Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Solana Based DeFi Land Announces Revenue-Generating Gen-Zero NFT Seed Sale

Blockchain gaming-oriented investors continue to take an interest in projects that combine decentralized finance with gaming in a GameFi effort. DeFi Land is one such project, as it provides an agricultural game setting where various aspects of decentralized become gamified. While players can earn money by playing the game, DeFi Land serves as an educational platform for newcomers to decentralized finance.　　DeFi Land now enters a new chapter by introducing the DeFi Land seeds, which are NFTs on the Solana blockchain. The gen-zero NFT launch – split into two phases – is the first chance for players to earn core NFTs necessary to unlock the ecosystems play-to-earn functionality, coming in late Q1 2022.　　As such, these core NFTs are both collectibles and gain utility as they provide access to various mini-games to be played in the DeFi Land ecosystem.　　Every core NFT pairs with one mini-game, ensuring players only require one NFT to begin earning. It is a solid way to democratize access to the play-to-earn features of DeFi Land. Additionally, every NFT has its own rarity and specific attribute to help holders unlock greater rewards and more income. Moreover, the core NFTs have three or more attributes giving a distinct advantage in

2022-01-29Deep Dive

Video-Sharing Giant YouTube Says Its Ready To Embrace This Sector of the Crypto Market

A top executive at YouTube is unveiling the video-sharing giants plans to adopt elements of Web3 into its platform.　　In a new company blog post, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are areas of strong interest to the flagship video-sharing website.　　Were looking further ahead to the future and have been following everything happening in Web3 as a source of inspiration to continue innovating on YouTube.　　The past year in the world of crypto, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and even decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) has highlighted a previously unimaginable opportunity to grow the connection between creators and their fans.　　Were always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalize on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube.　　By moving into the NFT space, the video-hosting behemoth would be following in the footsteps of other social media giants such as Twitter and Reddit, which both recently launched test versions of a feature that lets users set NFTs as their profile pictures.　　Wojcicki‘s announcement comes on the heels of YouTube’s parent company Google forming a unit dedicated to researching blockchains and other technologies centered around crypto

2022-01-29Deep Dive

Arizona Bill Aims to Make Bitcoin Legal Tender

Key Takeaways　　A bill recently put forward in Arizona aims to turn Bitcoin into a form of legal tender within the state.　　The bill is unlikely to succeed, as the U.S. constitution seemingly prevents states from declaring assets legal tender.　　The bill was put forward by Senator Wendy Rogers, a politician recently placed at the top of an extremist rhetoric list.　　An Arizona senator has put forward a bill that aims to turn Bitcoin into legal tender in the state.　　Bill Intends to Amend Arizona Statues　　The one-page filing, numbered SB1341, would amend Arizona Revised Statutes to include Bitcoin as a form of legal tender.　　The filing mentions Bitcoin specifically without referring to other cryptocurrencies, calling it the “decentralized peer-to-peer digital currency…maintained on the Bitcoin blockchain.”　　It also draws attention to Bitcoin mining, noting that “new units … are generated by the computational solution of mathematical problems” and notes that Bitcoin works apart from central banks.　　In the section of the amendment listing types of legal tender, Bitcoin is listed fourth. Existing types of legal tender include any medium of exchange authorized for debt payments, coins issued by the government, and other types of coins with precious metal content.　　Bill Unlikely to Succeed　　Some have suggested that the bill is

2022-01-29Deep Dive

EU seeks to develop a government DNS resolver, block “illegal content”

In a document made public earlier this month the European Commission published a call-for-proposal for a European government controlled DNS resolver service. The reasoning behind the proposal is to protect the privacy of end-users and keep them secure by applying filtering functions to block malware, phishing and other cyber security threats. However, the proposal also suggests that the DNS resolver, named DNS4EU, should have the capacity to block “illegal content” as well.　　The Domain Name System (DNS) is a world-wide, distributed database that maps hard-to-remember ip-addresses to human readable domain names like cryptoslate.com. The DNS system has been around since the early days of the internet and is a fundamental part of the internet infrastructure.　　 EU wants independence from American services　　The proposal to develop an EU-based DNS resolver, the part of the DNS system that does the lookup of ip-addresses, is perhaps best viewed through the lens of Europes endeavor toward being less dependent on non-european service providers of crucial digital infrastructure, be it cloud services or, as in the case of DNS, global network services.　　This has been a clear and open strategy of the EU for many years, and it‘s no secret that, for obvious reasons, “non-european” is a polite

2022-01-29Deep Dive

Goldman Sachs Explains Why Bitcoin Is Extremely Vulnerable to Rate Hikes

While the idea of reaching mainstream adoption has always been enticing for the cryptocurrency community, it has some downsides.　　In a recent research note, a group of Goldman Sachs analysts helmed by Zach Pandl writes that the flagship cryptocurrencys increasing presence in the traditional financial sector has made it increasingly susceptible to macroeconomic factors. This means that the crypto market is now beholden to the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve, which diminishes the assets supposed diversification properties.　　Earlier this month, the correlation between Bitcoin and the Nasdaq Composite index reached a new all-time high, with both cryptocurrencies and stocks enduring a major sell-off. The analysts attribute this phenomenon to the growing mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies:　　“Over the last two years, as Bitcoin has seen wider mainstream adoption, its correlation with macro assets has picked up.”　　As Goldman points out, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies “are not immune” to the Feds quantitative tightening policy.　　As reported, the Fed has signaled that it will hike the benchmark short-term interest rate for the first time this March after years of extremely accommodating monetary policy. The CNBC Fed Survey predicts that the central bank is expected to increase rates at least three times this year.　　Goldman predicts that the Fed

2022-01-29Deep Dive

Apple stock jumps after CEO reveals it's investing in the Metaverse

Apples stock price jumped in after hours trading after CEO Tim Cook said during the companys Q1 2022 earnings call that he sees considerable potential in the Metaverse space.　　When asked on Jan. 27 during the call about Apples opportunities within the Metaverse, Cook responded “we see a lot of potential in this space and are investing accordingly.”　　“Were always exploring new and emerging technologies and Ive spoken at length about how its very interesting to us right now.”　　The Metaverse is an interoperable virtual universe created in part by users, offering socialization, gaming and even live concerts. Although it can be accessed with a browser, the experience is better with virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR).　　APPL had dropped about 3% to $159.22 during regular trading hours, but has since jumped up 8% to $167.23 in after hours trading. The Metaverse was just one of the topics discussed on the call.　　Appleinsider reported that in the Jan. 27 call, Cook pointed out that Apple (APPL) already has a bevy of 14,000 apps on its App Store that have been designed using the AR developer platform ARKit. Apps designed using ARKit could help users gain access to the Metaverse.　　Whereas Meta has leaned toward using

2022-01-28Deep Dive

Flushing it: $8B New York commercial bank to offer Bitcoin services

“As part of our ongoing digital transformation, we recognize the importance of staying current with emerging market trends,” said Flushing Financial Corporation CEO and president John R. Buran.　　Flushing Financial Corporation, the parent company behind New York-based Flushing Bank has partnered with crypto firm New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) to offer Bitcoin (BTC) services to its customers.　　The bank was founded in 1929 and according to its Q4 report it held more than $8 billion worth of assets at the end of 2021, with a net income of around $200 million.　　According to an announcement, the partnership with NYDIG will enable the bank to offer its customers BTC buying, selling and holding services in a “safe and secure environment.”　　Flushing Bank stated that it aims to launch its BTC-related services later this quarter and will divulge further details of its roadmap soon.　　Flushing Financial Corporation CEO and president John R. Buran attributed the firms BTC adoption play to its desire to keep up with growing trends in financial markets:　　“As part of our ongoing digital transformation, we recognize the importance of staying current with emerging market trends and consumer demand for alternate financial services.”　　NYDIG is a heavyweight in the crypto sector that primarily provides BTC-related

2022-01-28Deep Dive

Doge Temple creator says the Metaverse is out, the Microverse is in

Niche “Microverse experiences” are the future of the Metaverse. According to the CEO of virtual party platform Party.Space Yurii Filipchuk,　　According to the founder and CEO of virtual party platform Party.Space, niche “Microverse experiences” will be the future of the Metaverse.　　Rather than “building a big Metaverse and selling some land there,” Yurii Filipchuk says that Web3 creators should focus their efforts on “exploring the best way to interact online” with online communities.　　The idea is that each online community builds its own Microverse, which connect in a shared network to form a Metaverse.　　Party.Space launched in May 2020 with the idea to gameify video chats. They now work with 65 corporate clients to host conferences, end of year parties, team building events and workshops.　　One of Filipchuks “Microverse” creations is the “Doge Temple,” a virtual space for fans of the Doge meme to socialize. It was launched by the virtual party platform Party.Space in November 2021.　　It was the site this week for the afterparty for Product Hunts seventh annual (and second virtual) Golden Kitty Awards ceremony. Doge Temple was a semi-finalist in the Product Demo video category, but missed out on snagging an award.　　ConsitutionDAO took home the Golden Kitty Award for the best Web3

2022-01-28Deep Dive

Never-before-seen Picasso art to become 1,010 NFTs in rare auction

Who doesn‘t want to own a Picasso？ Did your heart skip a beat when you read the name Picasso？ Yes, you read it right, a ceramic piece sculpted by the one and only Picasso is set to become a collection of 1,010 NFTs. The hand-painted work is described as fun-loving and joyful by his descendants who are organising the auction with Sotheby’s auction house.　　The granddaughter of Picasso, Marina Picasso, and her son, Florian Picasso, will be releasing 1,010 NFTs of a hand-painted ceramic work by Picasso. The Sothebys auction in March will feature both the original physical work, which dates to 1958, and NFTs of it.　　“Were trying to build a bridge between the NFT world and the fine art world,” Florian told the National.Subheading here　　Picasso‘s great-grandson also suggested that this release was the first of many NFTs to be extracted from the family’s collection of the master‘s work. Additionally, Florian’s own contributions will accompany each NFT. Florian, who is a DJ, made a track in collaboration with the singer John Legend and the rapper Nas. A family spokesperson told the National that the NFTs were meant to introduce Picasso to a younger generation.　　An NFT is a unique digital representation that

2022-01-28Deep Dive

S.Korean gaming giant Netmarble to issue own cryptocurrency

South Korean game developer Netmarble announced its crypto and play-to-earn (P2E) strategies at a press conference on Thursday, including plans to issue its own cryptocurrency.Fast facts　　Netmarble CEO Kwon Young-sik said the company is preparing to issue and list a crypto token that would act as a key currency for Netmarble games.　　Netmarble has a market capitalization of almost US$10 billion, and is among a growing list of local video game developers that are diving deeper into blockchain gaming and the metaverse. 　　Kwon added that Netmarble is aiming to relist ITAM CUBE, the cryptocurrency of blockchain game developer ITAM Games which Netmarble acquired earlier this month, as the crypto was delisted from the nations largest exchange Upbit earlier last year. 　　The game company aims to launch the P2E game Everybodys Marble: Metaworld this year to the global market, while it is not serviceable in its native South Korea.　　The upcoming P2E game will not be available in South Korea as local regulations restrict the release of P2E games in the country.

2022-01-28Deep Dive

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