Line messenger’s NFT arm raises $140M for Web3 services

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Hashing It Out: A case for Web3 chat apps with Push Protocol’s Harsh Rajat

December 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Telegram crypto bots gain momentum in the market: Binance Research

August 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Daily volumes of crypto trades on Telegram bots hit a record high of $10 million in July, according to a new report by Binance Research.

Telegram bots have been increasingly emerging as a new tool to get exposure to cryptocurrency markets and a number of related services.

The cumulative crypto trading volume associated with Telegram bots exceeded $190 million as of early August 2023, according to a new report by Binance’s research arm Binance Research.

Crypto activity facilitated through Telegram bots has been specifically on the rise in recent months. On July 23, daily volumes of chatbots-enabled crypto trades hit a record high of $10 million, Binance Research’s chief financial officer Jie Xuan Chua wrote in the report. User metrics also hit a record high in July, reaching more than 6,000 daily unique users.

In total, Telegram bots have collected more than 15,500 Ether (ETH), or about $28 million, in all-time revenue, Chua reported.

*Year-to-date daily trading volume on Telegram bots. Source: Binance Research*

Just like common Telegram bots, cryptocurrency-enabled Telegram bots allow users to interact with certain programs to complete certain tasks by sending messages on the Telegram messenger. Such bots are often connected to peer-to-peer or decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges, enabling users to execute trades by using commands in the chatbot.

“By offering users a relatively seamless way to execute transactions, bots have the potential to carve out their own niche in the crypto ecosystem.”

According to Chua, Telegram bots could potentially become an integral part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem as they offer various types of crypto services, including trading, airdrop farming and automated token operations known as sniping. He added:

Telegram’s recent sharp growth in activity related to Telegram’s crypto trading bots should be attributed to surging prices of related tokens. The Unibot (UNIBOT) token, which serves as the governance token on the eponymous trading bot on Telegram, rallied as much as 400% by late July, hitting an all-time high of $199 on July 28.

According to Chua, UNIBOT was a key contributor to the recent burst of activity on Telegram trading bots. The token reportedly accounts for over 77% of the market in terms of its market capitalization.

The analyst suggested that it’s too early to tell if recent growth in Telegram bots-enabled crypto activity suggest a trend reversal or is “merely a blip” before activity rallies again.

“Nonetheless, we will likely see continued developments, at least in the near future, as projects compete for market share,” Chua stated.

The CFO also called on users to conduct their own research before interacting with “any Telegram bot.” Considering the nascency of the sector, it’s essential for users to be aware of associated risks, including those related to security of assets and smart contracts, he added.

Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?

Wallet Bot on Telegram Adds Bitcoin Support to Web Interface Following Tether Integration

April 21, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Arbitrum Discord hacker shares phishing announcement amid airdrop hype

March 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The phishing message on Discord offered “the opportunity to re-claim an additional stake in Arbitrum DAO Governance” while citing issues during the initial token claim drive.

The crypto community’s warning against fake Arbitrum (ARB) airdrops materialized as hackers managed to drop a phishing link into Arbitrum’s official Discord server.

On March 25, blockchain-focused security firm CetriK revealed the possibility of a phishing link being circulated via the Arbitrum Discord server. It is suspected that a hacked Discord account of one of Arbitrum’s developers was used to share a fake announcement with a phishing link.

#CertiKSkynetAlert

We are seeing reports that a phishing link has been posted in the @arbitrum Discord Server.

Do not click on any links until the team has confirmed they’ve regained control of the server.#Phishing #Discord

Stay vigilant! pic.twitter.com/XoqHmOXGeV
— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) March 25, 2023

The phishing message on Discord offered “the opportunity to re-claim an additional stake in Arbitrum DAO Governance” while citing issues during the initial token claim drive. However, the supporting URL misspelled Arbitrum as “Arbtirum” — a deception technique used in a phishing attack.

Clicking on such a phishing link usually navigates the unsuspecting victims to a fake website prompting them to enter personal information, such as a wallet’s private key.

*Phishing link shared on Arbitrum’s Discord server. Source: abtirum.io*

However, further investigation from Cointelegraph shows that clicking on Arbitrum’s phishing link takes users to a blank website with the text “Astaghfirullah,” which translates to “I seek forgiveness in God.“ In modern times, it can also be used as an expression of disbelief or disapproval, according to Wiktionary.

Until further clarification from Arbitrum, investors are advised against interacting with the announcement. As hackers try to cash in on the hype, investors must be hypervigilant about unrealistic claims and deceptions.

Arbitrum has not yet responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Meanwhile, two airdrop hunters managed to bag approximately $3.3 million worth of ARB.

We found 2 super airdrop hunters of $ARB.

0xe1e2 received 1.4M $ARB($1.92M) via 866 addresses and added all 1.4M $ARB to #Uniswap to provide liquidity.https://t.co/sncsZTHrP2

0xbd4e received 933,375 $ARB($1.28M) via 630 addresses.https://t.co/p5vbqXMYxD pic.twitter.com/yK3LzbeC8t
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 24, 2023

As Cointelegraph reported, one wallet received $2 million in ARB, while another collected around $1.38 million worth of tokens.

Magazine: $3M OKX airdrop, 1-hour due diligence on 3AC, Binance AI — Asia Express

Web3 communication app goes after Twitter with $12.5M seed funding

February 16, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Web3 communication app goes after Twitter with .5M seed funding

Coin Telegraph

Sending Labs is co-founded by developers of Dolphin, one of the earliest Android-based mobile browsers launched back in 2011.

Developers of one of the earliest Android-based mobile browsers are working to bring online communication to the next level by introducing it to Web3.

Sending Labs, a new startup focused on decentralized communications protocol, has secured $12.5M in seed funding to launch the Web3 communications stack.

The new platform takes on the mission of building accessible and secure infrastructures for Web3 communication for developers and the community, applying end-to-end decentralization of core of its products. With the new offering, Sending Labs aims to enable privacy-preserving communications and guarantee ownership and transfer of digital assets within community chats.

The seed funding featured lead investors like Insignia Venture Partners, MindWorks Capital and Signum Capital as well as other participants like K3 Ventures and Lingfeng Innovation Fund.

Announcing the seed raise on Feb. 16, Sending Labs also launched its first two messaging products including SendingNetwork and SendingMe.

Now launched in beta, the products aim to assist developers in building social decentralized applications as well as help the community access an encrypted decentralized group chat platform. The tools allow users to monetize their projects using smart contract payments, trading protocols through a wide variety of methods like peer-to-peer swaps community marketplaces, crowdfunding, airdrops, gifting, auctioning and others.

“Twitter officially banning third-party clients, while millions of FTX users are cut off from withdrawing assets, has thrust decentralization and digital asset ownership back into the spotlight,” Sending Labs said in the announcement. Sending Labs co-founder and CEO Joe Yu stressed that Web3 and decentralized group messaging are the first steps to returning data ownership back to the user.

Sending Labs founders Yu and Mason Yang previously co-founded MoboTap, a company that developed Dolphin, one of the earliest Android-based mobile browsers. The browser was named one of the best iPhone and iPad apps of 2011, reaching a community of 200 million users across the United States, Europe and Japan.

Judge extends Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail restrictions on messaging apps: Report

February 9, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The former FTX CEO’s bail restrictions will remain in place until Feb. 21 following the judge’s ruling to extend a ban on using certain messaging apps.

A federal judge has reportedly denied oral arguments proposing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried be allowed to use certain messaging apps.

According to a Feb. 9 Reuters report, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld his ruling that Bankman-Fried be restricted from using encrypted messaging apps as a condition of his release on a $250-million bond. The judge ordered SBF not to communicate using apps such as Signal on Feb. 1, but the former CEO’s legal team and prosecutors had negotiated a deal allowing for exceptions, including Facebook Messenger, Zoom and FaceTime.

Judge Kaplan reportedly said he was “far less interested in [Bankman-Fried’s] convenience” than in the former FTX CEO contacting potential witnesses in his criminal case — court filings showed SBF had reached out to FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller and current FTX CEO John Ray. Bloomberg reported the judge said Bankman-Fried could be “bright enough to encrypt something without a computer,” suggesting that the current bail restrictions were necessary.

“There is still snail mail and there is still email and there are all kinds of ways to communicate that don’t present the same risks,” said Kaplan.

Bankman-Fried appeared in court in person as part of the bail hearing but largely remains restricted to his parents’ California home. His bail restrictions will reportedly remain in place until Feb. 21 following Kaplan’s ruling to extend.

This story is developing and will be updated.

Judge denies motion allowing SBF to use messaging apps

February 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The judge did not provide a reason for denying the motion “without prejudice” but added the matter would face oral argument in a Feb. 9 hearing.

A federal judge has denied a joint agreement between Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried’s legal team and prosecutors that would have allowed the former FTX CEO to use certain messaging apps.

In a Feb. 7 filing for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis Kaplan denied a motion proposing Bankman-Fried be allowed to use messaging services, including FaceTime, Zoom and Facebook Messenger. The judge did not provide a reason for denying the motion “without prejudice” but added the matter would be subject to oral arguments in a Feb. 9 hearing.

Prosecutors filed a motion in January suggesting the former FTX CEO not be permitted to use “any encrypted or ephemeral call or messaging application” as a condition of his bail following allegations of contacting witnesses. Judge Kaplan ruled on Feb. 1 that SBF was barred from contacting FTX and Alameda employees using the Signal app, citing a risk of “inappropriate contact with prospective witnesses.”

However, federal prosecutors discussed modifying the bail condition with Bankman-Fried’s lawyers, which would have allowed him to access FaceTime, Zoom, iMessage, SMS text, email and Facebook Messenger. The former FTX CEO would also have been allowed to use WhatsApp if “monitoring technology is installed on his cellphone that automatically logs and preserves all WhatsApp communications.”

Authorities alleged Bankman-Fried had attempted to influence witnesses based on communications uncovered between SBF and FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller and current FTX CEO John Ray. The Feb. 1 ruling does not allow communications between SBF and current or former employees of FTX or Alameda Research “except in the presence of counsel.”

Bankman-Fried was arrested in December and charged with eight criminal counts, including wire fraud in the Southern District of New York. His trial is scheduled to begin in October, while FTX’s bankruptcy case is ongoing in the District of Delaware. SBF remains under house arrest at his parents’ California home, permitted to leave only for sanctioned events, including court appearances.

Federal judge bars SBF from contacting FTX and Alameda employees, using Signal

February 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Sam Bankman-Fried could also be barred from accessing FTX and Alameda funds as part of his bail conditions, with a judge scheduled to discuss the matter in a Feb. 7 hearing.

A federal judge presiding over the criminal case against former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has ordered he not have any contact with current or former employees of the exchange as part of his bail conditions.

In a Feb. 1 ruling, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York said Bankman-Fried was to be prevented from communicating with current or former employees of FTX or Alameda Research “except in the presence of counsel” in order to remain free on bail through his trial. As part of his ruling, Kaplan added that SBF could not contact anyone with encrypted messaging applications like Signal — prosecutors claimed in earlier filings that the former FTX CEO had used the app to reach out to FTX US general counsel Ryne Miller.

“The undisputed information available to the Court regarding the ‘nature and seriousness of the danger [. . .] posed by [defendant’s continued] release’ on the existing conditions has changed substantially since he was released, and there appears to be a material threat of inappropriate contact with prospective witnesses,” said Kaplan. “That risk, the Court finds, is clearly and convincingly sufficient to warrant the imposition of additional conditions pending the full argument of the cross-applications.”

According to Kaplan, SBF was behind decisions to automatically delete Slack and Signal communications between FTX and Alameda employees starting in 2021, telling former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison any potential legal case would be more difficult to build without proper documentation. He also cited Signal messages with Miller and other methods contacting “other current and former FTX employees” in his ruling.

The judge has yet to decide on whether SBF could be barred from accessing FTX and Alameda funds as part of his bail conditions as well. The Justice Department argued in a Jan. 30 filing that Bankman-Fried had reached out to FTX CEO John Ray to discuss ways to access the company’s funds. Judge Kaplan said he will listen to arguments on the matter in a Feb. 7 hearing.

Bankman-Fried’s trial is scheduled to begin in October in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, where he faces eight criminal counts including wire fraud. FTX’s bankruptcy case is also currently underway in the District of Delaware, where debtors recently requested subpoenas for information and documents from SBF’s family members.

Blockchain IM apps to see over half-billion dollar valuation by 2030

February 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Blockchain-backed digital messaging applications are forecasted to skyrocket in value in the seven years with a projected 43.6% compound annual growth rate.

Blockchain use cases continue to surface as the technology becomes more accessible. In the case of already-known use cases, such as blockchain-based messaging applications, mass adoption is on the horizon.

According to a new report from Grand View Research, the global blockchain messaging application market size is forecasted to hit a valuation of $536.5 million by 2030. The report, released on Feb 1. highlights this as a 43.6% compound annual growth rate in the 7-year timespan.

In 2021, the market valuation for blockchain messaging applications was around $22.2 million. At that time, North America dominated the market and accounted for the largest share with over 29% of the global revenue.

However, during the forecast period, the Asia Pacific region is projected to register rapid growth in the blockchain messaging application market.

The report highlights increased concerns over privacy and security as major reasons users are adopting blockchain-based messaging apps over traditional messaging platforms. Blockchain messaging is typically encrypted end-to-end and no service provider is necessary for the process of delivering a message.

On Feb. 1, the new decentralized version of Twitter, called Damus, went live on Apple’s App Store. The app has prematurely been called a “Twitter killer” and goes by the “social network you control."

Already existing alternative messaging services have been stepping up their game in terms of decentralization. On Dec. 8 Telegram announced that it will allow no-sim accounts through the use of anon-blockchain numbers. This came about a week after Telegram founder Pavel Durov said the app is working on a set of new decentralized tools to combat abuse of power.

The prevalence of blockchain can also be seen in other industries, like the automotive industry. On Feb 1. Toyota announced that it wants to explore blockchain use cases via a DAO hackathon to improve operations.

A few days prior the California Department of Motor Vehicles revealed that it plans to use Tezos, a private blockchain, to digitize the state’s car title management system.

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