web3
Crypto Biz: SBF’s newest Excel spreadsheet reveals all
Large enterprise businesses spend tons of money keeping track of their financial dealings — think accountants, financial analysts, consultants and enterprise-grade accounting software. Sam Bankman-Fried, meanwhile, used Microsoft Excel. On Jan. 17, in another sloppy Excel spreadsheet, SBF revealed that FTX US was solvent. The Excel file purportedly showed customer balances, bank deposits and assets held in cold storage. “S&C forgot to include bank balances” of roughly $428 million, SBF said, referring to FTX’s former legal counsel Sullivan & Cromwell. “Once you add those back in, you get in the neighborhood of my prior balance sheet” of around $350 million, he said. This week’s Crypto Biz explores the “Herculean investigative effort” to identify billions in liquid FTX assets....
Metaverse not the endgame, but ‘ongoing digital transformation’: Davos 2023
The metaverse has been a buzzword inside and out of the Web3 world over the last year. Moreover, development in the metaverse is something that has remained strong relative to the overall turmoil of the decentralized space. It is also a hot topic at the 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. The WEF has been developing its own initiative, “Defining and Building the Metaverse,” with the participation of over 120 participants, for which it held a press conference on Jan. 18. The WEF panel highlighted the initiative’s first two papers, which cover interoperability, governance and the consumer’s role in the metaverse of the future. Huda Al Hashimi, one of the panelists and the deputy minister of cabinet affairs for strategic affairs in the United Arab Emirates, framed the...
ConsenSys slashes headcount 11% as chief economist reveals formula for adoption
ConsenSys, the parent company behind MetaMask, is letting go of 11% of its workforce, with CEO Joseph Lubin blaming “uncertain market conditions” brought on by recent collapses. In a blog post from ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin on Jan. 18, the blockchain firm CEO said “poorly behaved” centralized finance (CeFi) actors have cast a “broad pall on our ecosystem that we will all need to work through.” Lubin said the decision will impact 96 employees and is part of plans to focus its resources on its core businesses. Today we need to make the extremely difficult decision to streamline some of ConsenSys’ teams to adjust to challenging and uncertain market conditions.https://t.co/Svuk9yYj6J 1/10 — Joseph Lubin (@ethereumJoseph) January 18, 2023 Speaking to Cointelegraph a few days before the layoffs...
Patrick Moxey’s New Helix Records to Onboard Entire Roster to Web3
Patrick Moxey is bringing the entire roster of Helix Records, the EDM label he launched last year after selling his stake in Ultra Records, into the world of Web3 — starting with an NFT membership pass. Starting in February, the Helix Records Genesis Pass will act as a digital passport to the Helix ecosystem and grant holders a free music NFT from one of the roster’s flagship artists, which includes electronic duo Snakehips and house DJ Marshall Jefferson. Later in 2023, NFT holders will get the chance to access VIP tickets, backstage passes and submit music directly to the label for feedback. One holder will win a 1:1 conversation with Moxey. Moxey — who played a key role in the success of Avicii, Kygo, deadmau5 and David Guetta through Ultra Records — aims to make Web3 and NFTs a foundat...
Cointelegraph’s Accelerator Program launches and is seeking Web3 startups
The Web3 space is growing rapidly, and new startups are emerging daily. Overall investment into Web3 projects skyrocketed to $30 billion in 2021 and $36 billion in 2022, even amid the market crisis. While many projects have good ideas and a strong value proposition to bring to the space, this is a challenging field riddled with competition and a lack of trust from the broader audience. Cointelegraph has established itself as a leader in the digital asset, Metaverse and emerging technologies media business since 2013, and is now looking to help other rising stars reach their full potential. Cointelegraph is delighted to introduce its Accelerator Program — a startup booster leveraging Cointelegraph’s capabilities as a strong media and strategic partner for promising Web3 companies. Paul Soln...
Huobi net outflows crossed over 60M within the past 24 hours: Report
Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has seen over $94.2 million dollars in net outflows within the past week. Within the past 24 hours alone, approximately $60 million has flowed out of the exchange, according to crypto analytics company Nansen. In the past 24 hours, Huobi has seen a significant increase in net outflows $60.9M* of the $94.2M* net outflow in the past week occurred in the past day alone *Contains Ethereum, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Fantom, & Polygon flows pic.twitter.com/JV1Tg13QMY — Nansen (@nansen_ai) January 6, 2023 Nansen also reported that a significant portion of withdrawals were in Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and Ether (ETH), from wallets with high balances. The significant increase in outflows from the exchange was allegedly triggered by rumors circulating on Twi...
Using blockchain technology to combat retail theft
The retail industry is one of the most important sectors of the United States economy. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has left the trillion-dollar retail sector vulnerable to in-store theft. Findings from the National Retail Federation’s 2022 Retail Security Survey show that retail losses from stolen goods increased to $94.5 billion in 2021, up from $90.8 billion in 2020. Some retailers also have to lock away certain products to prevent theft, which may lead to decreased sales due to consumers’ inability to access goods. Retailers look toward blockchain to solve retail theft Given these extreme measures, many innovative retailers have started looking toward technology to combat retail theft. For example, Lowe’s, an American home improvement retailer, has recently implemented a ...
Mastercard partners with Polygon to launch Web3 musician accelerator program
Global payments giant Mastercard is ramping up its exposure blockchain tech yet again, after announcing a Polygon-based accelerator program to help musicians build their careers via Web3. The firm announced the “Mastercard Artist Accelerator” program via a Jan. 7 blog post, outlining that from this spring, it will connect five emerging musicians from across the globe with mentors that will help them set up their brand in the Web3 music space. “The artists will gain exclusive access to special events, music releases and more. A first-of-its-kind curriculum will teach the artists how to build (and own) their brand through Web3 experiences like minting NFTs, representing themselves in virtual worlds and establishing an engaged community,” the post reads. The prog...
Marathon Digital experiments with overclocking to increase competitive advantage
One of the largest Bitcoin mining operations in North America, Marathon Digital Holdings, has shared in an update that it has been experimenting with overclocking to increase its competitive advantage in the Bitcoin mining industry. Overclocking is the practice of increasing the clock speed of a computer’s central processing unit (CPU) or graphics processing unit (GPU) beyond the manufacturer’s rated maximum speed, potentially leading to improved performance in certain tasks. According to the company’s press release, it produced 475 BTC in December 2022, bringing its total mined Bitcoins in the fiscal year of 2022 to 4,144 BTC, a 30% increase from 3,197 BTC which was produced in 2021. Marathon’s Chairman and CEO, Fred Thiel commented on the company’s decision to experimen...
2023 could be a rocky year for crypto venture investments: Galaxy Research
Last year was a big one for crypto venture capital despite multiple high-profile meltdowns and the FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) tsunami that followed. However, the funds may not flow as easily this year, a crypto researcher warns. The number of deals and amount invested by venture firms into Web3 and crypto startups was a little over $30 billion in 2022, according to Galaxy Research Galaxy’s head of firmwide research, Alex Thorn, described it as a “monster year” that was only just eclipsed by the $31 billion in VC investments in 2021. However, in a Jan. 5 report, Thorn stated that macroeconomic and crypto market conditions led to significant investment drawdowns in Q3 and Q4. This will likely continue into 2023, until macro and crypto market conditions improve. Thorn noted that there...
Redeeming physical NFTs: Easier said than done?
Despite the crypto winter, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) continue to draw interest. This has become apparent as many brands and retailers have started to offer digital NFTs attached to physical products. Known as “phygitals,” these offerings allow real-world products to be tied to digital NFTs. For example, RTFKT — a digital fashion and collectible company — recently launched a project called Cryptokicks iRL. According to sources, RTFKT is creating digitally-designed sneakers backed by a physical product. RTFKT’s official Twitter account recently tweeted that Lace Engine NFT holders will be able to reserve a pair of Cryptokicks iRL, which can then be redeemed for its physical version starting May 1, 2023. 1/ We are allowing all Lace Engine holders to reserve their sneakers in the RTFKT I...
Web3 projects aim to create engagement between fans and sports leagues
The multi-billion-dollar sports industry is undergoing a digital transformation and Web3 elements are likely to play a major role. This notion was highlighted in Deloitte’s “2022 Sports Industry Outlook” report, which predicts an acceleration in the blending of real and digital worlds, along with growing markets for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and immersive technologies. According to the report, such advances may lead to a significant increase in fan engagement. This is an important point to consider, given that fan engagement has long served as the backbone for ensuring sponsor revenue, ticket and merchandise sales, along with the overall popularity of a sports league. Yet as technology advances, sports fans have expressed interest in forming deeper relationships with sports leagues. ...
