Visa’s trademark applications suggest more involvement in crypto space

October 27, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Business

The company's trademark owner applied for its name to be used in software “to view, access, store, monitor, manage, trade, send, receive, transmit, and exchange” crypto and NFTs.

Major credit card company Visa may be planning to explore digital wallet services based on two recent trademark applications.

According to records submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Oct. 22, the Visa International Service Association filed two applications for its character mark to be used in software “to view, access, store, monitor, manage, trade, send, receive, transmit, and exchange” crypto assets and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. The filings also suggested the credit card company may be exploring a move into the metaverse, with its namesake used in “virtual environments in which users can interact for recreational, leisure or entertainment purposes.”

VISA has filed 2 trademark applications claiming plans for:

▶️ Managing Digital, Virtual, and Cryptocurrency transactions
▶️ Digital currency + Cryptocurrency wallets
▶️ NFTs + Virtual goods
▶️ Providing virtual environments
...and more#NFT #Metaverse #Web3 #Cryptocurrency pic.twitter.com/SnTkt8jx4o
— Mike Kondoudis (@KondoudisLaw) October 27, 2022

Some reports suggest that there are more than 1 billion Visa cards in circulation around the world. The company has previously partnered with crypto firms to offer credit and debit cards tied to crypto payments. The trademark filings followed those of Mastercard, which applied to the USPTO in April to use its logo in the metaverse and through NFTs.

The credit card company has announced gradual forays into the crypto space in recent years. In March 2021, Visa said it planned to launch a pilot program allowing its partners to use USD Coin (USDC) to settle transactions made in fiat. The company also spent $150,000 to acquire a cryptopunk in August 2021 as part of an effort for “first-hand understanding of the infrastructure requirements for a global brand to purchase, store, and leverage an NFT.”

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October 25, 2022 Bitcoin.com

VC Roundup: Web3 dev, EVM sharding and crypto banking headline blockchain funding deals

October 22, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Avalanche

WWVentures, Shardeum, Myna Swap, Antic, Juno, Zerion and thirdweb attract venture capital interest in latest funding blitz.

Web3 dominance within crypto funding rounds has been well documented by Cointelegraph Research. In addition to the Web3 mega funds announced recently, venture capital has also been making smaller, more targeted investments in the sector. In this week’s Venture Capital (VC) Roundup, we chronicle the latest Web3 funding initiatives and draw attention to a sharding platform, nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace, crypto banking solution and co-ownership infrastructure provider.

Gamers, athletes and content creators back WWVentures

WWVentures, a boutique crypto venture firm, has raised $15 million for its Web3 fund — putting the company on track to invest in metaverse, decentralized finance and blockchain gaming startups. The funding round was backed by a slew of notable gamers, content creators and athletes, including former UFC Champion Michael Bisping and Trent Alexander Arnold of Liverpool F.C. The fund will focus exclusively on startups with a “community-first approach” to development and will aid their growth through social capital and community-building support.

Happy to be involved with this project and a proud investor. Let’s go! @WW_Ventures https://t.co/q6td5fiDna
— michael (@bisping) September 27, 2022

Scalability-focused blockchain raises $18.2M

Ethereum Virtual Machine-based blockchain Shardeum has received $18.2 million in seed funding from over 50 investors, including venture firms Jane Street, The Spartan Group and DFG. Shardeum is a proof-of-stake network focused on solving one of blockchain’s biggest pain points: scalability. As the name implies, the platform uses sharding — a type of database partitioning — to increase throughput capacity. Shardeum claims that its scaling capacity is superior to other layer-1 blockchains.

Avalanche-native platform rises $6M for NFT marketplace

Myna Swap, a luxury collectible marketplace that allows users to convert their physical assets into digital twins via NFTs, has raised $6 million in seed funding. Investors include Polygon Studios, Blizzard Avalanche Fund, Spartan Capital and Wave Financial. The platform, which offers trading and vaulting services, is geared toward collectors of sneakers, sports cards and watches and was built on the Avalanche blockchain. Myna Swap is set for launch later this year.

Alexis Ohanian backs Antic in $7M raise

Web3 co-ownership infrastructure provider Antic has raised $7 million in funding led by Sheva and Alexis Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six venture studio, with additional participation from Pantera Capital, Sound Ventures and Dapper Labs. Antic described co-ownership technology as an emerging concept within the Web3 community that allows companies to establish blockchain-based ownership models more easily.

Crypto banking platform closes $18M Series A

Web3 banking platform Juno has raised $18 million in Series A funding led by ParaFi Capital, with additional participation from Hashed, Jump Crypto and others. Juno provides a crypto-native checking account that allows users to bank with their digital assets more easily. Following the investment round, Juno is planning to expand its product offerings and launch a tokenized loyalty program that allows users to earn coins for taking their paycheck in crypto or spending digital assets with their Juno card.

Wintermute Labs leads Zerion funding round

Web3 wallet and DeFi aggregator Zerion has closed a $12.3 million Series B funding round led by Wintermute Labs, the venture arm of liquidity provider Wintermute. Zerion will use the funding to further develop its Web3 wallet by integrating advanced data and enabling better cross-chain identity management for Ethereum-compatible blockchains. Zerion claims that its trading volume has grown from $47 million in 2019 to more than $1.5 billion.

The growth of the Web3 VC industry is showing no signs of slowing down.

Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal is the latest to join the party after raising $50 million for a new startup fund. https://t.co/XqEuvk5PV3
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) August 25, 2022

thirdweb lands $24M from major VC investors

Web3 developer platform thirdweb achieved a lofty valuation of $160 million following its Series A funding round that landed the company $24 million. The Series A funding was led by Haun Ventures and included several notable investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Shopify, Polygon and Protocol Labs. Founded in 2021, thirdweb is developing the infrastructure layer for Web3 that could enable more seamless app development across blockchains.

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October 18, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Blockchain.com closes crypto custody for Russians amid EU sanctions

October 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Binance

Blockchain.com will soon shut down accounts of Russian nationals, while companies like Binance are also working to apply the new EU sanctions.

Crypto wallet provider Blockchain.com is the latest company to soon cease to provide services to Russian nationals due to the latest sanctions by the European Union.

Blockchain.com has notified its users that it’s going to shut down accounts of Russian nationals in two weeks, the local news agency RBC reported on Oct. 14.

According to the report, Blockchain.com will allow Russian users to withdraw their funds until Oct. 27, 2022. After that date, the accounts of Russian nationals are reportedly going to be blocked.

The statement emphasized that Blockchain.com is currently prohibited from providing custodial and reward services to Russian citizens in line with the EU’s eighth package of sanctions against Russia.

Unlike previous sanctions, which only limited Russan-EU crypto payments to around $9,700, or 10,000 euros, the latest package puts a blanket ban on cross-border crypto payments between Russians and the EU. The new sanctions were imposed on Oct. 6.

Blockchain.com’s services are not limited to custodial services. Blockchain.com also runs a noncustodial wallet, which ideally is designed to allow users to fully control their assets while the company has no access to the wallet’s data. In addition to the noncustodial wallet, Blockchain.com also runs custodial trading accounts, which allow users to buy and sell crypto on the platform.

It remains unclear whether Russian customers would be able to retain access to their noncustodial wallets on Blockchain.com. The firm did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Blockchain.com is not the only platform to halt some services to Russians amid the latest sanctions. Major blockchain developer Dapper Labs also suspended Russian accounts due to the EU’s latest sanctions against Russia and its nationals.

According to online reports, many other major exchanges and peer-to-peer platforms, including Crypto.com, Coinbase and LocalBitcoins, are planning to comply with the sanctions as well. The companies did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, is no exception. The firm is working around the clock to apply the new restrictions for Russians as well. “Changes like these take time to implement as we have to carefully coordinate with multiple tech and risk management partners,” a spokesperson for Binance told Cointelegraph.

Some exchanges, including Tether’s sister firm Bitfinex, previously opposed crypto sanctions against regular Russian people. “Our view is that the actions of a government do not necessarily represent the wishes of individuals,” Bitfinex chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino said in March 2022. He added that Bitfinex was willing to protect the accounts of all their customers “unless otherwise directed by the regulatory authorities” by which they are governed.

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Latest EU Sanctions to Restrict Russians’ Access to Crypto Services in Europe, Report Unveils

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Robinhood Web3 wallet enters beta, taps Polygon as first blockchain

September 27, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

As a blockchain network of choice, Polygon offers scalability, speed, low network fees and a robust developer ecosystem, according to Robinhood.

Crypto and stock trading platform Robinhood announced the launch of Robinhood Wallet, a self-custody, Web3 wallet, with Polygon (MATIC) as its first supported blockchain.

Robinhood launched the beta version of its Web3 wallet on iOS. It is being made available to the first 10,000 users who joined the waitlist in May 2022. Hosted first over the Polygon blockchain, Robinhood Wallet allows users to trade and swap cryptocurrencies with no network fees.

Sharing his thoughts on the crypto wallet’s launch, Johann Kerbrat, chief technology officer of Robinhood Crypto, Robinhood’s crypto trading platform said:

“Like we did with the stock market, Robinhood Wallet strips away some of the complexities of web3 and DeFi to make crypto more accessible to everyone.”

For Robinhood, Polygon, as a blockchain network of choice, additionally offers scalability, speed, low network fees and a robust developer ecosystem. Robinhood’s symbiotic relationship with Polygon dates back to August 2022, when the platform added support for MATIC withdrawals and deposits on the Polygon proof-of-stake (PoS) chain.

However, Robinhood Wallet’s roadmap includes extending compatibility with other blockchains as well. The beta release will allow users to perform common tasks such as trading, rewards, storage and DApp-based yield farming of cryptocurrencies.

Future iterations of the wallet will include support for the nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace. Robinhood revealed that over 1 million users have signed up for the waitlist.

A report from June 2022 suggested that cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX is eyeing the acquisition of Robinhood.

Although the decision about an official takeover is not finalized, Bloomberg’s contact clarified that the discussion was purely internal and that the exchange has not yet approached Robinhood with a buyout proposal.

“We are excited about Robinhood’s business prospects and potential ways we could partner with them. [...] That being said, there are no active M&A conversations with Robinhood,” confirmed FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Profanity tool vulnerability drains $3.3M despite 1Inch warning

September 18, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Profanity tool vulnerability drains .3M despite 1Inch warning

Coin Telegraph

1Inch's investigations pointed out the ambiguity in the creation of vanity addresses, suggesting that Profanity wallets were secretly hacked.

Decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch Network issued a warning to crypto investors after identifying a vulnerability in Profanity, an Ethereum (ETH) vanity address generating tool. Despite the proactive warning, apparently, hackers were able to make away with $3.3 million worth of cryptocurrencies.

On Sept. 15, 1Inch revealed the lack of safety in using Profanity as it used a random 32-bit vector to seed 256-bit private keys. Further investigations pointed out the ambiguity in the creation of vanity addresses, suggesting that Profanity wallets were secretly hacked. The warning came in the form of a tweet, as shown below.

RUN, YOU FOOLS

⚠️ Spoiler: Your money is NOT SAFU if your wallet address was generated with the Profanity tool. Transfer all of your assets to a different wallet ASAP!

➡️ Read more: https://t.co/oczK6tlEqG #Ethereum #crypto #vulnerability #1inch
— 1inch Network (@1inch) September 15, 2022

A subsequent investigation by blockchain investigator ZachXBT showed that a successful exploit of the vulnerability allowed hackers to drain $3.3 million in crypto.

Appears $3.3m worth of crypto has been exploited by 0x6ae from this vulnerability.

Interestingly the Indexed Finance Exploiter was the first address drained by 0x6ae.

Attackers address:
0x6AE09AC63487FCf63117A6D6FAFa894473d47b93 https://t.co/gnQHHytI1m pic.twitter.com/5TYccNIpdq
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) September 17, 2022

Moreover, ZachXBT helped a user save over $1.2 million in crypto and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) after alerting them about the hacker who had access to the user’s wallet. Following the revelation, numerous users confirmed that their funds were safe, as one stated:

“Wtf 6h after the attack my addresses was still vuln but the attacker didnt drained me? had 55k at risk lol”

However, hackers tend to attack the bigger wallets before moving over to wallets with lesser value. Users owning wallet addresses generated with the Profanity tool have been advised to “Transfer all of your assets to a different wallet ASAP!” by 1Inch.

While some hackers prefer the traditional method of draining users’ funds after illegally accessing the crypto wallets, others try out new ways to fool investors into sharing their private keys.

One of the recent innovative scams involved the hacking of a YouTube channel for playing fabricated videos of Elon Musk discussing cryptocurrencies. On Sept. 3, the South Korean government’s YouTube channel was momentarily hacked and renamed for sharing live broadcasts of crypto-related videos.

The compromised ID and password of the YouTube channel were identified as the root cause of the hack.

Wallet