Decentralization
On heritage and NFT: Challenging the meaning of legacy itself
In his monthly crypto tech column, Israeli serial entrepreneur Ariel Shapira covers emerging technologies within the crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain space, as well as their roles in shaping the economy of the 21st century. When trying to examine the nonfungible token (NFT) economy as it has been shaping in recent months, two main trends can be discerned. On the one hand, a completely new market that allows various artists to join a new creator economy — the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club, various types of pixel art creators and creative flickers such as the creator of long-necked women’s paintings, the sale of which brought the artist, only 12 years old, close to 1,394 Ether (ETH), equal at the time of writing $6 million. But the truth is that an NFT is much mor...
Biggest NFT drops and sales in 2021
Nonfungible token, or NFT, became such a tech buzzword in 2021 that even Collins Dictionary declared the abbreviation its word of the year and Google searches for NFTs spiked to record levels. Behind the term is a market that approaches $17 billion, according to Cointelegraph Research. And the NFT marketplace OpenSea is responsible for processing most of these transactions, with a trading volume that recently surpassed $10 billion. NFTs’ potential reaches far beyond art to include music, sports collectibles and video games, while its utility encompasses ownership as well as exclusive access to unique functions and features. From CryptoPunks and Beeple’s collage to NBA Top Shot and RTFKT, the following collections stood out, not only in numbers but for their growing communities. As we ...
Interlay raises $6.5M to accelerate Bitcoin DeFi interoperability
DFG Capital has led a $6.5 million investment in the interoperability start-up Interlay, which is building infrastructure for decentralized finance applications across major blockchains such as Ethereum, Cosmos and Polkadot. As per the announcement, the new funds will be used by Interlay to scale its operations and bring more developers on board with its open-source platform. In a statement, James Wo, DFG Founder and CEO, said Interlay’s solution will “expand the cross-chain possibilities for Bitcoin.” Interlay aims to integrate cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) with DeFi platforms such as Polkadot and Ethereum. InterBTC, the company’s main product, is a fully crypto-based Bitcoin-backed asset. It’s backed by multiple collaterals and functions li...
DeFi protocol Grim Finance lost $30M in 5x reentrancy hack
The decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Grim Finance reported $30 million in losses due to a reentrancy exploit of the platform’s deposits. Grim Finance officially announced on Dec. 18 that an “external attacker” had exploited the DeFi platform, stealing “over $30 million” worth of cryptocurrencies. According to Grim Finance, the hack was an “advanced attack,” with the attacker exploiting the protocol’s vault contract through five reentrancy loops, which allowed them to fake five additional deposits into a vault while the platform is processing the first deposit. Grim paused all vaults after the attack to minimize the risk for future funds: “We have paused all of the vaults to prevent any future funds from being placed at risk, please withdraw all of your funds immediately.” Grim no...
Crypto mainstream adoption: Is it here already? Experts Answer, Part 1
Sameep is the founder of QuickSwap, a decentralized exchange on Polygon that allows users to swap, earn, stack yields, lend, borrow and leverage all on one decentralized, community-driven platform. “Just compare the overall market caps from the beginning of 2021 until today to illustrate how much crypto has grown this year. According to CoinMarketCap, on Jan. 1, crypto’s market cap was about $773 billion. Now it’s over $2.3 trillion. Despite the dollar’s rapid inflation, to me, annual growth of more than $1.5 trillion definitely suggests that mass adoption has begun, but there’s still a lot of room for crypto to continue to grow. To enable that growth, more people need to learn about the alternatives to expensive layer-o...
From DeFi year to decade: Is mass adoption here? Experts Answer, Part 1
Dominik is the co-founder and chairman of the Iota Foundation, an open-source distributed ledger and cryptocurrency designed for the Internet of Things. “The biggest difference between crypto in 2017 and crypto in 2022 is the establishment of tangible business models and use cases within our ecosystem thanks to DeFi. We no longer have to wait for external parties such as large companies to drive adoption. We can do it ourselves with applications that introduce much-needed innovation to the base level of our economy — finance. 2021 has been a tremendous year for early-stage validation and growing excitement toward DeFi’s potential. But it’s still early stages. DeFi isn’t yet comparable to fintech companies like Revolut or N26 (2 million to 5...
Finance Redefined: 83% of 7-figure Millennials own crypto, Sen. Warren criticizes DeFi, Dec. 10–17
Welcome to the latest edition of Cointelegraph’s decentralized finance newsletter. As the market attempted to recover from last week’s pummeling, decentralized finance (DeFi) was once again the topic of discussion in high-profile U.S. governmental offices. Read on to learn more about this news and much more from the world of decentralized finance. What you’re about to read is the smaller version of this newsletter designed for brevity. For the full version of DeFi’s developments over the last week, drop your email below. Senator Warren warns about supposed DeFi dangers Senator Elizabeth Warren publicly scrutinized the decentralized finance sector this week in a hearing with the Senate Banking Committee. Speaking on the topic of “Stablecoins: How Do They Work, How Are They Us...
Nifty News: Melania Trump drops NFT, Arabian Camels produces NFT film and Whitney Houston keeps selling hits
Catch up on nonfungible token (NFT)-related news this week from restaurants to movies and music. Below is a roundup of stories you don’t want to miss. Melania Trump’s eyes become an NFT Former first lady Melania Trump launched her own NFT platform and dropped her first digital collectible titled “Melania’s Vision,” which will be on sale through the rest of the month. “Melania’s Vision” is a watercolor art piece by artist Marc-Antoine Coulon. The limited-edition digital artwork will be available for 1 SOL ($150) and includes an audio recording from Mrs. Trump. The Melania Trump NFT platform utilizes the Solana blockchain protocol and is powered by Parler, an alternative social media network. “Melania’s Vision” NFT...
YFI price gains 46% in just four days after Yearn Finance’s $7.5M buyback
Yearn Finance (YFI) emerged as one of the best performers in the crypto market this week, rallying by over 46% in just four days to reach a two-week high above $29,100. YFI/USD daily price chart featuring its four-day bull run. Source: TradingView The gains surfaced primarily as Yearn Finance revealed that it has been buying back YFI en masse since November in response to a community vote to improve the YFI token’s economics. The decentralized asset management platform purchased 282.40 YFI at an average price of $26,651 per token — a total of over $7.50 million. Furthermore, Yearn Finance noted that it has more than $45 million saved in its Treasury and has “stronger than ever” earnings. As a result, it would — in the future — could deploy its income to buy...
Mintable app to support minting NFTs on the layer two Immutable X protocol
Mintable marketplace announced its partnership with Immutable X, a StarkWare-based layer-two solution for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum, to make over 24 million NFTs on Immutable X available for sale on Mintable. This integration will enable users to deposit ETH and ERC-20 tokens with instant confirmation and no gas fees. According to Mintable’s Twitter thread, Mintable and Immutable X share a vision to scale NFT marketplaces by offering access to NFTs to the masses. 1/We’re thrilled to partner up with @Immutable X – the 1st & leading Layer 2 for #NFTs on Ethereum! All NFTs on Immutable X are now available for trade on https://t.co/NJ1lSPqL1Q! ✅ Zero gas fees✅Instant secure trades✅100% carbon neutral. Details: https://t.co/TQh7Cggq2z — Mintable ...
NAAT: EKSU authorities lack powers to proscribe union activities
File Photo The National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT, described as illegal the recent proscription of union activities by the management of the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti. National President of NAAT, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma, who stated this in a chat with journalists in Abuja, said that the action of the University management was capable of causing industrial crisis across the tertiary institutions in the country. Recall that the Governing Council of the university had last week directed the immediate closure of the school and also proscribed all the staff unions in the institution that make up the Joint Action Committee. The proscribed unions apart from the Students Union Government, SUG, are the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, the Non-Academic Staff Union ...
Kwara commissioner urges students to adopt physiotherapy as career
The Commissioner for Health, Kwara, Dr Raji Razaq, has urged students to adopt Physiotherapy as a career choice. Newsmen reports that Physiotherapy is a science-based profession that deals with helping to restore movement and function when someone is affected by injury, illness or disability. The Commissioner made the call on Saturday, while receiving members of the Nigerian Society of Physiotherapy, Kwara State Chapter, in his office on a courtesy visit. He urged members of the society to review their routine programme in order to include career guidance and counselling. According to him, this would encourage secondary school students to choose Physiotherapy as a future career option. Razaq told the delegation that “one of the ways the state government is exploring to reduce medical touri...
