Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

FTX Has Canceled Acquisition Talks With Celsius Network

According to the most recent report on Thursday, June 30th, Bahamian cryptocurrency exchange FTX Derivatives Exchange declined a deal to acquire New Jersey-based crypto loan startup Celsius Network.　　FTX had began talks with Celsius about bailing out or acquiring the failing company. However, after investigating Celsius finances, the trading platform withdrew and chose to end the negotiations.　　According to the article, FTX made the move after determining that Celsius balance sheet contained a “$2 billion hole.” FTX reportedly discovered that Celsius position is tough to cope with.　　Celsius was reported to have $11.8 billion in assets in May of last month, a significant decrease from the $25 billion it had in October of previous year.　　Celsius banned all withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts on June 12th due to “extreme” market conditions that looked to have rocked the cryptocurrency industry.　　In recent months, the market for digital assets has been roiled by severe volatility as investors flee riskier assets amid fears that aggressive interest rate hikes to curb persistent inflation could send the economy into recession.　　Celsius contacted the legal firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP earlier this month for advice on potential remedies to its mounting financial problems. In addition, the firm recruited

2022-07-01Deep Dive

FBI's Most Wanted List: Ruja Ignatova, Founder of OneCoin

Ruja Ignatova, the fake CryptoQueen, as she is called, has been added to the FBIs list of the ten most sought criminals. Rujas inclusion was predicated on her exploitation of her OneCoin crypto firm to swindle millions of investors worldwide in a $4 billion scheme.　　When OneCoin was launched in 2014, it was touted as a Bitcoin-killer, although it lacked its own blockchain, unlike other digital currencies. Subscribers were instead sold educational cryptocurrency trading kits and tasked with enrolling family and friends into a complex Ponzi scheme.　　“OneCoin claimed to have a private blockchain,” said Special Agent Ronald Shimko, who is investigating the case out of the FBIs New York Field Office. “This is in contrast to other virtual currencies, which have a decentralized and public blockchain. In this case, investors were just asked to trust OneCoin.”　　OneCoin Will Eventually Collapse　　The entire system collapsed because holders of the OneCoin token were unable to convert their holdings and could only benefit from the projects multilevel marketing feature. Ruja has been on the run since her last sighting in Greece on October 25, 2017.　　The FBI had caught Rujas collaborators who had joined forces to manage the scheme, with one of those awaiting sentencing being her

2022-07-01Deep Dive

Grayscale Files a Lawsuit After the SEC Denies its Proposed ETF Bid

Grayscale Investments aspirations were dashed when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denied its application to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust product to a full-spot Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).　　In response, the investment asset management has filed an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, claiming that the regulator breached the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.　　The SECs rejection is based on the fact that there is no trustworthy system in place to prevent fraud, which is the same argument it has used in previous rejection judgments. Grayscale filed an immediate appeal because it was prepared for this type of action, as Chief Executive Officer Michael Sonnenshein had promised a lawsuit months before the final verdict was expected.　　“Grayscale supports and believes in the SECs mandate to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets and facilitate capital formation -- and we are deeply disappointed by and vehemently disagree with the SECs decision to continue to deny spot Bitcoin ETFs from coming to the U.S. market,” Sonnenshein said.　　In June, the corporation hired Donald Verrilli, a top Solicitor in the Obama Administration, to join its legal team. Verrilli will now lead the

2022-07-01Deep Dive

Deutsche Bank Predicts Bitcoin May Reclaim $28,000 This Year

According to a Thursday report published by Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank, a German multinational investment bank, has predicted that the price of Bitcoin could recover to $28,000 by the end of the year.　　The rationale behind the modestly upbeat prediction is that the stock market is likely to partially recover by the end of the year. Due to a strong correlation with the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, Bitcoin is likely to recover in tandem with U.S. equities, Deutsche Bank says.　　The worlds largest cryptocurrency has once again slipped below the $20,000 level, currently trading at $19,995 on the Bitstamp exchange.　　Tom Lees investment firm Fundstrat recently predicted that the price of the largest cryptocurrency would retest the June low of $17,592. For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit - the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.　　Digital diamonds？　　Now that the case for Bitcoin as “digital gold” has fallen apart, Deutsche Bank analysts believe that it would be more apt to compare the flagship cryptocurrency to diamonds.　　The top digital coin mainly relies on marketing, which makes it similar to De Beers, the London-based corporation that managed to revolutionize the diamond industry with its iconic ad campaign in the late 1950s.　　Bitcoin proponents are marketing an idea instead of a

2022-07-01Deep Dive

Chainalysis Reveals That Web3 DAO Ownership Is Not Decentralized

Chainalysis presented a study that found that, while decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) have emerged as the future of decentralized corporate governance, they have significant flaws in their operation.　　DAOs, according to the study, are the foundation of many blockchain and Web3 projects. DAOs, which are internet-native and blockchain-based, are designed to provide a new, democratized management structure for enterprises, projects, and communities, allowing any member to vote on organizational decisions just by investing in the project.　　Voting Power Concentration　　However, according to the most recent Chainalysis analysis, while the manner by which DAOs operate is generally touted as a way to decentralize power, DAO ownership is highly centralized.　　Chainalysis examined the operations of ten large DAO initiatives and discovered some compelling evidence that DAOs are not as decentralized as envisioned. According to the report, voting power in DAOs is highly concentrated.　　On average, less than 1% of all members have acquired more than 90% of total voting power. To put it another way, less than 1% of all members in big DAOs have 90% voting power.　　This indicates that a significant amount of authority has been concentrated in the hands of a small number of founder members, a problem that DAOs were designed to address. This

2022-06-30Deep Dive

Only1 Introduces the First Web3.0 Social NFT Platform Based on Solana

Only1 Limited, a Hong Kong-based software development corporation, has announced the debut of its web3.0 social network named Only1.　　The web3.0 platform includes a 360° social network with user profiles, messenger, Superfan NFT, Creator Staking Pools, NFT marketplace, and NFT Launchpad, among other features.　　In this way, the platform is focusing on empowering creators to engage viewers and monetize their content in previously unseen ways.　　Only1 is aiming to redefine the relationship between creators and their followers by offering rewards and benefits to both creators and their fans at the same time through tokenization of social impact.　　Leon Lee, Founder s first one-stop shop for users to use SocialFi capabilities by posting content and engaging with other users to start earning rewards.　　“By making it simple for creators to monetize content, Only1 opens up Web3.0 to new audiences and power the future of decentralized content and community ownership,” Leon further said.　　Only1s all-in-one solution guides creators through the whole Web3.0 journey, from the production of their NFTs for a gated community to the selling of their original content in the digital economy. Creators are expected to focus solely on producing high-quality content and growing their walled community.　　During its initial debut, the web3 platform, which is supported

2022-06-30Deep Dive

After $625m Hack, Axie Infinity's Ronin Bridge Reopens

The Ronin Bridge of Axie Infinity has reopened months after it was plundered of $625 million by an exploit in March.　　As the protocol revealed on Tuesday, all users cash have now been refunded on a 1:1 basis, as promised by Sky Mavis.　　According to the Ronin team, users can now conduct transactions using wETH and USDC because the founding team has sufficiently addressed liquidity difficulties with the help of industry partners. The protocol originally hinted at reopening the Ronin Bridge last week, and it has since stated that it has implemented a number of changes to avoid further attacks.　　Prior to this re-opening, the Ronin process completed three distinct audits, one launched internally and two conducted outside. CertiK and Verichains performed the external audits, respectively. Sky Mavis, the blockchain firm behind the Axie Infinity Play-2-Earn game, reportedly launched the audits, which enabled the team to “find and implement a number of chances for improvement.”　　The Established Modifications　　Other recent implementations include a new governance mechanism, which would close any gaps, further protecting the protocol.　　“Going forward, the governance process will be conducted via a decentralized voting mechanism. The governors will be empowered to vote for changes such as: adding/removing validators, upgrading contracts, changing thresholds, etc.

2022-06-30Deep Dive

Russia approves tax exemptions for issuers of cryptocurrency

The lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia approved a draft bill on June 28 that could exempt cryptocurrency issuers from Value Added Tax (VAT).　　Sanctions are hurting “unfriendly nations” more than Russia　　The decision to cut Russia from the SWIFT system in late February put pressure on the Russian financial system.　　However, there is growing evidence that the sanctions are hurting “unfriendly nations” more, especially in the restricted supply of oil, gas, and wheat.　　In addition, Russia defaulted on a $100 million international bond interest payment for the first time in over 100 years on June 27. The Kremlin said it has the means to meet its obligations thanks to oil and gas revenue.　　The Finance Ministry further added that it had fulfilled its duties by depositing money in its onshore National Settlement Depository (NSD). However, sanctions have blocked the payment to recipients, which Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said was “not our problem.”　　Russia turns to cryptocurrency　　Before the conflict with Ukraine began on February 24, Russia had adopted a hardline approach against cryptocurrency. In December 2021, the Central Bank of Russia issued a report warning of the risks associated with digital assets, even proposing a complete ban.　　However, after the invasion, Russian officials backtracked their

2022-06-30Deep Dive

Ripple Labs Inc Launches CBDC Innovate Challenge

Ripple Labs Inc, a digital currency payments startup, has announced the CBDC Innovate Challenge, a new hackathon for developers who can create XRP Ledger-powered payment systems based on Central Bank Digital Currency technology.　　With a top prize of approximately $150,000 at risk, the company, known for its cross-border payment solutions, stated that entries must focus on use cases and interoperability related to CBDCs.　　CBDCs are not a new phenomenon; according to a BIS study, around 9 out of 10 Central Banks around the world are now investigating these new forms of money. There will be so many CBDCs around in the next few years that getting them to cooperate with one another will be a major prerequisite for international trade and transactions.　　The Ripple CBDC Innovate Challenge aims to provide insight into innovative solutions that could improve the operation of these new forms of money. According to the firm, developers who want to participate must focus on interoperability solutions, retail-facing technologies, and financial inclusion ideas.　　In terms of interoperability, participants will need to focus on systems that allow CBDCs to communicate with one another, as well as a viable wallet that can carry several CBDCs. The solutions that will be built should have a

2022-06-29Deep Dive

Bybit Introduces Futures Contracts with USDC Stablecoin Settlement

Bybit, a Singapore-based digital asset exchange, has expanded its crypto options trading services to users with the introduction of new futures contracts paid in USDC stablecoins.　　On Monday, Bybit announced the availability of futures contracts settled in the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) rather than Bitcoin.　　Bybit is introducing futures settled in USDC for the first time, as part of an effort to provide users with consistent rates for the life of contracts.　　The new tool allows customers to trade futures contracts on Bybits derivatives exchange using their balance. Bybits new options contracts allow experienced traders to utilize their balance as collateral and place long or short contracts with up to 100x leverage depending on expiration dates.　　While Bybits portfolio margin account now accepts USDT, USDC, BTC, and ETH as collateral, the company hopes to add more assets in the near future.　　Customers can now trade options using portfolio margin, which uses a risk-based methodology for sophisticated investors to increase capital usage based on underlying price and volatility.　　Bybit customers can use the service to speculate on the future price of an underlying digital asset and settle trades in USDC.　　Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit, commented about the development: “We have been very pleased by the

2022-06-29Deep Dive

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