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December 14, 2023 The Daily Hodl

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December 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Animoca becomes largest validator of Telegram’s TON blockchain

November 28, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Animoca Brands invests in Telegram’s TON blockchain protocol and becomes its largest validator as it eyes GameFi development on the platform.

Web3 investment firm Animoca Brands is set to become the largest validator of Telegram’s TON (The Open Network) blockchain and plans to deliver blockchain-based games to the messaging app’s 800 million strong user base.

An announcement shared with Cointelegraph outlined how the partnership will involve the provision of funding, research, and an analytics platform for third-party TON ecosystem applications.

The value of Animoca’s investment was not disclosed at the time of publishing, but part of the investment is understood to have been made directly into Toncoin, which has been staked as part of the validator agreement.

Animoca has carried out extensive market research on TON’s wider ecosystem focused on the platform’s ability to drive cryptocurrency and GameFi adoption.

The firm plans to strategically support TON Play, a gaming infrastructure project based on the TON blockchain. The infrastructure allows gaming applications to be built on TON and launched on Telegram, as well as port existing web-based games to the messaging app.

Ton Play will enable developers to deliver games to some 800 million Telegram users through its web application and the mobile app’s PlayDeck bot - which allows users to browse a catalog of mobile games.

Telegram's PlayDeck bot allows users to browse a catalog of mobile games. Animoca plans to deliver blockchain-based games through the channel.

Animoca will also explore the ability to port a selection of its gaming titles and applications from its portfolio of over 400 Web3 projects to Telegram.

Animoca Brands Research has also developed its own TON Analytics Dashboard, which gathers a variety of metrics from TON’s open internet ecosystem, which includes TON Blockchain, TON DNS, TON Storage and TON Sites.

Animoca Brands Research has created a live dashboard monitoring key networks of the TON ecosystem.

TON Foundation director of growth Justin Hyun said the analytics platform and in-depth research reports provided by Animoca will play an important role in infusing Web3 functionality into the everyday experiences of Telegram users.

Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu said the investment in TON is aligned with the firm’s efforts to drive adoption and the transition of Web2 to Web3.

“Taking part in the network’s validation underlines our faith in the successful realization of the vision behind the TON project as it looks to bring Web3 into the mainstream.”

Siu added that Animoca has identified significant growth potential of gaming within the TON ecosystem and intends to drive the development of TON-based games over the next few years.

The partnership with TON is the second instance of Animoca becoming a validator of a proof-of-stake blockchain protocol in Nov. 2023. The firm joined fan token blockchain Chiliz Chain as a validator for its native proof-of-stake authority protocol on Nov. 14.

Chiliz Chain is the backbone of Socios.com, which operates a plethora of fan tokens for some of the biggest global football and sports teams. Europe’s most loved football clubs and several household sports brands have tapped into the solution to power Web3 fan tokens and other blockchain-based offerings.

Magazine: Blockchain detectives: Mt. Gox collapse saw birth of Chainalysis

Inferno Drainer says it’s shutting down after helping steal $70M in crypto

November 27, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Inferno Drainer says it’s shutting down after helping steal M in crypto

Coin Telegraph

“We hope you can remember us as the best drainer that has ever existed,” wrote the scam-as-a-service wallet drainer.

Inferno Drainer, one of the most popular crypto wallet-draining kits for hire says it is shutting down for good after helping phishing scammers steal nearly $70 million worth of crypto this year.

In a Nov. 26 Telegram post, the team behind Inferno Drainer said it was “time for us to move on.” However, it said that the files and infrastructure needed to run the wallet drainer won’t be destroyed but instead will remain active so users can make a “smooth transition” to other services.

“It has been a long ride with all of you and we’d like to thank you from heart [sic]. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.”

“A big thank [sic] to everyone who has worked with us,” it added. “We hope you can remember us as the best drainer that has ever existed and that we succeeded in helping you in the quest of making money.”

*Inferno Drainer’s final message to its users. Source: Telegram*

Inferno Drainer gained prominence early this year and saw increased use after the popular Monkey Drainer tool shut down. Like its peers, Inferno offered its crypto wallet-draining software and took a 20% cut of what users stole.

Since February, Inferno Drainer has stolen nearly $70 million from over 100,000 victims, according to analytics from Web3 anti-scam platform Scam Sniffer. However, the Inferno Drainer team suggested the amount stolen was over $80 million.

The Inferno Drainer team has deleted the affiliate Telegram account “mr_inferno_drainer” used for arranging its service and warned its users not to trust other drainers using its name in the future.

Blockchain security firm CertiK told Cointelegraph that Inferno Drainer was “one of the most damaging phishing kits to the community we’ve seen.”

It added there are still “plenty of providers out there” who are active, including rival Pink Drainer and Angel Drainer, the latter of which released an update on Nov. 25 to help users drain wallets on more blockchains.

Monkey Drainer, another high-profile crypto drainer that stole millions, shut down in March, saying it was “time to move on to something better.”

Magazine: Tornado Cash 2.0 — The race to build safe and legal coin mixers

Wallet crypto bot rolls out on Telegram in Colombia, SA and Kenya

November 10, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The third-party crypto bot Wallet is debuting global rollout on the Telegram messenger in several countries in Latin America and Africa.

Cryptocurrency trading bot Wallet is debuting its global rollout on the Telegram messenger in several countries in Latin America and Africa.

The Open Platform (TOP), the Dubai-headquartered investment platform affiliated with TOP Labs and Wallet, announced the global rollout of the Wallet crypto bot on Nov. 10.

Wallet, a third-party Telegram bot allowing users to buy and sell crypto, is now available on the Telegram settings menu for users in Colombia, South Africa and Kenya.

The Wallet crypto bot has been accessible to global users for several months, but users were required to find the bot by clicking “@Wallet” on Telegram. With the latest update, users can see Wallet directly on the menu without needing to find the bot or even know much about crypto to start using it.

*Wallet bot available on the Telegram settings menu. Source: Cointelegraph*

In addition to the default custodial wallet, users can also use Wallet’s self-custody crypto solution called TON Space. Wallet’s self-custody sub-wallet allows users to perform decentralized swaps within TON Space and transfer nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, using the self-custody wallet.

TOP has chosen to start the Wallet global rollout in developing markets to help users access more financial tools and to benefit from its significant user base in related regions.

“Our main focus is on developing markets where the lack of accessible financial tools has generated an organic demand for crypto assets,” a spokesperson for TOP told Cointelegraph. “We know that Telegram has a significant user base in these regions, and so it was only natural to start our global rollout in these jurisdictions,” the representative added.

According to data from World Population Review, Telegram has 4.49 million in Colombia as of 2023. Statista data suggests that about 50% of internet users in Kenya and South Africa were using Telegram as of Q3 2022.

“Countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Colombia have a very active Telegram user base, with a relatively high rate of crypto adoption,” the TOP spokesperson said, adding:

“The regions in which we plan to initially launch natively to all users offer a huge opportunity to onboard a massive audience to Wallet. This is just the start of our goal to accelerate the mass market adoption of TON-based blockchain technology.”

The representative also noted that the TOP preferred to roll out the wallet in smaller countries before scaling the operational side of the product, as well as the technical side of the integration. “This will ensure that we are able to efficiently scale to the additional demand generated as the rollout continues,” the spokesperson noted.

Following the initial rollout in Latin America and Africa, the Wallet crypto bot is expected to launch in Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Turkey in Q1 2024. The TOP expects to finalize the global rollout of Wallet on Telegram by the end of Q2 2024, the announcement notes.

“These strategic enhancements to Wallet and TON Space underscore our continued dedication to simplifying the crypto experience for mainstream audiences while maintaining robust security features,” TOP CEO Andrew Rogozov noted.

Despite letting Wallet enter the Telegram settings menu, Telegram has actively denied any affiliation with Wallet or TOP, while Wallet also stressed that it was operating independently from Telegram.

Rogozov, CEO of TOP and Wallet companies, was once CEO of VK.com, a major social media platform created by Telegram founder Pavel Durov. Rogozov resigned from VK in January 2022 to join the TON Foundation as a founding member. He also then founded First Stage Labs, which subsequently merged with Wallet and rebranded to TOP.

Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market — Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in

Toncoin (TON) price skyrockets to 11-month high after Telegram launches ‘Giveaways’

November 8, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Altcoin Analysis

TON's price risks a carrection in the short term as it nears a confluence of historically strong resistance zones.

Toncoin (TON) price reached its highest levels in almost a year as crypto traders assessed a slew of optimistic updates in its market, including the recent launch of "Giveaways" on Telegram.

In result, TON is now the tenth-biggest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of over $9 billion — its highest ever.

Telegram CEO buys $200K of TON

On Nov. 6, Telegram announced Giveaways, a feature that enables channel owners to randomly distribute prizes among their followers.

A day later, Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, used $200,000 worth of TON tokens to pay for Telegram Premium subscriptions for 10,000 Telegram users.

*Pavel Durov's announcement of Toncoin giveaways. Source: Du Rove's Channel*

Notably, Durov used TON as a payment method within the Giveaways feature, at least for this specific case.

TON's price has rallied 19.5% since the Giveaways launch, coupled with a rise in its trading volumes, indicating strong buying interest. As of Nov. 8, the cryptocurrency had touched $2.71, its highest level in eleven months.

*TON/USDT daily price chart. Source: TradingView*

Telegram is the leading backer of Toncoin, having integrated a self-custodial wallet, TON Space, into its platform. That has boosted TON's chances of greater adoption among Telegram's 700 million monthly active users.

Furthermore, Toncoin's recent partnership with Blockchain.com and its approval in the Dubai International Financial Centre free trade zone have served as bullish cues for traders, as shown in the upside price reactions in the chart below.

*TON/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView*

Toncoin price prediction

The Toncoin price chart suggests that it is excessively valued from a technical standpoint.

Notably, TON's daily relative strength index has jumped above 70, an overbought region. The RSI's previous jumps into overbought zones have resulted in sharp price corrections.

Moreover, TON's multi-month horizontal resistance range of $2.60-2.70 will be tough to crack. This area has capped the Toncoin token's multiple upside attempts since December 2022, further raising the potential of a bearish reversal in the coming days or weeks.

If this bearish scenario takes shape, the downside target to watch is at its Q1/2023 support line, near $2.22, down 17.5% from current price levels. This line is near Toncoin's multi-month ascending trendline and its 50-day exponential moving average (50-day EMA; the red wave).

Conversely, a decisive close above the $2.60-2.70 resistance range will put TON in a position to tackle $2.92 as their next upside target.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Telegram Wallet avoided self-custody to ease crypto onboarding, COO says

November 6, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

As Telegram prepares to roll out Telegram Wallet as a native setting on the messenger in November, it’s important to understand why Wallet opted for custody over self-custody.

Telegram Wallet, a major Telegram bot allowing users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), has chosen custody over self-custody to chase easier onboarding goals, according to a senior executive.

In July 2023, crypto-friendly Telegram messenger officially announced the integration of the custodial crypto wallet, Telegram Wallet, to allow users to access the wallet directly from the messenger’s settings.

Though Telegram has enabled existing Wallet users to see the wallet bot directly in the messenger, those who have never used the bot are still not seeing the crypto wallet in their settings section of the messenger.

According to Telegram Wallet chief operating officer Halil Mirakhmed, the full Wallet rollout is expected to begin sometime in November 2023, starting with “several African and Latin American countries.” With the rollout, Telegram users in select countries can access the Wallet and start buying, selling and transacting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).

“The rollout will continue throughout MENA, South East Asia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe,” Mirakhmed told Cointelegraph, adding:

“Once the global rollout has concluded, Wallet will become available in the Telegram settings menu throughout the world, with the exception of the jurisdictions in which Wallet does not operate.”

As Telegram Wallet anticipates the soon-to-come rollout of its crypto wallet to millions of Telegram users, it's important to note that the wallet bot is not self-custodial.

Unlike major self-custodial wallets, like MetaMask, the Telegram Wallet bot operates a custodial wallet currently, meaning that users entrust their coins to a third party and do not own their assets directly. For example, to withdraw Bitcoin from the Telegram Wallet, users must have enough BTC to cover Telegram Wallet’s fees, which may sometimes be more expensive than the native fees on the Bitcoin network.

According to Telegram Wallet’s chief operating officer, the wallet bot platform opted for a custodial solution instead of a self-custodial one for several reasons, including easy onboarding of new users.

“If you want to introduce as many people as possible to crypto, self-custody becomes exceedingly difficult,” Mirakhmed said in an interview with Cointelegraph.

“Imagine if you’ve never used crypto before and your go-to solution for now, let’s say, is a non-custodial wallet on Ether,” the chief operating officer said. The exec stressed that before using a self-custodial wallet, one has to sort out how to store the seed phrase and figure out how to deal with the wallet, whether it’s a Chrome extension or an app.

One should also be ready to pay gas fees to transact Ether (ETH), which adds too much complexity to a non-crypto native user, Telegram Wallet COO believes.

In contrast to self-custodial wallets, Telegram Wallet aims to help users start using crypto the exact moment they click on Wallet on their Telegram settings, Mirakhmed said:

“First of all, the onboarding is very simple. Secondly, you already have a few chains on there. And thirdly, when you want to send someone any assets, you just use a telephone contact. So I can send money to you on Telegram rather than having to know what your address is. It all happens within Telegram.”

Cointelegraph previously reported on the issue of understanding cryptocurrency custody and choosing between custodial wallet solutions and self-custodial ones. Long story short, custodial wallets are more convenient but significantly less safe, while self-custodial, or non-custodial wallets, are less convenient but more secure. The biggest issue of using a self-custodial solution is the user's sole responsibility to keep the private key, or the seed phrase, safe, in order to keep owning a crypto asset.

Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market — Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in

Unibot contract $560K exploit crashes token price by more than 40%

October 31, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Unibot contract 0K exploit crashes token price by more than 40%

Coin Telegraph

Amid ongoing investigations from Unibot and blockchain investigators, Scopescan advised users to revoke the approvals for the exploited contract and move the funds to a new wallet.

A new contract deployed on Oct. 29 by Unibot, a popular Telegram bot used to snipe trades on the decentralized exchange Uniswap, was reportedly exploited for roughly $560,000 in various memecoins from users.

On Oct. 31, blockchain security firm Scopescan alerted Unibot users about an ongoing hack on Unibot that went undetected. An exploit on a newly deployed contract by Unibot drained the crypto holdings of several users.

.@TeamUnibot seems exploited, the exploiter transfers memecooins from #unibot users and is exchanging them for the $ETH right now.

The current exploit size is ~$560K

Exploiter address:https://t.co/ysyTmgUAit pic.twitter.com/MF85Fdk892
— Scopescan ( . ) (@0xScopescan) October 31, 2023

Unibot later confirmed the hack by revealing initial details:

“We experienced a token approval exploit from our new router and have paused our router to contain the issue.”

Amid ongoing investigations from Unibot and blockchain investigators, Scopescan advised users to revoke the approvals for the exploited contract (0x126c9FbaB3A2FCA24eDfd17322E71a5e36E91865) and move the funds to a new wallet.

*Unibot hacker moving funds. Source: 0xscope.com*

The hacker is in the process of converting the stolen memecoins into Ether (ETH), blockchain data from Scopescan shows.

*Unibot 1-day price chart showing a sharp decline in price following the hack. Source: CoinGecko*

As seen above, the market reacted negatively to the development as the UNIBOT token witnessed an immediate 42.7% drop in its price in one hour — from $57.56 to $32.94. However, the token’s price is making a recovery attempt at the time of writing.

We experienced a token approval exploit from our new router and have paused our router to contain the issue.

Any funds lost due to the bug on our new router will be compensated. Your keys and wallets are safe.

We will release a detailed response after investigations conclude.
— Unibot (@TeamUnibot) October 31, 2023

Unibot committed to compensating all users who lost funds due to the contract exploit. Weekly transaction data shows that cryptocurrencies such as Joe (JOE), UNIBOT and BeerusCat (BCAT) represented a major part of the loot.

Cointelegraph also learned from Scopescan that the address 0x835B, which is identical to the exploited address, was deployed and is being used to receive tokens from unsuspecting victims.

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

A similar contract exploit recently drained 280 ETH from users of Maestrobots, a group of cryptocurrency bots on the Telegram Messenger app.

In the following days, Maestrobots paid a total of 610 ETH from its own revenue to cover all the user losses while citing a lack of liquidity to buy back the lost tokens:

“So we compensated affected users with the ETH equivalent of their tokens, and boosted that amount by 20% because you deserve it. These refunds cost 334 ETH.”

Blockchain security firm CertiK confirmed to Cointelegraph that it has been able to detect the transactions showing the 334 ETH compensation paid out to users from Maestro.

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Fantasy football game on Telegram: Fanton joins Cointelegraph Accelerator

October 27, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

Fanton brings blockchain-based fantasy football to Telegram thanks to the IM service’s recent integration with the TON blockchain.

What’s a better way than combining the world’s most popular sports with Web2’s most socialized aspects to introduce new users to Web3 through gaming? Association football, or soccer, boasts the largest fan base among sports enthusiasts, with over 3.5 billion estimated people rooting for their favorite teams. Built mainly for football fans, the fantasy sports industry, a vast network of virtual sports leagues where users can create their own teams, has also grown to become a $25 billion global market.

Mixing fantasy football with blockchain features like nonfungible token (NFT) cards could create an ideal entry point to Web3 for the masses. However, current platforms present complex mechanics for newcomers, and most of them lack in-platform user interaction —a big loss considering the social aspect of fantasy football.

Soccer superstars as collectible cards

Fanton has built a fantasy football game that is integrated into Telegram to benefit from the instant messenger service’s 800 million-strong user base. It features collectible cards of top football players that earn points according to their real-life performances. These cards are issued on the blockchain as NFTs and can be easily traded among players.

The game benefits from Telegram’s recent integration with The Open Network (TON) blockchain, which enables the use of a noncustodial wallet directly from the Telegram app. Users can create a virtual football team with their cards of players, and earn points for their players’ actions in the real world.

The teams are made of five players: a goalkeeper, a defender, a midfielder, a forward and a substitute player. These players earn points based on their performances in their real-life football matches. Points are awarded for various actions, such as goals, assists and saves of goal chances by the goalkeeper. The combined score of the points equals the team score.

Tournaments are organized based on match days of real football leagues, including the English Premier League, Spanish LaLiga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and the French Ligue 1. Players can partake in a special championship consisting of the most important matches from the five European leagues, the Brazilian Championship and the UEFA Champions League, the world's most prestigious championship.

Users can join these tournaments by paying a participation fee, of which 85% is added to the prize pool while 15% goes to Fanton. Teams that score more points than others are rewarded with TON coins and collectible cards.

Fanton features soccer superstars as NFT cards. Source: Fanton

Fanton features soccer superstars as NFT cards. Source: Fanton

Cards are divided into rarity classes based on their scarcity, giving them value and uniqueness. Non-NFT cards are classified as common, while NFT cards can have rare, epic and legendary rarities. The game is free to play and provides common cards without charge for everyone who wants to participate. The rarer NFT cards should be purchased to take part in special NFT tournaments with higher prizes.

Fanton became a part of the Cointelegraph Accelerator program with its straightforward product that is already showing good traction in user onboarding and revenue. The Cointelegraph Accelerator team was inspired by the innovative game-in-a-messenger format, easy user onboarding and the perspective of crypto adoption via messengers. The platform has over 350,000 users and surpassed $40,000 in monthly revenue. With a seasoned team of 15 based in Spain and Indonesia, the game managed to raise $300,000 in a pre-seed round in February.

Today, October 27, 2023, Fanton launched its product on Product Hunt, a platform where users can discover and upvote new products. Fanton encourages its supporters to visit Product Hunt on Friday and upvote the product.

Telegram trading bot Maestro refunds users 610 ETH after router exploit

October 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bot

Maestrobots, a group of crypto bots on Telegram, has refunded users 610 ETH in the aftermath of a 280 ETH smart contract exploit on Oct. 24.

Maestrobots, a group of cryptocurrency bots on the Telegram messenger, is refunding users in the aftermath of a 280 Ether (ETH) attack.

The Maestro team refunded the users affected by the Maestro Router 2 contract, the platform announced on X (formerly Twitter) on Oct. 25. According to the announcement, Maestrobots paid a total of 610 ETH in its own revenue to cover all the user losses, worth more than $1 million at the time of writing.

“Every wallet that lost tokens in the router exploit has now received the full amount they lost. Some of you ended up with even bigger bags,” Maestro wrote.

The Maestro team noted that some amounts were paid back in affected tokens and ETH. For nine out of the 11 exploited tokens, Maestro chose to buy and refund tokens instead of sending ETH because “it's the most equitable and complete refund” it could offer. “We spent 276 ETH to secure our users' tokens,” Maestro added.

Affected users of the other two exploited tokens — including JOE and LMI — were refunded in ETH, Maestro said, citing lack of liquidity to buy back the lost tokens. The announcement added:

“So we compensated affected users with the ETH equivalent of their tokens, and boosted that amount by 20% because you deserve it. These refunds cost 334 ETH.”

Blockchain security firm CertiK confirmed to Cointelegraph that it has been able to detect the transactions showing the 334 ETH compensation paid out to users from Maestro.

The refunds came shortly after Maestro reported that the MaestroRouter on ETH mainnet was compromised on Oct. 24, allowing hackers to siphon around 280 ETH in exploited tokens, worth around $485,000 at the time of the hack. The Maestro team said it identified the attack within 30 minutes after the start and fully removed the exploit. The platform also quickly resumed trading, temporarily halting tokens with pools on SushiSwap, ShibaSwap and ETH PancakeSwap.

“Wallets were not compromised at all during this attack. This was purely directed at the Router,” Maestro wrote.

According to the executive summary by CertiK, Maestro's smart contract breach affected a total of 106 user addresses. The affected tokens included MOG, LMI, JOE, BANANA, OGGY, JIM, ETF, LP, APU, Real Smurf Cat and PROPHET.

“Most of these tokens pumped back up due to the anticipation that we were gonna market buy the tokens. Most of these tokens are still alive and kicking,” a spokesperson for Maestrobots told Cointelegraph.

Maestro, also known as MaestroBots on X, is a Telegram bot facilitating trades across three networks, including Ethereum, BNB Chain and Arbitrum, with a default transaction fee of 1%. The Maestro bot system features three different bots, including the Maestro Whale Bot, the Maestro Sniper Bot and the Maestro Wallet Bot. The Maestro Bots Hub Telegram channel has more than 100,000 subscribers at the time of writing, while its X account counts more than 24,000 followers.

Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market — Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in

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Telegram CEO buys $200K of TON

Toncoin price prediction

Soccer superstars as collectible cards

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