P2E gaming is in a rut, but Axie Infinity (AXS) could rebound for 3 key reasons

July 7, 2022 Coin Telegraph

AXS could recapture its former glory if market participants view the launch of land staking, increasing activity on the Ronin bridge and upcoming roadmap targets as bullish catalysts.

Play-to-earn gaming was one of the breakout sectors of the cryptocurrency market in 2021 and the trend was led by Axie Infinity (AXS), a mobile, blockchain-based game where users collect, breed, raise and battle nonfungible tokens (NFTs) called Axies for monetary rewards.

As the market topped and then entered what has become a deep bear market, AXS price retraced from an all-time high near $170 to its current price at $15.20 following several setbacks, including a $600 million hack of the Ronin sidechain that hosts the game.

*AXS/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView*

Currently, the future of P2E gaming remains in question and advocates are watching closely to see if this former unicorn had turned the ship around. Let's take a look at some of the developments taking place within Axie Infinity and determine whether any of them are bullish for the short and long term.

The launch of land staking

The most recent development to arise out of the Axie Infinity ecosystem is land stake parcels as a method for earning AXS tokens.

How much can you earn in Land Staking?

With Axie Infinity releasing land staking, we are curious about how much $AXS can holders accumulate per week!

1 $AXS = PHP 785.75

Thoughts on this? #AxieInfinity #PlayToEarn pic.twitter.com/jNmahoxWSi
— Ikigai Gaming | Play-to-Earn News and Scholarships (@IkigaiGuild) July 4, 2022

Based on the stats provided by the Ronin Chain explorer, land staking has been popular among holders and at least 87% of each of the different levels of plots have already been staked.

*Axie Infinity land statistics. Source: Axie Infinity*

In addition to the success of land staking, several land plots recently sold for over 130 Ether (ETH) each, which suggests that the level of interest in the game is still high.

While land owners have been excited about the new income opportunity, some community members have concerns about what effect the daily rewards of 11,194.62 AXS will have on the price of the token as the supply inflates.

The platform also offers AXS staking with a current yield of 72%, but only 38.47% of the current circulating supply is being staked, which indicates that a majority of the supply is available in the open market and could potentially be sold off.

The Ronin bridge reopens

The recent reopening of the Ronin bridge could also be another positive sign for Axie, especially considering that it had been disabled following a $600 million hack in March of this year.

The Ronin Bridge is open!

• All user funds are fully backed 1:1 by the new bridge.
• The bridge has undergone an internal audit and two external audits.
• We are still on track to release Land Staking this week.

: https://t.co/ZRqslOwXpo pic.twitter.com/xOgsZHvVGc
— Ronin (@Ronin_Network) June 28, 2022

According to Axie Infinity, the assets on the bridge are "fully backed 1:1," and the project added 11 new validators, circuit breakers and the two external audits were completed. All user funds that were lost have been reimbursed, making members of the community whole.

The reopening of the Ronin bridge and the launch of land staking has had a noticeable effect on the volume transacted, according to data from DappRadar.

*Axie Infinity statistics. Source: DappRadar*

These developments have also prompted a slight uptick in the number of daily users and transactions on the network, but these figures remain well below the 2021 highs of 744,000 users and 6.7 million transactions.

The community responds positively to the current changes

Community reactions to the recent developments have been mostly positive, with many eager to re-engage with the game now that it has finally moved past a few major bumps.

According to early Axie Infinity investor and Cointelegraph contributor Alyssa Exposito, “land staking has brought about a surge of energy that the community needed after we lost a huge amount in the treasury fund.”

Exposito also mentioned the Axie creator program that enables community members to build out games on the software development kit (SDK) as something that is exciting users of the platform, “Especially with the integration of RON as a means to engage and transact on the network."

Exposito highlighted the ecosystem's effort to get community members more involved with governance and building on the protocol as the developments that the community is most excited about.

Exposito said,

“I think once people begin to see and take notice of how the project enables and helps fund other creators to build on top of it, it’ll gain more traction on the possibilities of blockchain gaming.”

The main concerns discussed by members of the Axie community revolve around the circulating supply of AXS, how staking rewards affect the circulating supply and price, and the various token lockups and vesting schedules that could lead to large sales and price dumps in the future.

Generally, the protocol has taken the necessary steps to recover from the Ronin hack and it seems to be keeping up to date with the major milestones outlined on its roadmap. Aside from what the project can do internally, its fate is largely tied to the fate of the P2E sector as a whole.

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.

How the Metaverse can revolutionize the fashion industry

July 7, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

By amalgamating the world of fashion with the Metaverse, brands and their clients stand to benefit a lot.

The idea underlying digital fashion can be difficult for many to grasp since buying/trying out clothes that only exist in a virtual world can seem quite strange at first. However, with this niche market continuing to gain a lot of traction recently, many experts are beginning to view the idea of the Metaverse reshaping the future of fashion a lot more seriously.

For example, as per a recent study, clothing existing solely in the digital world was found to be way more environmentally friendly than its physical counterpart, with the former emitting 97% less CO2 and consuming approximately 3,300 liters of water less per item. Not only that, but there is also data to suggest that by replacing physical samples with digital ones during a company’s design and development phases, it is possible to reduce a brand’s carbon footprint by a whopping 30%.

Furthermore, the use of digital clothing can be highly useful during the various steps preceding the actual physical production of a garment. For example, these virtual items can be used for modeling, sampling and marketing before their physical iterations are sent into production, thus greatly minimizing the overall environmental impact of the entire lifecycle of a fashion item.

Lastly, when it comes to the sales side of things, digital models of clothes can help alleviate problems associated with overproduction, something that is widely considered to be a major roadblock within today’s fashion industry.

The appeal of digital fashion

To gain a better idea of whether the idea of digital fashion is just another passing fad or a phenomenon that’s here to stay, Cointelegraph reached out to Lokesh Rao, CEO of Trace Network Labs, a project enabling brands to explore Web3 products and services. In his view, as the Metaverse continues to evolve, it will indeed influence and revolutionize the fashion industry, adding:

“The industry has realized that the virtual world, despite being based on imaginary creations, actually has profound utility when it comes to garments. The evolution of design technologies allows creative freedom for all designers, but some clothes they design can never be worn in the real world. The Metaverse removes this hurdle — a digital avatar can wear any garment without any constraints of type, design, fabric and use.”

He further added that the intangibility aspect of fashion when it comes to the Metaverse, such as no need for physical clothes, makes it easier for users to experiment and create lavish wardrobes for themselves, way grander than what would be possible in the real world. Furthermore, since the clothes are in the form of digital collectibles or nonfungible tokens (NFTs), they can be freely traded across open NFT marketplaces, adding to their long-term value which many physical or second-hand clothing items do not possess.

However, Rao believes that the most important utility of the Metaverse in relation to the fashion industry is that in a digital world, users can deploy their avatars to visit different stores and try different clothes before making a purchase decision. “This is far better than having a brick and mortar store in multiple areas, which is an expensive proposition,” he noted.

From the outside looking in, the Metaverse enables companies, labels and fashion houses to reap a host of advantages such as having a borderless presence that transcends physical limitations, creating brand awareness globally using digital means and retailing “phygital” clothes while delivering convenience to their customers.

On the other hand, consumers are afforded many benefits as well. For example, they can try on clothes at their own convenience, time and place, order garments from a virtual store either in physical format or as an NFT, get physical deliveries processed from anywhere in the globe and maintain their ownership on the blockchain forever.

The future of fashion could be redefined

Frank Fitzgerald, founder of Pax.World — a platform that allows users to create their own metaverse — thinks that the merging of these two world’s could have a massive impact on the fashion industry. He told Cointelegraph:

“From new revenue generation streams to shaping what fashion looks like in the real world based on what is happening in the Metaverse, it will be a cultural revolution not only in fashion but also within the art industry as well.”

Fitzgerald noted that the younger generation is the key demographic for digital fashion, especially those individuals who see their digital representation as being an integral part of their social identities.

He said that while older generations (30+) may find these ideas hard to digest, there is reason to believe that, over time, more people will come aboard. “Over the next decade, I can see a whole generation of 20 and 30 year olds being very conscious of their digital representation and what that expresses to their colleagues and friends,” he stated.

Not everyone is sold on the idea

Stepan Sergeev, founder of OneWayBlock — the company behind blockchain-based game Clash of Coins — does not buy into the idea of digital fashion taking over the world anytime soon. He told Cointelegraph that as things stand, most people indulging in fashion — high street or otherwise — aren’t really hanging out in the Metaverse yet, adding:

“The point of buying a designer dress, for example, is to have people see you wearing it. If the Metaverse doesn’t yet have enough people in there to see it, its social value is lost. So, unless there is a mass migration of people to the Metaverse, I don’t see that happening. We can maybe see it changing fashion in that people can see more detailed designs of real-life pieces but I don’t think we’ll all be buying NFT dresses the way we do regular ones.”

He likened the current state of the digital fashion industry to gamers buying custom skins in video games, making the items relevant only within specific environments. “If things really pick up for the fashion sector and the average person is rushing to buy fashion NFTs the way they are to buy the latest sneaker or handbag, then it might be possible.”

Sergeev believes that the metaverse fashion phenomenon is most likely a passing fad that major clothing houses and brands have adopted in order to keep up with the times and stay up to date with the latest digital developments.

Sasha Tityanko, deputy CEO and art director for social VR platform Sensorium Galaxy, told Cointelegraph that while the Metaverse may be able to add to the fashion industry’s existing experiences, it will not come close to revolutionizing it. In her view, fashion brands thrive on change and making bold moves, and setting new standards is just the essence of their business. She noted:

“Virtual worlds offer creative opportunities — a white canvas free from stereotypes and social limitations. At its core, the Metaverse is an environment that encourages people to experiment and be creative in their endeavors.”

Fashion labels enter the Metaverse at a rapid pace

Over the course of 2022, a number of major brands such as Adidas, Nike and Gucci have reportedly been able to generate $137.5 million in NFT sales alone. Dolce & Gabbana bagged the record for the most expensive suit ever sold, a digital Glass Suit, which fetched the fashion giant a cool $1 million late last year.

Furthermore, D&G’s NFT collection was able to accrue $6 million while Gucci’s Queen Bee Dionysus virtual bag recently sold for 350,000 Robux (a popular in-game currency used to buy skins and accessories) or $4,000 — more than the bag’s real-life valuation.

During Q4 2021, Louis Vuitton released a video game allowing players to hunt for 30 NFTs hidden within its metaverse. Once collected, these items granted their owners access to various exclusive events and private parties. Similarly, Balenciaga recently joined forces with Fortnite — a video game with more than 300 million users — to sell high-fashion skins to players. Meanwhile, Ralph Lauren partnered with South Korean social network app Zepeto to release a virtual fashion collection for players.

Tityanko believes that as the gap between real and virtual continues to narrow and Web3 brings along new technological advancements, average consumers will increasingly have more choices to express themselves.”While not everyone can afford to buy a Balenciaga dress in real life, you might pick one for yourself in the digital world,” she added.

Recent: Hardware crypto wallet sales increase as centralized exchanges scramble

She further noted that many fashion houses like Gucci, Burberry and Louis Vuitton already have sizable teams in place dedicated to exploring and testing the Web3 space as many brands realize the potential of the digital market. “According to research by Vice Media Group, Gen Z spends 2X as much time on socialization in digital spaces than in real life,” Tityanko stated.

Thus, as we head into a future dominated by decentralized technologies, it will be interesting to see how the future of the fashion industry continues to play out, especially as more and more brands continue to enter the Metaverse with each passing day.

Bollywood A-lister-backed GARI token plunge sparks rug pull rumors

July 5, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

GARI token was launched by Salman Khan, an A-list celebrity from Bollywood, with an aim to help Indian creators monetize their content over a short video application Chingari.

The domino effect of the 2022 bear market, which saw the downfall of numerous crypto ecosystems and tokens over several months, caught up to GARI token as it tanked over 83% in value in a matter of hours on June 4. While GARI Network brushed off the development as a “market event,” investors suspect a rug pull event.

GARI token was launched by Salman Khan, an A-list celebrity from Bollywood, with an aim to help Indian creators monetize their content over a short video application Chingari and its nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and Trading View show that GARI maintained a fairly steady value, averaging out to roughly $0.6 over the past six months amid a shaky market.

GARI’s bearish movement began on June 20, however, its long-standing support gave away on June 4 when the token crashed 83.29% to its all-time lowest trading value of $0.13. Soon after, investors started comparing the situation to the Terra (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST) collapse, with one of the members calling the actor “Salman Kwon.”

#kucoin is the Big Whale who is dumping #Gari they are big investor. #kucoin gari price is $0.029 while other exchange have average $0.10 be careful from kucoin guys #KuCoin #SalmanKhan #gari #chingari #cryptocurrencies #scam pic.twitter.com/EeohogM4EY
— Ashish Gautam(Money Guru Digital) (@Moneygurudigi) July 4, 2022

Taking control of the situation, GARI Network conducted an internal evaluation and found no evident hacks that could topple the token’s prices, stating:

“So far this looks like a market event. We assure our community that ALL tokens are safe in the respective reserves.”

The team also revealed being in talks with Indian crypto exchanges to further assess the situation. Additionally, GARI network also planned to host an AMA session to clarify doubts and improve investor sentiment. However, the spectators were welcomed by a 404 error when they tried to join the session.

Link not working
— Ran NeuNer (@cryptomanran) July 5, 2022

While previously speaking to Cointelegraph, Chingari's spokesperson said that the GARI tokens are used to “connect and transact with their counterparties, place governance votes, and catalyze platform engagement and user base growth." Considering that not even the backing of an A-list celebrity from Bollywood could save GARI token from the wrath of the bear market, investors are advised to make informed investments upon due diligence, in other words, do your own research (DYOR).

GARI Network has not yet responded to Cointelegraph's request for comment.

Soon after India enforced its new crypto tax law, which requires investors to pay a 1% tax deduction at source (TDS) on every transaction, crypto exchanges reported a massive slump in trading volumes.

Indian Crypto exchange's trading volume have plunged by 90-95% , 3 months after new crypto laws became applicable.

Based on current volumes - Exchanges are only able to generate trading fee revenue of $1000 to $3000 Max.

Bitbns seems to be still doing well.

Tough times ahead. pic.twitter.com/KNDbea9BCn
— Crypto India (@CryptooIndia) July 4, 2022

CoinDCX, India’s first crypto unicorn reported a 90.9% decline in daily trading volumes while crypto exchange BitBNS witnessed a 37.4% drop.

Hodlers and whales: Who owns the most Bitcoin in 2022?

July 4, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

While the Bitcoin blockchain is public, knowing who owns the most Bitcoin in 2022 isn’t as simple as it should be. Here’s what we know.

One of the main features of the Bitcoin blockchain is its transparency. Bitcoin lets anyone see every transaction that has ever been made on its network and check the balance of every address out there. Because of this transparency, we’re able to know who owns the most Bitcoin (BTC) in 2022.

It’s important to look at who owns the most BTC, as the cryptocurrency’s supply is limited to 21 million coins. In February, Kim Grauer, director of research at blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph that an estimated 3.7 million BTC have been lost, effectively deflating the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply.

Experts estimate that as Bitcoin’s adoption rises, demand for it will skyrocket. As 3.7 million coins are estimated to be lost and a significant amount is being held on-chain by early investors, what may follow is a supply shock. Such a shock could only materialize if demand skyrockets in the future.

Those who own the most Bitcoin are set to greatly benefit from such a shock. Moreover, a significant supply being held by one entity is seen as a risk because if that entity ends up selling its war chest on the market, it could lead to a significant downside.

Who owns the most Bitcoin?

The entity that is widely acknowledged to hold the most Bitcoin is the cryptocurrency’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Nakamoto is believed to have around 1.1 million BTC that they have never touched throughout the years, leading to several theories regarding their identity and situation.

A significant amount of analysis has been put into determining how many coins Nakamoto actually has. After bringing BTC into existence by mining the genesis block, Nakamoto mined a significant number of blocks through their hardware at the time, with each block coming with a 50-BTC reward.

Nakamoto always used different Bitcoin addresses and disappeared back in 2010. It’s unclear how many blocks they mined as other early adopters got in on the action rather early as well. Lower estimates point to Nakamoto having around 750,000 BTC.

While the exact holdings of Nakamoto aren’t completely clear, those of publicly traded companies, governments, funds and other transparent organizations are.

Public and private company holdings

Over time, several organizations have added Bitcoin to their balance sheets. The most notable is business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, which accumulated 129,218 BTC after first investing in the cryptocurrency in August 2020.

The company’s CEO, Michael Saylor, has doubled down on the company’s Bitcoin strategy throughout the bear market, saying MicroStrategy plans to hold BTC “through adversity.” In early 2021, possibly thanks to influence from Saylor, electric car maker Tesla also invested in Bitcoin, risking $1.5 billion to buy 43,200 BTC.

According to Bitcoin Treasuries, a website tracking the Bitcoin held by publicly traded firms, other companies that have Bitcoin on their balance sheet include Core Scientific, BTC Miner Marathon Digital Holdings, fintech giant Square, crypto exchange Coinbase and crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital.

Thomas Perfumo, head of business operations and strategy at Kraken, spoke to Cointelegraph regarding companies’ cryptocurrency holdings:

“All companies should have an open mind towards Bitcoin, but they should consider what represents the best interests of their shareholders. At Kraken, we hold cryptocurrencies as a treasury asset.”

Perfumo added that Kraken also offers employees the option to take “as much of their salary in crypto as they would like via a payroll solution we call Sidemoon.” He added that a “significant number” of Kraken’s employees take advantage of the solution.

Public companies are estimated to have a total of 268,271 BTC, equivalent to over 1.27% of Bitcoin’s total supply. Over the years, however, several private companies have also revealed they hold BTC.

The private companies with the largest amounts of BTC are the firm behind the EOSIO software Block.one, which holds 140,000 BTC, the Tezos Foundation, which holds 17,500 BTC, and Stone Ridge Holdings Group, with 10,000 BTC. MassMutual comes next, with 3,500 BTC.

In total, private companies reportedly have 202,068 BTC. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Bill Barhydt, CEO of crypto investment firm Abra, noted companies should invest in BTC but opt for the “right size” for their treasuries. Barhydt added:

“Companies with a long-term time horizon should consider putting even more of their liquid assets into Bitcoin and Ethereum.”

The CEO revealed Abra holds Bitcoin by likening it to companies known to have invested in the cryptocurrency, including Tesla. Per his words, as accounting rules in the United States are “fixed and modernized, it will become even easier to replicate” what companies like these are doing.

Countries that own the most Bitcoin

There are several countries holding Bitcoin as well. Most have gotten their hands on the flagship cryptocurrency by seizing it, but these holdings are often quickly sold in auctions to private investors.

El Salvador is the country holding the most Bitcoin, with 2,301 BTC in its treasury. The country adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender in September 2021 and has invested in it numerous times. It’s planning on creating a Bitcoin City, using power from a volcano.

In April 2022, Finland was reported to be holding 1,981 BTC confiscated during criminal investigations with plans to auction off the funds later on in the year. At the time of writing, no report suggesting the funds have been auctioned emerged.

Ukrainian civil servants have provided data through Opendatabot showing they have owned a total of 46,351 BTC as of April 5, 2021. These declarations came as property disclosure requirements imposed on public officials, meaning they’re the holdings of individuals and not the government itself.

Similarly, Georgian parliament members are said to collectively hold 66 BTC, although the funds belong to private individuals and not the government.

Bitcoin fund holdings

Cryptocurrency investment funds allow investors to gain exposure to their underlying assets without dealing with them. In practice, this means gaining exposure to a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin without having to deal with public or private keys.

Funds add more Bitcoin in response to investor inflows and divest of their holdings as investors withdraw. The largest fund holding Bitcoin is Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, which has 643,572 BTC, equivalent to over 3% of the cryptocurrency’s circulating supply. Next is CoinShares, which holds around 42,980 BTC through XBT Provider’s exchange-traded products.

Ahead of this month’s crypto market sell-off, the Purpose Bitcoin ETF was the largest exchange-traded fund by BTC holdings. The sell-off saw the fund’s holdings drop from 47,818 BTC to 23,307 BTC between June 16 and 17, a staggering 51% drop. The fund’s holdings are still estimated to be above those of 3iQ’s CoinShares Bitcoin ETF, which has an estimated 12,115 BTC.

Largest individual Bitcoin holdings

Bitcoin addresses are pseudonymous, which means that while we easily see what addresses have the most Bitcoin in them, we can only identify who’s behind each one through extensive blockchain analysis or if the entity behind them comes forward.

Data from BitInfoCharts shows that the top Bitcoin wallets belong to cryptocurrency exchanges, which means they hold the assets of various users who choose custody of their funds on exchanges. Data shows there are five Bitcoin addresses with between 100,000 and 1 million BTC in them. Four of these have been identified and belong to exchanges.

*Bitcoin holder composition. Source: BitInfoCharts*

While it’s possible to see how many addresses hold how much BTC, this doesn’t exactly answer the question of what individuals have the largest Bitcoin holdings. Analyzing the market and individuals’ statements, however, provides us with various clues.

Changpeng Zhao, founder and CEO of leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was said to have a net worth of $96 billion in January 2022, with this estimate reportedly not including holdings of Bitcoin and BNB.

The CEO has said numerous times that he holds no fiat currencies, which would imply significant BTC and BNB holdings. While exact figures aren’t known, it’s rather safe to assume Zhao is among those holding a significant amount of Bitcoin.

Other well-known large Bitcoin holders are Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, who invested the millions they earned from their lawsuit against Facebook into cryptocurrencies and became the first Bitcoin billionaires. The duo was rumored to at one point own 1% of all Bitcoin in circulation.

Silicon Valley-based venture capital investor Tim Draper is known to have purchased at least 30,000 BTC back in 2014, buying the coins from an auction held by U.S. authorities after seizing the funds from the now-defunct darknet marketplace Silk Road.

Other individuals believed to have large amounts of BTC include Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert, FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Saylor, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. Their exact holdings — if they even hold Bitcoin — are unknown.

Bitcoin hodler growth and its supply

As the number of Bitcoin holders out there grows, the available supply of the cryptocurrency goes down, potentially leading to the aforementioned supply shock. Kraken’s Perfumo noted that the magic of crypto is that any individual has complete flexibility in managing their crypto custody.

Abra’s Barhydt said that investors in Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) should have a minimum time horizon of five to seven years or longer and should “assume that those funds are locked up for at least five years, given the volatility inherent in valuing exponentially growing technologies.”

Assuming funds are locked up would add to the potential supply shock. Kent Barton, tokenomics lead at ShapeShift DAO, told Cointelegraph that bear markets “have historically been an excellent time to purchase Bitcoin at relatively low prices,” even though there are no guarantees prices will ever rise again.

During bull markets, Barton said it’s important to “take a certain percentage of your risk off the table,” as moving some BTC to fiat when prices are high “means that you’ll be in a better position to weather the next bear market and have dry powder to buy Bitcoin at low prices.” Barton added:

“On a very long-term timeframe, Bitcoin continues to serve as a potential hedge against the dollar collapsing.”

Whether Bitcoin is a good investment or not depends on who you ask. The currency can neither be debased through inflation nor can its transactions be censored by a central authority. To some of its holders, prices are almost irrelevant as long as these and other qualities are maintained.

EU Makes Deal on MiCA Legislation to Regulate Crypto Markets

July 2, 2022 Bitcoin.com

DappRadar and LayerZero launch chain-agnostic staking token

July 1, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

A new staking mechanism through RADAR token has been created that is set to minimize gas fees and support recurring APR across multiple blockchains.

DappRadar and omnichain interoperability protocol LayerZero have launched a new token to enable cross-chain staking across multiple blockchains and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible networks — a move designed to minimize fees and increase access to staking opportunities.

The functionality for the newly launched RADAR token is provided through a set of smart contracts, DappRadar said. One of the contracts is known as the controller and the other as a proxy. The two smart contracts work together to enable the new staking mechanism.

Requests made to withdraw or claim rewards are sent to the proxy smart contract. It communicates with the controller contract to determine if the request is valid. If the request is valid, the controller informs the proxy to release the tokens. DappRadar claims this type of cross-chain staking was previously unavailable anywhere.

DappRadar also provided documentation instructing users on how to take advantage of this new functionality. The instructions mention that users can “can stake [their] RADAR tokens on the Ethereum blockchain and then claim the rewards on BNB Chain.” These two chains are the first supported, with a rollout for Polygon (MATIC) expected soon.

DappRadar describes itself as a decentralized application exploration platform. The RADAR overview mentions that the token will help the company broaden its coverage, pursue faster listings for emerging projects, provide more accurate listings of current projects and offer better portfolio tools.

DappRadar and LayerZero first announced their RADAR token in December 2021. Seven months later, the crypto market landscape has changed dramatically, with June capping off the worst quarter in 11 years. Despite the current bear market, other tokens have seen new highs up to 300%.

Integrating blockchain-based digital IDs into daily life

June 30, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Banks

Blockchain tech is pushing the boundaries of ID management as governments look for scalable solutions that promote privacy, control and decentralized data management.

The last 13 years have seen blockchain technology evolve into numerous use cases — finance, data, logistics and security, among others. However, the idea of using blockchain’s immutable capabilities to ID humans got new life when Changpeng “CZ” Zhao visited the island country of Palau to kick off its digital residency program.

The blockchain identity management market is estimated to grow by $3.58 billion in the span of five years from 2021 to 2025. Key factors include the rising demand for digitalization and privacy-respecting identity solutions. As a result, a myriad of solutions breached the market serving this need in the form of nonfungible tokens (NFT), distributed ledger technology (DLT) and barebone blockchain technology.

Considering the plethora of use cases that blockchain can serve on a day-to-day basis, numerous government organizations began experimenting with the technology — weighing heavily on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and verifiable and immutable user identity.

Problems with traditional IDs

Correctly identifying — or ID-ing — an individual has always been paramount to governments to ensure targeted delivery of services and allowances, among other requirements, which holds true to this day. However, ongoing advancements in technology empowered the general public with tools to create IDs visually identical to the original. Given blockchain’s capability to store immutable records, authorities see the technology as a fighting chance against fraud related to ID theft and fakes.

With traditional paper-based IDs comes the difficulty of confirming their legitimacy across different systems. History has shown how people successfully use fake ID cards to claim unauthorized access to a myriad of benefits. However, technological advancements such as blockchain have provided authorities with the opportunity to issue verifiable certificates and IDs while ensuring scalability, speed and security of the identity management system.

Efforts on this front saw the rise of a new ecosystem comprising various blockchain-based digital ID offerings. For example, Shubham Gupta, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, recently spearheaded the launch of a Polygon-based system for issuing verifiable caste certificates on behalf of the government of Maharashtra.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, he said, “if identity management systems have to be rated on a scale of 0 to 1 based on decentralization and individual control, traditional centralized ID systems will be on the far left and fully self-hosted, public blockchain-based IDs on the extreme right.”

Forms of blockchain-based digital IDs

While blockchain technology can and has been used as-is for maintaining immutable records over the internet, innovations spanning over the last decade resulted in the birth of sub ecosystems around the use of blockchain technology.

“The idea of blockchain-based digital IDs has been floating around for quite a while but came into the limelight with the recent NFT boom,” blockchain adviser and Bundlesbets.com CEO Brenda Gentry told Cointelegraph.

*An Italian electronic identity document.*

While NFTs were first marketed as a tool to represent real-world objects including intellectual and physical assets, the technology found itself well-suited for a variety of applications. Recently, government organizations have begun testing NFTs for ID-ing citizens as means to reduce operational costs.

“Wide-scale implementation of blockchain-based digital IDs — like issuance of national identity cards such as passports and driving licenses — takes time but I strongly believe that is the destination that the world should move toward,” Gentry added. In addition to helping authenticate people, blockchain technology discourages counterfeiting, tampering or identity theft attempts.

Citing the involvement of luxury brands and artists that promoted the use of NFTs to authenticate the legitimacy and ownership of a product or art, Gentry opined that “luxury items can be checked for their authenticity on-chain which completely eliminates the chance of owning a counterfeit product.”

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Neil Martis, the co-founder and project lead of LegitDoc, which is known in the space for delivering numerous blockchain-based certificates and ID solutions to the state governments of India, envisions a greater adoption of public blockchain-based ledgers over the next decade. Web3-native decentralized IDs will play an incremental role in identifying users and authenticating them to participate in different types of Web3 native transactions.

Benefits of blockchain-based digital IDs

While blockchain’s elevator pitch is heavily inclined toward immutability, the technology boasts multiple advantages over traditional software and paper-based systems. The opinions regarding the benefits of blockchain boil down to the control over personal information.

Self-sovereignty stands as one of the biggest benefits of blockchain-based digital IDs, according to Martis. This means that blockchain empowers users to share partial or selective information with their service providers instead of handing over their complete identity.

With blockchain-based IDs eradicating the misuse of information, experts envision the birth of a truly trustless system without the involvement of third parties. Gentry, too, reiterated verifiability, traceability and uniqueness as some of the major benefits brought about by blockchain, as she highlighted that blockchain IDs cannot be duplicated because it's on the distributed ledger. “All the Digital ID can be verified on the blockchain and can be traced back to the owners' account which can also be used for Know Your Customer,” she added.

Limitations of blockchain-based digital IDs

Mainstream acceptance of blockchain-based digital IDs will ultimately have to mean overcoming the most pressing challenges that threaten to hinder its adoption. Some of the roadblocks that stand out in the current landscape include a lack of education among the masses and a supportive regulatory environment.

On the education front, Gentry has noticed a fast-changing scenario brought about by mainstream discussions and widespread adoption of the technology. However, the creation of pro-crypto regulations will need greater intervention from industry players to help countries and institutions get onboarded onto the blockchain network.

Martis concurred with Gentry’s thoughts on regulations as he highlighted that blockchain IDs, no matter how decentralized, will need attestation or recognition by the issuing authorities. He added: “if the issuing authorities don’t recognize the validity of the blockchain IDs, then the same cannot be used for availing a majority of public services. This in my opinion is the biggest limitation.”

Blockchain of choice for ID-ing people

Given that a majority of real-world identity systems are under the purview of governments and sovereigns, Martis envisions greater adoption of permissioned distributed ledger networks for issuing Identities that require government services.

Gentry noted that choosing the perfect blockchain for IDing people or goods will require weighing the unique advantages and limitations of the various blockchain ecosystems. While highlighting the existing concerns such as Ethereum’s gas fees or Solana’s infamous outages, the blockchain advisor suggested that Binance’s BNB Chain is the perfect choice of blockchain because of its high transactions per second and low latency and fees.

Recent: Bitcoin payments make a lot of sense for SMEs but the risks still remain

Speaking from personal experience, Gupta shared that Indian state governments tend to choose a middle ground wherein instead of a single authority fully in control of citizen identities, a group of independent departments will share a common distributed ledger that hosts citizen identities, anchored periodically on a public blockchain.

The Maharashtra government is currently working to deploy a scalable blockchain-based ID system for a tribal population of 1.2 million. Martis explains that the IDs created will be used by various departments to perform analytics and identify the right beneficiaries for various national schemes.

Regardless of the challenges that slow down blockchain adoption across business verticals, the advantages of the technology make its dominance inevitable. Government organizations and private entities have amped up efforts in uncovering futureproof fintech solutions via blockchain innovations. Blockchain disruptions that are well-positioned to go mainstream in addition to identity management include localized CBDCs, supply chain solutions and cross-border settlements.

Decentralized identities or DIDs (decentralized identifiers) have yet to see wide-scale implementation. According to Martis, they should be settled or issued by highly decentralized public blockchains that are outside state control, adding that “Bitcoin and Ethereum stand out as the obvious choices in this regard.”

‘Unique phenomenon’: All 5B toncoins mined on PoS TON blockchain

June 28, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The TON blockchain has always been proof-of-stake, while the mining of toncoin began “spontaneously and randomly” in 2020, according to the TON Foundation.

The TON Foundation, an organization developing the Telegram-initiated blockchain project, the TON blockchain, on Tuesday officially announced that TON miners have mined the final toncoin.

"Tens of thousands of miners have mined the entire issuance of toncoins, which was about 5 billion tokens,” TON Foundation founding member and core developer Anatoly Makosov said in a statement to Cointelegraph. The last toncoin was mined on June 28, he noted.

The end of toncoin mining marks a major milestone in TON's distribution, starting its new era as an entirely PoS blockchain. From now on, new toncoins will only enter circulation via PoS validation, the TON Foundation said. That will result in a cut in the total influx of new toncoins into the network by around 75% to the existing limit of 200,000 tokens per day.

The TON price has immediately reacted to the news, surging 34% over the past 24 hours. The token is trading at $1.41, according to data from CoinGecko.

*TON seven-day price chart. Source: CoinGecko*

By definition, proof-of-stake, or PoS, is a consensus algorithm that operates depending on a validator’s stake in the network. The PoS algorithm is opposed to proof-of-work, or PoW, the original consensus algorithm of major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), which is based on blocks validated through computing power provided by miners.

According to TON's whitepaper, its blockchain uses a PoS approach for generating new blocks. However, its unique infrastructure somehow allowed miners to generate toncoins using the PoW consensus as well, Makosov stated:

“The TON blockchain has always been proof-of-stake; the novelty is that even in a PoS blockchain it is possible to write a smart contract that can be mined according to PoW principles.”

“If you put the entire coin issuance of the blockchain on such a smart contract, you get a PoS blockchain, but with a distribution of coins in the form of mining. As far as we know no one has done this before,” the developer added.

According to Makosov, the current TON network was launched on Nov. 15, 2019, while the coin issuance was put on smart contracts that could be mined on July 7, 2020. The tokens were placed in special "giver" smart contracts, allowing anyone to participate in the mining. “Users mined around 200,000 TON daily,” an official post devoted to TON’s history of mining reads.

“Mining on the proof-of-stake TON blockchain was a unique phenomenon to behold,” the post notes, adding that mining on TON commenced “spontaneously and randomly” after the Telegram team agreed on a settlement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and was forced to terminate its involvement in TON.

Celsius denies allegations on Alex Mashinsky trying to flee US

June 28, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky wasn’t trying to leave the U.S. last week but has continued to work on recovering liquidity and operations, the company has claimed.

Troubled crypto lending firm Celsius is putting their best foot forward to recover operations alongside CEO Alex Mashinsky, who currently stays in the United States, the company has claimed.

A spokesperson for Celsius has denied rumors that the company’s CEO tried to flee the U.S. last week amid the ongoing liquidity crisis of the Celsius Network.

The representative told Cointelegraph on Monday that the firm continues working on restoring liquidity, stating:

“All Celsius employees — including our CEO — are focused and hard at work in an effort to stabilize liquidity and operations. To that end, any reports that the Celsius CEO has attempted to leave the U.S. are false.”

Celsius’ statement came shortly after Mike Alfred, co-founder of the crypto analytics firm Digital Assets Data, took to Twitter on Sunday to claim that Mashinsky attempted to leave the country last week via Morristown Airport in New Jersey.

Citing an anonymous source, Alfred alleged that Celsius’s CEO was trying to go to Israel. “Unclear at this moment whether he was arrested or simply barred from leaving,” he added.

Alfred’s claims followed a massive GameStop-like “short squeeze” of Celsius, with Celsius’ native token Celsius (CEL) jumping 300% in one week by June 21. CEL price also abruptly rallied more than 600% on June 14, with analysts attributing the event to an exchange glitch or liquidation of short traders.

At the time of writing, CEL is trading at $0.741, down around 5% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Celsius’ native token is still up more than 160% over the past 14 days.

*Celsius Network token (CEL) 30-day price chart. Source: CoinGecko*

Some industry observers in the crypto community have expressed skepticism about Alfred’s tweets about Mashinsky, with many considering his allegations as FUD.

If @Mashinsky attempted to leave the country this week, why are you reporting it now exactly when the CEL price is going down? Seems very coincidental Mike Alfud. And why no mainstream media or crypto media is reporting this? #CelShortSqueeze https://t.co/ynJbzWib9o
— Otis — #CelShortSqueeze ©️ ⚡️ (@otisa502) June 27, 2022

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Celsius officially announced that it would be “pausing all withdrawals, swaps and transfers between accounts” on June 13. United States regulators subsequently started an investigation into Celsius as multiple accounts on the network were frozen.

According to some analysts, Celsius’ liquidity issues should be attributed to shortcomings of the existing crypto lending model in general, as other lenders in the market have faced similar problems recently.

Celsius has been working hard to fix the consequences of the platform’s liquidity crisis, reportedly onboarding advisers and restructuring consultants to help the platform handle potential filing for bankruptcy. On June 18, Celsius’ lead investor BnkToTheFuture and its co-founder Simon Dixon offered to assist the network by deploying a recovery plan.

What is StrongBlock (STRONG) and how does it work?

June 25, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Strongblock creates platforms and protocols with the intention of revolutionizing how blockchain networks compensate the nodes that protect and sustain them.

The digital financial environment continues to develop almost every second, which is no surprise to those in the crypto sector. Among such technological advancements, a new project called StrongBlock has popularized the concept of the node as a service (NaaS) on the blockchain. NaaS is an alternative to running entire blockchain nodes on your own; it provides developer infrastructure and tools for setting up and managing blockchain nodes.

Connected blockchain nodes relay, transmit and store decentralized blockchain data. But, what is a blockchain node? A node, also known as a Full Node, is a device that stores the blockchain's whole transaction history. But, who is behind the creation of the StrongBlock ecosystem?

The StrongBlock team includes CEO David Moss and chief technology officer Brian Abramson, who are enterprise software and blockchain veterans. Corey Lederer, chief product officer, is also among the StrongBlock founders' team and has extensive experience in managing technology products.

StrongBlock sees the blockchain as the way of the future, but unless you're well-versed with this technological breakthrough, it can be a risky place to enter. As a result, StrongBlocks' objective is to make it easier for anyone to support and participate in blockchains.

This article will deep dive into the NaaS concept and explore what makes StrongBlock unique, how to make money through StrongBlock and how to buy the STRONG token.

StrongBlock explained

StrongBlock is a blockchain platform aimed at revolutionizing the way blockchain networks operate. The reason for its simplification is the simple NaaS tool, which allows users who aren't well-versed in blockchain to build a blockchain-compliant node quickly while compensating them for running it.

Before StrongBlock's NaaS, running Ethereum nodes required an extensive understanding of blockchain as well as the ability to code and a server capable of running the node throughout the day. In summary, diving into nodes before StrongBlock required either a lot of effort or a high level of knowledge to make it simple.

In addition, rewards were reserved for miners that solved complex mathematical problems, whereas no such monetary rewards were distributed to nodes. There is no way to assess the performance of nodes.

To address the above issues, StrongBlock automated all of the processes, allowing everyone to participate in the blockchain revolution. Users can create a node in seconds using the StrongBlock platform. They can also add their node to obtain daily STRONG token rewards. STRONG is StrongBlock's governance token, which developers use to enable token holders to contribute to determining the protocol's future.

What are Strong nodes?

A Strong node is a node that supports the Ethereum network. It rewards node operators a “Node Universal Basic Income” (NUBI) based on the number of Ethereum blocks they contribute to the network's upkeep. However, the number of nodes, token price, node revenue and nonfungible token (NFT) ownership are all factors that influence rewards; they are variable and not guaranteed.

Strong nodes are run as a service; therefore, they do not require hardware and this allows anyone, even non-technical people, to build a blockchain-compliant node in seconds and get paid for running it.

How does StrongBlock work?

The StrongBlock protocol is designed to give NUBI continually. NUBI rewards are currently paid in STRONG, and in the future, the company will be paying them as NFTs. The protocol is then governed by those who have obtained STRONG in this manner. Potential reward shortfalls can be rectified by the community in a variety of ways as the protocol grows.

The rewards are measured based on ongoing contributions per node, burning STRONG for NFTs, renewal fees, lowering NUBI and creating different NUBI classes. Furthermore, there are two methods for using nodes within the StrongBlock protocol. Bringing your own Node (BYoN) offers additional flexibility and the ability to further personalize your node, whereas StrongBlock NaaS is faster and easier to set up.

Both approaches offer the same base NUBI incentives, but future additions may give BYoN nodes more opportunities than NaaS nodes. Also, the monthly fee for NaaS is $14.95 (paid in ETH), whereas it varies in the case of BYoN.

What is a STRONG token?

The STRONG token (now referred to as STRNGR) is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 token that runs on the Ethereum network. The coin is a governance token that will eventually lead to StrongBlock's decentralized system.

While the team generated 10 million STRONG tokens, they burned roughly 95% to develop a correct tokenomics for the system. The system continues to burn extra STRONG tokens with each new node deployed to maintain a deflationary token supply.

How to launch a blockchain node using StrongBlock

To launch a blockchain node using StrongBlock, ensure that you have a digital wallet. StrongBlock's NaaS platform is compatible with MetaMask and does not support multisig wallets.

To cover the transaction's gas fees, you'll need to buy some ETH. Connect your wallet to your preferred crypto exchange and purchase 10 STRNGR tokens. MetaMask can be downloaded as a browser extension from the MetaMask website. Customers can choose Chrome, Brave, or Firefox browsers.

Check the gas fees by connecting your wallet containing 10 STRNGR to the app.strongblock.com website. The Etherscan Gas Tracker can be used to check gas fees, which vary based on the crypto-economy.

Setting up or launching a node costs 10 STRONG tokens plus gas fees. Each node is then rewarded with 0.091 STRONG tokens, which can serve as a source of passive income. To create blockchain nodes using StrongBlock, follow the steps below:

You'll be able to pay node fees, see your accrued awards, and claim rewards after your node is created. The first monthly node fee is included when you create your node. After that, you'll have to manually pay the node charge every 30 days. However, the node fee payment structure has a 90-day prepaid restriction.

If you are not able to see the created node, check for the approved, pending or canceled transactions to speed up the process.

What are the tax implications of StrongBlock?

Because of the nature of StrongBlock and the impossibility of selling the asset, Ethereum node services cannot be classified as an asset in the crypto and tax worlds; instead, they will be classified as an expense.

As a result, when you buy StrongBlock, the first purchase will be considered a business expense, and everything you earn from it will be considered a taxable income or earning. The taxable rate will depend upon the country of your residence and can be determined by your present income level. To understand your taxable obligations, you may consider reading Cointelegraph's guide to filing cryptocurrency taxes in the US, UK, and Germany.

Is StrongBlock a good investment?

If you are a blockchain lover, you may find StrongBlock a promising project with which to launch Ethereum nodes and earn passive income. However, considering the sky-high gas fees and crypto market volatility, you should always conduct due diligence before putting money into any project.

That said, if you think that your financial objectives, the organization's vision and the return on investment are aligned, then you may become an active participant in the project and get rewarded with STRONG tokens. Nonetheless, do not forget the risk exposure you are willing to take.

The platform intends to support other protocols like Ethereum's consensus layer upgrade (previously ETH 2.0) soon. It also plans to introduce features such as NFT gamification and a marketplace, which may encourage blockchain enthusiasts to participate in the blockchain revolution led by StrongBlock.

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