News from the blockchain world | episode 36 ???
Well hello there! Fresh "News from the blockchain world" has just landed! ?? Sit comfortably and spend some time with us! ????
From this edition you will learn a.o.:
? Is AI-Powered Staking the Key to Unlocking Liquidity in DeFi?
? Who is entering NFT industry via Minima partnership?
? Whose crypto strategy is targeting stablecoin settlements?
? Who did raise $6.5M to speed 3D content delivery for the metaverse?
? What is decentralized storage, and how does it work?
Have great time reading - until next week!?
??? Business?
?? Worldcoin, an eye-scanning cryptocurrency project founded by the CEO of OpenAI, is looking for an investor.
Worldcoin, the eyeball-scanning crypto startup founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is on the hunt for a lead investor for its latest round of financing. The startup is in discussions with deep-pocketed investors, including sovereign wealth funds, about leading another fundraise. Its looking to raise up to $120 million at a valuation of $3 billion, the same valuation it raised at last year.
?? ClimaFi partners with Concordium for carbon credit trading.
The partnership aims to allow for the trading of carbon credits using blockchain technology, providing a transparent and secure platform for companies and individuals. Climafi aims to combat climate change by offering carbon offsetting solutions and Concordium is a blockchain platform that provides fast and secure transactions.
?? Partnership between Looksrare and Moonpay will enable convenient NFT purchases by credit card.
Moonpay is a payment provider that allows users to purchase cryptocurrency and other digital assets using their credit or debit card, while LookRare is a platform for buying, selling, and discovering rare digital collectibles. The partnership will allow users to purchase NFTs using a simple and secure process with their credit or debit cards.
?? TRON launches $100M artificial intelligence-focused Fund
Tron's decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has established a $100 million fund for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) projects. The fund will be used to support developers who are building AI applications on the Tron blockchain. The fund will focus on projects in four key areas – AI service payments, infused oracles, informed investment management services, and AI generated content.
?? Crypto ATM Operator Cash Cloud Owes Genesis $116M, Files for Bankruptcy.
Crypto ATM operator, Cash Cloud, also known as Coin Cloud, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. bankruptcy court in Las Vegas. Genesis Global Trading is the company's largest creditor, owed $116.4 million. The company has over 5,000 digital currency machines across 47 states in the U.S. and Brazil.
?? Dell joins Hedera platform governing council.
Hedera Hashgraph announced that tech giant Dell Technologies Inc. will join the company’s governing council, enabling the company to explore distributed ledger and Web3 technologies by running its own Hedera node and developing its own distributed applications.
?? Topps Digital partners with Checkout.com to provide secure shopping for digital collectibles.
Topps Digital has partnered with Checkout.com to provide its global customers with a seamless and secure shopping experience. Indeed, the company known for its legendary baseball cards is getting into the digital collections business by launching an app and NFT platform.
?? WeTransfer Enters NFT Industry Via Minima Partnership.
WeTransfer, a freemium model file-sharing platform, has moved towards Web3 with a recently announced partnership with Minima that would allow users to create and send NFTs from their phones.
?? Theta Capital Management launches another blockchain fund.
Theta Capital Management, a Netherlands-based investment firm which specializes in hedge funds and crypto-native venture capital, launched its Third Theta Blockchain Ventures vehicle. Theta Blockchain Ventures III is a 10 year venture capital fund dedicated to seed stage VC investments in blockchain technology.
?? Brazilian crypto company Capitual moves into European markets with new partnership.
Capitual, a multicurrency digital bank that offers cryptocurrencies in Brazil, has partnered with Azimut to expand its services to various European countries and Mexico. To support this expansion, Azimut will also invest €15 million, raising Capitual's valuation to €302. The Brazilian company that offers fiat on-ramp services is the point of entry into its country for many global cryptocurrency exchanges, including Kucoin, Huobi and Bitget.
?? Foxify announces partnership with world boxing champion Tyson Fury.
Foxify, a platform for buying and selling NFTs, has announced a partnership with professional boxer Tyson Fury. The partnership will see Fury participate in various marketing initiatives for the platform and release a line of NFT collectibles for fans. This partnership is part of Foxify's efforts to expand its reach and bring NFTs to a wider audience.
?? Visa’s crypto strategy targets stablecoin settlements.
Visa is seeking to build “muscle memory” around settlements, with plans to allow customers to convert digital assets to fiat currencies on its platform, according to a presentation from the company’s crypto division head at StarkWare Sessions 2023 conference. The company plans to target the use of stablecoins for settlements and is looking to integrate these digital assets into its network. This move is aimed at helping financial institutions and merchants process transactions faster and more efficiently.
??? Products?
?? Alkimi Exchange launches the world’s first decentralised ad exchange.
Alkimi, describing itself as the worlds first decentralised ad exchange, has exited beta and is now available for advertisers and publishers to buy and sell inventory. The exchange is built on an ultra-fast, scaleable, next-generation Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) blockchain technology, and launches with full Prebid compatibility. Alkimi charges a flat fee of 1.5% to both publishers and advertisers.
?? Engage-To-Earn platform, Unitea, partners with artists to Launch Augmented Reality Rewards.
Engage-To-Earn Social Media Platform Unitea Partners With Artists Like Claude VonStroke, Said The Sky, and DJ Diesel (SHAQ) To Launch Augmented Reality Rewards. UniteA is the first engage-to-earn social media platform encouraging authentic connections between musical artists and their fans.
?? German DekaBank plans to launch tokenization platform by 2024
German bank DekaBank is planning to launch a blockchain-based tokenization platform in 2024. The bank is working with the digital asset management system Metaco Harmonize. The upcoming offering will involve tokenizing assets like bonds, stocks and funds. The first test transactions of the platform are likely to take place this year.
?? Aave Launches Stablecoin GHO on Ethereum Goerli Testnet.
Aave has launched its stablecoin, Gho, on the Ethereum Goerli testnet with an open-source codebase and audits. Aave is a decentralized non-custodial lending platform for cryptocurrencies. The stablecoin is designed to be used as a collateral asset on the Aave platform, and it will be pegged to the value of the US dollar.
?? Revelator, Web2-to-Web3 Bridge for Music Companies.
Revelator expands its Web2 bridge to Web3 for music companies, adding new NFT capabilities on Polygon. This makes it easier for music companies to access blockchain technology and create and trade digital artworks. This expansion allows for better protection and distribution of copyrights in the music industry.
?? Coinbase-Backed DeSo Unveils MegaSwap, a "Stripe for Crypto" product.
Deso, a Coinbase-backed company, unveiled MegaSwap, a new cryptocurrency exchange platform. MegaSwap is designed to allow users to securely and easily swap coins between different blockchains.
?? Revolut launches crypto staking.
Revolut gives its customers across the UK and Europe the ability to earn staking rewards. Customers in supported countries can now earn up to 11.65% annual percentage yield (APY), paid in the respective tokens, on four cryptocurrencies: ether (ETH), cardano (ADA), polkadot (DOT) and tezos (XTZ).
?? Binance launches crypto tax reporting tool.
Crypto exchange Binance is launching a tax reporting tool to help users stay on track of their crypto transactions for tax reporting purposes. This comes as a response to a growing number of inquiries from users about their tax liabilities. Binance Tax is currently in a pilot phase in France and Canada before extending to other global markets later in the year.
?? Finland-based Membrane Finance launches a regulated Euro stablecoin.
The EUROe stablecoin represents the first product of its kind in Europe, and it was launched on the Ethereum blockchain. Membrane Finance has worked on EUROe for two years, and it has obtained a licence from the FIN-FSA. The licence will also help the company to remain compliant with upcoming MiCA regulations.
??? Technology?
?? Lido Finance Introduces V2 Protocol.
Lido Finance unveiled the protocol’s latest upgrade, Lido V2, which focuses on two key issues: withdrawing Ethereum (ETH) and decentralizing its validators. Although the upgrade, which Lido Finance calls its largest upgrade to date, has been completed on the protocol, the Lido V2 must still be approved by DAO before it can be fully deployed.
?? DAM Finance deploys its shared liquidity layer on Ethereum and Moonbeam.
DAM Finance has deployed its shared liquidity layer on Ethereum and Moonbeam networks. This will allow users to access liquidity from multiple DeFi protocols on these networks through a single platform, making it easier for them to trade and manage their digital assets.
?? Fujitsu Launches New Platform to Support Web3 Developers Globally.
Fujitsu announced the launch of its 'Fujitsu Web3 Acceleration Platform,' offering a developmental environment as well as various service APIs based on blockchain and high-performance computing technologies. Fujitsu envisions the platform as a future community for users in start-ups, partner companies, and universities working to build the next generation of Web3 applications and services.
?? Is AI-Powered Staking the Key to Unlocking Liquidity in DeFi?
Lack of liquidity and significant capital costs hamper the growth of Decentralized Finance. AI-powered staking could be the solution to unlocking liquidity in DeFi by automating and optimizing the staking process for yield-generating assets. This can lead to improved returns and efficiency for users, as well as lower barriers to entry for new participants in the DeFi space.
?? Tron will introduce a payment system for ChatGPT.
TRON to provide an AI-oriented decentralized payment framework for AI systems like ChatGPT. TRON will be using the decentralized BitTorrent file storage system’s smart contract framework to store user queries and AI findings.
??? Legal?
?? LBank exchange secures Virtual Asset Provider registration to operate in Italy.
LBank has registered as a Virtual Asset Provider with Italian regulator Organismo degli Agenti e dei Mediatori (OAM). The global crypto exchange with over 9 million users will now be able to offer services and products to Italian traders.
?? Kraken Crypto Exchange Probed by SEC Over Offering Unregulated Securities.
Kraken, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been investigated by SEC, the U.S. agency that regulates financial markets. The SEC accuses the company of trading unregistered securities. Kraken is currently one of the few cryptocurrency exchanges that has not registered with the SEC. A Bloomberg report on Feb. 9 asserted that the investigation had reached an “advanced stage.” Although the details remain blurry, a settlement could soon be reached.
?? Proposed Israeli law to classify crypto as securities will ‘kill the industry’.
Proposed laws in Israel that would see cryptocurrencies classified as securities would cause huge damage to the local crypto industry. The proposed legislation would mean that cryptocurrencies would be subject to the same regulations as traditional securities, including the requirement for a prospectus and the need for a license from the Israeli Securities Authority. The bill has received criticism from the crypto industry, which argues that the strict regulations would make it difficult for companies to operate and could lead to a decline in the industry.
?? Signature Bank Sued for Allegedly ‘Facilitating’ FTX Fraud.
The lawsuit filed by trading firm Statistica Capital, says the New York-based bank allegedly “had actual knowledge of and substantially facilitated the now-infamous FTX fraud". The suit further accuses Signature of allowing the commingling of FTX customer funds within Signet, the bank’s blockchain-based payments network.
??? Security?
?? Bulgarian Businessman Loses Half a Million Dollars to Call Center Crypto Fraud.
A businessman from Bulgaria has transferred over 1 million leva (more than $550,000) to scammers who suggested he could earn well from crypto assets. The investor was initially contacted by a call center operated by the fraudsters offering high yields. This communication went on for a while and they were able to convince him that he would triple his money in no time.
领英推荐
?? Coffeezilla tricked MMA star Dillon Danis to promote the fake NFT project.
Coffeezilla, a YouTube content creator, got MMA fighter Dillon Danis to promote a fake NFT project. The YouTuber pointed out that Danis tweeted an image with a website link that, in Coffeezilla’s words, “literally spells out S.C.A.M.” Coffeezilla also pointed out that the athlete failed to disclose that he had been paid to promote the project on Twitter.
??? Investments?
?? Coincover secures $30M in funding to strengthen digital asset security.
London-based digital asset protection firm Coincover has secured $30 million in a funding round led by Foundation Capital. Coincover intends to tackle the security concerns plaguing the digital asset industry by offering businesses a solution that guards against both cyber threats and human mistakes.
?? Lunar, the Danish neobank last year valued at $2.2B, raises $38M.
Last year, Lunar used the funding to make its first forays into cryptocurrency trading and B2B payments for small and medium business customers. Other services include checking and savings accounts, a metal Visa card, an investing platform and loans. Lunar says it has around 500,000 users in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. But notably, that is the same number of users that it disclosed when it announced funding in March 2022, which implies that not only is the startup operating at a loss that’s eroded its runway, but growth has stalled for the company in the last year.
?? Modular blockchain Dymension raises $6.7 million in private token round.
Dymension raised $6.7 million in a seed funding round. Big Brain Holdings and Stratos led the round. Dymension is a modular blockchain platform with built-in roll-ups technology for scalability. Dymension makes it easy to create and add new modules to the blockchain, allowing it to customize its functionality.
?? Mino Games raises $15M to create Dimensionals Web3 game.
Mino Games has raised $15 million to create its Dimensionals collectible character game. Standard Crypto led the round, with participation from Boost VC, Collab Currency, Earl Grey Capital, and Konvoy Ventures. Mino Games previously scored big hits with its Mino Monsters series of free-to-play games.
?? VRRB Labs raises pre-seed round at $20 million valuation.
Vrrb Labs, a Miami-based blockchain startup, has raised a pre-seed funding round with a valuation of 20 million dollars. The company is working on building its own layer 1 blockchain solution and the funds will be used to further its development. The details of the investors and the exact amount raised have not been disclosed.
?? Fierce Gets $10M for financial Super App.
Fierce's super app provides customers with access to a range of financial services, including insurance, banking, and investment options. The company aims to simplify customers' financial lives and make it easier for them to manage their money with an all-in-one application. In addition to integrating various investments, the app also includes a news feed that lets users track updates about their portfolios and interests
?? Mawari raises $6.5M to speed 3D content delivery for the metaverse.
The company aims to create a unified 3D content delivery platform for the metaverse. Mawari has developed an automated 3D content creation technology that allows game and VR application developers to create and deploy content faster and easier.
?? Carbon offset platform, Carbonplace, raises $45M in seed funding.
Carbonplace is a UK-based platform for pricing and trading carbon offsets. The platform is based on blockchain technology, which enables transparent and verifiable transactions related to carbon offsets.
?? Sesame Labs raises $4.5 million to build marketing platform for Web3 companies.
Sesame offers a comprehensive marketing stack including a campaign management platform, advertising network, and CRM, aimed at helping web3 companies create targeted marketing campaigns using competitor data and customer insights.
?? Cedro Finance raises $1.5M in pre-seed funding.
Cedro Finance is an Omnichain Liquidity Platform that lets users lend and borrow across multiple chains without compromising on security. The company intends to use the funds to grow the team and scale development of its platform.
?? Crypto wallet security layer Webacy raises $4M from Mozilla Ventures.
Webacy, a security platform for cryptocurrency wallets, has raised $4 million in a seed round. Webacy offers additional layers of security for cryptocurrency wallets, including multi-level authentication and risk monitoring features. The company says its solutions provide users with better control over their funds and enhance the security of their cryptocurrencies.
?? Decentralized Identity Network Space ID Raises $10M.
The round was led by crypto investment firms Polychain Capital and dao5. Space-ID is a blockchain platform that offers users secure and private storage of their personal data. The company says its platform allows users to securely move data between different applications and services without the risk that the data will be disclosed or used inappropriately.
?? Blockfenders reels in $1.5M for blockchain-powered secure data sharing platform.
Blockfenders’ namesake platform enables companies to share information through a no-code interface. The security of the data that customers share with each other is to be ensured through the use of blockchain technology.
?? Crypto Lender SALT raises $64.4M to resume operations.
SALT Lending has closed a $64.4 million Series A funding round from a share sale to accredited investors. The company paused business after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. SALT will use the capital toward new products and its growth strategy.
?? GammaSwap Closes $1.7M Seed Round.
GammaSwap DEX Closes $1.7M Seed Round. The investment will help the company expand its team, inspect a number of innovative product ideas and continue to build awareness of the protocol.
?? Climate fintech The Zero Fund raises EUR400K in pre-seed funding.
The Zero Fund, a France-based climate fintech startup, raised EUR400K in pre-seed funding. TZF connects public and private stakeholders with the local carbon capture initiatives by offering access to fully traceable high-quality carbon credits on a secure blockchain platform.
?? Elementus, data intelligence platform, raises $10M.
Elementus, a New York-based provider of a blockchain data intelligence platform, raised $10M in Series A2 funding. The round, which brings total funding to $27M, was led by ParaFi Capital. The company intends to use the funds for hiring and new product development.
?? Cenoa, Singapore-based "superwallet", raises $7M.
Cenoa, a Singapore-based borderless wallet improving access to dollar-based products in emerging markets, raised US$7m in Seed funding. The company intends to use the funds to grow operations to expand both beyond its core product and to new markets.
?? Inkle, tax accounting company, has raised $1.5 million in funding to provide services to US cross-border companies.
The funds will be used to support the development of the company's technology and expand its operations. Inkle's platform helps US companies manage their tax obligations and financial reporting requirements when operating internationally. Inkle is now expanding into new corridors such as US-Canada, US-LATAM and new sectors such as crypto taxes.
?? Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer is raising $50 million.
EigenLayer, an Ethereum restaking protocol, is raising $50 million in a Series A funding round. The round looks set to give the startup a $250 million post-money equity valuation and a $500 million token valuation. EigenLayer is built on Ethereum and enables users to restake their ether (ETH) and extend crypto security to additional applications on the network, such as rollups, bridges and oracles.
??? Others?
?? China wants to boost digital yuan, cities hand out e-CNY during Spring Festival.
The Chinese authorities are pushing to increase the adoption of the digital yuan (e-CNY) during one of the largest holidays in the country, the Spring Festival. As part of this effort, the local government launched digital yuan activities worth over $26.5 million in cities such as Shenzhen, Jinan, Lianyungang, and Hangzhou. In Shenzhen, 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) worth of e-CNY was distributed to support the domestic catering sector.
?? According to JPMorgan, "deposit tokens" could replace stablecoins.
JPMorgan and Oliver Wyman believe stablecoins — while having previously proved successful — would fall short of meeting serious (regulated) banking needs. Enter “deposit tokens,” a separate concept from central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). These function similarly to traditional deposits held by licensed financial institutions such as commercial banks, except they exist and operate on-chain.
?? US retirement accounts' owners warned about crypto investments.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned owners of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) to be wary of investing in crypto assets. The SEC says investing in cryptocurrencies is risky and can lead to loss of funds. The warning is part of a broader SEC campaign to raise investor awareness and encourage caution when investing in unregulated assets.
?? BAYC freezes Dookey Dash leaderboard with nearly $73 million in trading volume.
Bored Ape Yacht Club has frozen the leaderboard for players of Dookey Dash because it suspects its abuse. Over the past 24 hours, dookey dash recorded nearly $73 million in turnover. The platform did not disclose details of the suspected abuse, but said it was under investigation.
?? MakerDAO Founder wants $14M To fight climate change.
Rune Christensen, the founder of MakerDAO and former CEO of the project’s now-dissolved foundation, is asking the protocol for $14M worth of MKR tokens to fight climate change. The proposal received a negative response on social media, and a wave of criticism was poured on its initiator.
?? CBDCs: road to slavery?
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a digital version of cash that is issued and regulated by the central bank of a given country. Rulers say the CBDC is to "ensure financial stability". According to the article's author, it was designed because it combines the rulers desire for control and push towards digital payments.
?? Lido hits 5M ETH Milestone.
The world’s largest liquid staking platform, Lido, has hit a new milestone for the amount of staked Ethereum. According to the Dune Analytics, Lido crossed 5.05 million ETH staked on Beacon Chain. At current prices, this is worth approximately $8.26 billion.
?? Russia's Sberbank Will Introduce DeFi Platform by May.
The platform will initially be based on the Ethereum network, with users being able to access it using the MetaMask wallet extension. The bank's DeFi network is running in a closed beta, which will turn into open testing on March. 1.
?? Paxos opens R&D centre in Israel.
Paxos, blockchain and tokenization infrastructure platform, announced it is launching an engineering research & development center of security and cryptography in Israel.
?? BlackRock iShares Core S&P 500 ETF tokenized on Uniswap.
BlackRock’s ETF, iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (CSPX), is now tokenized on ethereum trading on Uniswap. The token operates similarly to USDc and USDt, except that it has shares and is managed by an entity claiming to be fully regulated in Europe.
?? MakerDAO revenue fell 42% in 2022 amid shrinking crypto lending market.
MakerDAO saw a marked decline in 2022 revenue, as the DeFi protocol launched a significant pivot from crypto-native lending to the real-world asset market. Total revenue decreased 42% to 65 million DAI ($65 million) in 2022, according to a financial report issued by Steakhouse.
??? The more you know?
?? Understanding the Exit Queue on Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade.
The upcoming Shanghai Upgrade aims to increase the performance of the Ethereum network and improve its functionality, and one of the main components of this upgrade is the so-called Exit Queue. This is an exit queue that will be used to remove unnecessary data from the Ethereum network. The purpose of this feature is to increase network performance and prevent difficulties such as delays and errors.
?? What is decentralized storage, and how does it work?
The article explains the concept of decentralized storage and its working mechanism. Decentralized storage refers to a type of data storage system where data is stored on multiple nodes in a network, rather than relying on a single centralized server. The data is encrypted and spread across the network, making it more difficult for hackers to access it.