New NFT marketplace LooksRare allows traders to earn rewards

January 10, 2022 Coin Telegraph

As NFT trading activity remains high in volume, a new wave of NFT trading platforms have begun to crop up in 2022.

LooksRare, a recently launched nonfungible token, or NFT, marketplace, says it wants to index all NFT collections on the Ethereum blockchain. The site went live on Monday with a token airdrop.

#LooksRare NFT Marketplace Now Live!

$LOOKS airdrop claim open
⏰ Staking starts at block 13977012
Trading reward calculations start tomorrow

LFG! https://t.co/Y1jt9Kmqt6
— LooksRare - NFT Marketplace (@LooksRareNFT) January 10, 2022

Created by two anonymous co-founders, known as Zodd and Guts, LooksRare claimed to be made “By NFT People, for NFT People.” According to its blog announcement, the LooksRare team is “tired of the deplatforming of creators, and the decision-makers who value business over community, seeking IPO instead of benefiting the communities that got them there.”

Their alleged solution is to offer a marketplace that rewards the platform's participants and creators. Users who buy or sell NFTs from eligible collections can earn its native utility LOOKS tokens. OpenSea users who traded 3 ETH or more between June 16–Dec. 16, 2021 are eligible for an airdrop of LOOKS Tokens.

In addition, the platform has a 2% standard fee on all NFT trades, which is lower than OpenSea’s 2.5%, that goes to LOOKS token stakers. And users can trade NFTs with Ether or wrapped ether (WETH). At the time of publication, LOOKS traded at 0.0008748 WETH ($2.69).

The LooksRare site was down for a few hours on Monday, which caused some users to experience difficulties while connecting their wallets and completing listings. According to the project's Discord, the site was under a distributed denial-of-service attack, or DDoS, meaning that its network was overwhelmed with malicious traffic.

On Monday, another NFT marketplace launch announcement was made by the news organization Associated Press, which plans to debut its photojournalism NFT platform on Jan. 31.

Sega will likely not introduce NFTs for play-to-earn if ‘perceived as simple money-making’

January 6, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Business

The company previously announced plans to expand into NFTs through a partnership with Japanese game developer double jump.tokyo.

The leadership at video game firm Sega Corporation’s holding company has suggested that they may avoid nonfungible tokens in play-to-earn model games based on the response from users.

In a Dec. 14 meeting of Sega Sammy Holdings’ CEO Haruki Satomi, senior executive vice president Koichi Fukazawa, and Sega Corporation President Yukio Sugino, the trio said they needed to “carefully assess” how to potentially introduce nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, into Sega titles to “mitigate the negative elements” and work within Japanese regulations. The executives cited “negative reactions” from users overseas rewarded in NFTs for gameplay.

“In terms of NFT, we would like to try out various experiments and we have already started many different studies and considerations but nothing is decided at this point regarding [play-to-earn],” said Sega. “We will consider this further if this leads to our mission ‘Constantly Creating, Forever Captivating’, but if it is perceived as simple money-making, I would like to make a decision not to proceed.”

The executives added that any rollout of NFTs in play-to-earn model games would “be better to work with partners on new technologies and domains [...] rather than dealing with them in-house.” It’s unclear how the video game company intends to move forward with gauging user interest.

The Sega Corporation is a Japan-based game developer and a subsidiary of the Sega Group Corporation, which merged with the Sammy Corporation in 2004. The company has been behind many popular games since the introduction of Sonic the Hedgehog in the 1990s — Sega’s latest title in the series, Sonic Frontiers, is scheduled to be released in 2022. In April 2021, the company announced it planned to expand into NFTs through a partnership with game developer double jump.tokyo.

当社は、double jump .tokyo株式会社との協業による、ブロックチェーンの技術を活用したNFTデジタルコンテンツについて、2021年夏頃を目途に販売を開始します。https://t.co/b8pMW6dg9G pic.twitter.com/3idW6RI71z
— セガ公式アカウント (@SEGA_OFFICIAL) April 27, 2021

Should Sega move forward with using NFTs in play-to-earn model games, it would be joining a variety of gaming companies incorporating the technology. In March 2021, France-based game publisher Ubisoft launched One Shot League, a fantasy soccer game developed in collaboration with the Ethereum-based game Sorare.

Bitcoin Dominance Sinks to Lowest Level in 3 Years as Ethereum, Numerous Competitors Gain on BTC

January 6, 2022 Bitcoin.com

New LGBT token aims for equity but raises red flags with community

January 5, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Algorand

While sporting a questionable name, the coin project says it wants to enable a “social and ethical” payment method.

The cryptocurrency community has raised concerns about Maricoin, a new token supposedly related to the LGBT+ community, with some people even suspecting the project to be a scam.

Launched in December 2021, Maricoin promises to enable a “social, ethical, transparent and transversal means of payment” targeting the global “pink economy,” which is estimated to amount to trillions of dollars.

One might question Maricoin’s ethics though, as its name is a portmanteau that plays on a Spanish slur for homosexuals.

According to the project’s website, Maricoin runs on the Algorand blockchain, with creators planning to list the token on several crypto exchanges in 2022.

The project was reportedly founded in Madrid by local hairdresser and entrepreneur Juan Belmonte, who said that the new token is designed to help the community profit by providing a new payment method for LGBT-friendly businesses worldwide.

According to CEO Francisco Alvarez, as many as 8,000 people were already on a waiting list to buy Maricoin as of early January.

Despite the token being widely promoted as the “first coin created by and for the LGBT+ community” on many mainstream media channels, Maricoin is not quite the first cryptocurrency project related to the LGBT+ community. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, there are a number of LGBT-related tokens and initiatives, including the LGBT token, which was launched back in 2018.

Several industry observers have expressed skepticism over Maricoin, with some even alleging that the initiative could be a scam.

“It’s not a coin, it’s a token, clearly a scam to catch fools who want to make easy money with crypto. Their website is poorly made, ugly and doesn’t have a single tech line about how this crypto will work. Not a single whitepaper and their waiting-list form is a damn Google Doc,” one Redditor argued.

Justin Ehrenhofer, vice president of operations at crypto wallet service Cake Wallet, said, “This 100% feels like a scam.” He noted that the Reuters article on Maricoin didn’t include much skepticism on the project:

This 100% feels like a scam. You need to FILL OUT A GOOGLE FORM to indicate how much you want to "invest" in "MariCoin"? Yet @enriqueanarte @TRF publishes this likely scam, without much skepticism. *Maybe* everyone involved is oblivious, but this appears to be a textbook scam :( https://t.co/3TY4NfyDgQ pic.twitter.com/j1ZQaZea8G
— Justin Ehrenhofer ️‍ (@JEhrenhofer) January 4, 2022

Maricoin did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. This article will be updated pending any new information.

Airbnb users want crypto payment options, according to CEO Twitter poll

January 5, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Airbnb

AirBnB's CEO suggested that the platform's possible crypto payment option would not be restricted to one or two digital currencies.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky tweeted a poll on Monday asking his roughly 400,000 followers what they wanted from the rental platform in 2022.

Chesky has today revealed that the majority of respondents want to be able to pay with Bitcoin (BTC) or other popular digital currencies when renting their next house or apartment on Airbnb. Other requests included clear pricing displays, a loyalty program for visitors, up-to-date cleaning charges, and enhanced customer service.

Got 4,000 suggestions. Here are the top 6:

1 - Crypto payments (top suggestion)
2 - Clear pricing displays
3 - Guest loyalty program
4 - Updated cleaning fees
5 - More long-term stays & discounts
6 - Better customer service

Already working on most, will look into others now! https://t.co/rxEM4BXZci
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) January 5, 2022

Chesky also added that he has seen a number of token ideas, implying that Airbnb's potential cryptocurrency payment selection will not be confined to one or two digital assets. Airbnb currently accepts Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal as payment methods. The CEO also noted that the accommodation company has processed $336 billion in transactions since 2013.

Chesky has been vocal regarding the potential of new technologies. In September, he told Fox Business that the company had received a lot of inquiries regarding crypto payments:

"We get a lot of requests, I've been getting it for years, I have nothing to announce on it today."

During a November interview with Nilay Patel of The Verge, he was asked about his thoughts on the future of crypto and metaverse:

"We are definitely looking into it. Absolutely. Like the revolution in travel, there is clearly a revolution happening in crypto. Airbnb and crypto both have interesting relationships with trust."

He went on to note that Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, was a former employee of Airbnb. The crypto buzz surrounding Airbnb comes amid a rise in competition from decentralized blockchain-based alternatives like Travala.com's Dtravel, which provides a holiday rental service.

Presidential Candidate in South Korea to Raise Funds in Cryptocurrency, Issue NFTs

January 3, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Ferrari’s new deal with blockchain firm Velas hints at NFTs

December 28, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Ferrari will be issuing exclusive digital content for its fans in collaboration with Swiss blockchain startup Velas.

Italian luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari is moving into the blockchain industry by inking a partnership with Swiss blockchain startup Velas Network.

Ferrari officially announced Monday that it had signed a multi-year agreement with Velas to jointly issue “exclusive digital content” for the Scuderia’s fans. Velas will also be the main sponsor for Ferrari Esports Series, the online series competing in the F1 Esports Series, the official digital championship including all teams participating in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

The announcement describes Velas as a major company in the industry of digital assets and blockchain, emphasizing the startup’s focus on nonfungible tokens (NFT):

“A global player in the blockchain and NFT sector, Velas has distinguished itself through the performance and innovation of its services and its technological leadership, characteristics that unite it with the Maranello team.”

Scuderia Ferrari general manager Mattia Binotto noted that the company chose Velas as one of its premium partners, as the companies share values such as innovation and performance of technologically advanced products and services.

Farkhad Shagulyamov, a co-founder and newly appointed CEO of Velas, said that it was natural for Velas to partner with “another icon of excellence, which is Ferrari.”

“Velas has introduced an innovative variety of pioneering technology into the blockchain and associated products, which will now be showcased at the pinnacle of motorsport,” he noted.

The next chapter is coming Today, Velas officially partnered with Scuderia Ferrari. Thanks to both the @ScuderiaFerrari and @VelasBlockchain teams for such fantastic work you have done together.

Don't miss our updates to know more pic.twitter.com/X6NuVkKCkR
— Farkhad S (@SFarkhad) December 27, 2021

Ferrari and Velas did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Velas is an open-source blockchain network working to provide a mix of the best features of centralized and decentralized tools. As of October, the firm allocated $100 million to startups building on top of the Velas blockchain, which was a significant surge from its initial pledge of $5 million.

Velas (VLX), the native token of the Velas blockchain, has edged up significantly recently. Trading at $0.346, the token is up around 4% over the past 24 hours at the time of writing, according to data from CoinGecko. VLX is up more than 70% over the past seven days.

Crypto exchange Kraken’s new NFT marketplace to issue loans

December 28, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Jesse Powell said the exchange will expand into a marketplace for nonfungible tokens and NFT-backed loans beginning in 2022.

Kraken founder and CEO Jesse Powell recently shared in an interview with Bloomberg News that the crypto exchange will launch a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace that will enable users to borrow funds against their NFTs.

Powell explained that the company plans to enter the NFT space in early 2022 and hopes to add the feature to determine the liquidation value of an NFT and if it can be put up as collateral for a loan.

“If you deposit a CryptoPunk on Kraken, we want to be able to reflect the value of that in your account," said Powell. "And if you want to borrow funds against that."

The value of NFTs, however, is all over the spectrum and only a small percentage of token owners hold a digital collectible valued for as much as a CryptoPunk, whose floor price is 66.9 Ether (ETH) or $273,673 at the time of publication.

According to Powell, NFT utility will explode next year:

“Phase one was speculation, phase two is buying art and supporting artists, phase three is going to be functional uses of NFTs.”

Additionally, Kraken recently acquired Staked, an infrastructure platform that allows for non-custodial crypto staking, in an effort to attract new investors. Kraken clients will now be able to earn crypto rewards and yield while retaining control over their digital assets.

Kraken was founded in 2011 and has become one of the largest crypto exchanges worldwide, ranking among the top in terms of average liquidity, volume and digital asset reserves, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Kraken’s announcement demonstrates how NFT-backed loans are becoming increasingly commonplace as more DeFi platforms, such as Arcade and Nexo, are offering this new loan model. As Cointelegraph recently reported, Arcade closed a $15 million funding round in December as part of a broader effort to grow its offerings and attract more investors to its collateralized NFT platform.

Serbia Reviews License Applications From 3 Cryptocurrency Exchanges

December 26, 2021 Bitcoin.com

Terra’s Mirror protocol warns community against governance attack

December 25, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The attacker launched a public poll on Mirror’s official website, which falsely proposes a freeze on the community pool in case of a scam. If executed as planned, the attacker would receive 25 million MIR tokens.

Public blockchain network Terra has confirmed an ongoing scam attack via an official governance poll on Mirror, an in-house synthetic assets protocol.

According to Mirror, the attacker launched a public poll on Mirror’s official website, which proposes a freeze on the community pool in case of a scam.

NEW MIRROR POLL! ALERT: Poll 211 is SCAM -- sending 25,000,000 MIR to itself ... #vote on 212: https://t.co/FH6RqTbJ2j $MIR $LUNA #terra
— Mirror Polls (@mirror_polls) December 25, 2021

According to Poll ID: 211, named “Freeze the community pool in case of scam”, the scammer proposes an upgrade of safer community governance rules in case of a hack. If the hacker manages to get a positive majority on the poll, 25 million MIR tokens (worth $64.2 million at the time of writing) will be sent to the hacker’s address.

Voting results of Poll 211. Source: mirrorprotocol.app

As evidenced by the above screenshot, Mirror’s proactive approach to warn the community has seen a sizable increase in the number of ‘No’ votes — confirming the security of the funds. According to WuBlockchain, the attacker initiated Proposal 185, disguised as a request for cooperation with Solana, effectively trying to defraud 25 million MIR tokens from the community fund pool.

The attacker's poll will remain publicly available for voting till Jan. 01. However, the Mirror team launched Poll 212 to warn the unwary investors:

"Poll 211 sending 25,000,000 MIR to itself. VOTE NO to any poll sending community funds out."

Mirror has also identified six other polls — with IDs 185, 198, 204, 206, 207 and 208 — that have attempted to substantially drain the community pool and cause MIR dumping:

“Poll# 208 is the 2nd attack on mDOT and is created by the same thief who started this wave of community pool stealing with its fake-burn poll #177.”

Public blockchain platform Solana has amped up its on-chain development initiatives following a recent distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

Daily GitHub submissions Bitcoin, Solana, Cardano and Polkadot from Nov. 12–Dec. 13, 2021. Source: Santiment

As Cointelegraph reported, the fifth-largest blockchain managed to overcome the attack without having to shutdown the network. However, citing concerns over network vulnerability, Solana has increased its on-chain activities.

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