Panther Protocol Broadens Its Partnership With Flare To Include Its Canary Network Songbird

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November 18, 2021

Panther protocol has today announced the extension of its partnership with Flare to the latter’s Canary Network, Songbird.

Notably, Flare is the world’s first Turing-complete Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA) network. Its mission is to unlock the potential in the 65% of blockchains that are not smart contract-enabled. In this way, these blockchains gain credibility in addition to scalability through integration with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Moreover, Flare facilitates blockchain interoperability – a concept that has significantly grown in the crypto industry.

Panther, on the other hand, is an end-to-end protocol aiming to make privacy in DeFi and Web 3 a priority and standard. Panther and Flare partnered to bring the combined power of their capabilities to various networks including Litecoin, Doge, XRP, Stellar, and Algorand.

Songbird is now part of this collaboration, a move sure to bring numerous benefits to both projects. Songbird users will benefit from Panther’s privacy features as Panther receives support from the Canary Network and Flare’s Mainnet. Moreover, the partnership will not only stimulate further growth on Panther, but it will also support the protocol’s development of future projects and privacy features for Songbird and Flare.

For the mutual privacy ecosystem to work, Songbird will integrate Panther’s Shielded Pools into its EVM as Panther deploys its privacy-preserving technology on Songbird for code testing.

Additional benefits of this integration are that Panther users can have private transactions over Songbird, consequently increasing the user base and total value locked (TVL) of Panther’s Shielded Pools. Meanwhile, Songbird users will have access to Panther’s governance, staking, and other DeFi capabilities. More so, Songbird’s retail and institutional users will benefit from Panther’s selective disclosures as well as KYC and AML zero-knowledge solutions for institutional participants.

Oliver Gale, Panther’s co-founder, and CEO said the following regarding the partnership:

“From the first day, there was clear alignment between the founders of Panther and Flare Network around the need for privacy, compliance, security, and scalability in blockchain ecosystems, and in particular those relating to institutional DeFi. In Flare and Songbird, we see great ecosystem partners, innovative technology, and clear action-oriented plans to mass adoption.”

Hugo Philion, Co-Founder and CEO at Flare and Songbird added “Songbird has launched to be a testbed for Flare and the most ground-breaking decentralized technologies. So we are thrilled that Panther is leveraging their zkSNARK cryptography and state-of-the-art asset mixing technologies to deliver KYC and AML enabled privacy solutions that DeFi requires to make a giant leap forward. Stablecoins, utility tokens, and NFTs can now be owned and traded with privacy whilst remaining compliant, giving sovereignty back to the user.”

Out Of Space: The One-Stop-Shop For DeFi And NFTs

By

Guest Author

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November 18, 2021

Out Of Space: The One-Stop-Shop For DeFi And NFTs

Out Of Space, an ecosystem that brings various crypto use cases and functionalities together is planning to launch its seed round soon. The effort will support its initial developmental steps including market research and product development.

Notably, Out Of Space is a platform that brings together decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), peer-to-peer (P2P), and Play-to-Earn (P2E). It also offers centralized and decentralized exchanges (CEXs and DEXs), alongside a range of trading tools.

The project’s relevance lies in the fact that there are numerous crypto and blockchain functionalities, but they are so scattered it becomes hard for users to access all of them on one platform. The crypto market is now at a $3 trillion market cap, with cryptocurrencies marking new all-time highs. The cryptoverse has also grown substantially on the springboard of the multi-billion dollar DeFi and NFTs industries. Out Of Space was conceived as a one-stop-shop for a suite of projects to ease user navigation through the cryptoverse.

Following its recent introduction into the crypto market, Out Of Space is now making a beta product offering. The project’s team developed a fully functional prototype that is experiencing continuous improvement based on user feedback and market trends. The Out Of Space community has also experienced considerable growth, placing it on the road too soon becoming one of the most notable decentralized communities.

In comparison to other decentralized platforms, Out Of Space stands out since it is building an ecosystem of its own, rather than building on top of other platforms. This guarantees safety, privacy, and 100% decentralization. Additionally, the smart contract-enabled blockchain allows developers to deploy independent dApps which can interact with each other. Out Of Space takes pride in being user-friendly by featuring common ecosystem tools for seamless use.

On top of that, Out Of Space’s P2P crypto exchange allows users to converse on the best conditions for carrying out trades. It also hosts an escrow service to promote security and credibility.

The Out Of Space NFT marketplace plans to focus on creative and high-potential artists, providing them with the best conditions for the generation of NFTs. All collectibles will come with a detailed description and low transaction fees. But out of all these, the best part is that this NFT platform supports a variety of users ranging from traders, investors, developers, job seekers, and IT or blockchain, specialists.

Many NFT platforms boast of rare collectibles, but only a few of them are trustworthy. Most have low-quality projects and a non-existent review process, whereas highly-ranked marketplaces have high transaction costs. Out Of Space aims to solve these pain points by enabling the trading of rare NFTs, with minimal minting and trading fees.

In the future, as the multi-utility blockchain expands its coverage, Out Of Space will incorporate a decentralized NFT social network with user personal NFT pages. The platform will also host a messenger for traders to interact and learn from each other.

To learn more about Out of Space visit Outspace.io.

Nym Secures $13 Million In Third Investment Round, Led By Andreessen Horowitz

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PR DESK

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November 18, 2021

Nym Secures $13 Million In Third Investment Round, Led By Andreessen Horowitz

Nym Technologies, the next generation of privacy infrastructure startup based in Europe, announced today it has successfully closed its third investment round, raising $13 million.

The Funding round that Andreessen Horowitz led saw numerous key investors share in the course. These investors included Digital Currency Group, Tayssir Capital, Huobi Ventures, Hashkey, and Fenbushi. The funding follows a recent funding round that was led by Polychain and the recent hire of Chelsea Manning as a security auditor. The funding also comes as the platform plans to launch its mainnet Mixnet technology. Notably, the new funding will expand its community and add to its dedicated product team.

While commenting on the partnership, Per Harry Halpin, CEO of Nym, stated:

“We at Nym are very lucky, as it’s historically unprecedented to see support from the best venture capitalists to stop mass surveillance. To make privacy real on the scale of the entire internet, building a real-world working mixnet has long been the missing piece of a puzzle that predates even the origin of Bitcoin.”

The Nym network is a decentralized and tokenized infrastructure that harnesses its network layer to provide holistic privacy. Nym Technology seeks to build the next generation of privacy infrastructure. The platform aims to create a solution to prevent the leaking of sensitive data by protecting even packet metadata at the network and application layers. This is done through its revolutionary decentralized mixnet that reportedly beats nation-state-level mass surveillance.

Nym is tasked with the mission of establishing privacy as default for online communications. The platform believes only then will people and organizations make meaningful and secure decisions of what, when, and who they can share their data with.

The NYM token decentralizes the system through proof-of-stake at the heart of the Nym network. The token allows the functioning of the system through distributing rewards in exchange for provisioning privacy-enhanced communication.

Ali Yahya, the General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, added:

“Nym’s network-level technology is essential for any blockchain that strives to offer privacy for its users, and its clever incentive structures set it apart from other solutions. Nym’s team may be the most advanced group of mixnet researchers and engineers ever assembled. As demand for online privacy continues to grow, their role in the space will become ever-more important.”

Bingbon Takes On A New Name And Logo As It Successfully Rebrands To BingX

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PR DESK

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November 18, 2021

Bingbon is thrilled to announce its new chapter following a successful rebranding process that brings a new logo and name to the mix.

As per the announcement, following a successful revamp, Bingbon has taken on a new name, BingX, in addition to a fresh logo that represents the legacy of the platform. The word ‘Bing’ signifies every step the exchange has undertaken this far, while the ‘X’ symbolizes the interweaving path between users and traders. Combined, BingX brings out a unique brand that foretells the next chapter of cryptocurrency trading, giving users a trading experience like none other.

The news aligns with the recent significant growth experienced by the exchange in the last couple of months. The new changes aim to foretell the next crypto BingX as the project becomes the best venue for its users.

Commenting on the changes, Elvisco Carrington, the Communications Manager, stated:

“A lot of thought processes and planning went into the creation of the name, BingX. It’s a name that resonates and is capable of transcending through time, one that can adapt to the ever-changing crypto climate and is easy for the international community to digest, especially for our target community– all kinds of users from beginners to crypto OGs.”

BingX hopes to become a fundamental piece in the acceleration of open value transfer while at the same time empowering accessible and engaging experiences through its innovative social trading solutions.

Carrington added:

“What is important to note is that BingX signals seriousness. We want our exchange to be one of the top exchanges, without leaving any doubts or uncertainties in the minds of users and interest groups like top crypto media, crypto journalists, stakeholders, and potential investors.”

Founded in 2018, BingX is a fully licensed exchange that allows it to operate in the United States, Canada, and many others. BingX represents a legacy created by users, partners, and friends, and the exchange has been transcending through generations – the past, present, and future.

In addition to the revamping, the exchange will also be launching new trading pairs, allowing more options to interact with each other. The exchange is also planning to improve its copy trading feature and upcoming innovative new products. BingX is also planning to introduce an open social trading network platform intended to allow crypto users to associate, connect and interact with each other.

Polygon On The Cusp Of Becoming The Supreme Scaling Network With Latest Release

By

Newton Gitonga

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November 18, 2021

Top Ethereum Decentralized Exchange Aggregator, 0x, Launches On Polygon

Polygon recently launched Polygon Miden, a STARK-based Zero-Knowledge (ZK) rollup aimed at driving the Network’s scalability and interoperability to a whole new level through integrating it with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

According to the Tuesday announcement, although the program was meant to be a prototype for early adopters, the Polygon team disclosed that they planned on developing Miden VM into a production-grade VM with additional features including built-in privacy, multi-language support, enhanced memory, and storage.

“Our primary goal with Miden VM is to guarantee “Ethereum-compatibility”. We will achieve this by offering the ability to compile Solidity-based smart contracts directly into Miden Assembly – the native language of Miden VM.”

Instant Transaction Verifications

The Miden VM is a zero-knowledge virtual machine written in the Rust Programming Language which allows programs to be executed on the Polygon network and in the process, instantly generate a STARK-based proof of execution.

Whereas ZK Rollups are very promising solutions, they are faced with the constant challenge of supporting arbitrary logic and transactions particularly that of EVM. This is one of the major reasons Polygon’s team chose to rollout Polygon Miden which solves the program verification problem using its core component, the Miden VM.

Users will now be able to verify that a program was executed correctly without the need to re-execute or even verify what the program was.

With the addition of Polygon Miden, Polygon now has three ZK focussed projects including Polygon Hermez and Polygon Nightfall. These projects are expected to work hand in hand in advancing Polygon’s and Ethereum’s infrastructure and mainstream adoption.

The polygon Miden project will be implemented by a group of Engineers led by Bobbin Threadbare, a former lead ZK researcher at Facebook and a core developer of Winterfall, a leading STARK prover.

Polygon Serious On Scalability, Privacy, Security

Since 2017, Polygon has been working on Ethereum’s scaling infrastructure, attracting a considerable amount of Ethereum’s major projects on board and partnering with prominent investors.

Of late, the network’s team has been onboarding an endless list of Web3 players including over 10 new projects from multiplayer gaming platforms in the past week alone and multiple NFT projects.

Currently, over 3000 programs are already running on the platform’s network with the recent ZK rollup expected to attract more builders.

Accordingly, with the Polygon Miden debut which aims at decentralizing and making Etherum ultra-scaleable, investors could soon take note of the network’s growth, driving MATIC, and ETH prices North.

India’s Central Bank Says It Could Launch Pilot Tests For Its CBDC In Q1 2022

By

Brenda Ngari

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November 18, 2021

India’s Central Bank Says It Could Launch Pilot Tests For Its CBDC In Q1 2022

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the nation’s central bank, is exploring the viability of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and may launch pilot tests early next year, according to a report in local news outlet the Business Standard.

RBI Plans CBDC Pilot

According to P. Vasudevan, chief general manager at the Department of Payment and & settlement of the RBI, the central bank is optimistic about the pilot program launching as soon as the first quarter of 2022.

Central bank digital currencies are exactly what the name suggests: they are digital versions of a country’s physical currency and are backed by the monetary reserves of a central bank. They bear some similarities to stablecoins, which are pegged 1:1 to a specific fiat currency. CBDCs are intended to facilitate peer-to-peer electronic payments, and even more importantly, hasten money disbursals in moments of crisis.

India is currently examining various underlying issues related to a digital rupee such as how it will be distributed, the validation mechanism, and whether it will be retail (available for the general public) or wholesale (restricted to limited financial institutions).

“It’s not a simple thing to just say that CBDC can be a habit from tomorrow on. The central bank is also checking if intermediaries can be bypassed altogether, and most importantly, checking if the technology should be decentralized or should be semi-centralized,” Vasudevan continued.

Other Countries Are Also Exploring CBDCs

Today, approximately 90 governments around the world are exploring or experimenting with CBDCs, according to the research center Atlantic Council.

Though the Bahamas and other Caribbean island nations have already fully rolled out a CBDC, China is the first major nation that seems to be leading the digital currency race, even airdropping millions of digital yuan to citizens for testing in the real world. As ZyCrypto previously reported, the country is also pushing McDonald’s, Visa, and Nike to expand trials as it looks to launch a full-fledged CBDC during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in February.

While the increasing buzz around CBDCs shows no signs of abating, some observers are not sold on the idea. Former whistleblower Edward Snowden, for instance, described CBDCs as “cryptofascist currencies” for “casually annihilating the savings of every wage-worker”.

MeDIA eYe to Proceed with Dual IDO Launch on BSCPAD & ETHPAD Following Token Presale

By

Zex PR Wire

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November 18, 2021

MeDIA eYe to Proceed with Dual IDO Launch on BSCPAD & ETHPAD Following Token Presale

Following the successful completion of its token presale, the long-awaited and anticipated IDO launch on BSCPad and ETHPad is finally here. The launch will mark the beginning of MeDIA eYe availability to the general public.

The MeDIA eYe IDO is going to run on both the Binance Smart chain pad (BSCPad) and Ethereum (ETHPad) simultaneously. After the launch on Friday 19, November 2021, the token can be traded on BSC and ETH as well.

A total of 20 million EYE tokens will be offered for sale during the IDO launch. Each token will be sold at $0.015 with an Initial Market Cap of $300k. Interested individuals can gain access to IDO sales through the Whitelist.

Tokenomics and Allocations

Out of the total supply of 1 Billion EYE, the team is allocating 230M EYE to the team (vesting 24 to 36 months).

As earlier stated, 50m EYE will be sold to the public during the presale public round. Another 20m EYE will be sold during the IDO launch at $0.15 per EYE while marketing and reward take 250M EYE. 250M EYE will be allocated for development and investment and 200M EYE goes into QUAI DAO Treasury.

About BSC PAD

BSCPAD is the first decentralized IDO network on Binance Smart Chain. The BSCPAD was created to empower vetted cryptocurrency project creators with the ability to launch token sales on its platform.

It also has the ability to effectively distribute tokens and subsequently raise liquidity. The platform has so far recorded a striking volume of successful token sales and ROI since its inception.

About ETHPAD

Created on the second-largest blockchain, ETHPAD is the first-ever decentralized and deflationary IDO platform inspired by EIP-1559 on the Ethereum Blockchain. ETHPAD has maintained a premium status compared to other IDO platforms due to its unique functionalities such as deflationary triggers and staking utilized during the IDO process to reward long-term holders and generally promote the growth and development of the platform.

About MeDIA eYe:

MeDIA eYe is a platform for creating, trading, and distributing NFTs. MeDIA eYe NFT portal is a Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform specifically built to enhance and simplify the processes involved in buying, selling, minting, promoting, and creating values with NFTs. The user-friendly platform offers a frictionless user experience and a broad array of functionality designed to provide support to a wide range of use cases to NFTs.

MeDIA eYe is designed to be fully interoperable with EVM-compatible blockchains, with the launch of its platform scheduled for November 2021 on both Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain. MeDia eYe also plans to further expand its services on Solana and Avalanche as well as other blockchains in the first half of 2022.

$500 Billion Wiped Off Crypto Market In A Week As Industry Digests China’s Latest Move

By

David Kariuki

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November 18, 2021

$500 Billion Wiped Off Crypto Market In A Week As Industry Digests China’s Latest Move

The entire crypto market went bleeding on Thursday after $60 billion was swept off in a flash crash that saw Bitcoin tumbling below $60,000 and Ethereum’s short-lived bull run nipped. The entire crypto market capitalization, which has been so far impressive having rallied to a record $3 trillion last week, has now shed over $500 billion since Sunday.

This comes as the markets faced a huge sell-side pressure emanating from China’s continued crackdown on the crypto market in what they now call a “full-scale” ban, rejection of Bitcoin spot ETF in the U.S., and news of impending dump of 150,000 Bitcoins by defunct Mt. Gox victims.

Bitcoin’s huge gains during the last few weeks have now been tamed to an 11% weekly loss. That’s about a 13% downslide since its glorious rise to $68k at the start of the week. Ethereum, which showed some signs of recovery earlier today, is down 15% on average in the last seven days.

The greatest losers during this week’s crash are the leverage traders who took out loans to multiply their trading positions.

Effects of China’s recent actions on the market are being felt after the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced a new wave of crackdown on the crypto industry in the country this week. Yesterday, the government shut down ChainNews, Odaily, Block123, and has threatened to raise electricity tariffs of any organization or company found mining crypto. After a massive crackdown on crypto mining companies back in June, China now plans to continue the hypocrisy by tampering with industrial-scale mines and any state-owned businesses that are still in the industry.

And although analysts say the Chinese-induced price tumbles may be short-lived as was in June when the country shut down crypto mining corporations, there might be more coming yet as the defunct Mt. Gox victims are expected to dump a whopping 150,000 Bitcoin to be awarded to them via a rehabilitation plan.

Already, the news of the impending dump is beginning to affect the price since it came out on Tuesday, although the date of repayment is yet to be announced. The dump is almost sure because all of that Bitcoin would be sold at a massive profit having been acquired in or before 2014 at a cost of below $500 when the crypto exchange crashed.

Meanwhile, VanEck’s Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund which launched on Tuesday this week has not helped the market recover even as it continued to rally for the second day yesterday. It now has $54 million worth of assets under management and is the cheapest of the three Bitcoin ETFs launched in the US. However, with each ETF coming to the market, the positive effect on the entire crypto market will likely be dwarfed, Edward Moya, Senior Market Analyst with Oanda, told Yahoo Finance.

4 GameFi Projects Looking To Change The Tide Come 2022

By

Livine Sanchez

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November 18, 2021

4 GameFi Projects Looking To Change The Tide Come 2022

Since 2016, several industries have been elevated and innovated as a result of the impact of decentralized technology. The global gaming industry is no exception as blockchain tech is altering how gamers play games, how they conduct microtransactions, and how they gain ownership of in-game assets. Players can now use the “play-to-earn” model to convert gameplay and in-game assets to real money by completing tasks and missions thanks to the integration of NFTs and DeFi.

The GameFi industry is expected to boost the global gaming industry greatly, a market that is expected to grow from $173 billion in 2020 to over $314 billion by 2026. Although GameFi projects are still in their early stages, early adopters are reaping huge benefits as the rewards are unlike anything you could earn in mainstream gaming of years past. The collective market cap of gaming companies has grown from $14 billion in early September to over $37 billion at the time of this article. There appears to be no doubt that 2022 will be a significant year for GameFi’s sector explosive growth. This article will look at four GameFi projects that are well-positioned to be the next “big thing” in the crypto gaming industry next year.

Star Atlas

Star Atlas is a ‘play-to-earn’ gaming metaverse set in 2620, with various factions and groups fighting for territorial, political, and financial power. Players compete against players from other factions for resources and the ability to influence the outcomes of power plays and battles while also earning real-life rewards for their efforts. By combining blockchain fundamentals with traditional game user experience and game mechanics, the Star Atlas metaverse aims to provide a fantastic gaming experience.

One feature that distinguishes Star Atlas from the competition is that the gaming metaverse is VR-enabled, allowing users to have an immersive experience while playing the game. Furthermore, the game’s design and mechanics are innovative and one-of-a-kind, providing players with a futuristic gaming experience. The game’s in-game currencies, ATLAS and POLIS, facilitate ecosystem activities.

Players are rewarded with these in-game currencies, among other things, when they complete a specific task or mode in the Star Atlas gaming world. The success of some ‘play-to-earn’ games in 2021 paved the way for incorporating NFTs and other real-life rewards in games. Therefore, it appears natural that next year will see significant advancements in gaming models and mechanics. With its unique gaming experience and mechanics, Star Atlas has the financial backing and scalability potential to be one of the fastest-growing metaverses in 2022.

CryptoBlades

CryptoBlades is a blockchain ‘role-playing’ game in which users fight for real-life rewards. The gaming ecosystem is based on the Binance smart chain and allows users to adopt different characters, equip new weapons, and obtain tools that will help them perform better in the game.

After defeating their opponents, the players earn the ecosystem’s token, SKILL tokens. Players can exchange these SKILL tokens for new characters, weapons, or money in an open market. The CryptoBlades platform employs a system that allows users to control their in-game assets while also granting them the exclusive right to trade or sell them.

Furthermore, the CryptoBlades gaming ecosystem’s willingness to grow and evolve has helped it distinguish itself from the competition. As a result, CryptoBlades will almost certainly add more features, allowing the platform to grow faster and become highly profitable in 2022.

Squidanomics

Squidanomics is one of the cutting-edge “play-to-earn” gaming ecosystems pushing the GameFi industry forward by combining entertainment and real earning potential. The token and game design for this project was inspired by the fan-favorite Netflix series ‘Squid Game’.

Built on the Binance Smart Chain, Squidanomics is setting a new standard for blockchain gaming by allowing all holders, who simply own Squidanomics tokens, to receive the Binance stable coin (BUSD) rewards automatically on all buy and sell transactions. In fact, over $550,000 of BUSD was paid out to $SQUID token holders in its first month since launch. Squidanomics combines gaming, NFTs, and passive income along with innovative “hold-to-earn”, “hold-to-play” and “play-to-earn” game mechanics.

The project launched with two games and received high accolades, reaching over $20 million market cap within its first 3 weeks of launch with an initial market cap of under $100,000. Upon launch, two web-enabled games were released. A 2D shooter game in and an addictive 3D knife game, with mobile app versions coming soon. The game modeling was created in such a way that holding SQUID tokens allows users to earn more through higher % of bonus prizes and increased rewards from SQUID transactions. The Squidanomics community earns a 5% BUSD reward on transactions with low transaction fees. In addition, the team has ongoing tournaments for its Telegram community members that earn real BUSD rewards. The project’s strong roadmap coupled with its ability to overcome the FUD fuelled by a scam project of a similar name, Squid Game tokens, position Squidanomics as a solid and innovative GameFi project with a strong community poised to grow exponentially in 2022.

Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity is a PvP (player vs. player) and PvE (player vs. environment) combat game where players can obtain, breed, and trade Axies, native in-game creatures. Launched in March of 2018, Axie Infinity today has over 250,000 daily active players. Axies are NFTs that can also be exchanged for real-life rewards. Over 90,000 ETH has traded hands in the games in-house marketplace to date. A new player must first purchase three Axies before they can begin playing the game. The game is based on the Ethereum blockchain and has a high entry barrier. Despite its high entry barrier, Axie Infinity is the most popular GameFi project currently, with a revenue topping $781.6 million in the third quarter of 2021 alone while holding the #1 rank for Ethereum games by daily, weekly, and monthly active users. The Axie gaming ecosystem aided in developing the innovative ‘play-to-earn’ model, which gave birth to other GameFi projects. The year 2022 will almost certainly be a watershed moment in the development and evolution of Axie Infinity as it brings on more players, partners, and gameplay.

The Future of Gaming is Here

The year 2021 served as a “formative” year for the GameFi ecosystems, with many improvements in-game mechanisms and models visible in new GameFi projects released in the third and fourth quarters. The game mechanics and overall gaming experience will improve in order for the sector to continue growing and evolving. These GameFi projects appear to be fully prepared to seize 2022 by the horns and propel the global gaming industry forward.

As always, you should conduct your own research and reach your own conclusions.

Gate.io Offers Up To 315% ARR After Launching Set Of Cloud Mining Products To Its Over 8M Users

By

PR DESK

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November 18, 2021

Gate.io Offers Up To 315% ARR After Launching Set Of Cloud Mining Products To Its Over 8M Users

One of the world’s leading cryptocurrency trading platforms, Gate.io recently released a kit of Cloud Mining products to its over 8 million users. The most recent phase, the 6th since the product was launched, saw Cloud Mining products provide a staggering 315% annualized rate of return (ARR), despite initially offering a rate of 124.47%.

Following a recent press release, Gate.io has announced that the current phase of its Cloud Mining products is set to provide a staggering 315% annualized rate of return (ARR). The platform noted that the provision will be made regardless of its initial offering at a rate of 124.47%.

With the Cloud Mining contracts launched by Gate.io, ordinary users are offered the privilege to purchase computing power to mine cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin. This unique feature allows users to make the purchase without the need of owning expensive hardware or having the expertise to run the necessary software.

Per the announcement, Gate.io’s Cloud Mining products have passed through 17 different phases which allow users to purchase their cloud mining contracts directly on the exchange.

The cloud mining project began in the third quarter of 2021. The first phase saw Gate.io launch the first set of cloud mining contracts in partnership with miners operating in the United States, Canada, Russia, Iceland, and a few other countries.

To ensure accessibility for both regular investors and larger players in the industry, Gate.io’s comprehensive cloud mining offerings range from tens of dollars to tens of thousands of Dollars, offering an easy way for users to enter the fledgling market that is cryptocurrency mining. Users can choose differing contracts which offer either short-term or long-term mining, with different hash rates at which the bitcoin is mined.

Gate.io’s Cloud Mining products have already operated throughout 17 different phases, with users purchasing their cloud mining contracts directly on the exchange. Currently, only bitcoin mining is supported, however, the company plans to launch Ethereum mining products in the near future.

The U.S. Is Selling Nearly $60 Million Worth Of Cryptocurrency Seized From BitConnect’s Top Promoter

By

David Kariuki

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November 18, 2021

The U.S. Is Selling Nearly $60 Million Worth Of Cryptocurrency Seized From BitConnect's Top Promoter

The United States Department of Justice is selling cryptocurrencies worth a total of $56 million, which were seized from BitConnect’s top promoter, a crypto investment scam and Ponzi scheme that crashed in 2018.

It’s good news for investors who lost a total of $2 billion in the Ponzi scheme but also a possible huge crypto market shake-up as a result of the massive outflow. After being sold, the amount will be used as restitution to victims of the Ponzi scheme. The government is calling on all victims to visit the DOJ website for further information.

“With the entry of the court’s interlocutory sale order, the government will begin the process of seeking to make whole victims of the BitConnect scheme by selling the cryptocurrency and holding the proceeds in U.S. dollars. The government will maintain custody of the seized proceeds in cryptocurrency wallets and intends to use these funds to provide restitution to the victims pursuant to a future restitution order by the court at sentencing.”

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is assisting with the disposal of the cryptocurrency, DOJ said on its official website.

The $56 million worth of cryptocurrency is part of the total claims from BitConnect by the DOJ. It was seized from Glenn Arcaro, a Los Angeles resident who was a promoter of BitConnect, and who pleaded guilty to related criminal charges by the DOJ in September this year.

The Ponzi scheme was promoted through social media as a crypto investment platform that would generate huge returns for investors. It had a lending program, a crypto token known as BitConnect coin, and a referral program through which users poured their hard-earned money and efforts in expectations of profit.

The scammers promised as much as 40% in return on investment to investors but only its leaders benefited by awarding themselves these returns.

The FBI, criminal investigation department, and SEC, later on, moved to stop the 2016-founded BitConnect for alleged violation of the U.S. financial regulations as a non-registered investment that sold securities in the form of investment and promised users some profit emanating from the efforts of the management if they invested money in it.

Later on, the founders disappeared after the collapse of the program. An Indian citizen Satish Kumbhani who was the founder of the Ponzi scheme was charged in September this year alongside Glenn Arcaro, and their affiliated company known as Future Money.

BitConnect thus became the largest crypto exit scam but also the largest of its kind to have founders charged criminally for crypto-related financial misconduct. During its lifetime, the scheme managed to collect a whopping 325,000 Bitcoins from unsuspecting investors including individuals, retailers, and companies from around the world using a vast network of promoters.

Decentralized Cross-Chain NFT Marketplace Verlux Generates Major Buzz After Reaching 30% Of Seed Sale Within Hours!

By

Guest Author

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November 18, 2021

Decentralized Cross-Chain NFT Marketplace Verlux Generates Major Buzz After Reaching 30% Of Seed Sale Within Hours!

A new cross-chain NFT marketplace known as Verlux has announced its token sale. This is coming after the project hit 30% of its seed sale within a few hours. The NFT marketplace built on Cardano seeks to solve the major problems facing existing marketplaces such as high transaction fees, slow transactions, and security.

With Verlux, crypto enthusiasts will be able to seamlessly swap their NFTs between blockchains at a low cost. Like other major NFT marketplaces, it will also allow them to mint as well as buy and sell NFTs. Verlux aims to build an ecosystem that allows NFT traders to swap their NFTs from existing marketplaces to Cardano.

Transactions on Verlux are powered by fully-functional smart contracts. This is what makes transactions seamless and fully secure. The transactions will also be powered by Verlux’s native token, VLX.

VLX Utility

The utility token VLX will have various use cases in the Verlux marketplace. These will include paying for transaction fees, staking to participate in NFT farming and governance. Holders of the token can participate in voting on changes to be made in the marketplace. They can also propose and participate in key decision-making concerning the project. VLX will also be used to pay for advertisement slots and featured listings.

250 million VLX have been allotted to token sale and investors who wish to be early can join the token sale page to buy at 0.0018 ADA per token. The minimum purchase is 200 ADA and the maximum is 1500 ADA.

Going forward

Verlux plans to make swapping of NFTs between blockchains as easy, secure, and affordable as possible. By solving the major problems facing the NFT ecosystem, it hopes to become the best NFT marketplace. Ultimately, the project wishes to improve scalability in the NFT ecosystem in general and explore the vast potential the ecosystem has through constant innovation.

10 US Congress Members Say Current Crypto Tax Rules Can Kill Industry Innovation

By

Aliyu Pokima

-

November 18, 2021

10 US Congress Members Say Current Crypto Tax Rules Can Kill Industry Innovation

10 members of the US Congress have voiced their dissatisfaction with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The group expressed their dissatisfaction with the legislation in a strongly worded letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives
A part of the law is widely believed to have unfair negative effects on the cryptocurrency industry.

While the Infrastructure Investment Act has garnered accolades from several key players, the cryptocurrency ecosystem has kicked against a certain provision embedded within the law. A group of lawmakers voices out their frustrations through a letter to the Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

Amend The Provision

10 Congressmen penned a letter on Monday to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Reps to express concern over the wordings of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework. The bill that was recently passed by the Senate contained certain provisions that the lawmakers believe could hinder the growth of the burgeoning industry.

“As it is written today, however, the BIF would increase uncertainty in the cryptocurrency industry, pick winners and losers and thwart Internal Revenue Service (IRS) efforts to accurately tax cryptocurrencies, all while eroding our country’s competitive edge against other countries in the digital asset marketplace,” the letter reads. “We must have reasonable regulation on cryptocurrencies, but that legislation should not cripple the industry in doing so.”

Their angst stems from wordings in the digital asset provision that includes a wide definition of the term “broker”. Under the provision, a broker is now defined to include a person that “is responsible for providing any service effectuating transfers of digital assets on behalf of another person”. The expansion of the term broker can be widened to include miners and other validator and wallet providers that do not provide any traditional brokerage services.

A further flaw with the language of the document is that miners and validators are not privy to the personal information of customers that brokers have access to. This makes it unfathomable that they will be able to file reports with the IRS.

The 10 Congressmen are seeking a rewording of the wording of the law and reminded Pelosi that unambiguous legislation will promote innovation and American ingenuity. The lawmakers include Darren Solo, Tim Ryan, Marc Veasey, and Eric Swalwell.

The Defence

Proponents of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law argue that the provisions laid out are to establish intent over setting hard rules. To allay the concerns of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, the Treasury Department has stated that it will not be targeting non-brokers like miners and others who do not fit the description of a broker.

Despite the assurance given by the Treasury Department, lobbyists in the crypto ecosystems are still making calls for a review of the language. The Bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Monday and will see $550 billion being deployed in transportation and utilities while $100 billion is earmarked for roads and bridges.

Binance Smart Chain Beats Ethereum In Transaction Records With 14.7M TXS In A Single Day

By

Olivia Brooke

-

November 18, 2021

Binance Smart Chain Beats Ethereum In Transaction Records With 14.7M TXS In A Single Day

Key takeaways

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) hit a record-breaking 14.7 million transactions in a day.
BSC has been outperforming Ethereum in several metrics and is poised to pose a strong competition to the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
Other “Ethereum killers” have also been performing impressively.

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has hit a new record-breaking figure in the number of blockchain transactions. The blockchain recorded 14.7 million transactions in a single day on November 16, a feat no other blockchain has ever achieved.

The new record number of transactions in a single day for BSC is a 12.64% increase from the previous days’ number of transactions. BscScan shows that transactions on the blockchain network have been increasing steadily. This was also pointed out by BSC ecosystem coordinator, Samy Karim, who noted that in the past 2 weeks, daily transactions on BSC have averaged over 10 million transactions per day.

“When compared to other blockchains, BSC currently boasts an ecosystem with the most number of transactions ever recorded at the lowest possible fees,” he said.

BSC vs. Ethereum

Binance Smart Chain (BSC), which is a blockchain that shares a lot of similarities with Ethereum, has been outperforming it in several metrics. BSC’s record-breaking daily transaction volume is around 13x more than Ethereum’s top daily transaction which has been hovering around 1.2 and 1.3 million per day in the past few days.

BSC is also significantly cheaper than Ethereum. Total transactions fees on BSC so far amount to circa $800 million (around 1.4 million BNB) while Ethereum has raked in transaction fees of over $12 billion (around 2.6 million ETH).

BSC is rapidly emerging to be a tough adversary for Ethereum due to these metrics. Having started as an ERC20 token, the blockchain has gone to become a growing ecosystem for decentralized applications. It currently plays host to over 800 DApps as well as NFT projects and has consistently recorded more active addresses than Ethereum despite being newer. The reasons behind the success have been pointed out to be due to the better cost-efficiency of BSC and transaction speed. Among the top-rated DApps on the BSC ecosystem include PancakeSwap, Venus protocol, and Alpha Finance.

Equally contributing to BSC’s growth is its culture of supporting projects building on the ecosystem. Binance recently announced a $1 billion growth fund that will be distributed among various categories of projects developing on the blockchain. In the past, its project support mechanism has provided funding to more than 55 projects and incubated around 60 projects with its Most Valuable Builder Program. They have also supported more than 200 startups through hackathons and grants.

The race of the “Ethereum killers”

BSC is a very strong competitor for Ethereum, but there are several other “Ethereum killers” that are as well showing impressive performances.

Among them are Cardano, Solana, and Polkadot. These blockchains are all currently significantly cheaper than Ethereum which is still struggling with high transaction fees. The fee problem on Ethereum has also contributed to the success of these blockchains.