recruiting hackers from a “Russian-speaking forum”.

Last month, the US Department of Justice announced charges against a REvil ransomware affiliate responsible for the hack against the Kaseya MSP platform in which ransom demands totalled US$767 million. Law enforcement has also impounded an additional US$6.1 million from another REvil ransomware affiliate, Russian national Yevgeniy Polyanin, who remains at large.

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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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STX Token Shoots Up 65% Following Jack Dorsey’s Exit: Coincidence?

The Stacks Network (STX) token has spiked nearly 65 percent in the past week, half of which came after the announcement that CEO Jack Dorsey was resigning from his position at Twitter. Some in the investor community cite Dorsey’s decision to step down as the instigator for the price movement.

STX Token Price. Source: Tradingview

In the past four days, the STX price has risen nearly 65 percent to its new all-time high of US$3.61 and at the time of writing had cooled down to US$2.60, according to data from CoinMarketCap. On the day of the Twitter announcement, the price shot up 25 percent, pointing to some sort of correlation for some in the investing community.

Dorsey’s Connection to Bitcoin

While the reason for the spike is not cut and dried, multiple things have happened that could impact the increasing price of the token. The speculation around what Dorsey will do next is one of the driving factors – now that the ex-Twitter CEO has stepped down, will he pursue his passion for Bitcoin and decentralisation?

“If I were not at Square or Twitter, I’d be working on Bitcoin,” Dorsey said at Bitcoin 2021, a conference held in Miami in June. The tech entrepreneur has shown his interest in blockchain technology multiple times. Even at Twitter, Dorsey spearheaded Bluesky – a project aimed at turning the social media company into a decentralised protocol.

Upgrades Coming to STX

Among the other reasons for the price spike, Stacks Network recently announced a major upgrade (SIP-012), due December 12. The improvement proposal aims to increase the network capacity by 100 percent as well as launch its CrashPunks non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The Stacks NFT marketplace has also contributed to the protocol’s rallying price action in the past.

Bitcoin, being the first of its kind, was not built with smart contract capabilities, therefore to utilise new functionality such as DeFi and smart contracts, a protocol will need to plug into Bitcoin.

Co-founded in Princeton University’s computer science department in 2013, Stacks Network is a layer 1 network facilitating smart contracts that settle on the Bitcoin blockchain. The STX token acts as fuel to power those smart contracts on the network, and by staking STX and supporting consensus, participants are paid in BTC.

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Thailand Wants to Attract Crypto Millionaires to Revive Tourism

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is looking into ways of boosting the country’s post-pandemic economy. Enter cryptos. The South-East Asian kingdom aims to attract crypto-millionaires to spend their newfound wealth in the hopes of becoming a “crypto-positive society”.

Thailand Facilitates the Use of Crypto

According to Bloomberg, Thailand is looking to attract individuals who have “become wealthy from holding digital currencies” to its shores in an effort to boost its pandemic-ridden economy. As a result of Covid-19, the tourism contribution to the country’s GDP dropped from 18.21 percent in 2019 to 6.78 percent in 2020. The Thai tourism authority will now seek to recoup some of the US$80 billion lost in revenue due to the pandemic.

The TAT has indicated that it is working with regulators and a local crypto exchange to make it easier for crypto holders to spend their currencies in Thailand. According to TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn, the authority will set up a new unit to issue its own crypto, develop a wallet and build a new tourism ecosystem in 2022.

The Governor said crypto holders may now be looking to spend their riches and added: “If they can use their currencies here without having to exchange [them], or be faced with government taxes, then it would create convenience for them.” Supasorn also noted that embracing cryptos would help the country recover its tourism sector.

Crypto is the future, so we must make Thailand a crypto-positive society to welcome this group of quality tourists. 

Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor, Tourism Authority of Thailand

Crypto Acceptance Could Help the Global Tourism Sector

The pandemic has had a far-reaching global economic impact, and none more so than in the tourism sector. Despite a major global economic downturn over the past year, cryptos have surged to new heights and can now help industries recover as the acceptance of cryptos also grows.

Earlier this year, luxury hotel chain Kessler Collection announced it would be accepting payments in cryptocurrencies going forward. The announcement was made after it had taken up a partnership with BitPay, which will oversee the payment processing part of the deal.

Hand-in-hand with aiding the tourism industry, cryptos have also been deployed in wildlife conservation. The endangered Seychelles magpie robin is now available to purchase digitally in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Funds generated from sales will help finance conservation efforts for the rare bird, indirectly boosting tourism in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

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Report: One-Third of Hedge Fund Managers Plan to Add Crypto to Their Portfolios

A report released by Ernst & Young (EY) detailing the views of hedge funds and other investors on alternative funds like crypto shows there has been strong growth in the sector, with 31 per cent of hedge fund managers planning to add crypto to their portfolios.

EY has released its yearly publication, the EY Global Alternative Fund Survey, which offers a comprehensive overview of the perspectives of alternative fund managers and the institutional investors who allocate to alternative asset classes, basically anything that’s not a stock, bond or cash.

Increase in Alternative Investment Opportunities

According to the study, only 7 percent of alternative fund managers and investors interviewed for the EY study said they or their firms already have “crypto-related assets” in their portfolios. However, there is a steady rise in the onboarding of various investment vehicles of the new asset class.

2021 Global Alternative Fund Survey

In 2021 alternative funds increase the successful momentum they built in 2020 by delivering strong returns resulting in increased investor confidence.

EY Global Alternative Fund Survey

The report also states that “cryptocurrencies and the digital asset ecosystem perhaps garnered the most mainstream public interest during 2021”. However, institutions are viewed considerably more cautiously, with regulatory uncertainty cited as the second-largest risk for investors behind crypto not aligning with their investment strategy.

Increase in Hedge Fund Participation

More alternative fund managers have become active participants, drawn by uncorrelated return profiles and continued investment in institutional-grade infrastructure to support the evolving asset class.

When looking at current and future exposure to crypto-related assets, 31 per cent of hedge fund managers, 24 per cent of alternative investors, and 13 per cent of private equity managers said they planned to add crypto to their portfolios or maintain their current exposure in the next one to two years.

2021 Global Alternative Fund Survey

According to the study, the largest managers were most likely to increase their exposure, with 36 per cent of hedge fund managers with over US$10 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM), and 32 per cent of managers with US$2–10 billion in AUM reporting that they expected to increase their crypto portfolios.

Retail Investors Join the Party

As such, allocations to hedge funds (28 percent) and private equity (27 percent) are now on par – a stark contrast to 2018 when hedge fund allocations (40 percent) outpaced private equity (18 percent) by a two to one margin.

The study also shows that 42 per cent of investment managers, seeking new growth opportunities, are turning to “retail” channels to grow as institutional allocations are slowly increasing.

Alternative fund managers have realised they need crypto, not only address but advance current and future investor priorities, which now extend to retail investors, regarding environmental and societal imperatives, while taking the necessary steps to attract, support and retain a diverse and decentralised workforce.

Also in a recent report, it showed more than one in four financial advisers say they will recommend cryptocurrencies to their clients in the next year.

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Blockchain Crypto News Crypto Wallets Investing

Square Publishes Whitepaper for its Decentralised Bitcoin Exchange

Digital payments giant Square has released a whitepaper through its new TBD division introducing tbDEX, a decentralised crypto exchange that aims to “create ubiquitous and accessible on-ramps and off-ramps that allow the average individual to benefit from crypto innovation”.

The tbDEX protocol will be an easily accessible crypto exchange that aims to bridge users from fiat currencies to Bitcoin and other digital crypto assets.

The vast majority of people receive wages and pay for goods and services in fiat currency. They must pay taxes in fiat currency. So how do we unleash the potential of Bitcoin and decentralised financial infrastructure when most of us still live in a world of fiat? To do so, we need to build bridges between the fiat and cryptocurrency worlds…

Square’s whitepaper

tbDEX Will Not Be Completely Decentralised

While most decentralised exchanges (DEXs) include a governance token, tbDEX will not utilise a trustless model – instead, it will operate as a message protocol designed to facilitate trust relationships without relying on a federation to control access.

The tbDEX also intends to include features that will generally disqualify it from being considered a completely decentralised exchange. For example, to appease regulators, tbDEX will comply with customer identification regulation such as know-your-customer (KYC) checks. 

There is also controversy surrounding the whitepaper’s proposal to include blockchain analytic solutions, which will either be built into the exchange or operate through the use of a third party, in order to track transactions on the platform. To prevent illicit business activities, such a system would allow authorities to cross-reference payment IDs and public wallet addresses with users’ KYC information to reveal personal identities behind transacting parties.

Potential Game Changer

Bringing some regulation to the crypto space does have its benefits, however; these more centralised features would allow for chargebacks on tbDEX, allowing Square to reverse transactions if needed. This is a game changer as it could potentially protect investors from suffering financial loss (which previously has been irreversible) in the event of a rug-pull scam.

Square CEO Jack Dorsey (also CEO of Twitter) has been active in the crypto space over the years, speaking as a guest at crypto conferences around the world and promoting his companies’ products, such as Square’s crypto-friendly mobile payment application, Cash App.

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Banking Bitcoin Crypto News Investing New Zealand Superannuation

$75 Billion Aussie Super Fund Hostplus: ‘Crypto is Too Big to Ignore’

One of Australia’s largest institutional investors believes that cryptocurrency as an investment is the economic elephant in the room, with the likelihood of super funds holding digital assets inevitable in time.

Hostplus has over A$2.2 billion committed to the venture capital sector, of which A$1.5 billion has already been invested. The industry super fund’s chief investment officer, Sam Sicilia, says it is no longer possible to dismiss the booming crypto market simply because of regulatory headwinds.

Sam Sicilia, chief investment officer, Hostplus. Source: ioandc.com

“Hostplus does not have crypto investments, but I do see the day where it becomes mainstream for institutional super funds,” Sicilia told The Australian newspaper. “It’s not just about a return for us. We need a governance structure, we need safekeeping of the assets, and there are regulatory requirements.”

Much Work Still to Do for Super Funds

Super funds needed to do a lot more groundwork before they were “crypto-ready”, Sicilia adds, and regulatory challenges had to be met ahead of any such move.

Last month, the Bank of America released a research paper on crypto with a similar outlook as institutional investors around the globe consider crypto’s prospects.

“With a US$2 trillion-plus market value and more than 200 million users, the digital asset universe is too large to ignore,” according to Bank of America analysts Alkesh Shah and Andrew Moss.

Both Shah and Moss predict that crypto-based digital assets could form an entirely new asset class.

It’s difficult to overstate how transformative blockchain technology, digital assets and the thousands of decentralised apps that have yet to be created could potentially be.

Alkesh Shah and Andrew Moss, crypto and digital assets strategy analysts, Bank of America

Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of Australia red-flagged the “fervour” and “speculative demand” for crypto, warning of the potential for a severe price decline.

That said, Hostplus’s Sicilia foresees that bitcoin’s volatility would open up buying opportunities well below its current US$57,500 price (at the time of writing).

“I think we can get 10 per cent or more out of equity markets each year until people have a choice to put their money somewhere else. And that could be a long time from now,” says Sicilia, who oversees A$75 billion in assets under management at Hostplus.

‘Where Else Will People Be Putting Their Money?’

“People will keep putting their money into equity markets to get dividends. That’s the driving force powering markets. And there will be volatility, of course, but so be it. Where else are they going to put their money?”

Two months ago, Australian superannuation funds were being urged to consider exposure to crypto assets or risk being left behind. In July, New Zealand-based pension fund Kiwi Saver revealed it had invested in bitcoin in October last year. While its chief investment officer said at the time that most super funds in Australia would follow suit within five years, the reality is that Aussie super funds remain too slow out of the blocks.