Crypto
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Metaverse fractional ownership to form similarly to property loans: Casper exec
As metaverse land assets become more expensive, ownership becomes harder for normal users. Because of this, Ralf Kubli, Board Member at the Casper Association, argues that fractional ownership, similar to property loans in the real world, may gain traction within the virtual space through nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Kubli told Cointelegraph that understanding fractional ownership within the metaverse is very similar to the legacy property system. As prices soar, many cannot afford to buy and own properties. This leads to people renting or leasing property, giving a form of fractional ownership. He explained that: “Instead of the typical renter-buyer relationship and processes inherent to the legacy system, smart contracts and virtual assets such as NFTs are what powers this fractional...
Swiss National Bank exec: Regulators may favor centralized stablecoins after Terra crisis
Swiss National Bank (SNB) deputy head Thomas Muser talked to Cointelegraph editor Aaron Wood and discussed the ongoing trends in central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, and regulations, during the recently concluded European Blockchain Convention (EBC) 2022. Talking about the innovation and adoption of private stablecoins and plans of central banks regarding the CBDC launch, Moser said both could co-exist. He said that CBDC’s function would be very basic and private stablecoin issuers can add services on top of them to meet retail customers’ needs. When asked about the recent collapse of the Terra’s UST and its subsequent impact on regulations, Moser said that the recent spiral crash of the Terra and its decentralized algorithmic stablecoin UST could have a lastin...
Less than 1% of all holders have 90% of the voting power in DAOs: report
Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) have become a rage in the ever-expanding crypto ecosystem and are often seen as the future of decentralized corporate governance. DAOs are organizations without a centralized hierarchy, intended to work in a bottom-up manner, where the community collectively owns and contributes to an organization’s decision-making process. However, recent research data suggests that these DAOs are not as decentralized as it was intended to be. A recent report from Chainalysis analyzed the workings of ten major DAO projects and found that on average, less than 1% of all holders have 90% of the voting power. The finding highlights a high concentration of decision-making power in the hands of a selected few, an issue DAOs were created to resolve. This...
Educating regulators will help mitigate risks, says Figment exec
Cointelegraph’s managing editor Alex Cohen interviewed Figment’s staking marketing director Robert Ellison at the European Blockchain Convention (EBC) 2022. The duo discussed topics like educating regulators on blockchain and crypto, how businesses navigate uncertain regulatory landscapes and regulating staking. According to Ellision, it’s very important to educate regulators in the space to mitigate the risks of them going overboard without understanding the basics. The Figment executive mentioned that clear understanding is very important because of the complicated nature of the space. He explained that: “This is the battle we’re fighting, and it’s interesting to see that balance geopolitically to some countries versus others, and we hope that they jus...
How low can Ethereum price drop versus Bitcoin amid the DeFi contagion?
Ethereum’s native token Ether (ETH) has declined by more than 35% against Bitcoin (BTC) since December 2021 with a potential to decline further in the coming months. ETH/BTC weekly price chart. Source: TradingView ETH/BTC dynamics The ETH/BTC pair’s bullish trends typically suggest an increasing risk appetite among crypto traders, where speculation is more focused on Ether’s future valuations versus keeping their capital long-term in BTC. Conversely, a bearish ETH/BTC cycle is typically accompanied by a plunge in altcoins and Ethereum’s decline in market share. As a result, traders seek safety in BTC, showcasing their risk-off sentiment within the crypto industry. Ethereum TVL wipe-out Interest in the Ethereum blockchain soared during the pandemic as developer...
Anonymous vows to bring Do Kwon’s ‘crimes’ to light
Hacktivist group Anonymous has pledged to “make sure” Terra co-founder Do Kwon is “brought to justice as soon as possible” in regards to the collapse of the Terra (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST) ecosystems in May. On Sunday, a video purportedly coming from the Anonymous hacker group rehashed a laundry list of Kwon’s alleged wrongdoings, including cashing out $80 million each month from Luna and TerraUSD prior to its collapse as well as his role in the fall of stable coin Basis Cash, for which Do Kwon allegedly co-created under the pseudonym “Rick Sanchez” in late 2020. “Do Kwon, if you are listening, sadly, there is nothing that can be done to reverse the damage that you have done. At this point, the only thing that we can do is hold you accountable and make sure that you are brought to ju...
Harmony offers $1M bounty, but is it big enough?
The Harmony layer-1 blockchain project team has offered a bounty equal to just 1% of the $100 million in crypto stolen from the Horizon Bridge hack last week. Harmony tweeted on June 26 that the team had committed $1 million for the return of the funds that were stolen from the Horizon Bridge on June 23. It added, “Harmony will advocate for no criminal charges when funds are returned.” We commit to a $1M bounty for the return of Horizon bridge funds and sharing exploit information. Contact us at whitehat@harmony.one or ETH address 0xd6ddd996b2d5b7db22306654fd548ba2a58693ac. Harmony will advocate for no criminal charges when funds are returned. — Harmony (@harmonyprotocol) June 26, 2022 However, concerns have been raised that the modest bounty sum may not be enough to incentivize the ...
ANZ’s stablecoin used to buy tokenized carbon credits
ANZ’s stablecoin A$DC has been used to buy Australian tokenized carbon credits, marking another critical test of the asset’s use cases in the local economy. In March, the “Big Four” bank became the first major Australian financial institution to mint its own stablecoin after overseeing a pilot transaction worth 30 million AUD ($20.76 million) between Victor Smorgon Group and digital asset manager Zerocap. ANZ’s stablecoin is fully collateralized by Australian dollars (AUD) held in the bank’s managed reserved account. So far, A$DC transactions have primarily been conducted over the Ethereum blockchain. According to a June 27 report from the Australian Financial Review (AFR), the latest transaction saw its long-time institutional partner Victor Smorgon use A$DC to purchase Australian C...
What are Bitcoin covenants, and how do they work?
Various prominent Bitcoin experts, including Adam Back, Jimmy Song and Andreas Antonopoulos, have raised some concerns over the implementation of restrictive covenants, in particular with the BIP119. In particular, Antonopoulos has voiced concerns over “recursive covenants” that the new update could convey, thereby deteriorating the network. A recursive covenant occurs when a programmer restricts a transaction, but he does it in a way that restricts another transaction after that, starting a domino effect resulting in future limitless recursive covenants. Blacklisting and risks of censorship and confiscation While locking up where a Bitcoin can be spent is advantageous to ensure more security, it also provides grounds for censorship, and control by governments, which would hind...
BTC price tops 10-day highs as Bitcoin whale demand sees ‘huge spike’
Bitcoin (BTC) made the most of weekend volatility on June 26 as a squeeze saw BTC/USD reach its highest in over a week. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView “Unusual whale activity” flagged Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed the largest cryptocurrency as it hit $21,868 on Bitstamp. Just hours from the weekly close, a reversal then set in under $21,500, Bitcoin still in line to seal its first “green” weekly candle since May. The event followed warnings that volatile conditions both up and down could return during low-liquidity weekend trading. On-chain data nonetheless fixed what appeared to be buying by Bitcoin’s largest-volume investor cohort prior to the uptick. “Unusual whale activity detected in B...
Top 5 cryptocurrencies to watch this week: BTC, UNI, XLM, THETA, HNT
The United States equities markets witnessed a sharp comeback last week, led by the Nasdaq Composite which gained 7.5%. The S&P was up about 6.5% for the week while the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a gain of 5.4%. Continuing its tight correlation with the equities market, the crypto markets are also attempting a relief rally. Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a modest recovery but some altcoins have risen sharply in the past week. This suggests that investors are taking advantage of the sharp fall in the price to accumulate altcoins at lower levels. Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360 Smaller-sized investors have been using the decline in Bitcoin to build their position to at least one Bitcoin. Glassnode data shows that the number of Bitcoin wallet addresses having more than on...
Crypto conspiracy theories abound, but prop traders are just doing their job
Alameda Research is a cryptocurrency trading firm and liquidity provider founded by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). Before founding his firm in 2017, SBF spent three years as a trader at the quantitative proprietary trading giant Jane Street Capital, which specializes in equity and bonds. In 2019, SBF founded the crypto derivatives and exchange FTX, which has quickly grown to become the fifth-largest by open interest. The Bahamas-based exchange raised $400 million in January 2022 and was valued at $32 billion. FTX’s global derivatives exchange business is separate from FTX US, another entity controlled by SBF, which raised another $400 million from investors including the Ontario Teachers Pension and SoftBank. The self-made billionaire has big dreams, like purchasing ...
