Stay ahead of the curve with The Coinomist’s breaking news coverage. From major market shifts to regulatory updates and industry-defining announcements, we deliver the critical information you need, fast and accurate. Be the first to know about the stories shaping the world of cryptocurrency, business, investing, and Web3.
Web3 studio Toonstar is currently developing an animated satirical series named FORTUN3. The show’s storyline draws inspiration from the real-life events surrounding the FTX exchange, spotlighting Sam Bankman-Fried. The release of the series is scheduled for this coming fall. Viewers will have the opportunity to interact with the show through an online game that can be accessed via an NFT.
WhiteBIT has just announced that they’ve taken a snapshot and closed Zealy quests. The launch date for the WB Network’s mainnet is still under wraps, but it might be coming soon. Right now, the company is busy checking user activity leading up to the snapshot. So, let’s keep our eyes peeled for the airdrop!
Contrary to forecasts, the value of Salvadoran bonds rose by 62% after Fitch downgraded the country’s credit rating in September 2022. Perhaps the 79% surge in BTC during the same period played a role in this unexpected turn of events. In 2021, El Salvador declared Bitcoin as legal tender and currently holds 2546 BTC. Despite skepticism from the IMF, the country also allocated $1 billion for the construction of a mining farm with a capacity of 241 MW.
Bloomberg reports that Apple is working on its own GenAI model, codenamed Ajax. The chatbot leverages Google’s framework and runs on Google Cloud, with a primary focus on maintaining user privacy and confidentiality. For now, Ajax will be used for in-house purposes like creating product prototypes and analyzing data. However, it might become available to the public in the future.
Altr, a marketplace utilizing NFTs to trade in luxury assets, made headlines by successfully selling an NFT-backed Ferrari F40 worth $2.5 million. Instead of receiving the vehicle, the buyer got a digital ownership certification in the form of an NFT. The seller, meanwhile, has pledged to store and maintain the car until the owner claims the physical asset. Additionally, Altr offers fractional NFT ownership, empowering several investors to collectively own a high-value item. A tricky choice: to purchase an NFT for a Ferrari wheel or an entire Opel?
The U.S. Senate is considering a new bill aimed at imposing strict anti-money laundering (AML) rules on decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. The Crypto-Asset National Security Enhancement Act of 2023 targets entities controlling DeFi protocols or providing their applications. It requires customer vetting, AML programs, and reports of suspicious activities. In absence of a controlling entity, anyone investing over $25 million in a protocol’s development would be responsible.
Polygon Labs has announced plans for a new, more decentralized governance model as part of its upcoming Polygon 2.0 roadmap. The team has proposed “three governance pillars” that will manage the core protocol, smart contracts, and a community treasury. Key features include an expanded Polygon Improvement Proposal (PIP) framework, an ecosystem council to manage system smart contract upgrades, and a two-phase community treasury governance model to fund promising projects.
Valkyrie’s spot Bitcoin ETF application has officially entered the review stage at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It comes right after BlackRock’s recent submission. Here’s an interesting detail: this ETF has been given the ticker symbol BRRR, a sound crypto enthusiasts often equate with the whir of a money printing machine! The SEC has a window of up to 45 days (which can be extended to 90 days in special cases) to review Valkyrie’s application.
The service is built on the Stellar blockchain and activated by the MoneyGram retail agent network, allowing the exchange’s clients to convert digital currency into cash. You can exchange USDC for hryvnias, dollars, and euros at respective MoneyGram branches throughout Ukraine. Currently, the service is available only to users residing in Ukraine who have completed KYC verification with Ukrainian documents. There are no fees for this service until June 2024! For the user, the entire process consists of several steps, which are thoroughly described in the comprehensive exchange instructions on the WhiteBIT website.
On the morning of July 13, Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of the now-bankrupt crypto lender Celsius, was reportedly arrested. The news broke minutes after the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against the crypto lender on the same day. The company’s token dropped 6% upon hearing the news. The former CEO was arrested following an investigation into the company’s collapse. Celsius Network initiated the process of filing for bankruptcy on July 14 of the previous year. Investigators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission found Mashinsky guilty of breaking numerous U.S. regulations prior to the company’s implosion in 2022. The investigation into the troubled crypto lender began after the New York Attorney General sued Mashinsky on January 5. The lawsuit alleged that the former CEO misled investors and caused billions of dollars in losses.
According to PeckShield, a hacker stole crypto assets (472 ETH) worth approximately $888,000. The project’s token (RDO) has taken a sharp nosedive, already losing 65% of its value.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has recently deleted a substantial number of his tweets from the years 2015 to 2018. Additionally, the digital archive of the World Wide Web, known as the WayBackMachine, has also removed its archive of his tweets. These tweets from that period covered a range of topics, including Brian expressing his support for increasing Bitcoin’s block size, referring to altcoins as distractions, discussing “replay attacks” on Coinbase, highlighting Ethereum’s price surge after its listing on Coinbase, questioning the full collateralization of Tether, and endorsing USDC, among other things. As a result of the deletions, these tweets now only exist in the form of screenshots that were captured and shared by others during that time.
This decentralized protocol has suffered a loss of nearly $455,000 owing to a flaw in its code. All activities relating to contracts have been put on hold for now. A blockchain analyst from PeckShield explains this predicament as a result of inadequate input verification within Arcadia’s code, a loophole the hacker exploited to drain crypto assets (darcWETH and darcUSDC) in both the Ethereum and Optimism networks.
Approximately $125 million worth of multi-chain assets has been observed flowing out of the cross-chain protocol Multichain into multiple wallets. As a response, the Multichain team has temporarily halted the protocol, without providing a specific timeline for recovery. Some analysts suggest that the situation may not be a result of a hacker attack. They point out that the asset transfer occurred gradually, with a small test transfer of 2 USDC before the larger outflow. Each asset was transferred to an independent wallet, and no further actions such as swapping or mixing took place. The receiving wallets remain completely clean. Considering the technical characteristics of Multichain, it is possible that the transferor gained control of private key fragments exceeding the threshold through some means. The investigation into this potential exploit is ongoing.
Despite the ongoing rally in June, spot trade volumes in Q2 experienced a substantial decline, reaching their lowest level since 2020, according to Kaiko. Binance saw the most significant drop in trading activity, with volumes plunging by nearly 70%. Other exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, and Huobi also witnessed a decline of over 50% in trade volumes.
Affected by the Azuki “Elementals” NFT incident (similar artworks, errors in the artwork, and collector dissatisfaction), the NFT market fell sharply again in the past 24 hours. BAYC fell 16%, MAYC fell 20%, and Azuki fell 11%. Earlier this year, Azuki NFTs gained significant popularity, surpassing even BAYC NFTs. Meanwhile, AzukiDAO has proposed to recover 20,000 ETH from Azuki founder ‘Zagabond’. The proposal suggests hiring a lawyer to take legal action against Zagabond for their alleged involvement in multiple “rug” projects. The aim of the clawback is to retrieve $39 million worth of ETH that was earned from the controversial launch of “Elementals” NFT collection. As of now, the action has received support from 88.3% of AzukiDAO (BEAN) token holders, with 11.65% opposing it. The voting period for the proposal will conclude at 6:38 am UTC on July 3rd.
On Friday, Fidelity Investments and several other firms submitted revised applications for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) deemed the initial filings inadequate. The companies, including Invesco, VanEck, 21Shares, and WisdomTree, are part of a group of eight firms aiming to launch the first wave of US spot Bitcoin ETFs. BlackRock kickstarted the trend with its unexpected filing in mid-June. In the latest filings, all five firms indicated that Coinbase Global Inc. will provide market surveillance for their ETFs, a detail that was missing from their previous applications.
A Twitter user (@hufhaus9) has created a visual timeline outlining the SEC’s response deadlines for the approval of BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF. Just 10 days ago, the renowned global investment firm with $10 trillion in assets applied for a groundbreaking Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund in the United States. First deadline: August 12, 2023 Second deadline: September 26, 2023 Third deadline: December 25, 2023 Final decision: February 23, 2024 If granted approval, BlackRock will be able to purchase BTC directly from the spot market, potentially utilizing platforms like Coinbase, on behalf of its clients. With the BTC halving and these deadlines coinciding, the first quarter of 2024 promises to be an exciting period!
One of the oldest altcoins, has doubled in price since the beginning of the the last week – from $105 to $220. Analysts credit this remarkable growth to the backing of the altcoin by the newly launched cryptocurrency exchange, EDX Markets. EDX is new non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange, backed by major Wall Street players like Citadel Securities, Fidelity, and Schwab, has officially gone live a week ago. It offers popular options like Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash, while consciously avoiding the list of tokens that the SEC considers to be financial securities.
8btc, one of the oldest and most influential cryptocurrency news platforms in China, is undergoing a strategic shift. The platform, renowned for its coverage of Bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrency-related news, has announced its decision to transition away from crypto content and fully embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse. Founded in 2011, 8btc has published over 1.4 million articles and posts, attracting billions of page views. It has played a vital role in providing information, communication, and investment services for blockchain startups and investors.
Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has taken action against Binance, instructing the popular cryptocurrency exchange to immediately stop offering any virtual currency services in the country. In a statement released on Friday, the FSMA emphasized that individuals and firms governed by Belgian law, but not belonging to the European Economic Area, are prohibited from offering exchange services involving virtual currencies and legal currencies, as well as custody wallet services. Failure to comply with this order could result in criminal sanctions, as warned by the regulator.
The IMF, in an article addressing CBDCs and cryptocurrencies in Latin America and the Caribbean, acknowledges, “While a few countries have completely banned crypto assets given their risks, this approach may not be effective in the long run.” Interestingly, the article places more emphasis on the benefits of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) rather than cryptocurrencies, while also highlighting potential problems linked with digital assets. Furthermore, the IMF recommends improving transparency by including cryptocurrency transactions in national data records.
It appears that Mark and Elon aren’t the only ones itching for a showdown. Following Buterin’s critique of Solana for its scalability being hampered by centralization and significant computational requirements, the community urged Solana’s creator to challenge Buterin to a duel. However, in a display of true intellectual spirit, Anatoly Yakovenko (Solana) suggested an alternative — a game of chess with Buterin. The Ethereum founder has not commented on this proposal yet. Don’t be a menace to South Blockchain…
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has teamed up with India-based crypto fund Crypto Relief and Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal to contribute a substantial sum of $100 million towards COVID-19 research and the development of medical infrastructure in India. Recognizing the ongoing threat of COVID-19 and potential future pandemics, Buterin took to Twitter on June 8th to highlight the urgent need for a comprehensive global solution. He emphasized the importance of combining cutting-edge scientific innovation with effective on-the-ground implementation to address these challenges head-on. The generous donation will be directed towards critical areas of research, with a particular focus on studying COVID-19 airborne transmission and advancing the development of improved medical equipment. By prioritizing these aspects, the initiative aims to enhance understanding and mitigation strategies, ultimately curbing the spread of the virus and improving healthcare outcomes for affected individuals.
John Ray III, the newly appointed CEO of the beleaguered FTX exchange, has dropped some hints that a potential revival of the exchange may be in the works. Ray, who took over the reins to navigate FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, indicated earlier this year that a resurgence was not off the table. Recent billing reports reveal intriguing developments – Ray spent 6.7 hours working on aspects related to “2.0,” thought to signify the possible relaunch of the exchange as FTX 2.0. As of now, tangible evidence supporting the exchange’s resurrection is scant, with only theoretical remarks and internal plans to go by. However, Ray hasn’t entirely dismissed the prospect, stating in January, “Everything is on the table. If there’s a feasible way forward, we’ll not only explore it, we’ll undertake it.” In a conversation in April, FTX’s chief lawyer, Andy Dietderich, floated the idea that the crypto exchange could potentially spring back into operation. Such a move would demand substantial capital infusion and could even provide customers with stakes in the future exchange. However, Dietderich clarified that this is merely one of numerous possibilities and nothing has been finalized yet. Venture Capital firm Tribe Capital has reportedly shown interest in spearheading a funding round to reboot the exchange.
Crypto Kaleo is a renowned crypto trader and one of the most followed influencers in the industry. Active since 2017, he has built a strong presence on X, TradingView, and other platforms, sharing technical analysis, market predictions, and insightful commentary on the crypto space.
Are sky-high Ethereum fees getting you down? The folks at Zora have come up with an alternative, introducing their Layer 2 solution with lower transaction fees. This article will walk you through how to get involved with the project and earn some rewards.