Crypto
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Ethereum fork a success as Sepolia testnet gears up to trial the Merge
The difficulty bomb-delaying Gray Glacier hard fork went live on Ethereum on Thursday without a hitch according to the network’s core devs including Ethereum Foundation’s Tim Beiko. The Sepolia testnet is also set to run through its Merge trial over the next few days and is the second last testnet to go through the trial before the official Merge. According to Etherscan, the Gray Glacier hard fork was initiated on block number 15050000 at roughly 6:54 am ET, June 30. The hard fork will now delay the difficulty bomb by roughly 700,000 blocks or 100 days, giving devs until mid-October to complete the long-awaited Merge. Ethereum Foundation community manager Tim Beiko promptly went to note on Twitter later that day that at 20 blocks past the fork, all monitored notes remained in sync, st...
Better days ahead with crypto deleveraging coming to an end: JPMorgan
The historic deleveraging of the cryptocurrency market could be coming to an end, which could signal the close of the worst of the bear market, according to a JPMorgan analyst. In a Wednesday note, JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou highlighted increased willingness of firms to bail out companies, and a healthy pace of venture capital funding in May and June as the basis for his optimism. He said key indicators support the assessment: “Indicators like our Net Leverage metric suggest that deleveraging is already well advanced.” The deleveraging of major crypto firms, where their assets have been sold either willingly, in a rush, or via liquidation, began largely in May when the Terra ecosystem collapsed and wiped out tens of billions of dollars. Since then, crypto lende...
Analysts identify 3 critical flaws that brought DeFi down
The cryptocurrency market has had a rough go this year and the collapse of multiple projects and funds sparked a contagion effect that has affected just about everyone in the space. The dust has yet to settle, but a steady flow of details is allowing investors to piece together a picture that highlights the systemic risks of decentralized finance and poor risk management. Here’s a look at what several experts are saying about the reasons behind the DeFi crash and their perspectives on what needs to be done for the sector to make a comeback. Failure to generate sustainable revenue One of the most frequently cited reasons for DeFi protocols struggling is their inability to generate sustainable income that adds meaningful value to the platform’s ecosystem. Fundamental Design Princ...
US lawmakers say crypto industry has a ‘tech bro’ problem hurting innovation
According to some United States lawmakers in the House Financial Services Committee, the lack of diversity in the financial technology space could be hurting many companies’ bottom lines. In a Thursday virtual hearing on “Combatting Tech Bro Culture,” U.S. lawmakers and witnesses discussed how women and people of color were underrepresented in leadership positions in the financial technology industry, including crypto firms. Massachusetts Representative Stephen Lynch cited data that only 2% of venture capital funding went to firms in which the founders were women, while only 1% went to those with black founders, and 1.8% for Latinx. According to Lynch and some on the committee, this trend suggested an “old boys club” culture in companies including those involved with cryptocurrencies, in w...
Former Monero maintainer Riccardo ‘Fluffypony’ Spagni to surrender for South Africa extradition
Riccardo Spagni, the former maintainer of the privacy coin Monero also known as Fluffypony, faces extradition to South Africa months after his arrest by U.S. authorities. In a Thursday court filing for the Middle District of Tennessee, Magistrate Judge Alistair Newbern ordered Spagni to surrender to U.S. Marshals on July 5 for extradition to South Africa. He will reportedly face 378 charges related to allegations of fraud and forgery between 2009 and 2011 at a company called Cape Cookies. U.S. authorities arrested Spagni in Nashville in July 2021 at the request of the South African government, holding him in custody until September. The court filings hint at allowing Spagni to be in the United States for the Independence Day holiday weekend before being taken to Africa early on Tuesday. No...
NFTs to appear on Facebook, cross-post with Instagram as Meta Web3 expansion continues
Facebook will support nonfungible tokens (NFTs) with a “digital collectibles” tab on creators’ timelines to display their work. Meta technical program manager Navdeep Singh displayed screenshots of NFTs and a creator’s page Thursday on Twitter. A spokesperson for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, told TechCrunch the same day that the rollout of NFTs on Facebook would be gradual, beginning with select creators in the United States. Eventually, NFT creators will be able to cross-post between Facebook and Instagram, another Meta property. Instagram is also testing NFTs in its Spark AR augmented reality platform. We’re launching NFTs on Facebook! Excited to share what I’ve been working on with the world. pic.twitter.com/TaV66zRanV — Navdeep Singh (@navdeep_ua) June 29, 20...
Klever set to launch layer 1 blockchain mainnet, the KleverChain
Blockchain network Klever has announces it will launch its layer 1 blockchain mainnet duped KleverChain on July 1. The mainnet will enable the Klever ecosystem to gain full independence allowing it to bring more products and services to its ecosystem. Klever has positioned itself as a top-tier public blockchain infrastructure for the internet with a mission of making crypto easy for everyone to take part in. The launch of its mainnet will usher in a new era making a departure from the Tron Network which it was launched on. KleverChain While blockchain can prove to be difficult for newcomers, KleverChain aims at making it simple and easy for everyone. In essence, the mainnet will serve as a trusted and permissionless blockchain network for helping in the expansion of the emerging decentrali...
Infamous North Korean hacker group identified as suspect for $100M Harmony attack
The Lazarus Group, a well-known North Korean hacking syndicate, has been identified as the primary suspect in the recent attack that saw $100 million stolen from the Harmony protocol. According to a new report published Thursday by blockchain analysis firm Elliptic, the manner in which Harmony’s Horizon bridge was hacked and the way in which the stolen digital assets were consequently laundered bears a striking resemblance to other Lazarus Group attacks. “There are strong indications that North Korea’s Lazarus Group may be responsible for this theft, based on the nature of the hack and the subsequent laundering of the stolen funds.” Additionally, Elliptic outlined exactly how the heist was executed, noting that The Lazarus Group targeted the login credentials of Harmony employees in ...
Grayscale’s legal challenge to SEC sparks response from the community
After Grayscale’s application to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) was denied, the firm launched a legal challenge against the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission. Following these events, the community responded with various reactions, from accusing the SEC of price manipulation to suggesting different solutions. Redditor u/ThatsMRcurmudgeon2u, who introduced themself as a securities lawyer, weighed in on the matter. According to the Redditor, many anticipated the lawsuit, as SEC Chair Gary Gensler has made it clear that he wants exchanges to register with the SEC. The Redditor also accused the SEC of “holding GBTC hostage.” Lawyer Jake Chervinsky tweeted that the ETF denial was “deeply disappointing” and defies f...
How to start a career in crypto? A beginner’s guide for 2022
The cryptocurrency industry is arguably one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. With its decentralized finance (DeFi) system and blockchain technology, crypto has become an attractive career path for those interested in technology and finance. As expected of any fast-growing sector, growth has also led to a corresponding increase in demand for talented individuals to build the space. According to a KoreanAITimes report, cryptocurrency and blockchain jobs grew by a whopping 118% between September 2020 and July 2021. Even in the correct market downturn, where some firms have paused hiring or cut staff from their rosters, others are actively searching for and onboarding staff. There are tons of career paths to choose from in the cryptocurrency industry. So whether you are simply l...
Thailand’s Crypto Utopia — ‘90% of a cult, without all the weird stuff’
The story of how a Bitcoin OG set up a Libertarian crypto community and commune for digital nomads on beautiful islands in Thailand three times — and why he hasn’t yet given up on the dream. It’s a wild tale involving “unchecked merrymaking,” crypto-influencers, police grillings, seasteading, a reported $20,000-a-month burn rate, rumors about shamans and drugs — and a major collision between idealism and reality. It was also, by all accounts, a whole lot of fun. Cryptopia became the House of DAO, and a new version is planned. The spectacular Cape Residences in Phuket, Thailand are a world away from the bohemian backpackers and Full Moon parties of Koh Pha-ngan where I’ve spent the past few weeks researching Part 1 about crypto digital nomads living in paradise. If you’ve ever imagined how ...
Nifty news: Sandbox LAND on Polygon, ETH gain a tax loss and more…
Popular Ethereum-based Metaverse gaming platform The Sandbox has unveiled a bridge that enables users to transfer their virtual NFT LAND and native SAND tokens over to Layer-2 network Polygon (MATIC). While The Sandbox will live on Ethereum for the most part, the platform has emphasized that conducting SAND and LAND transactions on Polygon will result in lower gas fees, faster transaction speeds and greener interactions on the blockchain. The firm stated via Twitter on June 29 that it is now ready to start deploying LAND on Polygon, and users will be able to receive a 10 mSAND cashback worth roughly ($10.60) on LAND ported over to the Layer 2. We are ready to deploy LAND to @0xPolygon Each LAND bridged grants a 10 mSAND cashback!LAND multipliers on both mSAND staking programs are back!LAND...
