DefiDollar Listing on AscendEX

PRESS RELEASE. AscendEX, formerly BitMax, an industry-leading digital asset trading platform built by Wall Street quant trading veterans, has announced the listing of the DefiDollar Token (DFD) under the pair USDT/DFD on Apr 29 at 1:00 p.m. UTC.

DefiDollar is a DeFi lab that aims to bring mass adoption to DeFi with a wide-ranging product suite. The first product offering to go live will be the stablecoin index – DUSD, with ibBTC and optionCoin currently in development. DefiDollar (DUSD) aspires to be a risk-insured stablecoin layer for DeFi. It is designed to provide a safe and stable way for users to hold their assets with DUSD being optimized for peg safety, yield, and diversification.

DefiDollar uses DeFi primitives to stay close to the dollar mark. DUSD provides an avenue for diversifying stablecoin holdings to hedge against an event where the underlying stablecoins like Tether or DAI deviate from their peg. DUSD is collateralized by Curve Finance LP tokens.

DFD is the native token of the DefiDollar protocol and serves two primary functions, governance and as a protocol backstop in case of a black swan event.

The DeFiDollar team is also working on a range of additional utilities for the ecosystem, including synthetics, indices, and options products. The next product to be released by DefiDollar will be ibBTC, a BTC index launched in collaboration with Badger DAO.

DefiDollar brings together a team with exceptional experience, from Google to Y-Combinator backed startups and India’s first Crypto Unicorn – Polygon.

 

About AscendEX

Originally founded in 2018 as BitMax.io, AscendEx is a leading crypto and digital asset financial platform catering to both professional and retail traders. The venue offers spot, futures, margin trading and staking products and incorporates key elements from the DeFi space to foster a unique market structure for users. AscendEx is led by a team of Wall Street veterans who have applied traditional markets’ rigor to create a robust, secure, and reliable experience for all participants; and a consistent source of liquidity for primary offerings.

For more information and updates, please visit:

Website: https://ascendex.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AscendEX_Global

Telegram: https://t.me/AscendEXEnglish

Medium: https://medium.com/ascendex

About DefiDollar

DefiDollar is a DeFi lab that aims to bring mass adoption to DeFi. DefiDollar brings together a team with exceptional experience from Google to Y-Combinator backed startups and India’s first Crypto Unicorn – Polygon.

For more information and updates, please visit:

Website: https://dusd.finance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/defidollar?s=20

Telegram: https://t.me/defidollar_community

Blog: https://medium.com/defidollar/

 

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This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

via Bitcoin.com PR

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South African Women Lose Money to Crypto Scammer Who Convinced Them That Botswana Pula Coins Are Bitcoins

A group of South African investors recently confessed to losing money to a brazen scammer after he convinced them to buy and hold nearly worthless physical coins. The coins, which are denominated in the Bostwana pula currency, were initially sold to a group of South African women back in 2019 when bitcoin was only worth $3,500.

However, according to a report, this con only came to light when one member of the group, who is only known as Lizet, attempted to cash out after she lost her job. Lizet explained:

I lost my job and decided to sell one bitcoin since it had doubled in price (and that is when) I found out I had bought two 5 pula coins for $6,988 (100,000 rands) and now the Nigerian man who scammed us is no where to be found.

Meanwhile, Lizet adds that before the women realised they were being conned, the scammer would tell them that what they were “doing is what investors call hodl” and that “when the price is right people will be fighting to purchase the coins from us.” It was this reassurance that convinced Lizet, who was waiting patiently to become a millionaire, to take out a loan which she used to buy the coins.

In the meantime, the report quotes an unnamed spokesperson of the country’s police also confirming that the physical coins in question were in fact Botswana Pula coins. The police also revealed that “information (has been) filed off and the letters BTC (are now) engraved on them.”

What do you think of this story? You can share your views in the comments section below.

via Terence Zimwara

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Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary Says ‘Bitcoin Will Always Be the Gold,’ Citing Interest From ‘All Kinds of Institutions’

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful, says “Bitcoin will always be the gold,” outperforming other cryptocurrencies, such as ethereum, in the long run. He said “there are interests being brought out of all kinds of institutions” for bitcoin.

Kevin O’Leary Bullish on Bitcoin

Kevin O’Leary shared his thoughts about bitcoin and ether in an interview with CNBC Wednesday. While acknowledging that ether has been performing well lately, O’Leary insisted:

Bitcoin will always be the gold.

The chairman of O’Shares ETFs added that “Ethereum will always be the silver,” but emphasized, “that’s not a bad thing necessarily.” He did not mention other cryptocurrencies by name.

While noting that there is potential upside for Ethereum as it shifts to a new model, the Shark Tank star believes that Ethereum is primarily “going to be used as a form of tracking and payment system.” O’Leary pointed out, however, that Ethereum 2.0 has the potential to be “far more green in terms of how much energy it takes to create it.” Nonetheless, he insisted that it will never overtake bitcoin. “Will it ever take bitcoin? No,” he affirmed.

O’Leary revealed in February that he had allocated 3% of his portfolio to bitcoin after Canadian regulators approved bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). He explained that bitcoin proponents view the cryptocurrency as digital gold and a hedge against inflation that will appreciate over time.

Mr. Wonderful elaborated:

Now, bitcoin hitting new highs almost every week is proving that there are interests being brought out of all kinds of institutions now trying to figure out: Is it a currency? Is it an asset? Is a property? … That gives you an idea of the institutional and individual interest.

Early this month, O’Leary said that he is only interested in buying “clean” bitcoins that are mined sustainably in countries that use clean energy, not “blood coins” from China.

Do you agree with Kevin O’Leary? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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Cryptocurrency Exchange Hotbit Hacked: Systems Paralyzed, 2 Million Users Affected

A cryptocurrency exchange with about 2 million users worldwide announced that it has “suffered a serious cyber attack.” A number of basic services are paralyzed and the attacker tried to access the exchange’s wallets. Consequently, the platform has shut down, stating that it needs to perform a “comprehensive inspection” which is expected to last one to two weeks.

Hotbit Says It ‘Suffered a Serious Cyber Attack’

Crypto exchange Hotbit announced Friday:

Hotbit just suffered a serious cyber attack starting around 08:00 PM UTC, April 29,2021, which led to the paralyzation of a number of some basic services.

The announcement adds that “the attackers also tried to hack into Hotbit’s wallets,” but the exchange claims that “the attempt was identified and stopped by our risk control system.”

The exchange says that it is “about to exceed 2 million registered users and has a huge service system architecture of more than 200 servers online, in order to ensure security, Hotbit team will completely rebuild all servers.”

While insisting that all customers’ assets are “safe and secure,” the exchange announced:

Hotbit team has shut down all services for inspection and restoration immediately.

Regarding the recovery period, the exchange expects it to take about 7-14 days, emphasizing that it “is expected to be no less than 7 days.” Furthermore, “The estimated time of recovery will be more as all things going on.”

Following the hack announcement, crypto transfers were spotted from Hotbit’s addresses. The exchange claims that the transfers resulted from them “creating new cold wallet.”

The exchange explained that the attacker deleted the user database after failing to obtain assets. It also warned that “The attacker has already gained access to the database,” so users’ “registered phone number, email address and asset data” may have been leaked.

While stating that the database is backed up, the company says, “we are still uncertain whether the attacker has polluted data or not before the attack,” justifying the need for “a comprehensive inspection.”

What do you think about this Hotbit hack? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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Beijing Is Collecting Data From Local Datacenters Involved in Cryptocurrency Mining Activities

Authorities in Beijing have been conducting checks on cryptocurrency mining datacenters to assess and understand its energy consumption and thus the impact on the electric infrastructure. Although it was reported as a rumor by international media outlets, Chinese state media confirmed it.

Authorities Sent an ‘Emergency Note’ to Three Biggest Telecom Operators

As first reported by Reuters, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology was the entity that ordered the checks on the city’s data centers.

In the first instance, they wanted to verify if these companies are involved in bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrency mining businesses by sending an “Emergency Notice Concerning the Data Center Involving Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrency Mining Businesses in Our City’s Data Centers.”

According to an unnamed source cited by Reuters, the notice also targeted three of the biggest telecommunications operators in China.

The measure took place on Tuesday, and then state media Pengpai confirmed the news on Thursday. Furthermore, the bureau wants to get reports on the amount of power consumed and share by crypto asset mining.

Although the information specifies that the notice was issued in Beijing, there is no official confirmation on whether the checks are being conducted across the country or not.

Was China’s Carbon Neutral Stance One of the Reasons Behind the Checks?

Also, there are not more details on the reasons that drove Beijing authorities to conduct such checks.

However, Reuters suggests the measure could come in the wake of the latest shut down of digital currency mining projects in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, as the country seeks to improve energy efficiency.

Moreover, as Bitcoin.com reported recently, China’s carbon-neutral stance adds weight to bitcoin miners’ backs. Following a recent hashrate drop in the province of Xinjiang, a regional report notes that people leveraging electricity in Sichuan may see an electrical cost increase.

In fact, a local financial columnist said that Sichuan electricity powered by carbon materials will increase by 150% this year adding to the demand for renewable hydro power.

What are your thoughts on the measure taken by the Beijing government? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Felipe Erazo

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Peer-to-Peer Internet ThreeFold Goes Multichain to Accelerate Token Accessibility

PRESS RELEASE. Peer-to-peer internet ThreeFold integrates with several popular blockchain ecosystems in an effort to increase adoption for the world’s largest such network

29th April 2021, Dubai, United Arab Emirates – ThreeFold plans to integrate its peer-to-peer internet platform with three of the leading blockchain ecosystems in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space; Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Ethereum, and Huobi’s ECO Chain.

ThreeFold is set to integrate BSC in the next couple of weeks, with Ethereum and Huobi’s ECO Chain following shortly later on in Q2. These integrations will provide the ThreeFold ecosystem access to a wide array of DeFi applications. In turn, this will allow ThreeFold to be more accessible to the DeFi world and provide ThreeFold Farmers and users with more platforms to exchange TFT.

ThreeFold’s bold move comes while the wider cryptocurrency market is booming. The total value of all cryptocurrency-related or blockchain-based projects has surpassed $2.1 trillion in recent weeks, as market leaders, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, set new all-time highs. Accordingly, interest in blockchain technology is soaring as the number of active projects in the space nears 9,000.

Moreover, in an environment in which internet use for all aspects of life is soaring owing to COVID-19 restrictions, ThreeFold’s main value proposition – a truly peer-to-peer internet platform – is gaining traction. ThreeFold sees the sustainability of internet services in the long-run and its decentralization as inseparable.

Democratizing the Internet

But why is this needed? The internet today is hosted by a small group of well-resourced companies that are responsible for the maintenance of data centres which provide the server and storage space for the vast quantity of content on the internet. In addition, these same companies are finding a way to monopolize the network connections that allow data to flow around the globe.

As a result, decisions made by these companies have the power to entirely change the landscape of the internet unilaterally, without contest. Given the fact that the internet is now integral to much of the world’s industry, as well as many ways of life, the disproportionate power that these companies wield make them the de facto governors of the future of humanity’s development.

Just as Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned the democratization of the financial system through decentralization, ThreeFold is on a similar quest to democratize the internet with a unique combination of autonomous and blockchain technology. The benefits would be clear. More internet users would benefit from a neutral peer-to-peer platform on which to store their data and run their applications privately and securely.. Moreover, decentralization removes the internet’s singular potential points of failure which could seriously disrupt the global Internet and Cloud industry.

A Multichain Future

ThreeFold’s upcoming integration with BSC, Ethereum and Huobi’s ECO Chain is a critical part of continuing to grow and cultivate the world’s largest peer-to-peer internet platform. Ethereum is the number one platform for decentralized applications (dApps) in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space as of today.

Accordingly, ThreeFold’s platform will be put on the radar of the vast number of Ethereum users who could quite effortlessly become the much-needed nodes in its vision of a decentralized internet. Furthermore, there is a wealth of decentralized development expertise concentrated in the Ethereum-sphere, as well as in both Binance’s and Huobi’s blockchain ecosystems. In addition to improving compatibility with these platforms, ThreeFold will be able to tap into these development skills, inviting experienced dApp developers to build their applications on top of the ThreeFold Grid.

Comparatively, ThreeFold’s ambitious integration plans put it far ahead of similar projects in the decentralized internet space, who are traditionally Ethereum-based. However, with the increasing cost of Ethereum-based development and its slower than required scalability updates, ThreeFold’s peer-to-peer Internet will remain affordable, scaleable and simple for developers.

About ThreeFold

ThreeFold is developing a peer-to-peer internet platform that aims to liberalize what it labels as a centralized and unequally distributed internet. Its platform, called the ThreeFold Grid, comprises over +600 servers in 25+ different countries around the world, delivering approximately 80 PB in storage and over 16,000 CPU cores worldwide, making it the largest storage and compute peer-to-peer internet network in the world. See ThreeFold Grid’s statistics in more detail using their explorer here.

Each server runs ThreeFold’s stateless and lightweight open-source operating system, Zero-OS, and is set up and operated by independent individuals and organisations called Farmers. Farmers earn rewards in TFT – the platform’s native token – for their participation. TFT is the currency of the ThreeFold Grid, with each token representing a unit of storage and compute on the platform. Grid users can use these tokens to reserve the storage and compute they need to store, build and share on the platform’s internet network.

ThreeFold’s ultimate vision is to be part of the movement to fully democratize the internet worldwide.

To learn more about how ThreeFold plans to democratize the internet, visit their website here. For more information on TFT and how it fits into ThreeFold’s overall plans, see this page.

Follow ThreeFold on Twitter: https://twitter.com/threefold_io

Read ThreeFold’s documentation on Github: https://github.com/threefoldfoundation

Like ThreeFold’s page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/threefold.io

 

Media Contact Details

Contact Name: Amazix Press Team

Contact Email: press@amazix.com

 

THREEFOLD is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.

 

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This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

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Fed Chair Jerome Powell Says Dogecoin and Gamestop Hype Highlights ‘Froth in Equity Markets’

Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, discussed a number of topics this week such as inflation and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) following the multi-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings. The central bank’s lead executive was asked about feverish stocks like Gamestop shares and the crypto asset dogecoin. Powell said that the Federal Reserve aims to provide financial stability but notes there are some things in capital markets that are a bit frothy.

Fed Chair on Inflation: The committee Seeks Inflation Moderately Above 2%

This week the FOMC meetings have shown that the U.S. central bank plans to continue its monetary easing policies until it is satisfied the economic effects of the pandemic are dealt with. The FOMC meetings were also followed by press conferences where the Fed Chair Jerome Powell answered questions from a number of different news agencies. Powell discussed the benchmark interest rate and inflation, while he was also asked about digital currencies and things like Gamestop shares and the recent dogecoin (DOGE) rally.

At first, Powell was inundated with questions about inflation and one reporter stressed that some people believe “the Fed might let things get out of hand with the new policy stance.” The reporter asked the Fed Chair if the central bank will be able to get ahead of inflation before it gets well ahead of the 2% target. Powell noted that since the Fed has been able to maintain an inflation rate below 2% for “some time,” he highlighted that “the committee seeks inflation moderately above 2% for some time.”

Powell further remarked:

[The Fed is] strongly committed to achieving our objectives of maximum employment and price stability.

Despite China’s Lead Creating a Central Bank Digital Currency, Powell Says ‘USD Is Still ‘the World’s Reserve Currency’

The Fed Chair was also asked about the U.S. falling behind countries like China in the race to create a central bank digital currency (CBDC). “We feel an obligation to understand the technology and all of the policy issues very, very well,” Powell said in response to the CBDC questions.

“Central bank digital currencies are now possible, and we’re going to see some of them around the world,” Powell added. “And we need to understand whether that’s something that would be a good thing for the people that we serve. How would it work in our system? And there are some very, very difficult questions to answer, and we are engaged in a serious program to understand both the technology and the policy issues.”

The Federal Reserve’s Chair explained that the dollar is still very powerful in his eyes, and he emphasized that the USD is “the world’s reserve currency.”

“That means that the dollar is used in transactions all around the world, far more than any other currency. And that’s because of our rule of law, our democratic institutions, which are the best in the world, our economy, our industrious people, all the things that make the United States the United States,” Powell said.

Gamestop Shares and Dogecoin

One reporter noted the hype that has surrounded certain markets like dogecoin (DOGE) and Gamestop shares. The journalist said that people are searching for “yield in this market” and he wondered if the Fed felt responsible for the current financial stability in America. “Is there a financial stability concern from the Fed’s perspective at this time?” the reporter asked the Fed Chair. Powell responded and said that the financial stability the Fed provides is quite broad, and the central bank doesn’t jump on a certain issue and then move to the next.

“Financial stability for us is really, we have a broad framework. So we don’t just jump from one thing to another,” Powell replied. “I know many people just look at asset prices and they look at some of the things that are going on in the equity markets, which I think do reflect froth in the equity markets. But really, we try to stick to a framework for financial stability so we can talk about it the same way each time, and so we can be held accountable for it,” the Fed Chair added.

Just as Powell has protected the mega banks by alluding to the financial incumbents’ so-called “strength” in the past, he positioned the Wall Street banks once again as strong financiers this week.

“Leveraging the financial system is not an issue. We have very well capitalized, large banks,” Powell stressed at the press conference.

What do you think about Jerome Powell’s commentary about inflation, CBDCs, and capital markets being frothy? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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Turkey Jails 6 People as Police Widen Search for Missing Cryptocurrency Exchange CEO Accused of Exit Scam

Turkey has now jailed six suspects connected to the cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, which has been accused of an exit scam. Turkish authorities and Interpol have widened their search for the exchange’s CEO, who fled the country before shutting down his trading platform, preventing customers from withdrawing their funds.

Search Widens for CEO of Crypto Exchange Thodex

A Turkish court has jailed six suspects in connection with the cryptocurrency exchange Thodex which has been accused of an exit scam, Reuters reported Thursday.

The exchange abruptly halted trading last week after its CEO, Faruk Fatih Ozer, fled the country to Albania. Customers have filed complaints against the exchange as they cannot log in to their accounts and withdraw their funds.

The spokeswoman for Istanbul’s Anadolu prosecutor’s office said that the six jailed suspects include Ozer’s brother, sister, and senior company employees, noting that they are awaiting trial. At least 83 people were detained over the past week, but most have been released. Seven were let go on Thursday with judicial control measures.

Interpol has issued a red notice for the Thodex CEO at the request of Turkey. Noting that Turkey has sent units to four countries to search for Ozer, including Albania, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said this week in an interview with NTV:

When he is caught with the red notice, we have extradition agreements with a large part of these countries. God willing he will be caught and he will be returned.

While users and media claimed that Ozer had run off with $2 billion of customers’ funds, Minister Soylu said the company’s portfolio shows $108 million.

Thodex is not the only crypto exchange being investigated by Turkish authorities. Verbitcoin also halted trading abruptly and is currently being investigated for fraud. This week, four people were jailed pending trial as part of an investigation into Vebitcoin.

The Turkish central bank recently banned the use of cryptocurrencies for payment but has indicated that it does not intend to ban cryptocurrencies. The government is now working on establishing a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.

Do you think Thodex pulled an exit scam? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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Coinbase Buys Data Firm Skew, Company’s First Acquisition Since the Nasdaq Direct Listing

On April 30, the crypto-focused data analytics company Skew announced the firm has been acquired by the San Francisco company Coinbase. The exchange will leverage Skew’s data with the firm’s institutional subsidiary Coinbase Prime. The goal is to make “cryptocurrency markets more transparent and accessible for institutional investors.”

Coinbase Acquires Analytics Company Skew

Skew, the company behind the crypto data and analytics website skew.com has been acquired by Coinbase according to a recently published blog post. Bitcoin.com News and a myriad of other crypto industry service providers have leveraged Skew’s analytics for reports in regard to cryptocurrency derivatives markets. Skew’s comprehensive data showcases both bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) spot, futures, and options market data.

The platform was founded three years ago by Emmanuel Goh and Tim Noat and during the last two years the analytics Skew provides has been quite popular. The Skew team says that it looks forward to joining the Coinbase family and it believes that it will expand the company’s long-term growth.

“Joining Coinbase represents an unparalleled opportunity for skew’s continued growth,” Skew said on Friday. “We remain acutely focused on supporting our clients and working with our ecosystem partners. We believe our client commitment and offering will only be further enhanced by partnering with Coinbase.”

Skew Becomes the Publicly-Listed Firm’s Seventh Acquisition Since 2018

Coinbase has made a number of acquisitions during the last two years, but the Skew acquisition follows the company’s recent listing on Nasdaq. Since 2018, Coinbase has acquired six different startups and one of them was “transitioned out” (Neutrino) after the acquisition became controversial. In addition to that acquisition, Coinbase obtained Distributed Systems, Blockspring, Routefire, Tagomi, and Bison Trails on January 19, 2021.

The team behind Skew has noted that the company had already formed a relationship with the San Francisco crypto giant and “witnessed first-hand their impressive product-led culture.” The blog announcement, however, does not disclose the monetary value of the Skew acquisition. “There is a strong alignment between Skew and Coinbase and as a result, Coinbase makes a great home for our team,” Skew’s announcement concludes.

What do you think about Skew being acquired by Coinbase? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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Never-Before-Seen Pictures of Kurt Cobain’s Iconic Photoshoot to Be Sold a NFTs

In less than three days, the renowned photographer Jesse Frohman will be holding an auction featuring a non-fungible token (NFT) collection of his last photoshoot with the now-deceased Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. On May 3, at 12 p.m. (ET) Frohman’s iconic photos that were transferred into NFTs will be auctioned for ethereum. A portion of the auction’s proceeds will go to the JED Foundation, a suicide prevention nonprofit for teens.

‘The Last Session’ NFT Auction Featuring Over 100 Kurt Cobain Images to Start at 27 Ethereum

Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain changed the lives of many people with his awe-inspiring music, as the American singer, songwriter and musician took the world by stage back in the early nineties. Often heralded as one of the pioneers of alternative rock, Cobain’s legacy has lived on long after he committed suicide on April 5, 1994. The now-deceased spokesperson for Generation X will soon have his photographs sold as non-fungible token assets.

The photographer Jesse Frohman will be selling a collection of his iconic pictures from “The Last Session” stemming from a photoshoot taken a year before Cobain’s death in July 1993. Frohman has launched a website called “nft.jessefrohman.com/the-last-session,” which showcases more than 100 pictures in low-resolution thumbnails so people can view Frohman NFT collection. The NFTs feature never-before-seen negatives and contact sheets from Frohman’s private collection and high-resolution versions will be distributed to the NFT auction winners.

Some of the photos from the collection of over 100 shots taken by Jesse Frohman in July 1993.

Moreover, the auction winner of the “The Last Session Edition of 1” gets approximately “104 images sold as a single bundle” and “one print of their choosing from the collection.” The “The Last Session” NFT collection is selling for 27.27 ETH, which is a homage to Cobain’s age before he passed. Using today’s ethereum (ETH) exchange rates, the “The Last Session” collection NFT auction will start at over $74k.

“The winning bidder will take ownership of more than a collection of art,” Frohman’s website says. “They will become a custodian of an enduring moment in music and culture.”

The auction will also see the sale of two other collections of NFTs like the “Nevermind Editions,” which feature 10 NFTs in total. The “Nevermind” NFTs will sell for 2.7 ETH the website details. The “In Utero Editions” will feature 20 NFTS with the price starting at 1 ETH. Frohman’s auction website explains that the photoshoot itself was a notable time in history cinematically archiving one of the greatest musicians of all time in still frames.

Frohman’s website highlights:

What was to be a sprawling Central Park photoshoot had dwindled in scope to stealing 30 minutes in a drab hotel conference room with his two assistants and a Pentax 6×7 camera. When Kurt finally emerged from his hotel room, it was in a shroud of residual catatonia. He broke the silence by asking for a bucket — just in case. There was no time for small talk. There was no need. The photos speak for themselves.

A Cinema Study of the Iconic Rockstar

The non-fungible token landscape continues to grow, as a great number of well known companies and celebrities have been joining the NFT bandwagon. For instance, hip-hop legend Eminem launched beat-inspired animated NFTs for Stans last week. The popular artist Doctor Troller from south London, launched his digital collection of NFTs via his website doctortroller.com and sold £14,500 in NFTs in under a minute. In other news, $1.68 million in cryptocurrency was recently leveraged to purchase a Tom Brady NFT autographed rookie trading card. Frohman’s Cobain photo collection aims to be different.

Frohman told Rolling Stone that he wanted to sell his photos in the form of a collection. “Everyone was doing an individual picture here, an individual picture there, maybe a group of three here, but I wanted to do something that other people hadn’t done before,” the photographer said. “It’s something so special that won’t be offered again… It’s like a cinema study,” he added.

What do you think about the Kurt Cobain collection of NFTs from the last photoshoot with photographer Jesse Frohman? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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Interoperability May Be The Single Biggest Threat to Ethereum’s Dominance

While it may still be the primary network hub for defi activities, smart contracts, and NFTs, bridges built using competing networks like Tezos could pose a serious challenge to Ethereum’s market share in these areas.

New Solutions to Old Problems Could Undermine Network’s Potency

In the time since the network’s unveiling, Ethereum-killers have abounded with claims that they would displace the network with faster transactions, more scalability, lower fees, and effectively do just about everything better.

Despite all the hype surrounding these answers to Ethereum’s flaws, no network has been able to displace the network’s appeal in totality. Yet, Ethereum’s deficiencies are currently coming under attack from all sides, and more so than ever before.

The recently unveiled WRAP Protocol from Bender Labs is one of several arrows that could seriously maim Ethereum’s status. This highly interoperable decentralized protocol will enable the transformation and transfer of Ethereum tokens, including ERC-20 and ERC-721 standards, to the Tezos blockchain.

Ethereum tokens are effectively locked on the blockchain through this protocol before a “wrapped” version is created on the corresponding network, in this case, Tezos. The wrapped version’s underlying value is tied to the actual token being copied, using the $WRAP native token to orchestrate the transformation. All wrapped Ethereum tokens are then compatible with Tezos’ FA2 standard, allowing them to be freely used within the network.

A Serious Challenge to the Status Quo

While defeating Ethereum isn’t Bender Labs stated objective, the idea of building a more open, interoperable decentralized financial system does challenge the network’s dominance, especially in Defi and smart contracts.

This new protocol’s “bridge” will empower token holders to move freely between the two ecosystems with minimal switching costs, providing a greater abundance of choice while granting users the opportunity to vote with their feet.

Given that Tezos now boasts a much more affordable ecosystem for developers and users relative to Ethereum, thanks to its proof-of-stake consensus, this newfound ability to seamlessly migrate between chains represents a severe threat. Moreover, the self-upgradeable nature of Tezos means that future adjustments to the network to are much easier to implement relative to Ethereum’s drawn-out upgrade process.

An Unpredictable Adoption Path

Surging fees on Ethereum that are difficult to predict reliably already present the needed catalyst for an exodus of developers and users. The attraction of Tezos’ lower transaction costs with no demonstrable changes in user experience is difficult to deny.

However, though it may appear like an Ethereum-killer in certain respects, WRAP protocol might have the opposite effect over the long term. By giving users a near-frictionless method to move between ecosystems, Ethereum might actually benefit from expanded use.

How? Quite simply, if defi becomes more competitive and smart contract use expands, the two networks will likely compete for demand as each continually upgrades and innovates to attract participation. If resulting innovation sends costs tumbling, it will invite even greater participation from users and developers alike, effectively expanding the universe of crypto users instead of splitting it down the middle.

Though talks of Ethereum’s imminent demise will proliferate, WRAP Protocol is still a serious shot across the bow that might have short-term consequences for the network, even with Ethereum’s forward-looking potential.

Do you think the harsh competition against Ethereum hurts the network or makes it stronger? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Reuben Jackson

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NFT Roundup: Drumpfs Hit the Market, Dole Takes A Bite Out of Hunger, Digitalax Introduces Fashion Hybrids, and Burgundy Wine Collectibles Arrive

The fever surrounding non-fungible tokens continues to spread as it penetrates new areas and industries. Political memes have now entered the NFT fray, Dole is fighting food insecurity with a humorous angle, Digitalax is bridging the physical and digital fashion divide, and even acclaimed wine is getting a taste for digital collectibles.

Drumpfs Mint Trump’s Tweets for Charity

Capitalizing on the momentum of Meme PAC’s viral presence in the American political conversation, 18-year incoming Columbia freshman and President behind the famed youth political action committee (PAC) Jackie Ni is introducing political NFTs. Through Strategic Meme Group (SMG), where Ni serves as Chief Meme Officer, unique digital political collectibles will be minted and auctioned to monetize former President Donald Trump’s tweets for charitable purposes.

The so-called “Drumpfs,” which mark the first undertaking of SMG, will be presented as cubes with different images affixed to each side. One side of each NFT’s cube may feature a tweet, whereas another on the same cube will present a neural-net-generated piece of abstract art. The project will sell 10,000 NFTs through a smart contract at fixed prices instead of embracing the auction model.

Out of the total, 99% of the NFTs will be sold at a flat rate of 0.0232 ETH to represent Trump’s 232 electoral college votes in the last election, while the final 100 memorable tweets will be sold at 4.5 ETH to reflect Trump’s role as the 45th US President. Meme PAC will donate 100% of the sale proceeds to charities, and all the NFTs will be resellable on the OpenSea marketplace.

Dole & Datuna NFTs to Fight Hunger

Inspired by “the Hungry Artist’s” stunt where he ate a $120,000 banana affixed to a canvas at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, The Dole Sunshine Company is partnering with David Datuna to address food insecurity and malnutrition across the globe. The initiative will see Datuna create an NFT collection to complement Dole’s “Sunshine for All” program.

Datuna is producing a five-part series displaying people coming together to fight hunger. The first four parts of the series will go to auction on Rarible starting May 6th, followed by the May 8th auction of the fifth piece in the series. The final auction will be accompanied by a physical installation and a digital display in a Decentraland-based virtual gallery. Proceeds will be donated to Boys & Girls Clubs.

Digitalax Bridges Digital Fashion With Physical World Through “Memetic” Patches

As the pioneer behind the digital fashion movement, platform Digitalax continues to push the boundaries of NFTs as memes by introducing a physical fashion line that an accompanying NFT will complement. Through its collaboration with Polygon, which will be responsible for issuing the NFTs, Digitalax aims to build a gateway to bring fashion enthusiasts into the blockchain fold.

Each piece of physical clothing from the collection will feature a memetic patch that brings attention to important themes like the undervalued creators behind the industry, the profiteering which takes advantage of minor supply-chain players, and sustainability. The clothing will be available for purchase in fiat currency, presenting no barrier for eager enthusiasts to participate in this project. A corresponding inventory claim ticket will be used to represent rights to the memetic NFT that accompanies each piece.

NFTs Attract Interest From America’s Oldest Wine Shop

To correspond with an upcoming fine wine auction for one of Burgundy’s most famed winemakers on May 12th, American fine and rare wine auction house, Acker, will be incorporating non-fungible tokens as part of its offering. The event, which features 16 bottles from Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair’s 2019 vintage, will see each bottle accompanied by a one-of-a-kind NFT.

Each NFT will contain a detailed description from famed producer Comte Louis-Michel Liger-Belair regarding the vineyard’s expression for every corresponding bottle of wine. The auction, which will accept dollars and cryptocurrencies, will be hosted on Acker’s proprietary platform. Winning bidders’ NFTs will be transferred via OpenSea to the Ethereum network.

Can you think of any industry that has not yet ‘cashed in’ on the NFT craze? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Reuben Jackson

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New Jersey County Liquidates Bitcoin Seized in 2018, Profiting Almost 300%

Individuals and companies are not the only ones who take advantage of the significant bitcoin prices surging across the board, despite recent pullbacks. In New Jersey, United States, a county yielded profits after liquidating seized cryptocurrencies during a drug investigation.

Authorities Gained Control of the Cryptos in 2019

According to NBC New York, local authorities from Monmouth County got the bitcoin (BTC) during a raid in the context of an illegal narcotics distribution crackdown in 2018. Investigators found that such digital assets were part of the profits gained by the criminals due to its drug sales.

Approximately, the county netted 300% in profits from the liquidation when BTC was exchanging hands around the $57,000 threshold, selling it at around $198,000, said the media outlet.

Per the report, in 2019, the county filed a forfeiture complaint after the suspect pleaded guilty. That said, the county gained ownership of the seized crypto. Christopher Gramiccioni, the prosecutor from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, commented:

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office leads from the front on innovative law enforcement strategies and practices necessary in the emerging new crypto world. This will serve as an effective template for the state law enforcement agencies in the cryptocurrency market – a place where we can expect proceeds from crimes to continue to be concealed.

First Crypto Seizing in the NJ County Took Place in 2017

However, this is not the first time that Monmouth County has seized cryptocurrencies. In 2017, law enforcement busted 16 people for defrauding several financial institutions.

The report states that seized digital assets in the “Operation Plastic Army” – the first-of-its-kind in the NJ county – are worth over $1.25 million as of press time. However, the assets have not been liquidated yet.

Governments tend to auction cryptocurrencies seized from criminal activities, such as France did in March when the French government auctioned 611 BTC, which was worth almost $34 million at the time.

What are your thoughts on this NJ county profiting from bitcoins seized? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Felipe Erazo

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Digital Asset Marketplace Apifiny Prime Granted FINRA Broker-Dealer License Approval

On Thursday, Apifiny, a global digital asset trading and mining network, announced the company’s subsidiary Apifiny Prime has been granted a broker-dealer license from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The firm now joins the ranks of brokerage and exchange businesses like Coinbase, Etoro, and Circle.

FINRA Grants Apifiny Prime a Broker-Dealer License

The leading regulator that oversees American broker-dealers, FINRA has granted a broker-dealer license to Apifiny Prime. The license allows Apifiny to make private investor placements and vend securities, cryptocurrencies, stocks, and other types of financial products. Apifiny was founded by Haohan Xu in 2018 after he saw inefficiencies across global bitcoin exchanges, and said that he “took advantage of this by buying and selling bitcoin across different exchanges.”

Haohan Xu detailed in the company announcement concerning the FINRA approval, that his firm has grown significantly and saw a “4x increase in monthly trading volume from November ‘20 through March ‘21, reaching nearly $1.4B.” Since the company started, it has expanded across five continents and 12 countries.

In order to keep the inefficiencies across global cryptocurrency exchanges at bay, Apifiny is partnered with 24 exchange partners. Ten of the two dozen are new and include top trading platforms like Hbtc, Huobi, Ascendex, and Crypto.com.

“As we accelerate our product development, partnerships, hiring, and overall growth toward a public offering, securing this first phase of our broker-dealer license is a major milestone,” Haohan Xu remarked about the FINRA broker-dealer license approval.

Haohan Xu added:

This new license will allow us to better serve innovative crypto startups seeking capital and is another point of validation that we’re well-positioned to capture an enormous market opportunity in global digital asset trading. The license granted to Apifiny by FINRA also demonstrates the strength of our internal controls and compliance.

Apifiny’s Bitcoin Hashrate Token

Back in February, Apifiny’s founder told the financial columnist Nate DiCamillo that the company aims to go public by the end of 2021. On April 22, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Apifiny, Hash Hive, launched the “Hash Hive Standard Hashrate Token” otherwise known as “BTCHV.” The token is a “perpetual, compliant, and standardized token collateralized by Bitcoin hashrate,” the recently published Apifiny BTCHV summary explains.

A great number of companies have stepped into the bitcoin mining foray, and Apifiny said that the firm entered bitcoin mining in order to “accelerate the growth of its global trading platform.”

The company believes the FINRA license will expand the acceleration of Apifiny Prime as well, as the licensure will provide the company with a myriad of different choices. While the trading platform will face the likes of competition such as Gemini, Coinbase, Etoro, and Circle, the operation will continue to leverage the firm’s distributed trading network (DTN).

What do you think about Apifiny Prime getting a broker-dealer license from FINRA? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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Metis: First Ever Community-Minted NFT Attracts Buyers With an Early Bid of 7 ETH

PRESS RELEASE. The first ever community-minted NFT launched at OpenSea this week, attracting a bid of 7 ETH for this historic event and giving 256 lucky users the opportunity to share the proceeds of the NFT auction with the artist.

That large bid is the latest stage of a highly popular campaign, one that saw the opening rounds of NFT minting happen in a matter of minutes, instead of the expected span of five days. More than 12,000 clients enrolled wallets to the MetisDAO.org website as part of the NFT contest.

The NFT is named “Rebuilding the Tower of Babel”, connecting the idea of the old Biblical Babylonian tower and its mission of uniting people around the world who speak different languages with the city of the future and the huge potential of blockchain technology.

Bidders can bid on the NFT from now until the auction’s end Monday, May 3 at 1:53 pm UTC.

Elena Sinelnikova, CEO and co-founder of Metis, said the venture shows the spirit of collaboration that a community-minded NFT provides. It’s a completely different and new angle compared to other NFTs which are minted to benefit a solitary craftsman, celebrity, or artist. Said Sinelnikova:

“That gives this artwork a unique place in NFT history and makes it a far more valuable commodity for collectors and art appreciators considering an investment in the NFT space.”

In addition to the 256 individuals who will benefit from the OpenSea auction, another 2304 people who took part in the contest will gain the ability to take part in future Metis staking projects. Users who didn’t qualify for those rewards will be able to join a waiting list at MetisDAO.org to be the first to hear about future Metis events. Details on those events will be provided at the Metis Telegram account, @MetisDAO.

Meanwhile, clients who share the link to the OpenSea auction page become qualified to get Metis tokens, which can be used for future contests and promotions.

The historic community-minted NFT caused a rush of FOMO before the auction even began, as an anonymous party bid 5 ETH for the NFT a day before the OpenSea auction began.

To enter the bidding for the “Rebuilding the Tower of Babel” NFT, users can visit the OpenSea auction page.

About Rebuilding the Tower of Babel NFT

The Metis community-minted Non-Fungible Token (NFT) was designed by Canadian artist Matt Vegh and his research lab Starcloud AI. It was assembled through 256 puzzle pieces, collected by users who formed collaborative Tribes to increase their mining power.

The project marks a major achievement for the Metis Layer 2 platform (Metis Rollup), which uses reputation-verifying tools to create trust between anonymous users, ensuring that they can collaborate on projects with confidence.

The NFT auction comes just ahead of Metis’ upcoming initial DEX offering (IDO), planned for mid-May. The IDO will launch the Metis token as a digital currency on a decentralized exchange (DEX).

 

About Metis

Based on the spirit of Optimistic Rollup, Metis is building an easy-to-use, highly scalable, low-cost, and fully functional Layer 2 framework (Metis Rollup) to fully support the application and business migration from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0. Its scalable protocol supports a wide range of use cases, including yield farming, DEX trading, and powering the gig economy via dApps that offer cheap and fast micropayments.

Metis integrates the Decentralized Autonomous Company (DAC) framework within its Layer 2 infrastructure, a differentiating factor that makes it easy for any developers, builders, or community leaders to build their applications and communities. It also makes it easy to use pre-set tools to facilitate their development, manage collaboration, and enjoy the network effects of the world’s largest decentralized finance ecosystem, without the costs and bottlenecks normally associated with Ethereum.

Metis’ goal is to make building dApps and DACs on its platform so easy to do, even total blockchain novices can make it happen in a matter of minutes.

*Under current applicable regulations, access to this promotion is not available for residents of, or persons/entities located in, the United States of America or Canada. Metis is proactively working towards tailoring future promotions to become available worldwide.

 

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This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release.

via Bitcoin.com PR

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The Benefits of Coupling Ethereum With Bitcoin Cash: Smartbch Sidechain Testnet Is Now Public

On Thursday, the Smart Bitcoin Cash team announced the launch of the Smartbch testnet explaining that developers and decentralized app makers can now experiment and develop with the high-performance, EVM-compatible Bitcoin Cash sidechain. Further, Bitcoin.com News spoke with Wang Kui the lead developer of the Smartbch project. The Smartbch tech lead told our newsdesk about the inner workings of the sidechain that can connect with the Ethereum network.

Testnet for Smart Bitcoin Cash, a Bitcoin Cash Layer-2 Project Is Live

During the last few weeks, the Smartbch project has been a topical conversation within the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) community. The reason for these conversations is because the Smartbch team has revealed a project that is EVM and Web3 compatible, but far cheaper in terms of transaction fees. This is because the Smartbch project is a sidechain built on Bitcoin Cash and it leverages the BCH chain’s lower transaction fees. Bitcoin.com has reported on the project on a few occasions since it was announced and on April 29, the team has revealed the Smartbch testnet is now live.

The Smartbch testnet will allow decentralized application (dapp) creators and programmers the ability to test and deploy experimental projects using the testing framework. Developers should read the recently published Smartbch testnet documentation before getting started. The team’s testnet announcement notes that the BCH community has been waiting for this project to go live, and said the project Telegram channel has swelled with members.

For instance, the Coinflex exchange has had its development team testing the testnet of Smartbch while it was still private. “Metamask is connecting without issue and solidity code is working well. We set up a DEX on our private testnet, created tokens…and it’s all going smoothly,” Mark Lamb, CEO of Coinflex said. The Smartbch team says the concept is the first-of-its-kind sidechain for Bitcoin Cash and there are many benefits BCH offers.

“Bitcoin Cash itself is not specifically equipped for smart contracting functions, preferring use cases centered around peer-to-peer cash,” the Smartbch team said on Wednesday. “However, as a sidechain to Bitcoin Cash, Smartbch aims to build a new playground for the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem and enlarge the user base.” Wang Kui the lead developer of the Smartbch further discussed the protocol with Bitcoin.com News this week.

Wang Kui stresses that the protocol provides an EVM and Web3 compatible sidechain for Bitcoin Cash, staking its hash power while utilizing BCH as the native gas-paying token. “What’s more, by incorporating hardware-friendly components, vastly increased scalability is unlocked,” Kui remarked. Moreover, the Smartbch tech lead discussed the project in great detail with Bitcoin.com News in an exclusive interview transcribed below.

An In-Depth Interview With the Smart Bitcoin Cash Tech Lead Wang Kui

Bitcoin.com News (BCN): What made you decide to start such a venture and why did you choose to leverage the Bitcoin Cash network?

Wang Kui (WK): I have been talking about the project background, since the second half of 2018, I have been working on how to maximize TPS (Transactions Per Second). But the work has been on and off as I was assigned with other tasks. By the second half of 2020, I finally found a feasible way after many failures. After discussing the idea with industry leaders, we decided to deliver my research results by launching Smartbch.

The main reason for choosing the Bitcoin Cash network is that it features big blocks. Based on my professional background and work experience, I think optimization measures should be taken to give full play to the ability of the computing system itself. You can call it ‘brute force.’ However, Ethereum prefers ‘subtle’ ways like sharding and layer2. The reason I choose to leverage the Bitcoin Cash protocol is because I’m a big supporter of Bitcoin Cash, and I think it is the most in line with the original vision of Satoshi, which is to “serve as many people as possible.

BCN: Can you explain to our readers how Smartbch aims to enhance EVM throughput and Web3 apps?

WK: First we abandoned the single-thread semantics defined in Ethereum’s yellow paper. Single-thread semantics is not a must to support EVM and Web3 and it blocks many optimizations. Second, we developed a lot of low-level libraries which support parallel execution of EVM transactions to exploit the potential of modern CPU and SSD. Last but not least, we optimized the EVM execution engine and storage engine, which makes each EVM instruction run faster.

BCN: Have third-party BCH developers been looking into the SmartBCH protocol?

WK: Yes, we will have several companies confirmed and will join our testnet and participate to be the validator. And we have several new applications developed and dedicated for Smartbch and several existing applications being ported to Smartbch.

BCN: The throughput is quoted as being “one billion gas every 15 seconds.” Can you explain how that will work?

WK: Ethereum’s consensus engine and execution engine must be run in serial and in the block interval the new block must be executed several times on different peer-to-peer nodes, because it uses the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm. By optimizing the consensus algorithm and allowing the consensus engine and execution engine to run concurrently, we must speed it by about five times.

By executing the EVM transactions in parallel, we can speed up the execution by about ten times. And by reducing each EVM instruction’s time consumption, we can further speed it up by about two to three times. So overall we are confident to speed up ethereum by 100 times.

BCN: How will Bitcoin Cash miners be affected by Smartbch?

WK: Bitcoin Cash miners can vote for their validators on Smartbch and get gas fee rewards, such that they can benefit from decentralized finance (defi) applications on Smartbch.

BCN: Would you say that Smartbch will be able to produce the same results as a myriad of the defi apps built on Ethereum? Like Stablecoins, AMMs, liquidity pools, decentralized exchanges (DEXs), and tools of that nature.

WK: All the Ethereum defi apps can be ported to Smartbch with negligible efforts. Also, we are expecting new applications which require high-throughput and low-gas-price to run will emerge on Smartbch.

BCN: When you say “Smart Bitcoin Cash’s innovation lies in libraries” what does that mean?

WK: Instead of inventing fancy consensus and cryptographic algorithms, we decided to adopt another methodology: to develop low-level libraries with an aim to fully uncover the hardware’s potential, especially its inherent parallelism. Ordinary users and developers are provided with a compatibility layer supporting EVM and Web3, so the optimized low-level ‘close to the metal’ libraries themselves remain concealed by this layer of abstraction. During the implementation, we used the codename ‘Moeing,’ which is added to the libraries’ names as prefix.

These libraries follow the UNIX philosophy: simple, short, clear, modular, and extensible. Other projects can reuse them and benefit from them.

BCN: As far as cryptocurrency in general, do you envision the industry seeing exponential growth going forward as we have seen during the end of 2020 and into 2021?

WK: I am not sure about what will happen in the near future. But in the long run, the population of the cryptocurrency community will surely grow exponentially. And Smartbch is getting ready for the next 100x growth of onchain users.

What do you think about Smartbch launching its testnet this week and the interview with the project’s tech lead Wang Kui? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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