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Binance makes moves in hardware wallet industry with new investment

Binance Labs has made a strategic investment in the Belgian hardware wallet firm Ngrave and will lead its upcoming Series A round.

The cryptocurrency exchange Binance is making a move in the hardware wallet industry, with its venture capital arm investing in the cold wallet platform Ngrave.

Binance Labs has made a strategic investment in the Belgian hardware wallet firm Ngrave and will lead its upcoming Series A round, the firm officially announced on Nov. 21.

Founded in Belgium in 2018, Ngrave specializes in self-custody, providing a security suite comprising three major elements, including connectionless hardware wallet Zero, key backup tool Graphene and the Liquid mobile app.

Yi He, co-founder of Binance and head of Binance Labs, pinpointed that security remains one of the biggest challenges for crypto adoption. “Self-custodial wallets are one of the most secure methods for storing digital assets,” He said, adding that Binance is looking to continue backing startups that enhance user security.

“Binance Labs is excited to capitalize on the emerging hardware wallet sector and partner with Ngrave to bring sophisticated wallet products to both retail and institutional users,” Binance Labs investment director Tyler Z added.

It appears to be unclear whether Binance has previously invested in hardware wallet companies like Ledger or Trezor. In early November, Binance partnered with Ledger hardware wallet maker to allow Binance users to put crypto through Ledger directly with their bank cards.

Binance did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

As previously reported, the ongoing cryptocurrency winter has accelerated the growth of the hardware wallet industry, while many centralized crypto exchanges were scrambling to maintain operations. Unlike exchanges, hardware wallets allow users to better control their funds by securing a private key. According to data from several studies released in July, the crypto hardware wallet industry could be growing at a faster pace than exchanges in the near future.

On Nov. 14, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao even admitted that centralized exchanges may no longer be necessary as investors would shift to self-custodial solutions. “If we can have a way to allow people to hold their own assets in their own custody securely and easily, that 99% of the general population can do it, centralized exchanges will not exist or probably don’t need to exist, which is great,” Zhao said.

Related: Trezor reports 300% surge in sales revenue due to FTX contagion

The latest news comes shortly after Ledger Pascal Gauthier argued that Binance-owned software wallet Trust Wallet must offer the Ledger Connect option in order to provide better security to its users. “Otherwise it's just unsafe,” the CEO declared in a tweet on Nov. 13. The connecting option essentially allows Trust Wallet users to store their keys on a Ledger device instead of storing them on a mobile phone or a computer.

A spokesperson for Trust Wallet told Cointelegraph that the platform is planning to release the integration with Ledger Connect soon as the feature is on its top priority agenda. The representative also stressed that Trust Wallet users have “full recoverability” of accessing their funds on a chain as long as they remember their secret phrase, or a private key.

2021 Bull Run Déjà Vu? Altcoin Market Gains Momentum

Crypto.com downsizes some sports partnership deals amid market downturn: Report

The crypto exchange reportedly cut the scope of sponsorship agreements inked with sports organizations including the Angel City Football Club, the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Twitch Rivals.

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has reportedly reduced the scale of many of its sponsorship deals with sports organizations amid staff cuts and the market downturn.

According to an Oct. 6 report, Ad Age tech reporter Asa Hiken said Crypto.com cut the scope of sponsorship agreements inked with major sports organizations including Los Angeles' Angel City Football Club, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and esports tournament host Twitch Rivals — in some cases reportedly attempting to pull out of the deals entirely. Hiken cited unnamed former and current Crypto.com employees, who said the crypto exchange had begun considering such actions following the market downturn in May.

“The other shoe has dropped for a crypto firm that marketed really big when number was up,” said Hiken. “Now that number is down, the firm is grappling with its own costly decisions.”

Lawyers for Angel City reportedly claimed the crypto exchange withheld payments and eventually backed out of the deal, first announced in December 2021. In addition, the firm reportedly decided on plans to dissolve its partnership with Twitch Rivals, with both companies agreeing to finish the deal by the end of 2022. A former Crypto.com employee alleged the firm may have cut the number of hospitality packages it planned to issue as part of the FIFA deal by half.

Crypto.com has made a number of highprofile marketing deals in the last 12 months, from recruiting actor Matt Damon to appear in its "Fortune Favors the Brave" ad campaign to signing a $700-million agreement to rename the Staples Center in Los Angeles as the Crypto.com Arena. The crypto exchange has reportedly continued to move forward with the multimillion-dollar renovation.

Related: Crypto.com to roll out Google Pay integration as Big Tech continues to embrace crypto

Cointelegraph reported in September that Crypto.com had dropped out of a half-billion-dollar sponsorship deal with the Union of European Football Associations Champions League. The report implied that other major partnerships with the exchange, including its five-year deal with the Australia Football League and Formula 1, might also be affected.

Although Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek had announced the exchange planned to downsize 5% of its employees in June, the report suggested the percentage of staff cuts may have been much higher, with roughly 30% to 40% leaving the firm from June to August — many as the result of layoffs. Since July, financial regulatory authorities in Italy, Cyprus, France and the United Kingdom have given Crypto.com the green light to offer its services to residents.

2021 Bull Run Déjà Vu? Altcoin Market Gains Momentum

Polygon partners with ocean conservation NGO to advance ocean literacy

Participants can explore the RV Odyssey — one of the most advanced ocean research vessels around the globe — via the Metaverse.

Decentralized Ethereum scaling platform, Polygon, has announced a partnership with the Ocean Conservation Exploration and Education Foundation (OCEEF) to promote ocean literacy through new creative, entertaining, and engaging ways to give people exposure to deep underwater missions. 

Polygon shared that the aim of this collaboration is to offer interactive experiences via a governance platform where participants can help in making key decisions surrounding the RV Odyssey — one of the most advanced ocean research vessels around the globe. Participants will be able to explore the state-of-the-art research vessel via immersive and interactive experiences in the Metaverse.

The partnership intends to allow participants to play a key role in deciding the vessel's future itinerary, research, and even engage in the missions on board through the metaverse and other Web3 tools.

At the Green Blockchain Summit 2.0 hosted by Polygon, OCEEF Founder Alex Moukas said:

"Using our Polygon partnership and its carbon-neutral tech as a launchpad, we will be using technology to democratize access to the vessel through multiple Web3 platforms as well as provide participants with the ability to help decide the vessel's future itinerary and research.”

OCEEF will also allow groups of students to join their teams for different missions and dives. These opportunities will be made available through NFTs which would go towards funding the project.

Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder of Polygon spoke on the subject, saying:

"Being able to facilitate a global endeavor such as the one that OCEEF is undertaking is very humbling. I know that our technology is up to the task of bringing these types of immersive, educational, and change-making experiences to people all over the globe."

In April, Polygon’s core team committed to becoming carbon negative by the end of the year and dedicated $20 million to climate-related projects. Since then, Polygon claimed to hav achieved carbon-neutral status, eliminating 104,794 tonnes of greenhouse gasses, more than the entirety of the network’s CO2 debt since inception.

2021 Bull Run Déjà Vu? Altcoin Market Gains Momentum

Nifty News: Zilliqa teases Web3 gaming console, Funko teams up with Warner Bros. and more…

Specifications on Zilliqa’s "user-friendly" console are yet to be revealed, but a prototype design resembling an Xbox console has been released.

Blockchain company Zilliqa is launching a Web3 focused console with a cryptocurrency wallet and mining capabilities, along with featuring gaming titles from the company.

On Sept. 23, prototype images were released showing an array of ports including HDMI, Ethernet and USB connections, although full hardware specifications and the price of the unit remain guarded. The console itself looks similar to something from Xbox, but has two green panels on the top.

Zilliqa has said the console is geared toward user-friendliness and similar to conventional gaming titles will incentivize users to complete gaming missions, quests and tasks to mine its native token ZIL as a reward.

Beta testing on the console starts in October, with units expected to be available for pre-order in the first quarter of 2023. Zilliqa is a layer-1 blockchain designed for creating smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps), it has 15 gaming projects according to its website.

In July Web3 gaming startup Polium announced its similar console, “Polium One”, supporting gaming non-fungible tokens (NFT) across eight blockchains, although the Polium One isn’t set for release until Q3 2024.

Funko and Warner Bros. collab on Walmart exclusive NFTs

Pop culture brand Funko has partnered with entertainment company Warner Bros. to offer bundled physical and NFT collectables exclusively through American retail giant Walmart.

The bundle includes a physical comic book cover and Funko figurine for DC Comics “The Brave and the Bold,” known amongst fans for introducing the concept of the popular “Justice League” superhero team, along with a matching Funko “Digital Pop!” NFT.

Funko's "Brave and the Bold" physical bundle. Source.

The collection is limited to 30,000 units and will debut during Walmart’s Collector Con in October, the NFTs will mint on the WAX blockchain.

Funko has continued to expand the NFT counterpart of its flagship “Pop!” figurine line which started in Aug. 2021 with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collection. Funko CEO Andrew Perlmutter has stated the company is creating NFTs to meet demand from younger collectors who value digital goods and assets.

New England Patriots get Web3 partner in Chain

Web3 software company Chain has become the official blockchain and Web3 sponsor of the National Football League (NFL) team New England Patriots, professional soccer team New England Revolution and both team's home ground, Gillette Stadium.

Related: NFTs ‘biggest on-ramp’ to crypto in Central, Southern Asia and Oceania: Report

Chain has partnered in a multi-year deal with Kraft Sports + Entertainment, the owner of both professional teams and the stadium, to develop what it calls “state-of-the-art Web3 experiences” using Chain’s product suite, but didn’t provide exact details on its plans.

Chain CEO Deepak Thapliyal did state however that the company is aiming to “build cutting edge experiences for stadium visitors” as part of Chain’s product lineup includes support for NFTs.

Christina Aguilera files for NFT and Metaverse trademarks

Filings shared by trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis show singer Christina Aguilera has filed trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for multiple NFT, Metaverse and crypto related products.

The filings reveal plans for the star to create audio, video and music files “authenticated by NFTs” along with “blockchain based non-fungible assets” such as virtual avatars, clothing, beauty products, other virtual merchandise and “crypto collectibles.”

Part of the application also mentions Aguilera providing musical performances, concerts and games “in the Metaverse and other virtual environments.”

More Nifty News:

NFT marketplace OpenSea announced the implementation of OpenRarity on Sept. 22, a protocol that provides verifiable rarity calculations for NFTs within its platform. The protocol uses a transparent mathematical approach to calculating rarity.

Web3 tech firm nameless is set to launch an NFT software product that enables developers to test their NFT smart contracts on fully private test nets.

2021 Bull Run Déjà Vu? Altcoin Market Gains Momentum

Hardware wallet Trezor enables direct crypto purchases with MoonPay

The new integration with MoonPay and SatoshiLabs-founded Invity platform provides buy, sell and exchange features directly in the Trezor wallet.

Hardware walletcompany Trezor is moving to enable direct crypto purchases with a new partnership with the crypto fintech startup MoonPay.

Trezor, Czech Republic-based hardware wallet provider, has partnered with MoonPay to allow its customers to buy crypto directly in their hardware wallet, according to an announcement on Wednesday.

Backed by major industry investors including Tiger Global and Coatue, MoonPay is a crypto payment service that allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) using debit cards, credit cards and other payment methods. In April 2022, the firm raised $87 million from investors like Justin Bieber and Snoop Dogg to focus on NFTs and Web3.

The collaboration with MoonPay builds on Trezor’s previous partnership with Invity, a crypto exchange comparison tool integrated directly into the wallet.

Like Trezor, Invity is a startup operating under the parent firm, SatoshiLabs. The platform connects clients with trusted partner exchanges to provide direct-to-custody trades with various payment methods. Combined, the three platforms provide buy, sell and exchange features directly in the Trezor wallet.

The new integration allows customers to buy and sell a wide number of cryptocurrencies through a noncustodial crypto wallet, helping users to better protect their funds. At the time of writing, Trezor supports more than 1,000 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT), BNB, Cardano (ADA) and others.

Related: MoonPay to make Web3 payments with Unstoppable Domains partnership

The latest news is yet another milestone for crypto purchases on Trezor, as the hardware wallet has been previously supporting crypto buys on its native app Trezor Suite via an in-app Trade feature. The option has been available through the crypto exchange comparison tool created by Invity since at least late 2020, Trezor said in one of its blog posts.

“By allowing Trezor owners to buy crypto directly from their wallet, we’re tapping into a committed cohort of cryptocurrency users who take security very seriously,” MoonPay senior business development manager Antonio Talledo said. “Through this partnership with MoonPay, we’re taking the lead to bring secure, borderless and easy financial freedom to billions" 

2021 Bull Run Déjà Vu? Altcoin Market Gains Momentum

DeFi market has room for growth in Korea: 1inch co-founder — KBW 2022

1inch plans to expand into a largely untapped Asian market, but a lack of DeFi knowledge is preventing mass adoption

Decentralized-finance (DeFi) aggregator 1inch Network has revealed plans to expand its reach in Asia.

Speaking to Cointelegraph during Korean Blockchain Week (KBW) 2022 on Aug. 8, co-founder Sergej Kunz said that despite the DeFi market being relatively small in Korea and Asia, there are a number of Asia-based Web3 companies that 1inch is looking to partner with.

However, Kunz also added that the biggest barrier to entry appears to be a lack of understanding about DeFi and how to use crypto wallets:

“As soon as people understand that they can [yield] farm, they can swap, they can exchange and get easy access to cryptocurrencies on Ethereum with a few simple EVM-compatible networks, the market will grow a lot.”

However, Kunz also added that the popularity of blockchain-based gaming in Asia could bring more individuals into the DeFi market.

“Here, there are a lot of people who like gaming and a lot of things like that, so I think the DeFi market can grow a lot in South Korea.”

1inch’s plan to expand into the Asian market comes as they told Cointelegraph at KBW that they’re currently working on a partnership with metaverse-focused blockchain Klaytn.

The 1inch Network’s main use case is a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator which scans DEXs to find pools with the largest liquidity, lowest slippage, and cheapest cryptocurrency exchange rates. 1inch also provides users with a mobile wallet that can be used for DeFi purposes.

Transactions on the network are powered by the 1INCH token, which is priced at $0.83 at the time of writing.

2021 Bull Run Déjà Vu? Altcoin Market Gains Momentum

F1 Monaco GP: Bybit’s Red Bull Racing NFTs, crypto-F1 partnerships, more

From NFTs and fan tokens to multi-year partnerships, the crypto community continues to support the F1 landscape in numerous ways.

Crypto has taken over the world, and Formula One was no exception to the disruption. From NFTs and fan tokens to multi-year partnerships, the crypto community continues to support the F1 landscape in numerous ways.

Monaco Grand Prix 2022 saw F1’s fastest pit crew, Oracle Red Bull Racing (ORBR), partner with crypto exchange Bybit to launch ORBR’s 2022 NFT collection — minted over the Tezos blockchain. The limited-edition NFT collection is made available via an auction, wherein bidders get to collect digital collectibles representing various aspects of Red Bull’s past, present and future.

Speaking to Cointelegraph editor-in-chief Kristina Cornèr, Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou said that F1 has a symbiotic relationship with crypto as the partnerships between the two industry pulls in young investors into the F1 fan base:

"Formula 1 is the challenger of the norm, and that really goes well with crypto. [...] It's a really huge synergy we see."
Max Verstappen's F1 car sporting the Bybit logo. Source: Cointelegraph

Parallelly, Bybit premiered “The Search for the Next Level,” a film starring Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio “Checo” Pérez — (spoiler alert) circled around the launch of the new RB18 car.

Aston Martin F1, too, signed a multi-year partnership deal with crypto exchange Crypto.com for exploring fan engagement and investment initiatives. Crypto.com NFT marketplace continues to be the go-to place for Aston Martin NFT airdrops and limited-edition collectibles.

This year crypto giant Binance partnered with Alpine F1 Team to issue NFT airdrops and collectibles. Taking fan engagement to the next level, Binance conducted an event on May 20, allowing one fan to experience the life of an Alpine F1 mechanic.

Cointelegraph previously reported on the overall crypto-F1 partnerships as of March 2022.

A few prominent collaborations active during the Monaco Grand Prix 2022 are Ferrari and blockchain firm Velas, Mercedes and crypto exchange FTX, and Alfa Romeo and Shiba Inu (SHIB) inspired meme token Floki.

Related: Blockchain, crypto set to take sports industry beyond NFT collectibles

A recent study conducted by fintech giant Deloitte concluded uncovered the potential of blockchain and cryptocurrencies to open up new markets and revenue opportunities for the sports industry:

“A nexus will form around sports collectibles, ticketing, betting, and gaming. We are just beginning to see its [cryptocurrency’s] potential, as well as the new markets it could lead to.”

The study also highlighted the possibility of new markets that allow “fractional ownership of season tickets and suites and a reinvention of the ticket resale process.”

2021 Bull Run Déjà Vu? Altcoin Market Gains Momentum

WEMIX gains 200%+ after stablecoin and boosted staking rewards announcement

New partnerships, a mainnet upgrade and plans to launch a stablecoin appear to have triggered a 200% rally in WEMIX price.

Blockchain-based gaming, also known as GameFi, is an up-and-coming sector that could potentially be one of the primary catalysts for kickstarting the mass adoption of blockchain technology.

WEMIX, a gaming protocol that operates on the Klaytn network, aims to get in on the GameFi revolution and this week, the project's native token (WEMIX) rallied even as the wider market continued to sell-off.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $1.27 on May 12, WEMIX price climbed 269% to hit a daily high at $4.70 on May 25 as its 24-hour trading volume increased to $652 million.

WEMIX/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

Three reasons for the price reversal for WEMIX are the upcoming launch of WEMIX 3.0, a series of project launches and partnership agreements, and the introduction of lockup staking for token holders.

WEMIX 3.0

The main development attracting attention to WEMIX is the protocol's planned mainnet launch, which is scheduled to take place on June 15.

WEMIX 3.0 will be an Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) compatible public chain that will utilize a stake-based proof-of-authority (SPoA) consensus algorithm.

As part of the mainnet launch, WEMIX will also be introducing the WEMIX Dollar (WEMIX) as the native stablecoin of the ecosystem.

WEMIX will be a 100% collateralized stablecoin, backed by USD Coin (USDC) and off-chain assets like fiat currencies.

New partnerships boost excitement

May has been a busy month for the WEMIX protocol after multiple games launched or announced their upcoming launch dates on the network. New additions include Crypto Ball Z, Four Gods and Every Farm, as well as the onboarding of the SpoLive sports prediction game.

Along with protocol launches, WEMIX announced several strategic investments including being the lead investor in the Old Fashion Research (OFR) crypto fund as well as an investment in an U.S.-based augmented reality metaverse startup called Jadu.

On May 17, the team behind WEMIX also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnam Blockchain Association.

Related: Former Binance executives launch $100 million venture fund

Increased staking rewards

WEMIX also launched Stake360, an incentive that offers WEMIX holders boosted staking rewards for committing to an extended lockup period.

In addition to the standard 7% staking reward available to all token holders, investors who agree to a 90 to 360 day lockup can earn from 9% to 20.28%.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

2021 Bull Run Déjà Vu? Altcoin Market Gains Momentum

Global private bank LGT to open Bitcoin and Ether trading

LGT Bank has partnered with the Swiss crypto bank Seba to offer custody and trading services for Bitcoin and Ether.

LGT Group, a top family-owned private banking and asset management group, is moving into cryptocurrency by launching Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) investments at LGT Bank in Liechtenstein.

Managing over $292 billion of assets, LGT Bank is preparing to debut digital asset custody and trading services in cooperation with Swiss cryptocurrency bank Seba, according to a joint announcement released on Wednesday.

LGT Bank will initially offer custody and trading services for BTC and ETH, while Seba supports more than 14 cryptocurrencies, including altcoins like Litecoin (LTC), Polkadot (DOT), Tezos (XTZ), the Tether (USDT) stablecoin and others.

According to the announcement, LGT’s crypto services will be fully integrated with traditional assets, enabling clients to easily exchange assets in their existing portfolios. The new offering will be initially available to selected client groups of LGT Bank. In order to access the new services, clients must be based in Liechtenstein or Switzerland and be classified as professional clients or be managed by an external asset manager.

Headquartered in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, LGT is one of the world's largest wealth managers and investment companies. The banking giant traces its history back to 1920 and has a key presence in Switzerland in addition to more than 20 offices around the globe.

LGT Bank’s entrance into crypto aligns with the firm’s commitment to meet the increasing demand for investment opportunities, Liechtenstein’s LGT Bank CEO Roland Matt said. He added:

“The demand for cryptocurrencies has also increased among our clients in recent years. When developing our new offering, we paid particular attention to security while focusing on clear, reliable processes and procedures. They are central for dealing with this dynamic and still quite young asset class.”

The news further reaffirms the ongoing trend on global banks and asset managers increasingly adopting investment services for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. On Monday, Argentina’s largest and second-largest private banks, Banco Galicia and Brubank, announced plans to enable crypto purchases for clients.

Related: German banking giant Commerzbank applies for crypto license

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, some of the world’s most prominent banks made major moves into Bitcoin in 2021, with Bank of New York Mellon announcing plans to hold and transfer BTC as an asset manager on behalf of its clients in February. Other global banks like Argentina’s BBVA and U.S. Bank subsequently announced the launch of similar crypto investment services.

2021 Bull Run Déjà Vu? Altcoin Market Gains Momentum

Gemini crypto exchange launches credit card in United States

Users can get their cashback reward in over 60 different cryptocurrencies supported by Gemini.

Gemini, a major cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, has launched its crypto credit card.

The company officially announced Thursday that its Gemini Credit Card is available in the United States across all 50 states.

The new card is issued by the state-chartered industrial bank WebBank and features Mastercard as the exclusive card network.

The card’s rollout comes more than a year after Gemini initially announced the project in 2021, aiming to reward users for using crypto for everyday transactions. Since launching the Gemini Credit Card waitlist last year, more than 500,000 users have signed up for the product, the firm said.

The Gemini Credit Card supports more than 60 cryptocurrencies for rewards, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE) and others. Cardholders are able to earn up to 3% crypto back on dining, 2% on groceries, and 1% on all other purchases.

When a cardholder makes a purchase, Gemini automatically converts the United States dollar-denominated value of the reward into the selected digital asset and deposits it into the cardholder’s Gemini account. Cardholders can change their selected crypto reward as often as they wish, which enables customers to earn not just one cryptocurrency.

Mastercard’s executive VP of digital partnerships Sherri Haymond noted that the payment company shares Gemini’s belief that providing relevant crypto rewards experiences will “not only empower consumers, but also unlock access to the digital currencies ecosystem.” 

Gemini chief technology officer Pravjit Tiwana said that the new credit card reaffirms the company’s commitment to remove barriers of entry for consumers who want to get into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Tiwana mentioned that the crypto industry had a breakout moment in 2021, with 44% of crypto owners in the U.S. reported making their first crypto purchases last year.

Related: New crypto card by Nexo allows users to pay without selling Bitcoin

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the concept of crypto cashback cards has been taking off recently, with companies like BlockFi and Venmo launching crypto reward cards last year. According to the crypto loan startup BlockFi, Bitcoin rewards were responsible for some extent of the shopping frenzy for cardholders last year, with cardholders earning more than 124 BTC in rewards collectively just in the first three months since the cashback program’s launch.

2021 Bull Run Déjà Vu? Altcoin Market Gains Momentum