In this week’s newsletter, find out why a nonfungible token (NFT) collector paid $192,000 for a free NFT. Check out how community members responded as Reddit deployed its contract for its Gen 3 NFT avatars, and how a previously unreleased David Bowie track has been turned into an NFT. In other news, discover how LooksRare plans to compete with rival NFT marketplaces through a new upgrade, and how NFTs can unlock a biodegradable vinyl record. Reddit deploys Gen 3 NFT avatar contracts on Polygon Social media forum site Reddit has…
Day: April 12, 2023
Swedish Riksbank report looks at collaboration with potential e-krona in retail payments
Sweden’s central bank Riksbank has released a report detailing the third phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) research. A collaborative model for retail payments and conditional payments is the focus this time. The Riksbank started its CBDC research in 2020 with collaboration with existing private payment services as an initial priority. It discussed governance as a key question for collaboration and divided options into three levels. The lowest level was a set of guidelines that risked giving participants so much freedom that “it may be difficult for the…
Argentina approves a bitcoin futures index settled in pesos
Argentina has approved what they say is the first regulated bitcoin futures index in Latin America. A bitcoin futures index launched in Argentina The National Commission of Value (CNV), Argentina’s securities regulator, said the index would debut on the Matba Rofex with bitcoin futures contract trading set for May 2023. The exchange was officially approved on April 11. The launch of the bitcoin futures index is part of Argentina’s strategic innovation, which was announced in Q1 2022. The objective of this plan is to permit public-private collaboration for the release of innovative…
Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade Will Be a ‘Game Changer’ for ETH Token Holders, RockX CEO Says
“We do think this is actually a game changer,” Chen told CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” on Wednesday about the network’s Shanghai (or Shapella) upgrade. “If you think about it, this is the first time that Ethereum has a long-term, market-risk-free yield curve that can actually go for a long run.” Source
New Privacy Blockchain Namada Proposes First Ever Shielded Airdrop to Zcash
The Anoma Foundation, the organization behind Namada, says it’s targeting a May 2023 mainnet launch, after which the exact timing and mechanics of the airdrop will be finalized. The foundation also stewards Anoma, a separate privacy-preserving protocol. Source link
Bitcoin Hovers Around $30K, Ether Holds Above $1.9K Ahead of Shapella Upgrade
Investors are awaiting Ethereum’s upgrade, which is expected to go live late Wednesday. Source
Ethereum price metrics hint that ETH might not sell-off after the Shapella hardfork
Ether (ETH) price has increased by 58% year to date, but it has far underperformed the market leader Bitcoin (BTC). In fact, the ETH/BTC price ratio has dropped to 0.063, its lowest level in 9 months. Analysts believe that the majority of the movement can be attributed to the Ethereum network’s upcoming Shapella hard fork, which is scheduled for April 12 at 10:27 p.m. UTC. Ether / Bitcoin price ratio at Binance. Source: TradingView The Ethereum network upgrade will allow stakers to unlock their Ether rewards or stop staking entirely.…
Texas Senate Passes Bill to Limit Bitcoin Miners’ Participation in Demand Response Programs
The House vote is expected to be more contentious, in part because bitcoin miners have cranked up their advocacy against the bill. Three lobbying groups including the Texas Blockchain Council, the Chamber of Digital Commerce, and Satoshi Action Fund launched a campaign against the bill on Monday, which they say is “anticompetitive.” Original
FTX has recovered $7.3B in assets, will consider rebooting exchange
Cryptocurrency exchange FTX may be considering restarting in the future, according to the legal team behind the debtors. In an April 12 hearing in United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, lawyers with Sullivan & Cromwell representing FTX said the crypto firm had recovered roughly $7.3 billion in assets. A March filing from the debtors reported the four FTX company silos had roughly $4.8 billion in scheduled assets as of November 2022, with an investigation into the assets ongoing. According to the legal team, FTX will also consider…
Euler Finance opens redemptions after hacker returns funds
On April 12, Ethereum-based noncustodial lending protocol Euler Finance announced that it would open redemptions after hackers returned the vast majority of assets stolen in a $197 million flash loan exploit last month. Euler says it will repay all sub-account liabilities at the block the protocol was disabled on March 13. The on-chain price oracle, provided by either Uniswap or Chainlink, will determine the Ether (ETH) value of assets and liabilities. The company explained: “Markets that have bad debt in excess of reserves (a few long-tail markets that suffered oracle…