The ARwards: The Official OVR Contest for Content Creators

Following the announcement of a few days ago, the decentralized multiverse platform OVR, which unites the physical and virtual worlds through Augmented Reality, has launched “The ARwards” contest open to all creators who are looking for an opportunity to gain wide visibility and possibly win interesting prizes.

First of all, The ARwards is completely free for any participant who will simply be asked to register. Creators will be required to provide: username, password, email and nationality, thus completing the registration in less than five minutes.

The platform offers content creators the opportunity not only to project their 3D experiences to the world, but also to encourage competition among creators to make augmented reality experiences even better.

In concrete terms, through an OVRLand NFT, the famous virtual hexagon developed by OVR to create three-dimensional objects on top of it, participants can upload a 3D model to the dedicated workspace, edit it, refine it and finally send it to the OVR team for approval.

Once the project has been approved, the content will be shown in the list of candidates for the competition and can receive its vote. Each registered user of the OVR platform will be able to vote until the end of the competition according to three specific criteria, namely creativity, design and relevance of the theme.

Users can vote regardless of whether they have OVR tokens in their wallet or not. However, the vote of users who have tokens in their wallet will carry more weight due to the fact that the contest uses a quadratic voting system powered by blockchain.

In addition to securing a space on the official website where the model created is seen by lots of users, participants will be able to win additional prizes in OVR tokens which, at the time of publication, are worth $0.69 and can be traded on Uniswap, ZT, Gate.io, BitMart and PancakeSwap.

It is already possible to admire the works via representative videos, to read the original captions written by the creators and to vote for the NFT OVRland with the 3D work you enjoy the most.

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Dogecoin Co-Founder Suggests an Ethereum Bridge to Doge and Compatible NFT Markets

Billy Markus, the co-founder of Dogecoin, explained on Wednesday that an Ethereum bridge to the Doge network would bolster the dogecoin ecosystem. Markus also said that non-fungible token (NFT) markets “would help Dogecoin” as well.

Dogecoin Co-Creator Thinks 2 Ideas Could Help the Doge Network

The popular crypto asset dogecoin (DOGE) has gained a whopping 7,500% during the last 12 months and reached a high of $0.731 per unit on May 8, 2021. However, DOGE is down 72% since that all-time high and 25.4% during the last month.

While the Dogecoin co-founder Jackson Palmer criticized the crypto world and said it was managed by powerful cartels, Billy Markus speaks about crypto in a positive manner.

On Wednesday, Markus tweeted about the meme-based crypto network he helped create and discussed how the project could be helped by adding two things.

“Two things I believe would help Dogecoin: [The] completion of DOGEETH bridge, [and] NFT platforms (e.g. Opensea) allowing for the DOGE-ETH token to be used for purchases,” Markus added:

NFT purchasing is [in] high demand with crypto. Allowing for DOGE purchases of NFTs greatly increases its utility.

Some People Are Already Discussing a DogecoinEthereum Bridge

Markus’s idea follows the suggestions from the co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin during the first week of September.

“Personally, I hope that doge can switch to PoS soon, perhaps using Ethereum code,” Buterin said at the time. “I also hope they don’t cancel the 5b/year annual PoW issuance, instead they put it in some kind of DAO that funds global public goods. Would fit well with dogecoin’s non-greedy wholesome ethos.”

Meanwhile, a number of individuals liked Markus’s concept of an ETH DOGE bridge and NFT utility. “DOGE being implemented into the NFT ecosystem would be a huge benefit to the community,” one individual said in response to the DOGE co-creator’s tweet.

A Twitter account dubbed “DogeX” tweeted: “HEY Billy Markus our metaverse developer spoke with Steven Steele about this last week. We are actively trying to work with you on this concept while we build out the Doge X ecosystem.”

What do you think about the ideas the co-creator of DOGE shared on Twitter? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

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Former Federal Prosecutor: There’s Much More to Crypto Than Financial Use Cases, Regulation Cannot Be One Size Fits All

Former federal prosecutor Katie Haun says that regulators really need to take stock of the fact that we’re beyond just financial use cases of cryptocurrency. “There’s much more to crypto than that,” she said, adding that “Regulation cannot be one size fits all.” Haun further said that crypto is not the Wild West and the industry wants clarity, not lack of regulation.

Former Federal Prosecutor Discusses Crypto Regulation and SEC’s Role

Katie Haun talked about cryptocurrency and its regulation at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha Conference Wednesday.

Haun is a general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. She previously spent a decade as a federal prosecutor focusing on fraud, cyber, and corporate crime alongside agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Treasury. She created the government’s first cryptocurrency task force and led investigations into the Mt. Gox hack and the corrupt agents on the Silk Road task force.

She explained that there’s “still such a focus on the financial applications of the crypto ecosystem.” While acknowledging that “it makes sense” regulators would think of crypto as synonymous with financial use cases, she opined:

Regulators really need to take stock of the fact that we’re beyond just financial use cases. There’s much more to crypto than that … Regulation cannot be one size fits all. We think regulation plays a really important role.

Regarding whether the crypto space is like the Wild West, as suggested by SEC Chairman this week, the former federal prosecutor said: “There’s this myth that there’s the Wild West and that no agencies have any regulation that speaks to crypto. And that’s not the case.”

She explained that the Treasury Department put out guidance on cryptocurrencies in 2013, noting that “a lot of innovators and responsible actors and companies in the space started following that guidance, although it was difficult to implement.”

Haun proceeded to address another myth about crypto. She said “a lot of people” believe that “those in the crypto industry don’t want regulation.” Debunking the myth, she affirmed:

That is, actually, I can say a myth. It’s not that the industry does not want regulation. I always say it wants clarity. But it also does not want to be treated as a monolith.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, however, said Wednesday that governments should “do nothing” about crypto instead of trying to regulate and control it.

Haun stressed the need for “even application.” She explained that those in the crypto industry, “who were trying to make good faith efforts, who were going above and beyond in terms of compliance,” are “the ones that are being really examined under the microscope.”

Meanwhile, companies and platforms that “made very little effort in terms of following regulations and laws” are “really getting a free pass.” She emphasized:

I think what we need is … even application. I think that’s really important and I’m hopeful that the SEC will do that. And, under Chairman Gensler leadership, that will happen.

Do you agree with Katie Haun? Let us know in the comments section below.

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SEC Chairman Gary Gensler Looks Forward to Review of Bitcoin Futures ETF Filings

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, explains that some laws provide “significant investor protections” for exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including those seeking to invest in bitcoin futures. He looks forward to seeing the SEC’s review of such filings.

SEC Chairman Looks Forward to Staff’s Review of Bitcoin Futures ETF Filings

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler talked about crypto regulation and bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the Financial Times’ Future of Asset Management North America conference Wednesday.

In prepared remarks, he discussed “investment vehicles providing exposure to crypto assets,” noting that “Earlier this year, a number of open-end mutual funds launched that invested in Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)-traded bitcoin futures.”

Gensler added, “Subsequently, we’ve started to see filings under the Investment Company Act [’40 Act] with regard to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) seeking to invest in CME-traded bitcoin futures,” elaborating:

When combined with the other federal securities laws, the ’40 Act provides significant investor protections for mutual funds and ETFs. I look forward to staff’s review of such filings.

In August, Gensler similarly said he looked forward to the staff’s review of ETF filings, “particularly if those are limited to these CME-traded bitcoin futures.”

He also emphasized at the conference on wednesday the need for investor protection. “This crypto space is now certainly of a size that without those investor protections of banking, insurance, securities laws, [and] market oversight, I do think somebody is going to get hurt. A lot of people are likely to get hurt,” Gensler was quoted by the Financial Times as saying.

The chairman has been urging crypto companies to come in and discuss whether they need to register with the SEC. Without naming specific platforms, he said, some companies have “said things publicly about some of those conversations.” Recently, Coinbase took to Twitter to talk about its lending product that the SEC threatened to sue over if it is launched. CEO Brian Armstrong called the securities watchdog’s behavior “sketchy.” The Nasdaq-listed company subsequently abandoned its plan to launch the product.

Gensler said Wednesday:

There are going to be times that people come in and we say: ‘Register.’ It’s not going to be everybody comes in and says: ‘Can you please tell us we are not a security.’

Do you think the SEC will approve a bitcoin ETF or bitcoin futures ETF this year? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Billionaire Orlando Bravo Owns Bitcoin, Says ‘It Will Increase Significantly, I’m Very Bullish’

Orlando Bravo, the billionaire who co-founded private equity firm Thoma Bravo, says he is very bullish on bitcoin, expecting the cryptocurrency to “increase significantly.” He described: “Crypto is just a great system. It’s frictionless. It’s decentralized. And young people want their own financial system. So it is here to stay.”

Billionaire Investor ‘Very Bullish’ on Bitcoin

Orlando Bravo, co-founder and managing partner of private equity firm Thoma Bravo, talked about bitcoin Wednesday at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha conference. His net worth as of Sept. 29 is $6.3 billion, according to Forbes. Bravo is reportedly the first Puerto Rican-born billionaire.

“How could you not love crypto?” he said at the conference, elaborating:

Crypto is just a great system. It’s frictionless. It’s decentralized. And young people want their own financial system. So it is here to stay.

“The underlying technology of blockchain, regardless of what protocol or what system you are building upon, can be very powerful and sometimes provides better use cases than data-based software,” the billionaire investor added.

In July, Thomas Bravo participated in a funding round for FTX Trading Ltd., owner and operator of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Bravo also revealed Wednesday that he has personally invested in bitcoin, stating:

For me, it’s pretty simple. More people are going to use in the future than today, and it’s going to be more established. Institutions are just beginning to go there, and once that happens, I think it will increase significantly over the years. I’m very bullish.

What do you think about billionaire Orlando Bravo’s comments on bitcoin and crypto? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Solana-Based DEX Soldex AI, CEO John Robertson Explains the Impact

One of the backbones of crypto market in today’s world are decentralized exchanges that took the world by the storm in recent years. And as the crypto exchange market is moving and developing rapidly, it is absolutely no surprise that the exchanges have to evolve in accordance.

Therefore, today, The CEO of Soldex.ai, John Robertson will present you with the next step in crypto exchanges, which is the AI powered trading that may be the future of the token trading.

The impact of Soldex.ai and what makes it to stand out from the other projects

One of the most salient blockchain in the recent times is Solana. It took the world by storm while offering many benefits, hence it has been chosen for the Soldex.ai. Soldex.ai was created to solve certain issues caused by order-matching centralized exchanges and the trust-less custody found in the exchanges of the today. Soldex.ai will power the new avalanche of flexible financial markets. The protocols will serve as a foundational layer for such things as liquidity, custody, market making and the settlement. As mentioned previously Solana has some benefits compared to other DEXs such as Ethereum. Those would be an extremely fast transaction speed, which can hit up to 50,000 transactions per second and as if that would not be enough, the gas fees are only $0.00025 per transaction. For comparison, Ethereum can only squeeze 30 transactions per second and boasts menacing transaction fees of $12.

Since the AI is overtaking more and more of the industries around the world it is no surprise that Crypto Exchanges will not be left behind. The initial driving force behind the Solana DEX will be the implementation of the AI trading bots, which will create trading strategies and will work relentlessly 24/7. Later, the traders will be able to create their own bot trading strategies and lend them to others for the commission fee. Consequently this will incentivize community for the further development of Soldex.ai through voting rights.

One of the main reasons for the demand for automated trading is the fact that 80% of traders loose due to the blunders they make. Therefore, Soldex thought that the DEX will give people the ability to choose the trading strategy that fits them best. Different bots are being developed according to the criteria such as: margins; trading risks; 90 day success rate; trading pairs. It will also include the different criteria in the future.

As previously mentioned, the exchange is being built on Solana. The team is hoping that it will attract the new users due to the rapidness of the trades and the technical potential in the future. Also one thing that new traders usually find annoying is the entire debacle that they have to go trough while opening new accounts. Soldex fully recognized this and have managed to make Soldex.ai completely permission-less, that is to say no KYC and ID checking, so you could jump into trading, providing liquidity and staking in absolutely no time.

Solana will have its own toke SOLX. Soldex is hoping that the token will help to fulfill the mission, which is to have a transparent revenue system, which would be fair and profitable.

The 30% of the tokens will go through the private sale, they make the majority. Around 5% will be released for the public sale. 14% will be allocated for the liquidity and the rest will be for the developers, advisors and others.

The token itself will be used for protocol governance, transaction fees and staking for profits. But in the long term the team is planning to make a bunch of improvements as Solana blockchain offers a great opportunity for technical growth in the future.

Besides the ability to make a profit on Soldex.ai, people will also have access to Soldex AI Academy. The team is hoping that it will help to build a strong community and help users to become more familiar with Solana and DeFi. Other purposes are that it will help new developers to start building, expose people to the technology offered by Solana and overall to unite the community.

As of today Soldex have seen a great interest in the SOLX token. They are on round II of sales since the round I was oversubscribed. The current price for the token is $0.06 however, on the launch on December 10 it will be $0.1. “We are happy to see high participation of the private investors, funds and many more,” CEO John Robertson Explains.

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Coinbase to Add Direct Deposit Feature — US Paychecks Can Soon Be Converted to Crypto

On September 27, the digital currency firm Coinbase announced that U.S. customers will soon be able to directly deposit their paycheck into their Coinbase accounts. With the new direct deposit feature, Coinbase customers can leverage their funds to make investments, generate yield, or add value to their Coinbase prepaid debit card.

US Coinbase Customers Will Soon Be Able to Use Direct Deposit Feature

Coinbase has come a long way since the firm was created in 2012, and now as a publicly-listed company, the crypto firm offers a myriad of services and is still one of the top gateways to the crypto world. On Monday, the company’s senior director of product, Prakash Hariramani, published a blog post explaining how U.S. Coinbase customers will soon be able to directly deposit their paycheck into their Coinbase accounts.

“Over the next few weeks,” Hariramani announced, “we’re rolling out the ability for customers in the U.S. to deposit their paycheck into Coinbase to more easily make regular crypto trades, spend on Coinbase Card, earn crypto rewards, and more. Get paid in crypto or in U.S. dollars and deposit as much or as little of your paycheck as you want. The future of payroll is coming.” Hariramani’s post adds:

Now, you’ll save time on the extra steps it takes to move money so you can immediately earn interest on your income or earn crypto rewards with your Coinbase Card. Plus, you’ll pay zero transaction fees on direct deposit funds so you have instant and free access to the crypto economy.

Access to Over 100 Cryptocurrencies

According to Hariramani, users can deposit as little or as much as they want from their paychecks and can get the funds paid in over 100 crypto assets. The funds can be transferred into stablecoins like USDC and DAI, or remain as USD, as well. Hariramani says the setup can be done easily without leaving the Coinbase application.

“Tap direct deposit in the settings, follow the instructions, and find your current payroll company or employer, and we’ll automatically update your paycheck allocation,” the Coinbase executive said. If you’d prefer to set up direct deposit manually, we’ll provide instructions on what to share with your HR department or employer payroll website. You can modify your direct deposit preferences at any time within your settings,” Hariramani concludes.

The Coinbase direct deposit feature adds more ways for people to access crypto which increases the crypto economy’s accessibility overall. There are a few other firms that offer direct deposit solutions in order to access crypto, like the company Bitwage. Founded in 2014, Bitwage specializes in crypto payroll services and human resources (HR) for companies with employees that want to be paid in digital assets.

What do you think about Coinbase adding direct deposit access for U.S. customers to its crypto markets? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

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DC Comics Aims to Release ‘One of the Largest NFT Drops Ever’ at This Year’s Fandome

One of the largest and oldest American comic book publishers DC Comics, Inc., has announced the firm has partnered with Palm NFT Studio in order to unleash a large swathe of non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles. The NFT drop will take place during the DC Fandome on October 16 and the NFT art will feature superheroes like Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Harley Quinn.

American Comic Book Publisher DC Comics to Drop a Large Collection of NFTs

Two weeks from now on October 16, the American comic book publisher DC Comics aims to drop a large quantity of non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles featuring the firm’s most beloved characters at the DC Fandome event. The NFT drop from DC Comics is in partnership with Palm NFT Studio and the comic book publisher plans to release a number of NFTs featuring Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern.

The announcement that was revealed to Bitcoin.com News explains that the NFTs were hand-selected by DC’s publisher and chief creative officer Jim Lee. “We spent a lot of time on how to translate and adapt these classic covers into a 21st-century format such as NFTs,” Lee explained in a statement sent to our newsdesk. “This drop pays homage to our 87-year history while visualizing a future in which NFTs play a foundational role in novel ways of interacting with DC content and unlocking new experiences.”

The announcement details that the 2020 DC Fandome saw 22 million global views across 220 countries and territories in a mere 24 hours. The firm expects 2021’s Fandome numbers to exceed last year’s, making it the “first large-scale virtual event with registration powered by NFTs, and very likely one of the largest NFT drops ever.” The company said it collaborated with Palm NFT Studio because the company is “flexible as artists are creative.”

NFTs to Feature Batman, Wonder Woman, Rare DC Comic Covers

Moreover, the comic book publisher stresses that “Palm’s blockchain provides a 99.99% reduction in energy usage compared to proof-of-work (PoW) systems. The blockchain allows DC to mint millions of NFTs for fans “with near-zero cost,” DC details. DC Comics entered the NFT industry in recent times and has already released NFTs via Orbis Blockchain Technologies Limited and the Veve Digital Collectibles app.

Marvel Comics has also entered the NFT space by leveraging Orbis and the Veve app. Moreover, both firms have warned freelance artists not to publish the company’s brand name characters without permission from Marvel or DC Comics. The American comic book publisher DC explains the upcoming NFT drop will have certain levels of rarity. DC Comics states:

The premier drop offers fans the opportunity to collect three covers for each character in three levels of rarity. For example, fans of the Princess of Themyscira a.k.a. Wonder Woman can collect a Common (1987’s Wonder Woman #1 by George Peréz), Rare (2021’s Nubia and the Amazons #1 by Alitha Martinez), and/or Legendary (Yara Flor on 2021’s Future State: Wonder Woman #1 by Jenny Frison) cover.

“It’s immensely rewarding to work with a partner like DC who understands that blockchain is more than a technology, it’s a sustainable storytelling tool that can reshape the relationship between creators and fans,” Palm NFT Studio’s co-founder Dan Heyman explained during the announcement. “What does it mean to be a fan? What does it mean to be a collector? These are age-old questions that we get to watch creators like DC answer in brand new ways every day.”

DC Comics says fans can register for the DC Fandome event’s free NFT at dcfandome.com.

What do you think about DC Comics dropping free NFTs to fans attending the DC Fandome event? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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CFTC Charges 14 Trading Platforms Offering Crypto-Related Investments

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has charged 14 trading platforms that claim to offer crypto-related investments but have either failed to register with the CFTC or falsely claimed to be registered. These websites also exhibit other signs of being scams.

14 Entities Charged by CFTC

After charging major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has now gone after trading platforms claiming to offer crypto-related investments.

The CFTC announced Wednesday that it has “filed charges against 14 entities for either failing to register as futures commission merchants (FCMs) or else making false and misleading claims of having CFTC registration and National Futures Association (NFA) membership.”

Most of the 14 trading platforms exhibit signs of scams, such as using identical websites, asking users to pay to join the platforms before they can start trading, claiming to be regulated, and guaranteeing huge returns. For example, some of the 14 websites display this message: “Earn huge return on investment. With our professional team of traders, you are guaranteed of your earnings.”

The derivatives watchdog detailed:

Twelve of the complaints allege that the entities are acting as FCMs by offering to the general public the opportunity to purchase binary options based off the value of commodities like foreign currencies and cryptocurrencies including bitcoin.

These platforms “encourage customers to transfer money or assets to them,” but none of them have registered as an FCM, the regulator said.

Among the 12 platforms, Tradingforexpay, Bitfxprofit, Globalnationfx, Binancefxtrade, Maxforexoption, and Excotradeoptions have almost identical websites. Three more — Cryptofxtrader, Smarter Signals, and Prime Expert Trade — look nearly identical. Procryptominners’ website is now offline. Two other platforms are Profx-Capitals and Star Fx Pro.

Besides the 12 platforms, the CFTC states that Climax Capital FX and Digitalexchange24.com “offer services related to trading in futures or other derivative products and falsely claim to be registered with the CFTC and a member of NFA.”

The two platforms’ websites also look very similar, each stating that it “offers a variety of services to its customers in connection with trading forex and cryptocurrencies like bitcoin that are commodities in interstate commerce.”

The CFTC detailed: “Each complaint seeks orders directing the entities to cease and desist from committing violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations as charged.”

Division of Enforcement Acting Director Vincent McGonagle commented:

Today’s actions reflect the CFTC’s dedicated efforts to aggressively root out bad actors falsely claiming to hold legitimate registrations and protect the trading public.

What do you think about the CFTC going after these trading platforms? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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Survey Shows 64% of Britons Believe Crypto Is ‘Not a Safe Investment,’ Respondents Think Ethereum Is a Drug, Cardano Is Cheese

While there’s a lot of hype surrounding digital currencies like bitcoin, a great number of people are still confused by the crypto economy and the myriad crypto assets that exist. One study shows that some people think Ethereum is a drug, while others think Cardano is a cheese.

Traders of Crypto Surveys Hundreds of Britons, Researchers Parse 12 Months of Crypto Query Data

A recent study published by the researchers at tradersofcrypto.com combed through the most-searched questions that could be entered into Google Keyword Planner in order “to discover how many searches each question received.”

The researchers scanned data over the last 12 months using results from the U.S. and U.K. to rank the most-asked questions to the least. The results produced a data set which attempts to explain “the most common cryptocurrency questions.”

Tradersofcrypto.com’s researchers also surveyed “hundreds of members of the British public” to get the answers to the crypto questions. The statistics show that less than 1 in 4 individuals think that a cryptocurrency will ever become legal tender. “The vast majority of the British public were unconvinced, with 75.7% responding “no.”

The ones that did believe crypto could become legal tender assumed it would happen over the next decade. “The largest portion of ‘yes’ responders (9.8%) believed that this would happen in as little as five years’ time,” the study notes.

The researcher’s study continues by adding that despite the recent bull run, 64.6% of those polled did not believe crypto was a “safe investment.” 22% have “no idea” what crypto is and 21% replied that crypto assets are “digital currency,” “online money,” or “virtual money.”

“1 in 4 have no idea what Dogecoin is,” the study details. “1 in 2 admit they’re not sure what Binance Coin is.” The research report adds:

3.6% of survey respondents believe that Cardano is a cheese or alcoholic drink. 3.4% of survey respondents believe Ethereum is a drug.

Close to a Billion Searches for the Term Cryptocurrency, Interest in Crypto Is Booming

The researchers further explain that across 12 months in the U.K. and U.S. there have been approximately 9,269,000 searches for “cryptocurrency.”

The study revealed the most searched phrase with the term was “best cryptocurrency” with 502,200 searches, followed by “what cryptocurrency to mine” and “how to buy cryptocurrency,” with 406,000 and 306,540 respectively.

“Questions about crypto experienced significant increases in search volume across the board,” the study concludes. “This booming interest in the crypto market suggests that cryptocurrency is turning more mainstream than ever, and will become a staple of the future investment landscape.”

What do you think of the study about crypto confusion and the number of searches this past year? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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How Binance Helps Legal Authorities Take Down Cybercriminals Laundering Illicit Funds

According to the latest UN statistics, global money laundering transactions reach up to $2 trillion a year. A small fraction of that huge amount passes through the digital assets ecosystem, and responsible actors in it are working to bring that down even more. As the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance has especially taken it upon itself to protect the safety and security of the virtual finance world. Here is how it helps legal authorities to take down cybercriminals laundering money.

Busting the $500 Million FANCYCAT Ring

In June 2021, Binance announced to the public that its security team has taken part in an international investigation that resulted in busting a prolific cybercriminal ring. The company cooperated in the operation with authorities from around the world including Ukraine Cyber Police, Cyber Bureau of Korean National Police Agency, US Law Enforcement, Spanish Civil Guard, Swiss Federal Office of Police, and more. The cybergang, known as FANCYCAT, has been running multiple criminal activities: distributing cyber attacks; operating a high-risk exchanger; and laundering money from dark web operations and high-profile ransomware attacks. In total, legal authorities estimated that FANCYCAT was responsible for over $500 million worth of damages in connection with ransomware and millions more from other cybercrimes.

Video of the arrests from Ukraine Cyber Police:

Research found that in a majority of the cases associated with illicit cryptocurrency flows coming onto exchanges, the exchange is not harboring the actual criminal group themselves, but rather being used as a middleman to launder stolen profits. Understanding this diagnosis, the Binance security team applied a two-pronged approach to the FANCYCAT investigation. An AML detection and analytics program detected suspicious activity and expanded the suspect cluster, and once they mapped out the complete suspect network, Binance worked with private sector blockchain analytics companies to analyze on-chain activity. Based on this, Binance found that the group was not only associated with laundering ransomware attack funds, but other illegally-sourced funds. This led to the identification and eventual arrest of FANCYCAT.

Binance’s Bulletproof Exchanger Project

In August 2020, Binance announced to the public that suspicious activity detected and analyzed by its team led to the identification and arrest of a cybercriminal organization responsible for a ransomware campaign and the laundering of more than $42 million in cryptocurrencies over the previous two years. Binance took part in that operation in collaboration with the Cyber Police of Ukraine.

This development came after Binance allocated extra resources in early 2020 for its security researchers to probe the ways criminals were laundering money through “Bulletproof Exchangers” – cryptocurrency platforms often serve as the cash-out points for cryptocurrency operations connected to financial crimes and other fraud. Bulletproof Exchangers are well-known for their lenient know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) policies. Data analysis showed that these exchangers, which are often based in regions with a lack of enforcement or regulation, have a high proportion of transaction volume linked to high-risk categories such as ransomware attacks, exchange hacks, and darknet-related activities.

These examples show that Binance means business when it comes to aiding authorities in the global fight against money laundering. It has already committed its resources, manpower and expertise to this cause, which resulted in the arrests of criminals responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. And as the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, it is uniquely situated to help tackle cybercrime using its big data capabilities, industry partnerships and much more.

To learn more about everything the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange is doing to protect the safety and security of the ecosystem, follow the Binance Blog.

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Terra to Apply Columbus 5 Mainnet Migration

Terra, a top 15-ranked cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is planning to apply the Columbus 5 upgrade to its mainnet today. If everything goes according to plan, this new update will bring improvements to allow the Terra network to keep expanding. Columbus 5 will change how the network mints UST (terrausd), the main stablecoin of the blockchain, and will also bring integration with other chains, and faster transactions.

Columbus 5 to Go Live Today

Terra, a smart contract-enabled cryptocurrency chain, is prepared to apply the new Columbus 5 mainnet upgrade today. This will bring important updates to the network that could pave the way for future growth. However, the upgrade procedure is anything but simple: the old mainnet, Columbus 4, needs to be stopped completely to be replaced by the new one. The Terra team estimates this upgrade will take two hours.

The network upgrade will make fundamental changes in how UST is minted. Before, to mint the UST stablecoin, users had to pay a fee called seigniorage, which was redistributed to the community. With Columbus 5 changes, this seigniorage will be all burned, adding to the scarcity of the LUNA token. Due to this, the update has been referred to as a sort of EIP-1559 for Terra.

In addition to this, the update brings IBC support, which allows Terra to communicate with other networks such as Solana and Polkadot. This will allow the movement of assets between these networks, potentially increasing the presence of Terra-based assets in other chains.

Terra USD Expansion Is the Goal

Terra developers and proponents expect these new improvements will allow UST, the native stablecoin of the system, to become the defacto decentralized stablecoin on several blockchains. At the same time, it is thought this UST acceptance would create an appreciation of the value of Terra’s governance and minting token, luna (LUNA). This is the reason a new bridge called Wormhole, which will provide easy access to the UST stablecoin on Solana, will debut in this upgrade.

The Terra ecosystem, albeit young, has made an impact in the cryptocurrency market. While UST is still not listed on some of the biggest exchanges like Binance, it has reached a market cap of $2.6 billion, becoming the fifth-largest stablecoin by market cap. Luna has also grown immensely, experiencing growth of over 10,000% in one year.

What do you think about Terra and its Columbus 5 network upgrade? Tell us in the comments section below.

via Sergio Goschenko

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Nigerian Lawmaker Proposes Closure of All Domiciliary Accounts in Order to Save Imperiled Naira

Nigerian lawmaker Ibrahim Obanikoro has called on Nigerian authorities to “close all domiciliary accounts for the next 12 months.” Such a move, he argues, will help to ease pressure on the naira, which has depreciated by more than 10% in the past two months.

The Naira’s Continuing Depreciation

The call by Obanikoro comes nearly two weeks after threats from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor forced Abokifx to stop publishing the naira’s black market exchange rates. Yet even after the suspension of the service, the naira continues to slide in value.

This continuing depreciation, in turn, is forcing panicking stakeholders including Obanikoro to propose even more unconventional and controversial solutions.

However, in his September 28 tweet, Obanikoro also justified his call by suggesting that other countries would never allow Nigerians to open a naira account. The lawmaker explained:

I am not the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] Governor but at this moment, I’m of the opinion that CBN should mandate that all dorm accounts be closed for the next 12 months. Let’s see the effect on the naira. After all, you can’t go to any of the Western world and open a foreign currency account. Your opinion.

Lawmaker’s Suggestion Questioned

As expected, Obanikoro’s controversial call sparked an immediate reaction from some Twitter users. For instance, in his response to the lawmaker’s suggestion, an account called “Cryptocurrency Thought Leader” brings bitcoin into the discussion and says: “Satoshi looked through history and decided to create this alternative for us.” The user ends his reply by predicting that the naira’s drop to $1 for every NGN1000 will “happen faster than I predicted.”

Another user, Orisha welcomes the lawmaker’s willingness to solve the local currency’s continuing depreciation but warns against closing domiciliary accounts. The user said:

“This idea can work, but you can’t just close people dom account, but only mandate them to withdraw all their $ from the account within let’s say 4month max. Will the North and Naija Elites allow you to destroy banks & bureaux de change [BDC]?”

Still, other users have asked Obanikoro to focus his attention on factors that caused the naira to lose its value, and not the accounts.

Do you agree with the Nigerian lawmaker’s suggestion? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

via Terence Zimwara

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Russian Post to Employ Blockchain Technology in Parcel Tracking

The national postal operator of Russia plans to implement a parcel tracking system that will rely on blockchain technology. The introduction of the new service is part of Russian Post’s digital transformation strategy and is expected to reduce the number of lost shipments.

Blockchain-Based Tracking System to Help Russian Post Save Time and Resources

In the context of efforts to develop its services and improve the efficiency of its logistics, Pochta Rossii, or Russian Post, is considering various options, including the implementation of blockchain technology, a representative of the company told Vedomosti. Quoting the postal operator’s Strategy for Digital Transformation, the business daily reported that the first pilots are expected in the coming years.

Russian Post intends to introduce its blockchain-based tracking system as early as 2023. The new service will be market-oriented, Director of Digital Products Vladimir Urbansky noted. He further explained that Russian Post is part of a logistics chain, emphasizing that the system will allow it to provide other companies with end-to-end tracking information.

Vedomosti quotes a source from the IT industry who commented that the blockchain project aims to limit the number of lost parcels. The expert believes that the new platform can replace Russian Post’s existing tracking mechanism and save time and effort in the search for lost items. That also means that fewer people will be involved in the process.

The postal operator’s digital transformation strategy, including a roadmap for the blockchain tracking service, is currently under review at the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media. A final decision is yet to be taken, Minister Maksut Shadaev told the newspaper. When that happens, the strategy will be presented to the company’s Board of Directors. If approved, investments worth 38.2 billion rubles (almost $525 million) will be made by the end of 2025.

Russian Post has been eyeing blockchain technologies for some time, the report notes. In October 2017, its director general Nikolai Podguzov revealed plans to implement blockchain solutions to better control the company’s financial transactions.

“We have 9 billion rubles in transactions every day. In order to ensure the security of these transactions, it is quite possible that we use blockchain technology, and we are working on it,” the executive stated, quoted by Tass. During the Russia Calling forum, Podguzov said he expected this could have the effect of improving the quality of postal services.

Do you think other postal service providers will turn to blockchain technologies in the future? Tell us in the comments section below.

via Lubomir Tassev

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EverRise Brings Buyback Token and Ecosystem of dApps to Polygon and Ethereum

PRESS RELEASE. Singapore, September 30, 2021. Less than three weeks after releasing its first dApp EverOwn for Binance Smart Chain, EverRise is proud to announce they will launch EverBridge to both the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains on October 5th. With EverBridge, EverRise will make its revolutionary suite of dApps available to projects on both networks starting with EverOwn for Ethereum on October 5th, followed by EverOwn for Polygon on October 8th. This will expand the reach of EverRise’s security solutions and enable the $RISE token to be traded and utilized across all three networks.

“This is an exciting time for us to expand the EverRise Ecosystem and also introduce improvements to our project. This bridge allows us to take the dApps and blockchain solutions we have been building and make them more accessible to all developers on the Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum networks,” said Suresh Maddineni, EverRise CEO and Founder.

Keeping with the standard of being security pioneers in the DeFi space, EverRise is bringing a novel approach to the cross-chain bridge concept to protect $RISE holders. Typically tokens are minted and burned as they move between chains, but EverRise is creating new smart contracts and locking the supply within the bridge: allowing holders to transfer tokens on one chain to the bridge and receive tokens on another chain without paying a transaction tax beyond gas fees. This locking and unlocking mechanism on the bridge makes it impossible for hackers to exploit a mint function to mint an infinite number of tokens while keeping the circulating supply the same across the three different networks– effectively creating three different $RISE pairings with one circulating supply.

When EverRise launched on June 15, 2021, the project immediately became famous for being the first to introduce the concept of a strategic buyback to crypto and has been forked thousands of times. With EverBridge, EverRise will introduce separate Strategic Buyback Reserves and automatic buyback functions to each network. Like on BSC, the Ethereum and Polygon Strategic Buyback Reserves will be locked and only able to buy and burn $RISE tokens on the respective network and debut a new feature of the ability to swap the native coin in the reserves for a stable coin.

New trading pairs of RISE/ETH and RISE/MATIC will have their initial liquidity funded by EverRise and will be fair launched on October 5th, 2021 with no presale. Users will be able to trade the ETH backed pair on Uniswap and the MATIC backed pair on QuickSwap.

RISE/ETH – Tokenomics – 6% Tax

1% Rewards to Holders

2% Project Sustainability: Operations, Marketing, Development

3% Buyback Strategic Funds

RISE/MATIC – Tokenomics – 11% Tax (Same tax as Binance Smart Chain)

2% Rewards to Holders

3% Project Sustainability: Operations, Marketing, Development

6% Buyback Strategic Funds

EverRise will also be making EverBridge available to projects on the Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, and Polygon looking to access the other blockchains without the hassle of developing their own bridge. Projects interested in utilizing EverBridge can contact the EverRise team at partnerships@everrise.com

 

About EverRise

A blockchain technology start-up committed to bringing security solutions to the DeFi space through an ecosystem of decentralized applications (dApps). EverRise was the first token to bring the buyback to cryptocurrency with the novel function that purchases tokens from the open market and immediately burns them. $RISE tokens are required to utilize their dApps, with EverOwn released in September and more coming soon. EverRise aims to bring additional levels of trust, safety, and security to Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, and Polygon space.

 

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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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‘Faster and Cheaper Cross-Border Transfers’ — Banking Report Led by BIS Highlights the Benefits of Cryptocurrency

According to a report published by the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) and a group of central banks, digital currencies can lead to faster settlement and cheaper transfers. Moreover, the banking group leveraged a prototype that shows how money transfers can be done in seconds with very little processing fees.

Inexpensive Transfers & Speed: Bank of International Settlements Report Says Digital Currencies Can Be More Effective

During the second week of September, the head of the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, Benoît Cœuré, explained that central banks need to act quickly in order to develop central bank digital currencies. Cœuré stressed that a digital currency economy already exists and “CBDCs will take years to be rolled out.” Following Cœuré’s statements, BIS, alongside four central banks from the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, and Thailand, is embarking on a digital currency experiment.

The banking group produced a prototype and published a report that detailed the group’s findings after testing the “multiple central bank digital currency bridge project (mBridge).” Bénédicte Nolens, the head of the Hong Kong center of BIS Innovation Hub, explained that digital currencies can be more effective for the banking system and would be beneficial to the economy in general.

“Enabling faster and cheaper cross-border wholesale payments, including to jurisdictions that don’t benefit from a vibrant correspondent banking system, would be positive for trade and economic development,” Nolens said in a statement published on Monday. The prototype used by the BIS researchers and collaborating central banks was built on Ethereum’s Hyperledger Besu blockchain.

Banking Group Plans to Continue Distributed Ledger Technology Prototype Research Until a ‘Production-Ready’ Solution Is Created

Testing showed that distributed ledger technology (DLT) cuts the cost of cross-border exchange by half and settlement speeds take mere seconds. The report said that the mBridge team aims to keep working on the DLT going forward. The group plans to address legal issues and jurisdiction hurdles in order to develop a “production-ready digital currency solution.” The mBridge project is being developed in the midst of China getting prepared to launch the digital yuan as the CBDC nears completion.

The mBridge collaboration was previously dubbed “Project Inthanon-LionRock” and it was started by the Bank of Thailand and Hong Kong’s Monetary Authority. The two banks published joint research in 2020 after testing a number of technologies. The report notes that the DLT model research involved ten smaller bank branches from two different locations.

What do you think about BIS and the four central banks saying that digital currency transactions are faster and cheaper? What do you think about the mBridge DLT prototype? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk Opposes Governments Regulating Crypto, Says They Should ‘Do Nothing’

Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks governments should not try to regulate cryptocurrency. “I would say, do nothing,” he recommended. Musk believes that it is not possible to destroy crypto, but governments can “slow down its advancement.”

Elon Musk Says Governments Should ‘Do Nothing’ and Leave Crypto Alone

Tesla CEO Elon Musk discussed cryptocurrency and China on Tuesday at Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California. Responding to a question from New York Times columnist Kara Swisher about whether it is “the right thing” for governments to regulate and take control of cryptocurrency, and whether it is possible for them to do so, he said:

It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement.

Musk was specifically asked what the U.S. government should do regarding cryptocurrency. The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, was on stage at the conference earlier and he called cryptocurrency the Wild West of finance. The SEC chief also stressed that cryptocurrency will “not end well” if it stays outside the purview of regulators.

Responding to the question of what the SEC should do about crypto, if anything, the Tesla boss said:

I would say, do nothing.

He emphasized, “I wouldn’t [do anything], seriously,” elaborating that governments should “just let it play.”

Musk proceeded to talk about the long-term role of cryptocurrency in monetary systems. He noted that crypto “will hopefully reduce the error and latency in the money system, the legacy money system.”

The Tesla technoking has shown his support for cryptocurrency on several occasions. In August, he spoke against governments proposing “hasty” crypto legislation. Musk previously revealed that he personally owned bitcoin, ethereum, and dogecoin while his companies, Tesla and Spacex, just owned bitcoin. He hinted in July that Tesla owned about 42K BTC. Furthermore, Musk is sometimes called the Dogefather for his support of the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin. He sees DOGE as the “strongest” cryptocurrency for payments.

Regarding cryptocurrency in China, Musk was asked at the conference what the Chinese government is doing about cryptocurrency and bitcoin. He replied: “Well, it would appear that they don’t love cryptocurrency.”

Without specifically stating the reasons why China has been cracking down on crypto, he said, “China is having some significant electricity generation issues.” The Tesla CEO opined: “So, I think part of it may actually be due to electricity shortages in many parts of China. A lot of South China right now is having random power outages because the power demand is higher than expected so crypto mining might be playing a role in that. I’m not sure.” He concluded:

I suppose cryptocurrency is fundamentally aimed at reducing the power of a centralized government and they don’t like that.

Do you agree with Elon Musk that governments should “do nothing” and leave crypto alone? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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Miami Mayor: China’s Crypto Crackdown ‘Creates Incredible Opportunity for America’ in Bitcoin Mining

The mayor of Miami, Florida, sees China’s cryptocurrency crackdown as “the turning point” that “creates an incredible opportunity for America.” He said: “Their loss is our gain and America can and will lead the future by providing a clean power home for bitcoin miners and all who are building on/with/for bitcoin.”

Miami Mayor Sees US Benefiting From China’s Crypto Crackdown

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who has been trying to build his city into a bitcoin hub, sees the crypto crackdown by the Chinese government as an opportunity for his city and the U.S. He told Bloomberg:

The turning point is now. It creates an incredible opportunity for America.

Suarez commented on China’s crackdown this week: “China banning bitcoin is a massive mistake with impacts that will be felt for generations. Their loss is our gain and America can and will lead the future by providing a clean power home for bitcoin miners and all who are building on/with/for bitcoin.”

The mayor of Miami is not the only politician who sees China’s crackdown on crypto as an opportunity for the U.S. “China’s authoritarian crackdown on crypto, including bitcoin, is a big opportunity for the U.S. It’s also a reminder of our huge structural advantage over China,” said Senator Pat Toomey. Congressman Patrick McHenry said, “China’s decision to restrict access presents a perfect opportunity for American leadership on cryptocurrency.”

Mayor Suarez said earlier this week that he has been actively trying to convince cryptocurrency miners that South Florida offers great opportunities for mining, including clean energy options, such as nuclear, solar, and hydroelectric.

He confirmed that he has spoken to the CEO of Florida Power & Light, Eric Silagy, about attracting crypto businesses to the area. He tweeted in May that the City of Miami “can mine bitcoin with clean nuclear energy provided by Florida Power & Light,” emphasizing:

We want to be the crypto mining capital of the world and know it can be done sustainably and incorporate solar.

Do you think that China’s crypto crackdown is an opportunity for the U.S. to lead in the area of crypto and crypto mining? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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Salvadoran President Shares Video of Volcano-Powered Bitcoin Mining Facility

On Tuesday, Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele shared a video of a bitcoin mine operating adjacent to a volcano. Bukele discussed the volcano-powered bitcoin mining on June 9 when he talked about the “95MW of 100% clean, 0 emissions geothermal energy from our volcanos.”

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele Shares a Video of the ‘First Steps’ Behind the Volcano-Powered Bitcoin Mine Construction

The president of El Salvador shared a video via the social media platform Twitter that said “First steps,” as the film shows ASIC bitcoin mining rigs being installed at a geothermal energy plant. The video shows containers that are emblazoned with the Salvadoran government logos and a large quantity of ASIC mining devices. The video has been viewed around 2 million times on Twitter, and Bukele’s video tweet has over 50K likes and over 12,000 retweets.

First steps…

🌋#Bitcoin🇸🇻 pic.twitter.com/duhHvmEnym

— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) September 28, 2021

While many bitcoin proponents said the mining facility was “impressive,” a few Salvadoran citizens complained about the use of energy. “So, there are centers to produce more energy, but to mine bitcoin,” one individual asked the Salvadoran president. “People who have been waiting for electricity for more than 30 years. Not that you would help those most in need? Hypocrite,” the person added.

A lot of people gave the woman flak for asking Bukele that question, but a number of people stuck up for her. “She just wonders, like any normal person,” another individual replied in Nayib Bukele’s tweet thread. “Why is there money to set up power plants for [bitcoin] mining and there is no money to supply the entire population. Before insulting people, make an argument,” the person added. Besides the introduction to volcano-powered bitcoin mining this past June, Bukele also discussed the subject in greater detail on an episode of “What Bitcoin Did.”

‘Very Clean Source of Energy With Almost No Downsides,’ Project Construction to Cost $480 Million

The Salvadoran president told the host Peter McCormack about how “El Salvador has not been the country that’s recognised to be the first in innovation,” but he asked, “Why not this time?”

While Bukele stressed during his interview that geothermal energy was “a very, very clean source of energy” and that it has “almost no downsides,” the Salvadoran president did not go over the subject of specific Salvadorans not having access to electricity. “Currently, the electrification index is 83.4%” in El Salvador according to the latest statistics. Major urban areas in El Salvador have around 97% access to electricity, while ruralized regions in the country today show an electrification index estimate of around 72%.

El Salvador is the largest producer of geothermal energy in Central America and in July, the country suffered from a massive power outage. The Regional Operator Entity (EOR) based in El Salvador told the press that they witnessed a “load loss of 2,300 megawatts.”

The power outage in El Salvador and other regions in Central America cost around $18.2 million from failures. “The demand we had at that time was around 8,300 megawatts in the Central American region. We have lost 30% of the electrical power load,” the EOR director, René González, told reporters.

When discussing the volcano bitcoin mining experiment with Peter McCormack, Bukele emphasized that the project will be costly. “It’s going to cost $480 million, so that’s going to be a legacy for the country because we are building infrastructure paid by bitcoin,” Bukele said in his interview. Alongside this, demand for electricity in El Salvador is expected to grow annually at a rate of 5% year-over-year.

What do you think about the ‘first steps’ volcano-powered bitcoin mine video shared by Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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Thailand to Develop ‘Cryptourism,’ Considers Issuing Utility Token

In search of ways to heal its travel industry, hurt by the pandemic, Thailand is now recognizing an opportunity to tap into a growing market of cryptocurrency holders. Fostering a “cryptourism atmosphere” is what the country’s tourism agency intends to do, including by minting a new token and facilitating bitcoin card payments.

Tourism Board of Thailand Plans to Employ New Coin to Spur Demand From Crypto Market

Pondering how to capitalize on the expanding global crypto user base, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has pitched the idea of issuing its own utility token dubbed TAT Coin. The Bangkok Post revealed on Wednesday that the body wants to examine relevant regulations and the viability of such a project before embarking on the initiative.

The state-run agency is now holding talks with the Stock Exchange of Thailand on the possible introduction of the token, the report details, quoting TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn. TAT Coin would allow the transfer of travel vouchers into digital tokens that could help operators to gain greater liquidity, the newspaper added, without being a subject of speculative trading.

Another aspect that has to be clarified is whether the tourism board has the authority to issue a digital currency in the first place. In any case, Yuthasak emphasized that technology is changing the world and cryptocurrency is part of that process. In his opinion, TAT has to take the chance and enhance the competitiveness of Thailand’s tourism sector which was greatly affected by the spread of Covid-19. The official further elaborated:

We have to prepare digital infrastructure and digital literacy for our tourism operators in order to commence cryptourism as the traditional business model might not be able to keep up with the new changes.

TAT’s short-term goal is to increase income in the industry by attracting potential travelers and visitors. The long-term plan, according to the report, is to upgrade the nation’s business and leisure tourism platform in cooperation with Bitkub, a local cryptocurrency exchange.

The authority hopes to use the future TAT Coin, or a non-fungible token (NFT), to encourage demand from the cryptocurrency market and increase traffic at specific tourist spots. Bitkub CEO Jirayut Srupsrisopa has been quoted noting that the global crypto market capitalization is now four times larger than Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP).

As part of its initiative to create a “cryptourism atmosphere,” the Tourism Authority of Thailand also considers offering bitcoin debit card services at the country’s airports. Crypto nomads, the agency says, can use these cards during their trips to make purchases without having to pay high fees at ATMs or money exchange shops. In August, Bank of Thailand announced it’s going to test its own digital currency which can potentially facilitate payments in the travel industry as well.

Do you think Thailand will become a crypto-friendly travel destination? Share your expectations in the comments section below.

via Lubomir Tassev

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SwissOne Capital AG Makes It Easy for New Investors to Take Advantage of the Top 50 Cryptocurrencies With Smart Index Crypto Fund Tracker Certificate

PRESS RELEASE. Zug, Switzerland: SwissOne Capital AG, a specialized digital asset manager with a focus on blockchain investment funds, has partnered with ISP Securities AG for the launch of their Smart Index Crypto Fund Tracker Certificate. This fund tracker certificate is the first of its kind to capitalize on 50 of the best-performing cryptocurrencies, offering unprecedented market exposure compared to individual currencies, exchanges, DeFi, and other platforms. SwissOne Capital’s deep experience in the crypto space combined with their premiere concierge service can give professional, qualified investors in their jurisdictions the edge they need to increase their portfolio’s performance (via this completely uncorrelated asset class).

“Our first flagship financial product received a lot of attention and enthusiasm from the market when we launched in 2019. This new Tracker Certificate provides professional investors the opportunity to invest as little as €1,000, making this a far more accessible investment than the underlying fund. Each certificate is backed by an equal investment into the underlying registered Mutual Fund, providing certificate holders peace of mind that their investment is in safe hands. And year-to-date, SwissOne’s Smart Index has beaten the investment performance of Bitcoin: 383.6% over 62.6%, respectively,” states Antony Turner, SwissOne Capital COO.

Committed to offering continuous financial innovation, SwissOne’s fund tracker certificate has been carefully constructed with tested trading parameters, aiming to replicate the performance of an equally-weighted portfolio of the top 50 crypto assets in the world. This is the broadest asset offering by any crypto investment fund to date, and new clients can start with only a €1,000 investment. These assets are ranked by market capitalization and passively determined by the market, using smart rebalancing and allocation rules that produce superior returns by overweighting strong performing assets.

The increased market exposure offered by this fund tracker certificate reduces risk, especially for those who lack experience in the potentially volatile crypto market while allowing investors to take advantage of promising up-and-coming projects.

“Just do a simple search on cryptocurrencies and you’ll see how complex and convoluted this asset class truly is. An individual could barely keep track of Bitcoin alone, let alone the top cryptocurrencies on the market. Our objective is to provide investors with a simple, safe, and cost-effective means to invest into the broader crypto market, through a regulated fund structure where we allow the market to do the talking by means of a passive strategy,” adds Steffen Bassler, SwissOne Capital CEO.

The crypto investment space has continued to gain interest from both experienced investors and newcomers. Yet, with increased potential comes added complexity. As experts in blockchain investment funds, SwissOne Capital is uniquely equipped to help both new and experienced investors reach their goals. One of SwissOne’s main objectives is to keep its investors’ assets safe. To this end, they have partnered with blue-chip service providers to ensure that the crypto assets are stored safely, and transactions ringfenced to trusted parties.

The Smart Index Crypto Fund Tracker Certificate follows the highest quality financial and blockchain standards — exactly what is expected of a Swiss-made service — and is fully backed by an investment into the underlying Cayman registered Mutual Fund. Client assets are protected by institutional-grade security via multi-signature authorization required for all transactions, and all private keys are secured within custom-developed, redundant Hardware Security Modules.

More information about SwissOne Capital and the Smart Index Crypto Fund Tracker is available at https://www.swissone.capital/

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To learn more about SwissOne Capital AG, or to schedule an interview with their team, please call +1-603-306-3645 or e-mail brian@contentfac.com. You can also learn more at the SwissOne Capital AG website at https://www.swissone.capital.

 

The Smart Index Crypto Fund Limited is registered as an exempted company, limited by shares, under Cayman Islands law with registration number [C344261]. It is registered as a mutual fund under section 4(3) of the Cayman Mutual Funds law and it is subject to continuing obligations under the Cayman Mutual Funds law. It is only available to investors qualifying as professional Qualifying investors outside of the US and as defined in your local jurisdiction.

 

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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 Says US Inflation ‘More Enduring Than Anticipated’ — Strategist Predicts 10% Market Correction

Americans are not only worried about future inflation, but they are also dealing with dwindling purchasing power in real-time. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell plans to address the Senate Banking Committee and discuss inflation. In the remarks pre-published from Powell’s speech, the Fed chair noted that the recent inflation spike may last longer than the central bank anticipated.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell: ‘Inflation Effects Have Been Larger and Longer-Lasting Than Anticipated’

If you were to read reports published by news outlets like CNN or Axios, it’s likely the reporter would say something like “maybe we can ignore inflation expectations.” While CNN admits inflation is here, reporters like Dana Peterson blame things like the Covid Delta variant, chip shortages, labor costs, and the cost to rent. Similar to the opinions of politicians and Fed board members, CNN’s Peterson concludes that “inflationary pressure probably will be with us for a while longer.”

Jerome Powell’s speech on Thursday reflects a similar message as he explains to the Senate Banking Committee in his pre-published statements that the rise in inflation may persist for a bit longer. “Inflation is elevated and will likely remain so in coming months before moderating,” Powell’s remarks from Thursday’s upcoming testimony note. The central bank lead blames supply chain issues and further adds:

As the economy continues to reopen and spending rebounds, we are seeing upward pressure on prices, particularly due to supply bottlenecks in some sectors. These effects have been larger and longer-lasting than anticipated, but they will abate, and as they do, inflation is expected to drop back toward our longer-run 2 percent goal.

Long-Time Market Bull Predicts a 10% Market Correction, Fed Says It Will ‘Do All We Can to Support the Economy’

At the same time, “long-time market bull” Phil Orlando said on Monday that a 10% correction may take place “over the course of the next five weeks or so.” The Federated Hermes chief market strategist explains that there is a lot of uncertainty around “fiscal and monetary policies” right now. “We’re seeing how events develop and evolve here,” Orlando said during an interview on CNBC’s “Trading Nation” broadcast. The market strategist continued by adding:

On the monetary policy side, inflation has been running much hotter than the Fed and the administration has been prophesying. We think inflation is more sustainably higher. That’s going to result in the Federal Reserve changing monetary policy both in terms of their taper and their interest rate increases much more quickly than they originally told us.

The news follows the recently published statements from the Fed last week and a few members of the Fed board being scrutinized for their stock purchases in 2020. Fed chair Jerome Powell has also been criticized for owning bonds of the same type the U.S. central bank bought during the pandemic last year. Of course, Powell’s pre-published remarks from the upcoming Senate Banking Committee testimony note that the central bank will always step in until the U.S. economy has recovered.

“We at the Fed will do all we can to support the economy for as long as it takes to complete the recovery,” Powell’s pre-published commentary emphasized.

What do you think about the upcoming speech Powell will give to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

via Jamie Redman

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Swiss Regulator Approves First Crypto Fund: Asset Manager Says ‘It’s an Exceptional Achievement’

Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has approved the first Swiss crypto fund. It is managed by asset manager Crypto Finance and custodied by Seba Bank. “For the first time, FINMA has approved a Swiss fund that invests primarily in cryptoassets,” said the regulator.

First Crypto Fund Approved Under Swiss Laws

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) announced Wednesday that it “has approved the first crypto fund according to Swiss law.” The regulator elaborated:

For the first time, FINMA has approved a Swiss fund that invests primarily in cryptoassets.

FINMA explained that the fund is called “Crypto Market Index Fund,” noting that it is “an investment fund according to Swiss law belonging to the category ‘other funds for alternative investments’ with particular risks.”

The financial regulator added that there are some requirements tied to the approval. For example, the fund “may only invest in established cryptoassets with a sufficiently large trading volume.” In addition, the investments must be made through “established counterparties and platforms” based in member countries of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Crypto Finance (Asset Management) AG independently announced Wednesday the launch of the FINMA-approved Swiss crypto fund. It is administered by fund management company Pvb Pernet von Ballmoos AG, with Seba Bank AG as the custodian and Crypto Finance as the manager. Crypto Finance described:

For Crypto Finance, as the first asset manager to launch a Swiss crypto asset investment fund, it is an exceptional achievement to launch this crypto investment fund together with strong Swiss partners.

The fund is restricted to qualified investors, such as Swiss wealth management banks, asset managers, pension funds, and other professional investors, “who collectively manage several trillion CHF in assets,” Crypto Finance detailed, adding:

This passive investment fund from Crypto Finance tracks the performance of the Crypto Market Index 10, which is administered by the SIX Swiss Exchange.

According to the exchange’s website, “The objective of the SIX Crypto Market Index 10 is to reliably measure the performance of the largest and most liquid crypto assets and tokens and provide an investable benchmark for this asset class. The prices for the crypto assets and tokens are obtained from multiple crypto exchanges and trading venues.”

Meanwhile, Seba Bank announced Tuesday that it “has been granted a license to act as a custodian bank for Swiss collective investment schemes pursuant to Art. 72 CISA (KAG).” The bank added, “This is the first license granted in Switzerland by the Swiss Financial Market Authority (FINMA) to a custodian bank focused on digital assets.”

What do you think about FINMA approving the first Swiss crypto fund? Let us know in the comments section below.

via Kevin Helms

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