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<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p>Not everyone was thrilled by the news that Coinbase has teamed up with the WNBA. The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) is one of America’s most popular sports leagues. Still, many basketball fans were upset about their league partnering with a crypto exchange company amid a market crash.</p>
<p>Last October, the US crypto brokerage rapidly inking more sponsorships across pro sports became an official cryptocurrency platform for NBA and WNBA. Now it has <a href="https://blog.coinbase.com/why-coinbase-and-the-wnba-are-investing-in-the-future-together-e4d742893154" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partnerships</a> with Seattle Storm star Sue Bird and New York Liberty’s Jewel Loyd.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/coinbase-witnesses-major-outage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coinbase Witnesses Major Outage Amidst Continued Crypto Bloodbath</a></strong></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the agreement, every WNBA player will be assigned a Coinbase wallet. Today, the WNBA and Coinbase held a <a href="https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1mnxedOpMMYJX?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter chat</a>.&nbsp; The New York Liberty’s Betnijah Laney joined two employees from Coinbase to discuss crypto from a beginner’s perspective.&nbsp;</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">WNBA Fans’ Remarks On Coinbase Sponsorship&nbsp;</span></h2>
<p>WNBA <span style="font-weight: 400;">fans on Twitter are not pleased by these activities. </span>Coinbase’s announcement tweet on Thursday afternoon was met with a wave of skeptical responses, ranging from the outright anger and calling it a “scam[atic] scheme” to others expressing concern <span style="font-weight: 400;">about the company’s</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> 70%</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;stock drop this year.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The WNBA has come under fire in one of the most negative tweets. The <a href="https://twitter.com/robocoko/status/1527379512639442944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1527379512639442944%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdecrypt.co%2F100933%2Fwnba-fans-criticize-extended-deal-coinbase" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweet</a> reads;</span></p>
<blockquote><p>I hate that the WNBA is framing their dumb sponsored crypto chat as female empowerment.</p></blockquote>
<p>One Twitter user quoted an environmental concern with cryptocurrency in reply to the Seattle Storm <a href="https://twitter.com/AmeliaBell28/status/1527395021057667072" target="_blank" rel="noopener">team’s tweet</a>: “This feels kinda gross from a team whose home venue is literally called the climate pledge arena.” However, Sue Bird herself got a fan’s reply saying, “crypto isn’t good because it ‘exploits women’s sports and wildlife.”</p>
<figure id="attachment_181940" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-181940" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-181940 size-medium" style="font-weight: 600;" src="https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD-5-640x240.png" alt="Coinbase" width="640" height="240" srcset="https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD-5-640x240.png 640w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD-5-980x367.png 980w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD-5-768x288.png 768w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD-5-750x281.png 750w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD-5-1140x427.png 1140w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD-5.png 1323w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-pin-no-hover="true"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-181940" class="wp-caption-text">BTC is trading at $28,871 with a declining rate of 4.68% | Source: BTC/USD Chart from <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/BTCUSD/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tradingview.com</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>Some people who like cryptocurrencies sneered at the partnership. One wrote on Twitter: “The dudes in the comments telling the crypto company they’re too good for women’s sports y’all are pushing me into alcoholism.” Another called the partnership “The perfect intersection of crypto dudes hating this because they don’t like the WNBA and WNBA fans not liking this because it’s crypto.”</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Crypto promotions or sponsorships have been criticized many times. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">A fan of the NBA </span><a href="https://twitter.com/NBABandwagonn/status/1527372982208737299?s=20&amp;t=_fvtLq-788y-Gx4pR0fy9w" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,&nbsp;</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Crypto is crashing, and sports leagues [are] still getting attached to them, hope they get all the money up front</span></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some fans termed the current crypto deal illogical for WNBA because its economic position has been disturbed.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/coinbase-clears-air-regarding-risk-of-bankruptcy/">Coinbase CEO Clears Air Regarding Risk Of Bankruptcy</a></strong></em></p>
<p>It’s not only the WNBA getting criticized; many other sports teams are receiving negative fan responses for their partnerships with cryptocurrencies. For example, the Washington Nationals baseball team tweeted out a <a href="https://twitter.com/Nationals/status/1524072849337733120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1524072849337733120%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdecrypt.co%2F99972%2Fsomeone-forgot-tell-washington-nationals-terra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Terra-sponsored</a> crypto post last week, just as the Terra ecosystem was going up in flames.</p>
<p>Even though we are in a “Crypto Winter,” the sports deals are not likely to stop. Companies like Coinbase are spending big marketing dollars on getting their names out there to claim back some lost ground with new customers.</p>
<pre>              Featured Image from Pixabay and Chart from tradingview.com</pre>
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Coinbase Sponsorship Draws Criticism From WNBA Fans Amid Market Collapse

<div><h4>Quick Take</h4>
<ul>
<li>The collapse of Terra’s stablecoin UST is being investigated in South Korea.&nbsp;</li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Founder Do Kwon also faces fines for alleged tax evasion, according to local media reports. </span></li>
</ul>
</div> <div class="articleIAB"><div></div></div> <div><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A specialized financial crimes unit has been tasked with investigating last week’s collapse of the Terra blockchain’s main cryptocurrencies while founder Do Kwon faces hefty tax fines, according to South Korean media reports.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The group, consisting of prosecutors and employees from the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, will investigate the methods Terraform Labs used to attract investors, </span><a href="https://news.sbs.co.kr/news/endPage.do?news_id=N1006755351&amp;plink=ORI&amp;cooper=NAVER"><span style="font-weight: 400;">SBS News</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> reported on Wednesday.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The unit’s accuracy and clinical approach has earned it the nickname "Yeouido Grim Reaper," after the Yeouido financial district of Seoul. It is coming back into operation to investigate Terra after being disbanded two years ago, according to SBS News.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/146444/terra-luna-and-ust-how-we-got-here"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Terra ecosystem fell into chaos</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> last week after its stablecoin offering, TerraUSD (UST), de-pegged — causing the price of Terra’s native token Luna to plummet in value as supply soared to protect the peg. Kwon is now </span><a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/147558/do-kwon-puts-his-terra-revival-plan-to-the-vote"><span style="font-weight: 400;">proposing</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> forking Terra to revive the network.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A <a href="https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/015/0004700627?sid=101">separate report</a> in Edaily said Kwon is facing a tax bill of 100 billion won ($78 million) for evading corporate and income tax payments.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The investigation related to the formation of the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) in Singapore, a relocation of the company's headquarters which appeared to be for tax purposes, according to Edaily.&nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">It found that despite the legal entity relocating to Singapore, LFGs management continues to be carried out by domestic companies and residents in South Korea.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Korean tax authorities are also preparing a separate 100 billion won fine to LFG, according to the report.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kwon and LFG didn’t immediately respond to requests from The Block to comment on the reports. </span></p>
<p><i data-stringify-type="italic">For more breaking stories like this, make sure to follow The Block on&nbsp;</i><i data-stringify-type="italic"><a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://twitter.com/TheBlock__" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://twitter.com/TheBlock__" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">Twitter</a></i><i data-stringify-type="italic">.</i></p><br><span class="copyright"><p><span class="font-body font-size-7;">© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</span></p>
</span></div>


		South Korea revives 'Grim Reaper' financial crimes unit to investigate Terra's collapse
	

<p>You’ve seen it before. An amazingly talented gaming founder teams up with a top-tier studio, promising to create a wondrous game experience built on the industry’s most powerful engines. But then, it happens: It’s paired with a dubious shitcoin that launches well before even a morsel of game content drops.</p><p>In the not-so-distant past, mainstream media may have referred to the hype-fueled crypto bull market — but, with Bored Ape floor prices still in the clouds, we’ll respectfully call it what it is: the monkey run. Market volatility aside, Metaverse evangelists still claim that Web3 finance will revolutionize the way that games monetize. I call BS.</p><p>The focus right now is not on new monetization models. The only thing these token raises are challenging is the idea of capital formation — not monetization. However tempting, the monkey run has quickly deluded some of our brightest founders into believing that they should raise a nonsensically large amount of capital from tokens printed out of thin air, as a faulty substitute for a real monetization strategy.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653203679208.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>We’re ready for a change of mindset. The critical question is this: how can we make the hyper-capitalized, hyper-hyped Web3 Metaverse project work — for gamers, for founders, and for investors?</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2022/05/03/can-p2e-gaming-grind-away-market-share-from-mainstream-games"><strong><em>Blockchain games take on the mainstream</em></strong></a></p><h2>Path #1: Shilling is thrilling</h2><p>Everyone does well in a monkey run, financially speaking. From major smart contract platforms to experimental DeFi protocols to the next Axie Infinity copycat, the monkey market beautifully substantiates the notion that there actually are no shitcoins — only shit prices.</p><p>For a clearer picture, journey with me through the deal pipeline into the heart of crypto venture capital, where shiny new metaverse and gaming projects relentlessly flood inboxes. Links to cinematic trailers, Unreal Engine mockups, and convoluted “token economics diagrams” abound, parroting their demands to raise millions on simple agreements for future tokens to adequately prepare their token launch(es) and initial decentralized exchange offering.</p><p>The game’s launch date, you ask? Maybe it’s a “mini-game” planned for Q3, or a massive triple-A launch in mid-2023. What about the kind of utilities the token will have on day one? Well, you can stake them for more tokens, and they might even give you access to the game’s first NFT sale. Sometimes they even advertise a utility-less utility token and a governance-less governance token — justifying their existences because the big daddy exchanges agreed to list them in just a few months.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653203679322.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>This might read like an exaggeration, and I wish it were. However, these are the most troubling realities facing the current landscape of token launches in the middle of a bull — excuse me, a monkey market. They capture short-term enthusiasm without a sustainable plan for future-building. These pitches capture a moment — but not the right perspective and business model required for the future of gaming.</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/metaverse-as-a-service-will-be-the-basis-of-the-next-internet-era-of-web3" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/metaverse-as-a-service-will-be-the-basis-of-the-next-internet-era-of-web3/amp"><strong><em>Metaverse-as-a-service will be the basis of the next internet era of Web3</em></strong></a> </p><h2>Path #2: Building to last</h2><p>The GameFi token landscape is incredibly fragmented. While early liquidity is tempting, a premature token launch has serious risks. The balancing act of creating sticky tokenomics and successful game design actually offers a narrower focus for project tokens: user engagement and retention, not pure monetization.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653203679482.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>The final optimization problem? Maximize additional user retention and engagement per project token emitted, subject to some level of existing Web3 revenues and user community.</p><p>You do not immediately need your own project token to monetize your application. Tokens are simply forms of exchange for the assets that your virtual world generates and sells. If your Web3 game can’t operate on an already liquid, volatile token or, worse, a well-pegged stable, then your game is in trouble. Try again!</p><p>Instead, raise enough private capital to comfortably get through beta launch. In beta, work with your smart contract platform of choice to integrate its native token and your stablecoin of choice into your game. Begin to observe your core game loops and key revenue streams.</p><p>Think of yourself as a data scientist! Is there user behavior you know is defensibly fun but still underperforms? Is it such a valuable loop that perhaps a subsidy can kickstart things? Is currency volatility something your users avoid? Where are your most engaged users coming from? How many are underpaid laborers in developing countries? How many are prosumers looking for the next hip social hangout? How many are whales driving auctions through the roof?</p><p>Ultimately, you must design your token to incentivize users to stay in your world. For instance, just like with foreign currencies, you could offer a discount to consumption when paid for in your own project token — but you price your digital goods in USD. You could also utilize the layered-risk treasury strategy, whereby you accept USD (and equivalents), the L1 or L2 of your choice, and your project token. This ensures that you have a large, existing audience immediately equipped to engage with your world. It also helps safeguard you during crypto and macro downturns, and the excess can be used to reward investors and users without exerting sell pressure on your token — among other massive benefits.</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-blockchain-games-create-entire-economies-on-top-of-their-gameplay-report" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/how-blockchain-games-create-entire-economies-on-top-of-their-gameplay-report/amp"><strong><em>How blockchain games create entire economies on top of their gameplay: Report</em></strong></a></p><p>The most important thing you can do as a gaming founder in Web3 is to stay focused on improving your game. Tokens cannot make your game — but they can break it.</p><h2>The right priorities for a sustainable GameFi future</h2><p>The unique value of gaming and metaverse applications is not the token they circulate. Project value is created by revenues which, in the long run, spawn from unique, in-game digital assets. When these NFT-based assets are owned, experienced and understood by a community, value builds and builds — otherwise stated, the community’s unwillingness to sell increases.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653203679552.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>I’m excited for the day when this model becomes the status quo — because it means we’ll be closer to the best Web3 games we’ve ever seen. Instead of the market rewarding short-term bag grabs, we’ll see superior gameplay and tokenomics wrapped into one gaming ecosystem built for the long term.</p><p>Engagement, retention, then monetization. Optimize for those things, in that order. Choose the right path.</p><p class="post-content__disclaimer"><em>This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.</em></p><p class="post-content__disclaimer"><em>The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.</em></p><div><div style="background: rgb(239, 239, 239); border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px;"><strong>Alex Ye</strong> leads Republic Crypto’s early-stage research, investments, and token economics strategy — helping secure and advance cutting-edge projects for Republic Crypto’s advisory portfolio. Before Republic Crypto, Alex drove fintech and blockchain investments at ZZ Capital, crypto fund research at $7 billion venture fund Top Tier Capital Partners, and at the endowment of the University of Chicago, his alma mater. </div></div>

 Crypto gaming and the monkey run: How we should build the future of GameFi 

<p>Blockchains have relied on <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/blockchain-for-beginners/proof-of-stake-vs-proof-of-work:-differences-explained" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/blockchain-for-beginners/proof-of-stake-vs-proof-of-work:-differences-explained/amp">proof-of-work</a> (PoW) validation since their inception. Yet the PoW consensus proved to be unsustainable with its high energy usage and its need for fast, powerful hardware creating high barriers to entry. That’s why blockchains are adopting proof-of-stake consensus algorithms (PoS), where those wanting to earn rewards don’t have to compete against other miners, but can simply stake part of their crypto for a chance to be chosen to be a validator — and reap the returns.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653193639688.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>Everyone who owns crypto on PoS blockchains must want to take advantage of the opportunities staking provides, right? Actually, according to our <a href="https://claystack.com/research/state-of-staking" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">report</a>, while 56% of those surveyed had staked before, many who hadn’t staked or wouldn’t stake again pointed toward the same hesitation: They don’t want their assets locked up in staking, not when those assets could be put to use elsewhere. This is why liquid staking provides the best of both worlds. It allows investors to stake their assets while also allowing them to use those assets in other projects during lock-up.</p><p>Despite the fact that this innovation is able to lower barriers to staking, there’s still confusion about what liquid staking is and what it can offer to the crypto community. What follows are some of the misconceptions about liquid staking and what the truth is about this new opportunity.</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-many-layers-of-crypto-staking-in-the-defi-ecosystem" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/the-many-layers-of-crypto-staking-in-the-defi-ecosystem/amp"><strong><em>The many layers of crypto staking in the DeFi ecosystem</em></strong></a><strong> </strong></p><h2>What is liquid staking?</h2><p>Staking is changing the way blockchains function. It brings better energy efficiency to blockchain validation, more flexibility to the hardware needed and quicker transaction frequency. But despite its benefits, one of its biggest challenges — and what’s holding many back from staking — is the lock-up period. Assets are inaccessible to the holder while being staked, and those owners can’t do anything with them — like invest in <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/defi-101/defi-a-comprehensive-guide-to-decentralized-finance" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/defi-101/defi-a-comprehensive-guide-to-decentralized-finance/amp">decentralized finance</a> (DeFi) — while they’re being staked. It’s because of this sacrifice that many are hesitant to stake.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653193639843.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>However, liquid staking solves this issue. Liquid staking protocols allow holders of staked assets to get liquidity in the form of a derivative token that they can then use in DeFi — all while the staked assets continue to earn rewards. It’s a way to maximize earning potential while having the best of both worlds.</p><p>PoS is also swiftly rising in popularity. PoS protocols <a href="https://blockworks.co/staking-is-an-18-billion-industry-says-staked/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">account</a> for over half of crypto’s total market cap, a total of $594 billion. The opportunities will only increase as Ethereum moves fully to PoS in the coming months. However, only 24% of the total market capitalization of staking platforms is <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/staking-is-the-quiet-giant-of-crypto-yield-2021-06-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" data-amp="https://www-nasdaq-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nasdaq.com/articles/staking-is-the-quiet-giant-of-crypto-yield-2021-06-23?amp">locked</a> in staking — meaning there are many who can stake but aren’t doing so.</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/understanding-staking-pools-the-pros-and-cons-of-staking-cryptocurrency" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/explained/understanding-staking-pools-the-pros-and-cons-of-staking-cryptocurrency/amp"><strong><em>The pros and cons of staking cryptocurrency</em></strong></a></p><h2>Four misconceptions of liquid staking</h2><p>Despite the benefits of liquid staking, there’s still confusion about how it functions. Here are four common misconceptions, and how you should be thinking about liquid staking instead.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653193639934.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p><strong>Misconception 1: Only one player or protocol will exist.</strong> One of the misconceptions about liquid staking is that only one player will exist through which investors can gain liquidity. It may seem that way since it’s still so early in the liquid staking space, but in the future, multiple liquid staking protocols will coexist. There may also be no capping to the number of liquid staking protocols that can coexist, either. In fact, the more the number of protocols, the better it is for the network, as it can reduce instances of stake centralization and fears of a single point of failure.</p><p><strong>Misconception 2: It’s only limited to liquidity.</strong> Liquid staking isn’t just a way to get liquidity. While liquid staking does help PoS networks acquire staked capital that secures the network, it is not just limited to that. It’s also a way to get composability because you can use your derivative in multiple places, which you can’t do with an exchange. The synthetic derivatives that are issued as part of liquid staking and used in supported DeFi protocols for generating more yield actually help in constructing monetary building blocks across the ecosystem.</p><p><strong>Misconception 3: Liquid staking is solved at the protocol level.</strong> People think liquid staking will be solved at the protocol level itself. But liquid staking isn’t just about enabling functionality at a protocol level. It’s about coordinating with other protocols, bringing more use cases, more features and more usability. A liquid staking protocol is solely focused on developing the architecture that will facilitate the creation of synthetic derivatives and ensuring that there are DeFi protocols with which those derivatives can be integrated.</p><p><strong>Misconception 4: Liquid staking defeats the purpose of staking overall.</strong> Some say liquid staking defeats the purpose of staking or locking up assets, but we’ve seen that’s not true. Liquid staking not only increases network security but also helps achieve a crucial objective of the PoS network, which is staking. If there is a solution that issues derivatives for staked capital within the network, then not only is the staked capital ensuring that the PoS network is secure, but it is also creating an enhanced experience for the user by enabling capital efficiency.</p><h2>The future of PoS</h2><p>Liquid staking not only solves a problem for crypto enthusiasts who want to stake by issuing tokens they can use in DeFi while their assets are staked. An increase in those staking their assets — which is made easier by making liquid staking available — actually makes the blockchain more secure. By learning the truth about common misconceptions, investors will enable staking to truly become an innovative new way for blockchains to achieve consensus.</p><p class="post-content__disclaimer"><em>This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.</em></p><p class="post-content__disclaimer"><em>The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.</em></p><div><div style="background: rgb(239, 239, 239); border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px;"><strong>Mohak Agarwal</strong> is the CEO of ClayStack. He is a serial entrepreneur and investor on a mission to unlock the liquidity of staked assets.</div></div>

 The truth behind the misconceptions holding liquid staking back 

<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p>What a peculiar combination: bitcoin and pizza. Nonetheless, an entire day has been designated for each of these occasions. All of this is done in recognition of the innovations that crypto has brought to the world.</p>
<p>Since their creation, cryptocurrencies have dominated the global virtual currency landscape, and now everyone is mining this coin or seeking to invest in crypto.</p>
<p>Investors and entrepreneurs are looking for an opportunity to trade in cryptocurrencies ever since the first crypto trade became viral.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Suggested Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/microstrategy-ceo-sees-btc-hitting-1-million/">MicroStrategy Stock Rallies 10% As CEO Saylor Predicts BTC Will ‘Go Into The Millions’</a></em></strong></p>
<h2>Pizza: First Physical Item Bought Using Bitcoin</h2>
<p>Previously, cryptos were not accepted as a form of payment, but after a man from Florida paid for his meal with bitcoins, this topic was all people could talk about.</p>
<p>Bitcoin Pizza Day commemorates the day in 2010 when Laszlo Hanyecz, a programmer and BTC miner from Florida, used the crypto to purchase two pizzas from Papa John’s. It occurs every year on May 22. It is the first physical item purchased with the first decentralized digital currency.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-182007 aligncenter" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653193642517.png" alt="" width="640" height="408" srcset="https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/pp-640x408.png 640w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/pp-750x479.png 750w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/pp.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-pin-no-hover="true"></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">This is how the pizzas looked like at the time they were ordered in 2010 (Bitcoin Magazine).</pre>
<h2>10,000 BTC Paid For The Pizza Is Worth $300 Million Today</h2>
<p>Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for his renowned pizza purchase. This quantity was worth around $41 at the time. The value of the crypto has grown rapidly over time. Currently, 10,000 BTC are valued close to $300 million.</p>
<p>Obviously, the value of these same bitcoins increased significantly during the subsequent decade. In fact, if Hanyecz had supposedly sold his whole hoard at bitcoin’s all-time high of $68,990, he would have earned around $690 million — enough to purchase 46 million large Papa John’s pizzas for $15 each.</p>
<p>Hanyecz told Anderson Cooper in a 2019 interview with CBS that the purchase “made [bitcoin] real for certain people. Indeed, it did for me.”</p>
<h3>Pizza Order Hogged The Headlines</h3>
<p>Because of&nbsp;the price of bitcoin, Hanyecz’s story&nbsp;became global in the United States, with The Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Slate, and TechCrunch joining TechCrunch and Slate in popularizing the transaction.</p>
<p>On the same anniversary of the first Bitcoin pizza order, festivities continue for what has become a staple of crypto culture.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-medium" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653193642632.com/x/njOyB28n/" width="1824" height="812" data-pin-no-hover="true"></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">BTC total market cap at $557 billion on the weekend chart | Source: <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/ajrdy9Lf/" rel="noopener">TradingView.com</a></pre>
<h3>It’s A Celebration!</h3>
<p>PizzaDAO, the decentralized blockchain project that aims to link pizza lovers around the world with the technological possibilities of Web3, is celebrating Bitcoin Pizza Day on Sunday in traditional fashion.</p>
<p>The group will conduct commemorative events at 100&nbsp;pizza outlets&nbsp;in more than&nbsp;75&nbsp;nations, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Britain, South Korea and&nbsp;the United States, to name a few.</p>
<p>Bitcoin Pizza Day will also&nbsp;be celebrated by Huobi Global, one of the world’s biggest digital asset exchanges, with a special Primebox deal.</p>
<p>From May 19 through May 29, users can participate in the special occasion’s Primebox promotion for a chance to win a portion of the 50 BTC prize pool and other NFT awards.</p>
<h3>The Numbers Are Growing</h3>
<p>Meanwhile, more than 15,000 establishments worldwide already accept cryptocurrency as payment.</p>
<p>Movies, clothing, basketball tickets, airline packages, hotel bookings, and video games are among the items that can be purchased using cryptocurrency.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Suggested Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/unicorndao-rallies-for-women/">UnicornDAO Rallies For Women And LGBTQ Artists; Raises $4.5 Million</a></em></strong></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Featured image from Reddit, chart from <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/ajrdy9Lf/" rel="noopener">TradingView.com</a></pre>
                            
	                        
                                                            
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Bitcoin Pizza Day: Celebrating The $300-Million Pizza Order – And Other Fun Facts

<p>The common narrative around the prevailing threats to mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies is that regulators will put the kibosh on their legality, it has to get much easier for “ordinary” people to use, and the magnitude of its volatility has to be tempered.</p><p>All of these are true. But there’s something perhaps just as consequential: scams, hacks, fraudulent exchanges, dumps and the like. Why? Every attack leaves a scar. And the scars are mounting fast.</p><p>According to a <a href="https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/2022-crypto-crime-report-introduction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">study</a> by Chainalysis<em>,</em> scammers got away with $14 billion worth of crypto in 2021, which represents hundreds of thousands — maybe millions — of victims in a community where every negative experience has a voice in an echo chamber.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653173688056.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><h2>Today, very few are immune to scams and attacks</h2><p>The urgency for reigning in the dark web is rooted in behavioral economics: loss aversion. For most in the mainstream, once they lose a “significant” amount of money to a scam or hack, there’s a good chance they’ll be done with the whole asset class — if not forever, for a very long time. The specter of loss drowns the potential for gain.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653173688211.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>And, unfortunately, the likelihood today of virtually <strong>every</strong><em> </em>crypto trader and/or user being victimized is quite high. (Even <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/top-people-in-crypto-and-blockchain-2022/vitalik-buterin">Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum</a>, was the victim of a scam, which is described in the book <em>The Cryptopians.</em>) The bad guys are simply that good.</p><p><strong>Example one.</strong> You read on your Reddit that your favorite token is doing an airdrop. You’ve heard about others receiving these “free gifts of money,” so you jump on the link and are taken to a page where you see what looks like a live trade book. “For every token you send us, up to 500, we’ll send you back two as your reward,” it says. And there’s a timer indicating just 30 minutes left in the event; you better rush to get your tokens. So you do. What you soon learn is that the Reddit channel where you learned about the “offer” wasn’t official; the airdrop was a scam; the timer continuously restarted itself; and you just sent your tokens to a total stranger.</p><p><strong>Example two. </strong>You type in the URL “coinbase.pro.com” and are presented with a screen saying your account has been compromised — and given a number to call. The person on the other side asks for your date of birth, email address and account information so that they can reset your username and password. You start to grow suspicious but are feeling pressured. So, you provide what they’ve asked for, while a knot in your gut senses that you provided way too much information than you should have. Before long, coins are missing from your account. The proper URL it turns out was “pro.coinbase.com.” </p><p><strong>Example three. </strong>You’re new to the space and feel like you’ve missed out on the coins that have been “overnight sensations” and made so many people so much money. So, when you see the opportunity to invest in SQUID Coin — which will become part of a pay-to-play online game based on <em>Squid Game</em>, the popular Netflix series, you jump on it. Two weeks later, however, you learn that the developers — whose names are nowhere to be found — have abandoned the project and cleverly set an exit trap called an “anti-dumping mechanism.” Your coins are worthless. You’ve just had the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/crypto-rug-pulls-what-is-a-rug-pull-in-crypto-and-6-ways-to-spot-it" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/explained/crypto-rug-pulls-what-is-a-rug-pull-in-crypto-and-6-ways-to-spot-it/amp">rug pulled</a> out from under you.</p><p>Now imagine these actual scams, and thousands of others, being repeated over and over and over again — 24/7. </p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2022/04/08/four-clever-crypto-scams-beware-dubai-otc-trader-amin-rad"><strong><em>4 clever crypto scams to beware — Dubai OTC trader Amin Rad</em></strong></a></p><h2>With each passing day, momentum and enthusiasm are compromised</h2><p>Against that constant, devious drumbeat, high-profile attacks further accentuate doubts: Axie Infinity’s <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-aftermath-of-axie-infinity-s-650m-ronin-bridge-hack" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/the-aftermath-of-axie-infinity-s-650m-ronin-bridge-hack/amp">$650-million Ronin Bridge hack</a>, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/beanstalk-farms-loses-182m-in-defi-governance-exploit" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/beanstalk-farms-loses-182m-in-defi-governance-exploit/amp">Beanstalk Farms’ $182-million flash loan attack</a>, and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-com-breach-may-be-worth-up-to-33m-suggests-onchain-analyst" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-com-breach-may-be-worth-up-to-33m-suggests-onchain-analyst/amp">Crypto.com’s $33-million hack</a> of user wallets, for example. (These have all happened just this year.)</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653173688295.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>Before long, a lawless narrative dominates. Meanwhile, ongoing mainstream adoption brings along with it even more nefarious opportunities as “newbies” — who simply aren’t paying attention to best practices in safeguarding their funds — are further victimized. Millions of would-be participants are now watching on the sidelines and preaching “I told you so” to the newest victims.</p><p>Which leads me to my central proposition: an urgent need to go on the offensive. A marketing offensive.</p><p>Yes, the quest for innovative new safeguards and security features is warranted and welcomed. But it’s not enough. </p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/in-defense-of-crypto-why-digital-currencies-deserve-a-better-reputation" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/in-defense-of-crypto-why-digital-currencies-deserve-a-better-reputation/amp"><strong><em>In defense of crypto: Why digital currencies deserve a better reputation</em></strong></a></p><p>What’s needed now is a Manhattan Project, a Marshall Plan, or any other analogy you can think of that means galvanizing massive resources quickly and producing a viable solution to a problem. Because let’s face it, revolutions in tech can be bumpy; it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better. </p><p>Crypto needs a rallying cry, a manifesto, and an educated public to ensure that its awesome potential is realized. In short, get in front of the narrative, lead the discussion, empower safe adoption, and help the crypto community’s newest participants grow hand-in-hand with its creators. Crypto needs a member-funded, coordinated campaign.</p><h2>Introducing the Crypto With Confidence Project</h2><p>Here’s what I propose: </p><ul><li>The top 25 projects by market capitalization, the top 10 centralized exchanges, the top five prime brokers, the top three global trade associations and other stakeholders band together to create a foundation, a decentralized autonomous organization, or other entity in which category consumer education is all it does to ensure that people can Crypto With Confidence. (Treat “crypto” like a verb? Why not.)</li><li>Members of the group, which provide funding and marketplace leadership, are promoted as “sponsors” of the ensuing campaigns, which help them to assert their commitment to security and advocate their brands. It also projects unity. </li><li>Job 1: Create the equivalent of public service announcements and “how to” content to help consumers be more vigilant about the threats they face. Nestled somewhere between “You can do it!” and “Watch out!” — with “Isn’t new technology awesome!” wedged in between — the idea is to groom and educate an activist public in thwarting crypto crime and provide the calm and confidence to enthusiastically participate in crypto and Web3.</li><li>Job 1a: Create a mnemonic such as PARK that can be used universally. For example: “Before you put a transaction into motion, shift into PARK — Pause, Assess, Request, Keep.” <strong>Pause</strong> to ask the question(s), <em>Is it too good to be true? Is it unusual?</em> <strong>Assess</strong> the company, project and/or people you’re engaging with. Do you know them? Do they know you? Have you done your homework? <strong>Request </strong>information, ask questions, and make sure you’re behaving responsibly. <strong>Keep</strong> your private keys safe and share them with nobody other than those you’re okay with having access to your funds.<em> </em>There are, of course, many ways to approach this.</li><li>Now, to set the right tone and ensure it succeeds, it’s critical to make the effort “entertaining.” Really entertaining — so that I can’t avoid paying attention, so that a sense of seriousness is communicated without it being turn-me-off serious, so<em> </em>that it’s clear that something which is destined for mainstream adoption is acting in a very mainstream manner. Think Marvel characters defeating punk scammers or a rotating cast of A-list actors playing the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. And this can’t be a one-and-done kind of thing. It needs to kick off big then become a continuous campaign.</li><li>Incorporate marketing best practices: create a curriculum of content, including a course that concludes with certification; drive continuous engagement via newsletters, Discord or Telegram channels, email journeys, etc.; reward them<em> </em>for taking the time to become smarter and more vigilant with — you got it — crypto.</li></ul><p>Think of it: not only will the Crypto With Confidence Project accelerate best practices in safety and security, it’ll help mitigate a central argument of regulators; consumers and investors can’t protect themselves.</p><p>Look, Web3 is still in its infancy. The perceptions, attitudes and behaviors that are forged today are likely to have material impact for decades to come. If venture capitalists can raise billions to fund new projects and protocols, the community can certainly come together to make a massive statement about how it is collectively looking out for the welfare and best interests of the people it hopes to engage.</p><p>So, let’s go. I’m in. Are you?</p><p class="post-content__disclaimer"><em>This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.</em></p><p class="post-content__disclaimer"><em>The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.</em></p><div><div style="background: rgb(239, 239, 239); border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px;"><strong>Rich Feldman</strong> leads the marketing for Finario, a global enterprise capital-planning software-as-a-service provider. Rich has lectured on strategy at New York University and Syracuse University Newhouse School and is an adjunct professor at Western Connecticut University, where he is an advisory board member of the Ancell School of Business. He is also the author of the book <em>Deconstructing Creative Strategy </em>published by the Association of National Advertisers.</div></div>

 Needed: A massive education project to fight hacks and scams 

<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p>A government official stated that Cyprus has drafted its own legislation to handle crypto assets and is likely to adopt it before Europe finalizes an uniform regulatory guideline.</p>
<p>Kyriacos Kokkinos, Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy, announced this during a Larnaca meeting with the local fintech community.</p>
<p>The meeting was organized by the Swiss consulting business Kendris, which has offices in various countries, including Cyprus.</p>
<p>Kokkinos remarked that Cyprus’ concentration on research yielded successes in that discipline, but not without the country learning some lessons along the road.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Suggested Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/argentina-ngo-to-teach-high-schoolers-crypto/">Argentina NGO Spearheads Mission To Educate High Schoolers About Crypto</a></em></strong></p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-181988 aligncenter" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653164857559.jpeg" alt="" width="630" height="420" srcset="https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/c-630x420.jpeg 630w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/c-980x653.jpeg 980w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/c-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/c-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/c-750x500.jpeg 750w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/c-1140x760.jpeg 1140w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/c.jpeg 2000w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" data-pin-no-hover="true"></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Legislation governing the handling of crypto assets has been drafted in Cyprus (Entrepreneur).</pre>
<h2>Cyprus Supports Crypto Use</h2>
<p>Cyprus Mail reported on Thursday that when Kokkinos commented on the future of digital assets in Cyprus, including cryptocurrency, he walked a tight line between welcoming innovation and adhering to legislation.</p>
<p>Kokkinos, cited by an English-language daily newspaper, elaborated:</p>
<blockquote>
<h4>“I can confirm that Cyprus supports the usage of digital and crypto assets, but we must be extremely cautious and respect not only the legislation now in existence, but also the absence of restrictions.”</h4>
</blockquote>
<p>Since the island nation was a member of the European Union, Kokkinos underlined the necessity for prudence. He observed that it did not care whether or not it aligned with Europe.</p>
<p>Instead, he stated that the country’s choice was whether or not to wait for the ECB to establish its own regulatory framework or to proceed independently.</p>
<p>“My answer is that we will go at it alone while respecting the rules,” he said.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-medium" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653164857667.com/x/VbEfF5OL/" width="1824" height="870" data-pin-no-hover="true"></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Crypto total market cap at $1.23 trillion on the daily chart | Source: <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/ajrdy9Lf/" rel="noopener">TradingView.com</a></pre>
<h2>Evaluating Cryptocurrency’s Functions</h2>
<p>The legislation has been published and interested parties are encouraged to evaluate it, as disclosed by the deputy minister. The government of Cyprus also invited a New York-based company to assist with the application of the legislation.</p>
<p>Regarding the banking industry as a whole, Kokkinos had a more pessimistic picture, lamenting the very conservative approach adopted by commercial banks following the 2013 financial crisis.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Suggested Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/microstrategy-ceo-sees-btc-hitting-1-million/">MicroStrategy Stock Rallies 10% As CEO Saylor Predicts Bitcoin Will ‘Go Into The Millions’</a></em></strong></p>
<p>“Banks should be more accommodating to companies and individuals seeking to conduct business in Cyprus,” he continued, noting that while they have improved over the previous 18 months, there is still room for improvement.</p>
<p>Two Invest Cyprus representatives, CEO George Campanellas and vice-chairman Spyros Vassiliou, also spoke at the occasion.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the financial chiefs of the G7 have urged nations to adopt comprehensive regulation of cryptocurrencies. According to Reuters, the team issued a draft statement to this effect while meeting in Koenigswinter, close to Bonn (Germany).</p>
                            
	                        
                                                            
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Cyprus Drafts Regulatory Framework For Cryptocurrencies

<div><h4>Quick Take</h4>
<ul>
<li>DeFi lending protocol Scream kept the price of two unpegged stablecoins hardcoded to $1 on its platform.</li>
<li>Users borrowed other stablecoins on the cheap, leaving the DeFi lender with $35 million in bad debt.</li>
</ul>
</div> <div class="articleIAB"><div in-article-ad="" track-impression="" ga-event-action="ad-impression" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle" class="d-flex d-print-none flex-column justify-content-center"><div class="my-1 text-uppercase font-meta font-size-6" style="text-align: center; opacity: 0.5;"><small>advertisement</small></div> <div class="mobileView" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 30px; width: 100%; text-align: center;"><a ga-on="click" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-action="ad-clicked" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle,url:https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" href="https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" target="_blank" rel="sponsored"><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653158985577.png" style="width: 100%; max-width: 300px;"> <span></span></a></div></div></div> <div><p>Scream, a DeFi lending protocol on Fantom, has incurred $35 million in bad debt after failing to adjust the price of two stablecoins that lost their US dollar peg.</p>
<p>The two stablecoins in question are Fantom USD (fUSD) and Dei (DEI). Both coins still have a quoted price of $1, according to <a href="https://scream.sh/lend">data</a> from Scream’s dashboard. Yet they are trading well below peg. fUSD fell to as low as $0.69 while DEI fell to $0.52 at its lowest.</p>
<p>Whales took advantage of this situation to deposit large amounts of FUSD and DEI at a discounted rate and drained all other stablecoins from the Scream platform. Stablecoins like Fantom USDT, FRAX, DAI, MIM, and USDC have all been siphoned off from the platform.</p>
<p>As such, users with supposed deposits of these stablecoins are unable to process withdrawals from Scream.</p>
<p>The situation with fUSD was also further exacerbated by the fact that the stablecoin’s deposit limit was set to infinity instead of zero. Coupled with FUSD becoming depegged, this situation allowed users to borrow large sums of money against the bad debt and drain the protocol’s remaining stablecoins.</p><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" track-impression="" ga-event-category="In-Article" ga-event-action="impression" ga-event-label="newsletter-article-impression" class="newsletterArticle-pitch"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle-message"><h2 data-v-301b2fcc="">
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<p>The DeFi lending protocol has also <a href="https://defillama.com/protocol/scream">lost</a> about 50% of the total value locked in its smart contracts, according to DeFiLlama.</p>
<p>Scream responded to the issue with an <a href="https://twitter.com/Screamdotsh/status/1526138091718713344">announcement</a> stating that it was seeking a solution to the bad debt in conjunction with the Fantom Foundation. This workaround will involve liquidating all fUSD loans currently underwater.</p>
<p>With fUSD depegged, Scream says it will hardcode the stablecoin’s price to $0.81. This solution could also liquidate other users whose positions were not previously at risk of liquidation.</p>
<p>Deus Finance DAO, meanwhile, has <a href="https://lafayettetabor.medium.com/dip-7-treasury-bonds-4cc886148b9e">proposed</a> treasury bond sales to restore peg stability to DEI. According to the proposal, the platform will serve treasury bonds to users in exchange for collateral in the form of USDC, DAI, and FRAX.</p>
<p>DEI and FUSD are the latest stablecoins to lose their US dollar peg. TerraUSD (UST) kickstarted the trend last week with a dramatic drop that led to the <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/146225/luna-price-collapses-below-5-as-ust-slides-further-from-dollar-peg">collapse of Luna (LUNA)</a>.</p><br><span class="copyright"><p><span class="font-body font-size-7;">© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</span></p>
</span></div>


		DeFi lender left with $35 million bad debt after quoting depegged stablecoins at $1
	

<p>Stablecoins are often discussed with regard to their “stability.” It is usually questioned whether a stablecoin is sufficiently backed with money or other assets. Undoubtedly, it is a very important aspect of stablecoin value. But, does it make sense if the legal terms of a stablecoin do not give you, the stablecoin holder, the legal right to redeem that digital record on blockchain for fiat currency?</p><p>This article aims to look into the legal terms of the two largest stablecoins — Tether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index">USDT</a>) by Tether and USD Coin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/usdc-price-index">USDC</a>) by Centre Consortium, established by Coinbase and Circle — to answer the question: Do they owe you anything?</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/stablecoins-will-have-to-reflect-and-evolve-to-live-up-to-their-name" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/stablecoins-will-have-to-reflect-and-evolve-to-live-up-to-their-name/amp"><strong><em>Stablecoins will have to reflect and evolve to live up to their name</em></strong></a></p><h2>Tether</h2><p>Article 3 of Tether’s Terms of Service explicitly <a href="https://tether.to/en/legal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">states</a>:</p><p>“Tether reserves the right to delay the redemption or withdrawal of Tether Tokens if such delay is necessitated by the illiquidity or unavailability or loss of any Reserves held by Tether to back the Tether Tokens, and Tether reserves the right to redeem Tether Tokens by in-kind redemptions of securities and other assets held in the Reserves. Tether makes no representations or warranties about whether Tether Tokens that may be traded on the Site may be traded on the Site at any point in the future, if at all.” </p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653158981752.jpg" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>Let us unpack this. First, Tether may delay any claim in case of lack of liquidity, unavailability or loss of reserves. We reasonably should ask how this can even happen if they claim (in the same article) that “Tether Tokens are 100% backed by Tether’s Reserves.” The answer is found down below in the terms. USDT is “valued” 1:1 but not exclusively backed with fiat currency. And as per the terms, “the composition of the Reserves used to back Tether Tokens is within the sole control and at the sole and absolute discretion of Tether.”</p><p>As the United States Federal Reserve Board <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-fed-cites-worries-about-stablecoin-in-its-latest-financial-stability-report" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/the-fed-cites-worries-about-stablecoin-in-its-latest-financial-stability-report/amp">concluded in their recent report</a>: </p><blockquote>“They are backed by assets that may lose value or become illiquid during stress, leading to redemption risks, and lack of transparency may exacerbate those risks.”</blockquote><p>More interesting appears the part of Tether’s terms where they reserve the right to return in-kind. It means you buy USDT for the U.S. dollars, but they can return you a bond, a stock or “other assets held in the Reserves.” And, who knows if these assets will be worth anything?</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653158981930.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>It should be noted that redemption from Tether is possible if you are “a verified customer of Tether.” Normally, crypto exchanges and other financial institutions are direct customers of Tether. End-users exchange stablecoins with their applications, not with Tether, and hence must check with legal terms that such providers cast. Nevertheless, <a href="https://tether.to/en/faqs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to<a href="https://tether.to/en/faqs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow"> </a>Tether’s FAQ, individuals can also open an account with Tether after accomplishing a Know Your Customer (KYC) check.</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-united-states-turns-its-attention-to-stablecoin-regulation" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/the-united-states-turns-its-attention-to-stablecoin-regulation/amp"><strong><em>The United States turns its attention to stablecoin regulation</em></strong></a></p><h2>Circle USDC</h2><p>Circle has much in common with its twice-as-big rival, though surprisingly, its terms are even more discouraging. They, similarly, do not <a href="https://www.circle.com/en/legal/usdc-terms" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">promise</a> to hold equivalent fiat reserves and back their stablecoin with “an equivalent amount of U.S. Dollar-denominated assets,” quoted from Article 1.</p><p>Promising Article 2 of their terms states that “Circle commits to redeem 1 USDC for 1 USD.” The bad news is that this rule applies only to Circle partners (crypto exchanges, financial institutions, etc.), which they call users Type A. End-users become customers of these partners (say, when you open an account with a crypto exchange), and there is no way for an individual to become Circles’ direct user and exercise the right to redemption.</p><p>In Article 13, they clarify that Circle does not guarantee that the value of 1 USDC will always equal 1 USD because “Circle cannot control how third parties quote or value USDC.” This means Circle does not mandate their partners to cast any specific terms to their end-users, which gives such stablecoin providers freedom in what they legally promise to their customers. Circle states they are not “responsible for any losses or other issues that may result from fluctuations in the value of USDC.”</p><h2>Simply not equal </h2><p>Both Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC are not legally equal to fiat money. Moreso, their reserves, which they claim to ensure 1:1 value, are not fully pegged to fiat. They back their digital tokens with various assets, such as securities, which can eventually decrease in value and create trouble with stablecoin liquidity. </p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653158982043.jpg" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>The main question was whether an individual holding the stablecoin could convert it to fiat. The short answer is that there is no such right that the customer can exercise through legal means, such as claiming it in court. In the case of Tether, they let an individual become their direct customer to redeem USDT. But, they leave the right to return not fiat but any asset in their reserves. In the case of Circle, they legally promise redemption but do not admit individuals to exercise this right, which leaves the customer one to one with multiple exchanges, which do not necessarily guarantee this right.</p><iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nylj0dU55vQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><p class="post-content__disclaimer"><em>This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.</em></p><p class="post-content__disclaimer"><em>The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.</em></p><div><div style="background: rgb(239, 239, 239); border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px;"><strong>Oleksii Konashevych</strong> has a Ph.D. in law, science and technology and is the CEO of the Australian Institute for Digital Transformation. In his academic research, he presented a concept of a new generation of property registries that are based on a blockchain. He presented an idea of title tokens and supported it with technical protocols for smart laws and digital authorities to enable full-featured legal governance of digitized property rights. He has also developed a cross-chain protocol that enables the use of multiple ledgers for a blockchain estate registry, which he presented to the Australian Senate in 2021.</div></div>

 Do you have the right to redeem your stablecoin? 

<div><h4>Quick Take</h4>
<ul>
<li>LKB &amp; Partners has reportedly decided to sue Do Kwon on behalf of investors who lost money in the UST collapse.</li>
<li>The law firm has also decided to file an attachment order to seize Kwon’s properties.</li>
</ul>
</div> <div class="articleIAB"><div in-article-ad="" track-impression="" ga-event-action="ad-impression" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle" class="d-flex d-print-none flex-column justify-content-center"><div class="my-1 text-uppercase font-meta font-size-6" style="text-align: center; opacity: 0.5;"><small>advertisement</small></div> <div class="mobileView" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 30px; width: 100%; text-align: center;"><a ga-on="click" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-action="ad-clicked" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle,url:https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" href="https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" target="_blank" rel="sponsored"><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653158980049.png" style="width: 100%; max-width: 300px;"> <span></span></a></div></div></div> <div><p>LKB &amp; Partners, one of the top law firms in South Korea, has decided to sue Terraform Labs founder and CEO Do Kwon after the sudden collapse of TerraUSD (UST) last week, Korean media reported on Wednesday.</p>
<p>LKB will file the case against Kwon, a Korean national, on behalf of ordinary investors to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, <a href="http://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2022051801030918357001">according to a report</a> in the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper. Some of LKB's employees may also join the case since they lost money in the UST collapse, the report says.</p>
<p>"There are related investors inside the law firm, and we will file a complaint against Kwon at the Financial Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency," Kim Hyeon-Kwon, a partner at LKB, told Munhwa Ilbo.</p>
<p>Besides filing a police complaint, LKB has also decided to file a provisional attachment order of Kwon's properties to seize them in the Public Prosecutors' Office of Seoul Southern District, according to the report.</p>
<p>A separate <a href="https://www.yonhapnewstv.co.kr/news/AKR20220518128300640?srt=l&amp;d=Y">report</a> from local news agency Yonhap said LKB is also considering suing Daniel Shin, another Terra co-founder.</p>
<p>The Block has attempted to contact Kwon and Shin via Terraform Labs and will update the story should we hear back.</p>
<h2>UST collapse&nbsp;</h2>
<p>The UST algorithmic stablecoin de-pegged sharply last week to levels below 10 cents, far from its target price of $1. It is still trading at that level. Terra's native token Luna also crashed and is currently trading at a fraction of a cent, losing almost all of its value.</p>
<p>The implosions of UST and Luna have led to tens of billions of dollars in losses for investors, both retail and institutional. Korea's financial regulators — the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) — have <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/147269/south-korean-politician-calls-for-hearing-terra-do-kwon">reportedly launched</a> "emergency inspections" into local crypto exchanges to enhance investor protection.</p>
<p>Korean politician Yun Chang-Hyun has also reportedly called for a parliamentary hearing on UST to understand the cause of the collapse and measures to protect investors. Chang-Hyun wants Kwon and local crypto exchanges to attend the hearing.</p>
<p>In the wake of the UST chaos, Terraform's in-house legal team <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/147390/terraform-labs-legal-team-resigns-after-ust-collapse">has left</a> the company, The Block reported on Tuesday. The Singapore-based firm has turned to outside counsel to assist with legal matters.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Terraform hopes to amend the situation. Kwon has promoted a <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/147157/do-kwon-wants-to-fork-the-terra-blockchain-as-part-of-revival-plan">plan to fork Terra</a> to create a new blockchain — but the community seems set <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/147289/terra-community-seems-dead-set-against-do-kwons-fork-proposal">against the idea.</a></p>
<p><i data-stringify-type="italic">For more breaking stories like this, make sure to follow The Block on&nbsp;</i><i data-stringify-type="italic"><a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://twitter.com/TheBlock__" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://twitter.com/TheBlock__" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">Twitter</a></i><i data-stringify-type="italic">.</i></p><br><span class="copyright"><p><span class="font-body font-size-7;">© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</span></p>
</span></div>


		Major Korean law firm to sue Do Kwon after UST collapse, local media report
	

<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p>Some jurisdictions are recently putting up regulatory measures to curb cryptocurrency asset investment challenges. Among the many countries on this move is South Korea. The government is making a few recommendations that will serve as protection for cryptocurrency investors.</p>
<p>In addition, it issued some guidelines for companies operating within the crypto industry in South Korea. The National Assembly received a report from the country’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) concerning new cryptocurrency regulations.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.hankyung.com/finance/article/2022051724241" rel="noopener">report</a>, lawmakers are pushing for measures that could help curb some slippery areas around crypto transactions. Hence, the regulations aim to eliminate crypto wash trading, insider trading, and pump-and-dump setups.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading |&nbsp;<a href="https://bitcoinist.com/dogecoin-was-created-by-a-stupid-person/">Dogecoin Co-Founder Says&nbsp;</a>A Stupid Person created the Meme Coin</strong></em></p>
<p>South Korea already has the Capital Markets Act that governs its cryptocurrency industry. However, once the new regulations become effective, their enforcement will be stricter. Also, there would be harsher penalties for non-compliance.</p>
<p>The licensing will feature different aspects depending on the possibility of expected risks. So, they will permit crypto exchanges and coin issuers, especially firms involved in initial coin offerings. The country’s Daily received the report on Tuesday from the Comparative Analysis of the Virtual Property Industry Act.</p>
<h2>Flow For The Cryptocurrency Regulatory Process</h2>
<p>A compilation from the legislative outlines the pattern and flow process for the new crypto regulations. Firms on crypto coin issuing would first hand over a whitepaper of their project to the FSC.</p>
<p>Also, their documentation would contain information concerning the company’s staff. Finally, they would list out their spending plans for all their ICO-generated funds and the project’s potential risks.</p>
<p>Moreover, before making changes or updates on their project’s whitepaper, the companies must first notify the FSC. The regulatory body must get pre-information one week before the changes can apply.</p>
<p>Similarly, all foreign companies are not exempted from the rule. Once they intend to trade their coins on exchanges in South Korea, they must also comply with the regulations on the white paper.</p>
<p>The current market indeed requires an elaborate regulation for coin issuers. So, using a solid and reliable licensing system would provide adequate protection for crypto transactions.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading |&nbsp;<a href="https://bitcoinist.com/shiba-inu-closes-gap-with-rival-dogecoin/">Shiba Inu Closes Gap With Rival, Dogecoin, As Followers Surpass 3.33 Million</a></strong></em></p>
<p>The sudden price fall of the Terra protocol had catalyzed a detailed market crash. Do Kwon, the founder of the project and a South Korean, is likely to face the National Assembly for an explanation of this occurrence.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the licensing report strives to mitigate unpleasant trades allegedly linked to some coin issues and exchanges. For several years, most of these companies were alleged to engage in price manipulations, insider trading, wash trading, and other shady operations. Hence, the report plans on in-depth regulations for those actions.</p>
<p>The FSC regulatory processes seem to cut across stablecoins as well. This was before the challenges of Tether (USDT), TerraUSD (UST), and Dei (DEI) occurred last week.</p>
<figure id="attachment_181956" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-181956" style="width: 980px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-181956 size-large" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653150559727.png" alt="South Korean Regulators Introduce New Licensing Frameworks To Protect Cryptocurrency Investors" width="980" height="568" srcset="https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/TOTAL_2022-05-21_03-42-57-980x568.png 980w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/TOTAL_2022-05-21_03-42-57-640x371.png 640w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/TOTAL_2022-05-21_03-42-57-768x445.png 768w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/TOTAL_2022-05-21_03-42-57-750x434.png 750w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/TOTAL_2022-05-21_03-42-57-1140x660.png 1140w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/TOTAL_2022-05-21_03-42-57.png 1478w" sizes="(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px" data-pin-no-hover="true"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-181956" class="wp-caption-text">Cryptocurrency market falls again | Source: <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/?symbol=CRYPTOCAP%3ATOTAL" rel="noopener">Crypto Total Market Cap on TradingView.com</a></figcaption></figure>
<p>The regulatory requirement on stablecoins would cut across their asset management. This would measure the number of minted tokens and their use of collateral.</p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView.com</pre>
                            
	                        
                                                            
                                                    </div>

South Korean Regulators Introduce New Frameworks To Protect Cryptocurrency Investors

<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, </span><a href="https://www.binance.com/en/support/announcement/3ee5a24e46754c278eaf769fcd4b7edf?utm_source=AnnouncementTG&amp;utm_medium=GlobalSocial&amp;utm_campaign=AnnouncementBot" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">announced</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on Friday that it had integrated the layer-2 scaling solution Optimism because Binance is optimistic about the future of Ethereum’s Layer 2.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The exchange explained that, at this time, deposits are the only thing supported; withdrawals will not be available until the exchange achieves optimal liquidity.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;Related Reading | </i></b><a href="https://bitcoinist.com/microstrategy-ceo-sees-btc-hitting-1-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b><i>MicroStrategy Stock Rallies 10% As CEO Saylor Predicts Bitcoin Will ‘Go Into The Millions’</i></b></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The announcement reads;</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Binance will open withdrawals for ETH on Optimism Network once there are sufficient assets in our wallet.</span></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This Optimism is a layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, which will help to reduce costs and enhance transaction speeds, which is an Achilles heel for many blockchain networks.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The exchange will allow customers to deposit ETH straight to Optimism without depositing on the Ethereum mainnet and using a bridge to emigrate onto Layer 2. This means they’ll be able to move their assets and access the Ethereum network at a lower cost.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Ethereum network has become famous for activities like DeFi and NFTs. However, the network is often bustling, which can cause costs to increase. This happens during market volatility, when someone drops an NFT, or when a new yield farm appears. Scaling solutions like Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism emerged to solve these issues.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_181953" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-181953" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-181953" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653144869014.png" alt="ETH price chart" width="640" height="376" srcset="https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ETHUSD_2022-05-21_03-27-08-640x376.png 640w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ETHUSD_2022-05-21_03-27-08-980x576.png 980w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ETHUSD_2022-05-21_03-27-08-768x452.png 768w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ETHUSD_2022-05-21_03-27-08-750x441.png 750w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ETHUSD_2022-05-21_03-27-08.png 1012w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-pin-no-hover="true"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-181953" class="wp-caption-text">Ethereum is currently trading below the $2,000 support level | Source: ETH/USD price chart from <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/?symbol=BITSTAMP%3ABTCUSD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tradingview.com</a></figcaption></figure>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The costs related to a blockchain transaction are the cost of processing and storing information. These solutions (Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism) move the activity away from the costly mainnet.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Once a series of transactions or crypto operations end, the results of these activities are then sent and saved on the mainnet, like who owns which coins and how much.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, Optimism leverages Optimistic Rollups, a technology that reduces traffic on Ethereum, processes transactions on a new network, and then sends them to the Ethereum mainnet as call data.</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ethereum Scaler’s Optimistic Growth</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nowadays, Optimism and Arbitrum are Ethereum’s two leading Optimistic Rollup solutions, already hosting the Aave and other top DeFi projects. According to data from </span><a href="https://dune.com/optimismpbc/Optimism-Overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dune Analytics</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the gas cost of Optimism is 98 times lower than that of Ethereum.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As per the data from </span><a href="https://defillama.com/chain/Optimism" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Defi Llama</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Optimism has been gaining popularity recently, with a total value locked (TVL) standing at $290.96 million and almost 40 different DeFi projects that are using the technology.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Optimism was in the spotlight by announcing the launch of the OP token last month, and rumors imply that the Arbitrum will also come with its token in the future.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;</span><b><i>&nbsp;Related Reading | </i></b><a href="https://bitcoinist.com/naughty-moai-the-ecosystem-for-real-world-impactation-on-metaverse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><b><i>Naughty MOAI – The Ecosystem Falor Real World Impactation on Metaverse</i></b></a></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Besides Optimistic Rollups, ZK-Rollups (Zero-Knowledge Rollups) is the other promising Layer 2 technology on which Ethereum is betting to become user-friendly.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Projects that are working in the ZK-Rollups domain contain zkSync and StarkWare. ZK-Rollups enhance existing Layer 2 networks by offering consistency and better security. In addition, this solution will offer a way to bundle many transactions together and commit them to Ethereum’s Layer 1 as a single proof.</span></p>
<pre>               Featured image from Pixabay, and chart from Tradingview.com</pre>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
                            
	                        
                                                            
                                                    </div>

Ethereum Layer-2 Scaling Solution Optimism Now Supported By Binance

<p>Nonfungible token marketplace OpenSea has announced the launch of a Web3 marketplace protocol for “safely and efficiently buying and selling NFTs.”</p><p>In a Friday blog post, OpenSea <a href="https://opensea.io/blog/announcements/introducing-seaport-protocol/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" data-amp="https://opensea-io.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/opensea.io/blog/announcements/introducing-seaport-protocol/">said</a> the marketplace protocol, dubbed Seaport, will give users the option to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/nonfungible-tokens-for-beginners" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/nonfungible-tokens-for-beginners/amp">obtain NFTs</a> by offering assets other than just payment tokens like Ether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price">ETH</a>). According to the platform, a user “can agree to supply a number of ETH / ERC20 / ERC721 / ERC1155 items” in exchange for an NFT, implying bartering a combination of tokens as a method of payment. </p><p>In addition, SeaPort users can specify which criteria — e.g. certain traits on NFT artwork or pieces part of a collection — they want when making offers. The platform will also support tipping, as long as the amount does not exceed that of the original offer. </p><p>“OpenSea does not control or operate the Seaport protocol — we will be just one, among many, building on top of this shared protocol,” said the NFT marketplace. “As adoption grows and developers create new evolving use-cases, we are all responsible for keeping each other safe.”</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 798px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1527705996549685248&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fopensea-launches-seaport-marketplace-protocol-allowing-nft-bartering&amp;sessionId=5d845be8cb27c44bfeb3b1da04e3f278c229eca8&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1527705996549685248"></iframe></div>

<p>Some on social media <a href="https://twitter.com/frandsoh/status/1527729818950848512" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">seemed</a> to express confusion over concepts in the new marketplace protocol. Twitter user EffortCapital <a href="https://twitter.com/EffortCapital/status/1527718385030778881" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">called</a> for others to investigate how Seaport compared to 0x v4 NFT swaps, while user phuktep <a href="https://twitter.com/phuktep/status/1527711181183627264" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">questioned</a> how trading both NFTs and ETH for a single token would be declared on tax forms. </p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 345px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1527719159412338688&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fopensea-launches-seaport-marketplace-protocol-allowing-nft-bartering&amp;sessionId=5d845be8cb27c44bfeb3b1da04e3f278c229eca8&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1527719159412338688"></iframe></div>

<p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/5-nft-marketplaces-that-could-topple-opensea-in-2022" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/5-nft-marketplaces-that-could-topple-opensea-in-2022/amp"><strong><em>5 NFT marketplaces that could topple OpenSea in 2022</em></strong></a></p><p>The launch marketplace protocol followed OpenSea announcing in April it had <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/nifty-news-opensea-acquires-gem-and-chess-com-makes-a-move-into-nfts" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/nifty-news-opensea-acquires-gem-and-chess-com-makes-a-move-into-nfts/amp">acquired NFT marketplace aggregator Gem</a>, aiming to improve the experience of seasoned users. The platform said at the time that Gem would operate as a stand-alone product, with OpenSea planning to integrate Gem features including a collection floor price sweeping tool and rarity-based rankings.</p>

 OpenSea launches 'Seaport' ​​marketplace protocol allowing NFT bartering 

<p>Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) has been attributed as the most prominent blockchain use case, showing the technology’s prowess in successfully delivering <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/today-in-bitcoin-history-13-year-anniversary-of-transaction-between-satoshi-and-hal-finney" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/today-in-bitcoin-history-13-year-anniversary-of-transaction-between-satoshi-and-hal-finney/amp">an immutable and truly decentralized ledger over the past 13 years</a>. Adding to the years of innovations since then— that saw the introduction of <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/explained/amp">altcoins</a>, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/nonfungible-tokens-for-beginners/what-is-crypto-art-and-how-does-it-work" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/nonfungible-tokens-for-beginners/what-is-crypto-art-and-how-does-it-work/amp">non-fungible tokens</a> (NFT), <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/defi-101/defi-a-comprehensive-guide-to-decentralized-finance" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/defi-101/defi-a-comprehensive-guide-to-decentralized-finance/amp">decentralized finance</a> (DeFi) and more, a study conducted by fintech giant Deloitte highlighted the untapped potential of the crypto ecosystem to open up newer markets for the sports industry.</p><p>Fan tokens and NFTs were first introduced to the sports industry to increase fan engagement via collectibles and voting mechanisms. However, Deloitte, one of the Big 4 accounting firms, envisions the industry further embracing crypto and blockchain technology over the coming years:</p><blockquote>“A nexus will form around sports collectibles, ticketing, betting, and gaming. We are just beginning to see its [cryptocurrency’s] potential, as well as the new markets it could lead to.”</blockquote><p>Highlighting incoming trends in the sports industry, Deloitte’s 2022 sports industry outlook <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/technology-media-telecommunications/us-tmt-2022-sports-outlook.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">report</a> expects an eventual rise in blockchain-enabled innovations, as a result of which “The use of NFTs, crypto, fan tokens, and ticket innovations will grow and evolve.”</p><p>“Moving beyond NFTs,” Deloitte expects the sports industry to start soon linking spectators with season tickets over the blockchain. While the initial move toward this goal would mean merely associating game tickets with NFTs as means to reward fans, innovations around smart contracting could potentially open up new use cases:</p><blockquote>“We could see fractional ownership of season tickets and suites and a reinvention of the ticket resale process.”</blockquote><p>As a result, new revenue streams can be created for sports organizers and teams as smart contracts streamline the processes related to dynamic ticket pricing and resales. However, Deloitte shared four key factors that need to be addressed by the ecosystem: implementing new standards, educating fans and considering compliance and tax implications.</p><p>Additionally, Deloitte’s study revealed that NFTs catalyzed the merger between the physical and virtual worlds in sports while predicting over $2 billion in sports-related NFT transactions in 2022 alone.</p><p>On an end note, the finserv recommended sports organizations keep an eye on the NFT boom and its impact on other segments such as gaming.</p><p><strong>Related: </strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/aussie-media-company-goes-all-in-on-nba-fan-engagement-with-nfts" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/aussie-media-company-goes-all-in-on-nba-fan-engagement-with-nfts/amp"><strong><em>Aussie media company goes all in on NBA fan engagement with NFTs</em></strong></a></p><p>Supporting Deloitte’s report on the rising NFT trend across the sports industry, Australian media company Basketball Forever recently launched Hoop Hounds, an NFT project aimed to increase National Basketball Association (NBA) fan engagement and provide substantial real-world utility for the tokens. </p><p>Basketball Forever founder Alex Sumsky resonated with Deloitte's findings when he told Cointelegraph that the technology is more than just a token tied to a JPG and allows organizations to provide innovative ways to increase user engagement and give the fans real utility.</p><p>As part of the initiative, Basketball Forever will offer 8,888 different “hounds” — various basketball and NBA personalities depicted as animated canines — each with unique traits and differing levels of rarity.</p>

 Blockchain, crypto set to take sports industry beyond NFT collectibles 

<h2>What is a DAO?</h2><p>A DAO, or <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/decentralized-automated-organizations-daos-guide-for-beginners/what-is-decentralized-autonomous-organization-and-how-does-a-dao-work">decentralized autonomous organization</a>, is an online-based organization that exists and operates with no single leader or governing body. DAOs are run by code written on a blockchain like Ethereum (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price">ETH</a>) and are owned and operated by the people who use them.</p><p>There are <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/decentralized-automated-organizations-daos-guide-for-beginners/types-of-daos-and-how-to-create-a-decentralized-autonomous-organization">many different types of DAOs</a>, but they all have one thing in common: they are decentralized, meaning that decisions about the organization's future are decided by the collective group and not a single individual. </p><p>This decentralization is what makes DAOs promising, as it theoretically <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/decentralized-automated-organizations-daos-guide-for-beginners/egov-dao-a-step-towards-better-government-using-a-blockchain-based-decentralized-autonomous-organization">removes the possibility of corruption</a> or manipulation by a single entity. Smart contracts (and not people) execute the terms and conditions of the organization, making them incredibly efficient and resilient to change.</p><p><strong>How does a DAO work?</strong></p><p>A DAO is a collection of smart contracts that live <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-for-beginners/history-of-eth-the-rise-of-the-ethereum-blockchain">on the Ethereum blockchain</a>. These contracts interact with each other to form the organization. They are written in such a way that anyone in the world can use them.</p><p>The code for a DAO is public, and anyone can view it to see how it works. This transparency is one of the key features of a DAO. Compared to traditional organizations, DAOs are much more efficient because there is no need for a middleman or central authority.</p><p>Another key feature of a DAO is that it is autonomous, meaning that it can operate without human intervention. This is made possible by using smart contracts, which can automatically execute tasks according to the programmed rules.</p><p>DAOs are self-governing and self-sustaining, meaning they can continue to exist and operate even if the original creators are no longer involved. This is another advantage of using smart contracts. They ensure the DAO continues to follow its original rules even if the people running it changes. </p><p>Some of the most well-known DAO tokens and platforms are Uniswap (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/uniswap-price-index">UNI</a>), Aave (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/aave-price-index">AAVE</a>), Compound (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/compound-price-index">COMP</a>), Maker (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/maker-price-index">MKR</a>) and Curve DAO.</p><h2>Steps to raise money from VCs after incorporating a DAO</h2><h3>Write a white paper</h3><p>After incorporating your DAO, you will need to write a white paper. A white paper is an essential document that explains what your DAO is, what it does and how it works. It should be clear, concise and easy to understand. </p><p>Your white paper will be used to convince potential investors to support your DAO, so it’s important to ensure it’s well-written and persuasive. To help you get started on writing your DAO's white paper, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ico-101/what-is-a-white-paper-and-how-to-write-it%20">check out our detailed guide here</a>.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653144885261.png"></figure><h3>Create a pitch deck</h3><p>In addition to a white paper, you will also need to create a pitch deck. A pitch deck is a short presentation that gives an overview of your DAO and its purpose. </p><p>Your pitch deck should be clear, visually appealing and easy to follow. It should also include information about your team, your progress to date and your plans for the future.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653144885425.png"></figure><h3>Create a website</h3><p>The next step in raising money for your DAO is to create a website. Your website should be professional and informative. It should include your white paper as well as any other relevant information about your DAO.</p><p>It should also have a way for potential investors to get in touch with you. This could be through a contact form, an email address or a social media account.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653144885585.png"></figure><h3>Reach out to VCs</h3><p>Once you have created a white paper, pitch deck and website, you can start reaching out to venture capitalists, or VCs. When contacting VCs, it’s important to be clear about your objectives and what you are looking for. </p><p>Some VCs may be interested in investing in your DAO if they believe in its mission. Others may be more interested in the financial return that investing in your DAO would give them. </p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/funding-for-beginners/venture-capital-financing-a-beginners-guide-to-vc-funding-in-the-crypto-space"><strong><em>Venture capital financing: A beginner’s guide to VC funding in the crypto space</em></strong></a></p><p>It’s also important to remember that VCs are busy people. They receive hundreds of pitches every week, so you need to ensure that your pitch stands out.</p><h3>Negotiate terms</h3><p>Once you have found a VC interested in investing in your DAO, you will need to negotiate the terms of the investment. This includes the amount of money the VC will invest, and the equity stake they will receive in return. </p><p>It’s important to remember that you are in a strong position when negotiating with VCs. After all, they are the ones who are interested in investing in your DAO. As such, you should aim for terms favorable to you and your team. This includes getting a large equity stake and a high valuation for your DAO. </p><h3>Close the deal</h3><p>Closing the deal is an important step in raising money for your DAO. Once you have negotiated the terms of the investment, you will need to close the deal. This involves signing a contract with the VC, as well as receiving the agreed upon amount of money. It’s a good idea to have a lawyer review the contract before you sign it. </p><h3>Use the funds</h3><p>Once you have closed the deal and received the investment, you will need to use the money wisely. This means spending it in a way that will help your DAO achieve its objectives. Some of the things you could use the money for include hiring employees, marketing your DAO and developing new features.</p><p>It’s also important to remember that you will need to report back to the VCs on how you are using the money. For this reason, ensure that your expenses and progress are all properly tracked.</p><h3>Pay back the VCs</h3><p>Eventually, you will need to pay back the VCs. This could be through a sale of your company, an initial public offering (IPO) or another exit strategy. Paying back the VCs is an important step in the life cycle of a DAO. It is also a good way to show them you are committed to your business and have faith in its future.</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/funding-for-beginners/what-is-an-ipo-a-beginners-guide-on-how-crypto-firms-can-go-public"><strong><em>What is an IPO? A beginner’s guide on how crypto firms can go public</em></strong></a></p><h2>Can DAOs replace VCs?</h2><p>Are DAOs a viable replacement for venture capitalists? The answer is that it depends. VCs typically invest in early-stage companies and help them grow through the provision of capital, mentorship and connections.</p><p>DAOs can provide some of these same services, but they're not well suited to invest in early-stage companies. This is because DAOs are decentralized and cannot make quick and decisive decisions.</p><p>VCs, on the other hand, are centralized and can make quick decisions that help early-stage companies grow. So, while DAOs can provide some of the same services as VCs, they're not a perfect replacement. A VC is probably a better choice if you're looking for an organization to invest in early-stage companies.</p><h2>A hybrid future of DAOs and traditional VCs</h2><p>DAOs are a new and innovative way of organizing people and resources. While they can't exactly replace traditional VCs, they can potentially disrupt the industry.</p><p>We'll likely see a future where DAOs and traditional VCs work together to support the growth of early-stage companies. For example, a DAO could provide the capital and resources while a VC provides the mentorship and connections.</p><p>Such a hybrid model would allow early-stage companies to get the best of both worlds: the capital and resources they need to grow, and the mentorship and connections they need to succeed.</p><p>VC DAOs already exist, proving that such a model is possible. One example is The LAO, a venture capital DAO. It focuses on early-stage blockchain projects based on Ethereum (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price">ETH</a>) and has funded over 30 projects so far. How it works is that governance remains a function of the blockchain while an external service provider takes care of the administrative and legal procedures.</p><p>Another good example is MetaCartel Ventures, a private VC DAO and a spin-off of the Ethereum ecosystem grant fund, MetaCartel. The VC DAO arm is managed by a board of "mages," who conduct functions like presenting investment proposals, due diligence and voting on proposals. They mainly fund early-stage decentralized applications and protocols at the moment.</p>

 How to incorporate a DAO and issue tokens to be ready to raise money from VCs  

<p>Attendees to the BlockDown Croatia 2022 festival were witness to Cointelegraph’s discussions around sociopolitics of the Web3 ecosystem, non-fungible tokens (NFT) and the Metaverse. It turns out that ongoing innovations across the crypto ecosystem are well-positioned to dictate the future of media and entertainment.</p><p>While crypto continues to blur the lines between the virtual and physical worlds, Cointelegraph’s editor-in-chief, Kristina Cornèr, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak5cj8ZvJ0c" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">agreed</a> that “It’s been a crazy year” when talking about the rising impact of crypto innovations within media companies during the BlockDown festival.</p><p>Cornèr highlighted use cases within the NFT space that gives independent artists and journalists a platform to raise funds and counter real-world challenges such as climate change. In a separate <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwiB_BKRVb4" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">discussion</a> with Dylan Dewdney, the founder of NFT3, a unified identity network, Cornèr raised questions related to the merging of virtual and physical worlds in the Metaverse.</p><p>According to Dewdney, real-world problems have a good chance of seeping into the Metaverse despite the merger of the two worlds. However, he suggested developing a psuodenomous system wherein users are verified but can choose not to disclose their identities to other members of the Metaverse. </p><p>As the world slowly shifts into its new home, the Metaverse, Dewdney believes that “the real world will become better.” However, it will require the people to inculcate some of the ethos of crypto — especially in relation to equitability and personal responsibility: </p><blockquote>“I think its time for the world to evolve and we are starting to lay the technical foundations for a lot of that. You have to be careful about how this plays out and really take individual responsibility about spreading that message.”</blockquote><p>Showcasing an in-house attempt to create the biggest truly community-owned Web3 festival, Cornèr too revealed the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockshow-returns-as-a-dao-for-community-engagement-and-democratizing-events">relaunch of BlockShow</a> — Cointelegraph’s flagship event — as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that allows attendees to own a stake in the show and participate in organizing events. According to BlockShow CEO Addy Crezee, the goal at BlockShow DAO is “to bring more people to Web3 and help people feel the benefits of the ownership economy.”</p><p>Getting further into discussing the sociopolitics involved with living in the Metaverse, Dewdney told Cornèr:</p><blockquote>“We’re still going to have all the same problems because we’re still the same old boring humans who do the same old petty things, and also great things.”</blockquote><p>If the crypto community can successfully decentralize the internet, “it’s a future really worth getting excited about” — at an individual as well as other social levels. </p><p>With NFT3, Dewdney aims to provide a decentralized identity service for the Metaverse ecosystem. The service can associate various information with a pseudonymous but real-life identity. On an end note, Dewdney believed that the crypto ecosystem needs to evolve beyond the financial use case into the “human use case” of blockchain.</p><p><strong>Related: </strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/3b-flows-to-metaverse-and-web3-gaming-this-month-as-a16z-s-tips-in-600m"><strong><em>$3B flows to metaverse and Web3 gaming this month as a16z tips in $600M</em></strong></a></p><p>Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) recently launched a $600 million Games Fund One dedicated to gaming startups with a focus on Web3. The fund aims to support game studios, consumer applications and gaming infrastructure providers. </p><p>As Cointelegraph previously reported, Metaverse projects are too attracting investments from gaming industry titans. In April, Epic Games, creator of the popular Fortnite title, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/2022/04/16/epic-games-raises-2b-metaverse-mastercard-scales-nft-plans-ripple-scores-big-win-against-sec-hodlers-digest-apr-10-16">raised $2 billion to create a metaverse</a> with funding from Sony and Lego.</p>

 Web3, NFTs, Metaverse: The tools for a truly decentralized future 

<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p>Ripple, the crypto solutions company shall commit $100M for the goal of carbon removal by investing in climate oriented fintech companies.</p>
<p>The blockchain-based payments network has aimed to facilitate the acceleration of carbon removal technology in order to bring about modernization of the carbon markets.</p>
<p>Carbon markets will let companies and individuals trade carbon credits for offsetting CO2 emissions that some companies haven’t found a way to bypass yet.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220519005440/en/Ripple-Commits-100M-to-Scale-and-Strengthen-Global-Carbon-Markets-Addresses-Quality-and-Transparency-Using-Blockchain-and-Crypto" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>, these funds will be directed towards Ripple’s portfolio of programs helping it become net zero by 2030.</p>
<p>Along with the same, the fund will support the new functionality and developer tools that will empower carbon credit tokenisation as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on XRP ledger.</p>
<p>CEO Brad Garlinghouse, stated that this move by Ripple Labs will play “a catalytic role” which will work towards improving the carbon markets.</p>
<h2>‘Call To Action’ On Climate Concern By Ripple</h2>
<p>Brad Garlinghouse claims that this fund is a “direct response to the global call to action” on climate change.</p>
<p>Garlinghouse also stated that companies are now encouraged to dispose resources along with talent as a global response to encourage carbon removal activities in order to bring down the rise of global temperature by curbing carbon emissions.</p>
<p>Ripple has been in the fore for speaking about the wastefulness if mining as the coin is by far the most energy efficient cryptocurrency.</p>
<p>He further added,</p>
<blockquote><p>While reducing emissions and transitioning to a low-carbon future are paramount, carbon markets are also an important tool for meeting climate goals. Blockchain and crypto can play a catalytic role in allowing carbon markets to reach their full potential, bringing more liquidity and traceability to a fragmented, complex market</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><i>&nbsp;&nbsp;Related Reading |<a href="https://bitcoinist.com/ripple-to-launch-xrp-powered-on-demand-liquidity-solution-in-lithuania/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Ripple To Launch XRP Powered On-Demand Liquidity Solution In Lithuania</a></i></b></p>
<h2>Ripple Has Partnered With Other Companies To Aid In Reducing Carbon Emissions</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The company has additionally partnered with many other companies who are involved within the carbon markets. These partnerships will help achieve the goals of reducing the carbon emissions.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The company had partnered with carbon mineralisation firm CarbonCure Technolgies, Tokenization start-up Xange.com which was backed by the UN and lastly the carbon offsetting firm Invert.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Ripple has also collaborated with Energy Web Foundation, the Alliance for Innovative Regulation, and Rocky Mountain Institute.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Monica Long, General Manager of RippleX at Ripple said that,</p>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr">Several carbon removal projects and fintechs are already building on the XRPL to bring new climate solutions to market. By bringing blockchain to global climate initiatives, the industry can more quickly verify and certify NFT carbon credits, eliminate the potential for fraud, and even guarantee the offset is actually removing carbon for the long term.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ripple has co-founded the Crypto Climate Accord, which had enlisted more than 500 members spread across the fields of crypto and finance, technology, NGO, and energy and climate sectors. Ripple is also a&nbsp; founding member of the World Economic Forum’s Crypto Impact and Sustainability Accelerator (CISA).</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Related Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/nigeria-to-upgrade-cbdc-for-wider-use-as-crypto-restrictions-cripple-fintech-sector/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nigeria To Upgrade CBDC For Wider Use As Crypto Restrictions Cripple Fintech Sector</a></i></b></p>
<figure id="attachment_181927" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-181927" style="width: 1816px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-181927 size-full" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653137667220.png" alt="Ripple" width="1816" height="792" srcset="https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/XRPUSD_2022-05-20_18-57-54.png 1816w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/XRPUSD_2022-05-20_18-57-54-640x279.png 640w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/XRPUSD_2022-05-20_18-57-54-980x427.png 980w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/XRPUSD_2022-05-20_18-57-54-768x335.png 768w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/XRPUSD_2022-05-20_18-57-54-1536x670.png 1536w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/XRPUSD_2022-05-20_18-57-54-750x327.png 750w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/XRPUSD_2022-05-20_18-57-54-1140x497.png 1140w" sizes="(max-width: 1816px) 100vw, 1816px" data-pin-no-hover="true"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-181927" class="wp-caption-text">XRP was trading at $0.40 on the one day chart | <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/XRPUSD/?exchange=BITSTAMP" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: XRPUSD on TradingView</strong></a></figcaption></figure>
                            
	                        
                                                            
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Ripple To Fund The Acceleration Of Global Carbon Markets; Dedicates $100M

<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p>Tag Heuer, the Swiss luxury watch brand will now be accepting <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/crypto/story/now-buy-a-tag-heuer-with-crypto-334414-2022-05-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crypto</a> payments. These crypto payments will however only be accepted on the US websites.</p>
<p>Tag Heuer is now the latest luxury brand to enter the space by embracing crypto payments. All major cryptocurrencies will be accepted on the brand’s e-commerce website.</p>
<p>A total of twelve cryptocurrencies shall be accepted which include, Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and many stable coins that are pegged to the USD which includes USDP, BUSD, DAI, USDC, and GUSD.</p>
<p>This latest functionality of accepting crypto payments will be facilitated with the partnership of BitBay. The aforementioned platform is a renowned cryptocurrency exchange.</p>
<h2>Accepting Crypto As A Part Of The Pilot Project For Tag Heuer</h2>
<p>Tag Heuer’s new plan is to move towards embracing and adopting a Web3 strategy and that includes the payments through crypto.</p>
<p>Tag Heuer wishes to leverage the blockchain technology and the mounting interests in non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The company has further added that there is no minimum amount to be spent which is required to make a payment through the digital asset.</p>
<p>Fredric Arnault, CEO of Tag Heuer said that,</p>
<blockquote><p>We have been following cryptocurrency developments very closely ever since Bitcoin first started trading. As an avant-garde watchmaker with an innovative spirit, we knew TAG Heuer would adopt what promises to be a globally integrated technology in the near future despite the fluctuations – one that will deeply transform our industry and beyond.</p></blockquote>
<p>T<span style="color: #333333;">his MOVE BY Tag Heuer comes after recent news of luxury brands, including Gucci and Off White, who have also started to accept payments through digital assets from this year itself.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/gucci-to-accept-dogecoin-payments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Designer DOGE: Gucci To Accept Dogecoin Payments In Retail Stores</a></strong></em></p>
<h2>Other Details</h2>
<p>CEO of Tag Heuer, Arnault, had initially teased this option at keynote speech at the 2022’s edition of Watches &amp; Wonders. He further mentions that Web3, in particular, NFT-related projects have a huge potential and that the brand has a voice in “new technology and new asset class”.</p>
<p>He also stated,</p>
<blockquote><p>As a luxury brand, we had to ensure that our entrance into Web3 would meet our standards of excellence and thanks to our nimble teams in-house and with the support of BitPay we are able to dive into this new financial world in the best way possible. This new crypto payment feature is just the beginning of many exciting projects for TAG Heuer in the Web3 universes.</p></blockquote>
<p>There could be some issues however, considering that refunds could get complicated. BitBay the platform handling the payments is supposed to accept the payments into crypto and then converting into a fiat currency.</p>
<p>So in case of a refund, BitBay will convert the fiat to cryptocurrency at the current market rate and then return that to the customer. Additionally, given the volatility in the market, market rates are held and maintained for 15 minutes as one starts to process the purchase.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/gucci-vault-metaverse/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gucci Releases ‘Vault,’ The Latest Fashion House Metaverse Play</a></strong></em></p>
<figure id="attachment_181945" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-181945" style="width: 1816px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-181945 size-full" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653137828232.png" alt="Crypto" width="1816" height="706" srcset="https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-21_02-04-46.png 1816w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-21_02-04-46-640x249.png 640w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-21_02-04-46-980x381.png 980w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-21_02-04-46-768x299.png 768w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-21_02-04-46-1536x597.png 1536w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-21_02-04-46-750x292.png 750w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-21_02-04-46-1140x443.png 1140w" sizes="(max-width: 1816px) 100vw, 1816px" data-pin-no-hover="true"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-181945" class="wp-caption-text">Bitcoin was trading at $29,000 on the one day chart | <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/BTCUSD/?exchange=BITSTAMP" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: BTCUSD on TradingView</strong></a></figcaption></figure>
                            
	                        
                                                            
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Now You Can Pay In Crypto And Buy A Tag Heuer Watch Online

<p>Bringing closure to the long-awaited judgment related to the money laundering activities over the BitMEX crypto exchange, one of the four federal district courthouses in New York reportedly sentenced two-year probation and six months of home detention to founder and ex-CEO <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/top-people-in-crypto-and-blockchain-2020/arthur-hayes">Arthur Hayes</a>.</p><p>Arthur Hayes, along with the other BitMEX co-founders — Benjamin Delo and Samuel Reed — and the company’s first non-employee Gregory Dwyer, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-founders-plead-guilty-to-bank-secrecy-act-violations" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-founders-plead-guilty-to-bank-secrecy-act-violations/amp">pleaded guilty to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) violations</a> on Feb 24, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/founders-cryptocurrency-exchange-plead-guilty-bank-secrecy-act-violations" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">admitting</a> to “willfully failing to establish, implement and maintain an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program at BitMEX.”</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653137823390.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;">Indictment against BitMEX co-founders and employees for violating BSA. Source:&nbsp;Justice.gov</figcaption></figure><p>Pleading guilty to supporting money laundering is a punishable offense, often carrying a maximum penalty of five years prison time. However, both Hayes and Delo made their guilty pleas ahead of the March trial date and had agreed to pay $10 million in criminal fines each.</p><p>On April 7, Cointelegraph reported that Hayes <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-s-arthur-hayes-surrenders-in-hawaii-released-on-10m-bond" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-s-arthur-hayes-surrenders-in-hawaii-released-on-10m-bond/amp">voluntarily surrendered to US authorities in Hawaii</a> six months after federal prosecutors first levied charges, to which his lawyers stated:</p><blockquote>“Mr. Hayes voluntarily appeared in court and looks forward to fighting these unwarranted charges.”</blockquote><p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/founder-and-ceo-shore-cryptocurrency-derivatives-platform-sentenced-violating-bank" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">According</a> to the indictment, public court filings, and statements made in court, Hayes was released after posting a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-s-arthur-hayes-surrenders-in-hawaii-released-on-10m-bond" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-s-arthur-hayes-surrenders-in-hawaii-released-on-10m-bond/amp">$10-million bail bond pending future proceedings in New York</a>. However, prosecutors from the Office’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit found the entrepreneurs to be guilty of not implementing AML safeguards, including not fulfilling know-your-customer (KYC) obligations. </p><p>Despite the imminent possibility of serving jail time, owning up to the allegations resulted in Hayes being sentenced to a home confinement sentence that requires him to spend the first six months of his sentence from home. In addition, he also agreed to pay a fine of $10 million.</p><p><strong>Related: </strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockchain-and-crypto-can-be-a-boon-for-tracking-financial-crimes" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/blockchain-and-crypto-can-be-a-boon-for-tracking-financial-crimes/amp"><strong><em>Blockchain and crypto can be a boon for tracking financial crimes</em></strong></a></p><p>Busting the myth related to the ease of laundering money using crypto, a new analysis highlights the potential of blockchain technology and crypto to track down financial crimes. </p><p>While numerous projects within the crypto ecosystem were victims of targeted attacks, bad actors continue to struggle when it comes to cashing out the stolen funds.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653137823482.jpg" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>Speaking to Cointelegraph, Dmytro Volkov, chief technology officer at crypto exchange CEX.IO, said that the notion of crypto being primarily used by criminals is outdated, adding:</p><blockquote>“In the case of Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>), whose blockchain ledger is publicly available, a serious exchange with a competent analytics team can easily monitor and thwart hackers and launderers before the damage is done.”</blockquote>

 Arthur Hayes to serve 2-year probation owning up to BitMEX’s AML mishap 

<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The week started with </span><a href="https://bitcoinist.com/44-countries-meet-el-salvador-to-discuss-bitcoin/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">central bankers and financial authorities from 44 countries</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> arriving in El Salvador. The mainstream media ignored it completely. The IMF started sweating. President Bukele started meme-ing. Everybody assumed they were there to learn about bitcoin. It was so obvious that nobody questioned it.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/el-salvador/">El Salvador Doubles Down, Buys 500 BTC Amid Dip</a></strong></em></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Well, as it turns out, the representatives were there for an annual event by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI). The organization describes its objective as, “Empowering policymakers &amp; regulatory institutions to advance financial inclusion for the poorest populations.” On the first three days, the central bankers saw panels and formed working groups in the Sheraton Presidente Hotel in San Salvador. On the fourth day, they went to Bitcoin Beach, visited the Hope House, and paid for it all with Lightning.</span></p>
<div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 500px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 500px; height: 799px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=edprospero23&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1527673230219218944&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fbitcoinist.com%2Fnot-a-bitcoin-event-central-bankers-el-salvador%2F&amp;sessionId=000a39431324da78befe149a1377aa17a4e65988&amp;siteScreenName=bitcoinist&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=500px" data-tweet-id="1527673230219218944"></iframe></div>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The event’s title was “</span><a href="https://www.afi-global.org/events/digital-financial-services-sme-finance-working-group-meeting/" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Digital Financial Services &amp; SME Finance Working Group Meetings</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,” and the AFI described its objectives alluding, but never mentioning bitcoin:</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The working groups are anticipated to offer practical thought leadership and regulatory guidance on crucial and unsolved policy issues in the form of policy models, frameworks, and toolkits as a result of this collaboration and constitute the content backbone of AFI. The meetings also align with El Salvador’s recently launched national financial inclusion strategy which has digitization and access to finance to small businesses as a priority.”</span></p></blockquote>
<div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 500px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 500px; height: 494px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=edprospero23&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1527463438024208387&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fbitcoinist.com%2Fnot-a-bitcoin-event-central-bankers-el-salvador%2F&amp;sessionId=000a39431324da78befe149a1377aa17a4e65988&amp;siteScreenName=bitcoinist&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=500px" data-tweet-id="1527463438024208387"></iframe></div>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In any case, as the video above shows, the central bankers screamed “bitcoin!”</span></p>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">What Did The Central Bankers Actually Do?</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From the ground, </span><a href="https://galoy.io/the-bankers-were-definitely-not-coming-to-el-salvador-to-learn-about-bitcoin/" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">this Galoy report on the event </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">has the goods. It concludes, “through firsthand experience, this group of central bankers is seeing what Bitcoin can do for people left out of the current financial system.” On those first few days, the central bankers saw a panel about the subject at hand.&nbsp;</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There was one Bitcoin session. Roman Martinez (Chimbera) and Nicolas Burtey shared the story of Bitcoin Beach and provided an introduction to Bitcoin and the Lightning Network”</span></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On those first few days, the central bankers got bitcoin wallets set up.“Outside the conference room the Bitcoin Beach Wallet team set up tables where attendees were shown how to download and use a Lightning wallet.” Those would come in handy on the fourth day, when the organizers took them to El Zonte AKA Bitcoin Beach. Over there, the central bankers paid for everything with their new wallets and “learned how to exchange Bitcoin for dollars at an ATM.”</span></p>
<div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 500px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 500px; height: 620px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=edprospero23&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1527519382414495758&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fbitcoinist.com%2Fnot-a-bitcoin-event-central-bankers-el-salvador%2F&amp;sessionId=000a39431324da78befe149a1377aa17a4e65988&amp;siteScreenName=bitcoinist&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=500px" data-tweet-id="1527519382414495758"></iframe></div>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a tweet, the Bitcoin Beach Wallet team shared some pictures and reported, “What a historic day!! Who could’ve thought Central Bankers would have their first experience with Bitcoin using Bitcoin Beach Wallet and in El Zonte, where everything started. This is what financial inclusion looks like!”</span></p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-181964 aligncenter" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653136182406.png" alt="BTCUSD price chart for 05/20/2022 - TradingView" width="640" height="356" srcset="https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-20_21-25-56-640x356.png 640w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-20_21-25-56-980x545.png 980w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-20_21-25-56-768x427.png 768w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-20_21-25-56-750x417.png 750w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/BTCUSD_2022-05-20_21-25-56.png 1012w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-pin-no-hover="true"></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">BTC price chart for 05/20/2022 on Bitfinex | Source: BTC/USD on <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/BTCUSD/" rel="noopener">TradingView.com</a></pre>
<h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Troyan Horse</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The central bankers came looking for financial inclusion and they got it in spades. It’s as Bitcoinist said in o</span><a href="https://bitcoinist.com/44-countries-meet-el-salvador-to-discuss-bitcoin/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ur first report about the situation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">:</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/panama-follows-el-salvador-as-it-plans-to-adopt-bitcoin-and-other-crypto-like-xdc-network-as-legal-tender/">Panama Follows El Salvador as it Plans to Adopt Bitcoin and other crypto like XDC Network as Legal Tender</a></strong></em></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“El Salvador which is the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender will no doubt be the footprint of adoption for other countries interested in making such a move. It is still less than a year after the implementation but the president revealed that they would be discussing how beneficial using BTC as legal tender had been for the country and its citizens.”</span></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can’t unring a bell. Those central bankers from 44 countries where the traditional banking system failed to accomplish its goals, now know about bitcoin. They’ve seen the future and there’s no turning back. We’ll feel the ripples emanating from this event soon enough.</span></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Featured Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jorono-1966666/" rel="noopener">jorono</a> on Pixabay | Charts by <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/" rel="noopener">TradingView</a></pre>
                            
	                        
                                                            
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It Was Not A Bitcoin Event. Then, Why Were The Central Bankers In El Salvador?

<p>Last summer, Polkadot made its own little bit of history after confirming the first five projects to occupy <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/blockchain-for-beginners/what-are-parachains-a-guide-to-polkadot-and-kusama-parachains">parachain slots</a> on its canary network Kusama. Disparate blockchains that bolt onto Polkadot’s main Relay Chain for security, yet are otherwise independent, parachains represent a new way of doing business in blockchain, a maximalist vision aimed at enhancing scalability and governance while permitting the possibility of forkless upgrades. The five projects were Karura, Moonriver, Shiden, Khala and Bifrost.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653130905880.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>Fast-forward to today, and the first batch of parachains are set to expire, releasing over 1 million locked Kusama (KSM) tokens into the market. Given that KSM’s current supply is 9 million, basic economics dictates that the price will suffer, as tokens that were previously inaccessible will suddenly reenter circulation. Price fluctuations, of course, affect staking and liquid staking — though the latter innovation allows users to utilize their tokens even when they’re locked.</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-much-intrigue-is-behind-kusama-s-parachain-auctions"><strong><em>How much intrigue is behind Kusama’s parachain auctions?</em></strong></a></p><h2>Having your cake and eating it</h2><p>We’re all familiar with <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/understanding-staking-pools-the-pros-and-cons-of-staking-cryptocurrency">staking</a>: It’s the process of “locking” tokens into a system as collateral for the purpose of securing a network. In exchange for one’s participation in such an endeavor, rewards are accrued.</p><p>Within Polkadot’s complex nominated proof-of-stake (NPoS) <a href="https://wiki.polkadot.network/docs/learn-staking" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">ecosystem</a>, stakers can either be nominators (whose role it is to nominate validators they trust) or validators, but in both cases, the same economic incentive applies. The problem, as described above, is what happens at the end of a staking period. It’s all well and good receiving generous rewards for securing the Relay Chain (not to mention several parallel chains), but if the price of the native token nosedives, it could make a mockery of the entire venture.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653130906029.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>While liquid staking doesn’t protect the underlying price of the staked assets, it ostensibly enables users to safely unlock on-chain liquidity and take advantage of yield-bearing opportunities offered by numerous decentralized applications. This is made possible through the issuance of a separate token that <em>represents the value</em> of one’s stake. With this liquid derivative essentially acting as the native token on the market, the risk of sudden price instability following the end of an unbonding period is addressed.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653130906158.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>This model enables users to maintain their liquidity and utilize the underlying token, whether through transferring, spending or trading as they see fit. Indeed, stakers can even use their derivatives as collateral to borrow or lend across different ecosystems to participate in other decentralized finance (DeFi) opportunities. And the best part is that staking rewards continue to accrue on the original assets locked in the staking contract.</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-liquid-staking-disrupts-parachain-auctions-on-polkadot"><strong><em>How liquid staking disrupts parachain auctions on Polkadot</em></strong></a></p><p>But what happens when the staking period concludes, I hear you ask. Well, the derivatives are simply exchanged back for the native coins so as to maintain a steady circulating supply.</p><p>In a nutshell, it’s a case of having your cake and eating it.</p><h2>The future of proof-of-stake?</h2><p>The proof-of-stake consensus mechanism has been under an increasingly bright spotlight, particularly as we get closer to the roll-out of PoS for Ethereum 2.0. The blockchain’s long-mooted transition to proof-of-stake is expected to reduce its energy consumption by over 99%, leaving environmental critics to direct their censure to Bitcoin and its controversial proof-of-work model.</p><p>There is no doubt that PoS is the environmentally sound option, even if some PoW criticism is overblown due to an improving energy matrix favored by miners. Despite the many enhancements the consensus mechanism has made to its predecessor, however, there is still work to be done. Far from being settled science, proof-of-stake is an innovation that can and should be refined. And we can start by increasing the number and capabilities of PoS validators.</p><p>This was the idea behind Polkadot’s NPoS model, which sought to combine the security of PoS with the added benefits of stakeholder voting. In my view, liquid staking builds upon those advantages by solving a long-standing quandary faced by users: whether to lock their tokens or use them in DeFi decentralized applications (DApp).</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-many-layers-of-crypto-staking-in-the-defi-ecosystem"><strong><em>The many layers of crypto staking in the DeFi ecosystem</em></strong></a></p><p>This dilemma doesn’t only plague users, of course; it hurts the overall DeFi landscape. For some cryptocurrencies, the percentage of circulating supply locked in staking can surpass 70%. At the time of writing, for example, almost three-quarters of Solana’s <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/solana-price-index">SOL</a> tokens are staked —- and over 80% of <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/binance-coin-price-index">BNB</a>, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1279011/crypto-staked-value/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to Statista. It doesn’t take a genius to know that having just 30% of a token supply available for use in DApps is a net negative for the industry as a whole.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653130906266.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>While proof-of-stake systems need an active staking community to ensure security, DApp developers want to facilitate transactions — and transactions need tokens. The emergence of liquid staking has thus been welcomed by both parties and particularly by DApp creators, who have been forced to offer higher and higher APYs to convince users their assets are best deployed in lucrative DApps than staking contracts.</p><p>By maintaining a steady circulating supply, addressing worrisome price fluctuations and helping users generate higher rewards (staking payouts plus DApp yield), liquid staking is one of the brightest innovations in DeFi’s short history. Let’s hope more stakers come to that realization. </p><p class="post-content__disclaimer"><em>This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.</em></p><p class="post-content__disclaimer"><em>The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.</em></p><div><div style="background: rgb(239, 239, 239); border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 10px;"><strong>Lurpis Wang</strong> is a co-founder of Bifrost and an entrepreneur involved in the field of Web3. He was an early full-stack developer of Sina Weibo. After Lurpis co-founded Bifrost in 2019, the platform became the first batch of teams to use Substrate, it received a grant from the Web3 Foundation, and it won the first Substrate hackathon award. </div></div>

 Stake or DApp? With liquid staking, you don’t have to choose 

<p>Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican, introduced the Financial Freedom Act into the United States House of Representatives on Friday to prevent the U.S. Department of Labor from limiting the types of investments that can be included in Americans’ self-directed 401(k) retirement plans. The bill is the companion to Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s May 5 Senate bill.</p><p>The Financial Freedom Act was introduced as a reaction to a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) compliance <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-labor-dept-warns-of-crypto-risks-in-retirement-plans" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/us-labor-dept-warns-of-crypto-risks-in-retirement-plans/amp">report dated March 10 that raised objections</a> to the inclusion of cryptocurrencies in 401(k) retirement plans. That report <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/employers-and-advisers/plan-administration-and-compliance/compliance-assistance-releases/2022-01#footnotes" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">warned</a> the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration “expects to conduct an investigative program aimed at plans that offer participant investments in cryptocurrencies and related products, and to take appropriate action to protect the interests of plan participants and beneficiaries with respect to these investments.”  </p><p>The DOL report elicited a response from financial services giant Fidelity Investments objecting to what it saw as unclear language and positions that strayed from the intent of the law that created the 401(k) program. It requested the DOL clarify the report or withdraw it. Two weeks later, Fidelity <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/fidelity-to-reportedly-allow-401-k-retirement-savings-accounts-to-invest-in-bitcoin" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/fidelity-to-reportedly-allow-401-k-retirement-savings-accounts-to-invest-in-bitcoin/amp">joined a number of smaller financial services firms</a> in offering Bitcoin to 401(k) plan holders. </p><p><strong>Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/sen-warren-asks-fidelity-to-address-the-risks-to-put-bitcoin-in-401-k-s" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/sen-warren-asks-fidelity-to-address-the-risks-to-put-bitcoin-in-401-k-s/amp">Sen. Warren asks Fidelity to address the risks to put Bitcoin in 401(k)s</a></strong></p><p>Tuberville replied in an <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/05/allow-cryptocurrency-in-individual-retirement-plans-sen-tuberville.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" data-amp="https://www-cnbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/05/05/allow-cryptocurrency-in-individual-retirement-plans-sen-tuberville.html">editorial</a> on CNBC before <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/senator-s-financial-freedom-act-would-ensure-bitcoin-can-be-in-your-401-k" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/senator-s-financial-freedom-act-would-ensure-bitcoin-can-be-in-your-401-k/amp">the introduction of his bill</a>, “Whether or not you believe in the long-term economic prospects of cryptocurrency, the choice of what you invest your retirement savings in should be yours — not that of the government.”</p><p>In a tweeted press release announcing his bill's introduction, Donalds stated that the DOL was restricting investors’ choices for their retirement accounts, and characterized the Biden administration as mounting “a far-reaching and sweeping endeavor to centralize power in Washington” through the DOL report.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 867px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1527673152628830209&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fflorida-rep-donalds-introduces-financial-freedom-act-companion-bill-in-the-house&amp;sessionId=fd3f8dc829ec069847a60bfdfb309a77169b5677&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1527673152628830209"></iframe></div>

 Florida Rep. Donalds introduces Financial Freedom Act companion bill in the House 

<p>Whoever coined the phrase “sell in May and go away” had brilliant insight and the performance of crypto and stock markets over the past three weeks has shown that the expression still rings true.</p><p>May 20 has seen a pan selloff across all asset classes, leaving traders with few options to escape the carnage as inflation concerns and rising interest rates continue to dominate the headlines. </p><p>Data from <a href="https://pro.cointelegraph.com/?via=markets">Cointelegraph Markets Pro</a> and <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">TradingView</a> shows that the price of Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) taking on water below $29,000 and traders worry that losing this level will ensure a visit to the low $20,000s over the coming week. </p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653121854813.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>BTC/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>As reported by Cointelegraph, some analysts warn that BTC could&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-death-cross-data-hints-43-drop-due-in-btc-price-bear-market" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-death-cross-data-hints-43-drop-due-in-btc-price-bear-market/amp">possibility decline to $22,700</a> based on its historical price performance following a death cross. </p><p>Further evidence of <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/trading-for-beginners/bull-vs-bear-crypto-market-what-is-the-difference-and-how-to-handle-both" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/trading-for-beginners/bull-vs-bear-crypto-market-what-is-the-difference-and-how-to-handle-both/amp">muted expectations</a> from traders&nbsp;can be found in the put/call ratio for BTC open interest, which hit a 12-month high of 0.72 on May 18 according to the cryptocurrency research firm Delphi Digital. </p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653121854901.jpg" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>Bitcoin put/call ratio on open interest and volume. Source: Delphi Digital</em></figcaption></figure><p>Delphi Digital said, </p><blockquote>“A high put/call ratio indicates that investors are speculating whether Bitcoin will continue to sell off, or it could mean investors are hedging their portfolios against a downward move.”</blockquote><h2>Stocks enter bear market territory</h2><p>May 20 brought more pain to the traditional markets as the S&amp;P 500 fell another 1.62%, marking a more than 20% decline from its January 2022 all-time high and further stoking recession fears. If the index manages to close the day down 20% from the all-time-high, that would officially put the benchmark index <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/20/investing/sp-500-bear-market/index.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_term=link&amp;utm_source=twcnnbrk&amp;utm_content=2022-05-20T16%3A47%3A11" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" data-amp="https://amp-cnn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/05/20/investing/sp-500-bear-market/index.html">in bear market territory</a>. </p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653121855004.jpg" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>Performance of the major indices on May 20. Source: Yahoo Finance</em></figcaption></figure><p>The Nasdaq Composite and Dow have also seen significant losses amid the widespread weakness, with the Nasdaq losing 275 points for a 2.42% loss, while the Dow has fallen 362 points, marking a decline of 1.28%. </p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-veterans-extend-a-helping-hand-to-bear-market-newbies" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-veterans-extend-a-helping-hand-to-bear-market-newbies/amp"><strong><em>Crypto veterans extend a helping hand to bear market newbies</em></strong></a></p><h2>What's bad for BTC is even worse for altcoins</h2><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653121855136.jpg" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: </em><a href="https://coin360.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow"><em>Coin360</em></a></figcaption></figure><p>Altcoins also sold off sharply as BTC, Ether and stocks pulled back, reversing the gains seen earlier on the day.&nbsp;</p><p>The few bright spots were Ellipsis (EPS), Persistence (XPRT) and 0x (ZRX), which gained 30%, 13.92% and 12.34% respectively. </p><p>The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.234 trillion and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 44.6%.</p><p class="post-content__disclaimer">The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
</p>

 20% drop in the S&amp;P 500 puts stocks in a bear market, Bitcoin and altcoins follow 

<div><h4>Quick Take</h4>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shari Glazer and her firm Swoon Capital are seeking up to $1 billion from Mo Shaikh, the CEO and co-founder of Matonee, also known as Aptos Labs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aptos Labs was launched by former Meta employees with the goal of building a scalable Layer 1 blockchain.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shaikh and the company are seeking to have the case dismissed, the filings show.&nbsp;</span></li>
</ul>
</div> <div class="articleIAB"><div in-article-ad="" track-impression="" ga-event-action="ad-impression" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle" class="d-flex d-print-none flex-column justify-content-center"><div class="my-1 text-uppercase font-meta font-size-6" style="text-align: center; opacity: 0.5;"><small>advertisement</small></div> <div class="mobileView" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 30px; width: 100%; text-align: center;"><a ga-on="click" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-action="ad-clicked" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle,url:https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" href="https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" target="_blank" rel="sponsored"><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653121857354.png" style="width: 100%; max-width: 300px;"> <span></span></a></div></div></div> <div><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The co-founder and CEO of Aptos Labs, the Layer 1 blockchain startup founded by former Meta employees, faces a lawsuit alleging an early potential investor was cheated out of her fair share of equity.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shari Glazer and her firm Swoon Capital are seeking up to $1 billion from Matonee, also known as Aptos Labs, according to a <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/575065054/650956-2022-Shari-Glazer-Et-Al-v-Mohammad-Shaikh-Et-Al-SUMMONS-COMPLAINT-1-1">complaint filed with the Supreme Court of the State of New York</a> in March. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aptos Labs was founded by former Meta employees with the goal of building a scalable Layer 1 blockchain, able to reach an audience of </span><a href="https://medium.com/aptoslabs/the-genesis-of-aptos-ff98d86e9445"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“billions” of people</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The technology is based on the Diem payments network, which Aptos’s founders worked on while at Meta, the parent company of Facebook.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Glazer and Swoon claim that a “fraudulent scheme” implemented by Aptos CEO Mo Shaikh, deprived her of her rightful share of a partnership in a “blockchain technology venture,” according to the court filing. Avery Ching is the co-founder and CTO.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shaikh and Matonee are seeking to have the case dismissed, <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/575064968/650956-2022-Shari-Glazer-Et-Al-v-Mohammad-Shaikh-Et-Al-MEMORANDUM-of-LAW-I-35-1">the filings dated May 17 show</a>.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Avery and I founded Aptos Labs to provide universal access to a blockchain that meets the needs of billions of people globally,” Shaikh wrote in an emailed statement. “Shari Glazer’s allegations are filled with material inaccuracies and mischaracterizations that attempt to take credit for the work of others.”&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Our team has been working for years to develop and perfect a reliable, scalable and upgradable Layer 1 blockchain technology, which is why we will vigorously fight these baseless accusations.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Glazer, whose family owns a global sports empire including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL team and Manchester United soccer club, says she had taken Shaikh on as a consultant in August 2021 and offered him $35,000 to identify existing blockchains that Swoon Capital or Glazer could acquire and repurpose for her own project.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Shaikh had later suggested that he assemble a team of engineers to develop a new, scalable blockchain, the legal document says. Glazer alleges she agreed, and also said that Shaikh would be an equal partner. The agreement progressed with Glazer saying she would introduce him to her network, the document adds. Glazer also says she helped convince some of the engineers to join the new venture by laying on entertainment and an expensive lunch for them.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Lawyers for Glazer declined to comment on ongoing litigation.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Aptos had </span><a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/137948/former-meta-employees-raise-200-million-for-blockchain-startup-aptos"><span style="font-weight: 400;">announced in March</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that it had been funded to the tune of $200 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with other investors ranging from Multicoin Capital to Coinbase Ventures. Katie Haun, Three Arrows Capital, ParaFi Capital, Irongrey, Hashed, Variant, Tiger Global, BlockTower, FTX Ventures and Paxos also joined the round.&nbsp;</span></p><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" track-impression="" ga-event-category="In-Article" ga-event-action="impression" ga-event-label="newsletter-article-impression" class="newsletterArticle-pitch"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle-message"><h2 data-v-301b2fcc="">
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the time, while not disclosing numbers, Aptos founders </span><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/15/aptos-labs-a16z-multicoin-facebook-diem-blockchain/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">told TechCrunch</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> they were "well off into the unicorn territory," indicating that the company was valued at a minimum of $1 billion.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The complaint states that before the funding round, Glazer agreed to make an initial $10 million investment in the venture (or more if necessary), and secured an additional $10 million financing commitment from a global media and entertainment conglomerate.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Glazer says that the deal she and Shaikh had in progress meant the project would progress without venture capital funding, as this type of investment would dilute ownership.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While this was happening, Glazer alleges that Shaikh was secretly seeking dilutive, early stage VC funding from a16z, even though he previously said he was not pursuing an investment from the firm because “VCs are the devil.”&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Still, documents submitted by Shaikh’s lawyers call Glazer’s claim a “work of fiction” and publish WhatsApp messages and redacted transcripts of affidavits made by Glazer on the particulars of the case.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They had argued messages between Shaikh and Glazer show he had said much of the talent he was trying to hire for the new company would need to be paid north of $1 million a year, so the amount Glazer was proposing would not be enough.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The WhatsApp transcripts show he told her that the company would need “$75m-$100m” to launch. He also named the VCs he was speaking with about the project.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The documents also cast doubt on the timeline of events and argue that detail was lacking about the distribution of shares in the future company, had the the media and entertainment conglomerate Glazer mentioned also been brought on board.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It also argues the agreement was an oral amendment to Shaikh’s consulting agreement, which can only be amended in writing.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If the case is not dismissed it could mean a protracted legal battle for the new company.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The case is being pushed through the Supreme Court of the State of New York and is index number 650956/2022. It is known as Glazer, Shari et al vs. Shaikh, Mohammad et al.</span></p><br><span class="copyright"><p><span class="font-body font-size-7;">© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</span></p>
</span></div>


		Aptos CEO faces billion dollar lawsuit by Glazer family member over equity
	

<div><h4>Quick Take</h4>
<ul>
<li>OpenSea, the popular NFT marketplace, has launched a marketplace protocol with a range of new features.</li>
<li>Users can now barter for NFTs using a combination of assets, as well as participate in collection bids.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
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</div> <div class="articleIAB"><div in-article-ad="" track-impression="" ga-event-action="ad-impression" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle" class="d-flex d-print-none flex-column justify-content-center"><div class="my-1 text-uppercase font-meta font-size-6" style="text-align: center; opacity: 0.5;"><small>advertisement</small></div> <div class="mobileView" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 30px; width: 100%; text-align: center;"><a ga-on="click" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-action="ad-clicked" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle,url:https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" href="https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" target="_blank" rel="sponsored"><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653107553163.png" style="width: 100%; max-width: 300px;"> <span></span></a></div></div></div> <div><p>Popular NFT marketplace OpenSea just launched a new marketplace protocol to buy and sell NFTs.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The news, which was first made apparent by an address linked to OpenSea on Etherscan earlier Friday, was confirmed in a <a href="https://opensea.io/blog/announcements/introducing-seaport-protocol/">blog post</a> by the company.</p>
<p>The protocol, dubbed Seaport, allows users to acquire NFTs in a range of new ways.</p>
<p>Bidders who use Seaport can bundle different assets in exchange for an NFT, unlike now where only crypto can be exchanged for an NFT.</p>
<p>For example, "say you own a 40 ETH doodle and you want a 100 ETH ape. You can offer your doodle NFT and 60 ETH," said Steven Zheng, director of research at The Block.</p><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" track-impression="" ga-event-category="In-Article" ga-event-action="impression" ga-event-label="newsletter-article-impression" class="newsletterArticle-pitch"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle-message"><h2 data-v-301b2fcc="">
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<p>Other tools, like SudoSwap, which lets a user barter for NFTs, offer this type of functionality today. But this feature is now becoming native to OpenSea.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Seaport will now also let people bid on specific traits from a collection. This is for cases whereby the bidder doesn't care what kind of NFT they get, as long as it features a trait they're looking for. For example, users who collect smiling NFTs can bid on any smiling Bored Ape from the collection.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The marketplace will also now allow tipping.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"A fulfiller may include additional consideration items when fulfilling a listing as long as they do not “tip” more than the original offer," said the statement from OpenSea. "This allows alternative interfaces to include their own fees."</p>
<p>OpenSea doesn't control the protocol, positioning it as a shared and open resource for developers.</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="420" src="https://embed.theblockcrypto.com/data/nft-non-fungible-tokens/marketplaces/nft-marketplace-monthly-volume/embed" title="NFT Marketplace Monthly Volume" width="100%"></iframe></p><br><span class="copyright"><p><span class="font-body font-size-7;">© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</span></p>
</span></div>


		OpenSea launches new marketplace protocol dubbed 'Seaport'
	

<div><h4>Quick Take</h4>
<ul>
<li>Wormhole rewarded $10 million to a white hat hacker who reported a bug.</li>
<li>The crypto bridge launched a bug bounty program back in February, after a $323 million exploit.</li>
</ul>
</div> <div class="articleIAB"><div in-article-ad="" track-impression="" ga-event-action="ad-impression" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle" class="d-flex d-print-none flex-column justify-content-center"><div class="my-1 text-uppercase font-meta font-size-6" style="text-align: center ; opacity: 0.5;"><small>advertisement</small></div> <div class="mobileView" style="display: block; margin: 0 auto 30px auto; width: 100%;text-align: center;"><a ga-on="click" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-action="ad-clicked" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle,url:https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" href="https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" target="_blank" rel="sponsored"><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653107557455.png" style="width:100%;max-width:300px;"> <span></span></a></div></div></div> <div><p>Crypto bridge Wormhole paid out a massive $10 million to a white hat hacker who disclosed a bug in its core bridge contract on Ethereum in February.</p>
<p>That person goes by the pseudonym satya0x, <a href="https://medium.com/immunefi/wormhole-uninitialized-proxy-bugfix-review-90250c41a43a">per an announcement from Immunefi</a>, which partnered with Wormhole in hosting its bug bounty platform.</p>
<p>Wormhole announced <a href="https://immunefi.com/bounty/wormhole/">the program</a> back in February, <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/132841/256-million-in-eth-stolen-from-cross-chain-protocol-wormhole">shortly after losing close to $323 million in ETH to a hacker</a>, in one of the largest exploits of a DeFi protocol to date. Soon after, it <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/132909/wormhole-replenishes-its-blockchain-bridge-after-325-million-exploit">restocked its blockchain bridge</a>, also offering the attacker $10 million if the funds were returned.</p>
<p>Wormhole's program offers bounty rewards in tiers according to how serious the threat is. For instance, a "low" level smart contract bug can earn someone up to $2,500, while a "critical" one can lead to a prize of up to $10 million — the exact amount that satya0x was awarded.</p>
<p>"Wormhole is sending a clear message with this payout to the best, most talented whitehats on the planet that if they responsibly disclose security vulnerabilities to Wormhole, they’ll be well taken care of," Immunefi said.</p>
<p>Immunefi said that no user funds were lost before the bug was reported, as Wormhole was able to quickly respond to it, verifying and fixing the issue on the same day (February 24).&nbsp;</p>
<p>In a statement shared by the crypto platform, satya0x said that the challenges of blockchain security are an "existential threat" to its future.</p>
<p>"I am proud to have played a role in mitigating a serious vulnerability and a systemic threat to the ecosystem," satya0x said.</p>
<p>The bug was related to Wormhole’s ability to upgrade smart contracts. Essentially, it could potentially allow a hacker to take control of those contracts. <a href="https://medium.com/immunefi/wormhole-uninitialized-proxy-bugfix-review-90250c41a43a">In a blog post</a>, Immunefi provided a detailed breakdown of the issue that led to the security vulnerability and how it was fixed.</p>
<p>Satya0x also said: "If we fail to recognize and aggressively reduce systemic risk; if we fail to provide the transparency and tooling needed for users to make informed decisions; if we continue to condemn simple mistakes while praising Total Value Lost as the sole measure of success — we risk enabling the reemergence of the very power structures we seek to destroy."</p><br><span class="copyright"><p><span class="font-body font-size-7;">© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</span></p>
</span></div>


Wormhole announces $10 million bug bounty payout


<p>MSP Recovery LLC, a healthcare recovery firm based in Miami, United States and valued in the region<strong> </strong>of $32.6 billion, has announced a collaborative partnership with Web3 solution Tokenology to launch a fraud-prevention blockchain platform, titled Lifechain.</p><p>Lifechain will seek to utilize the verifiable and transparent nature of blockchain technology to enhance the accessibility of healthcare charges, claims and medical records for patients and industry professionals.</p><p>MSP Recovery’s consumer application LifeWallet — which launched in January this year and has since registered over 1 million users, according to recent data — will house the technology alongside a tokenized solution LifeCoin.</p><p>The press release provided greater context into the scale of the task within the healthcare industry; notably, working in the field of reimbursing secondary medical insurance payments.</p><blockquote>“The massive number of daily medical claims being tokenized is expected to surpass 50 million/day by 2024, requiring the kind of scale, security and sustainability that only Polygon can deliver.”</blockquote><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 786px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1527704538752466944&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fmsp-recovery-join-forces-with-tokenology-to-release-tokenized-healthcare-initiative&amp;sessionId=fc574bcdaf90b38f6aaeefed73ee6eaf37fcc2ee&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1527704538752466944"></iframe></div>

<p>MSP Recovery became a publicly tradable company in mid-2021 following the acquisition of&nbsp;Lionheart Acquisition Corp II and operates on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol MSPR.</p><p>The co-founder of Polygon (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/polygon-price-index">MATIC</a>), Sandeep Nailwa, shared his assessment of the partnership, stating that the project is “truly impactful” and “a testament to the evolution of enterprising new solutions that developers like Tokenology are building using Polygon technology.”&nbsp;</p>

 MSP Recovery joins forces with Tokenology to release tokenized healthcare initiative  

<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p>Crypto casinos are online casinos that use cryptocurrency as their primary means of payment. While traditional online casinos tend to focus on fiat currencies, crypto casinos offer a more decentralized approach that makes use of digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.</p>
<p>Crypto &amp; Bitcoin casinos have become increasingly popular in recent years, thanks to their anonymity, fast transactions, and low fees. However, not all <a href="https://casinoscrypto.com/" rel="noopener">crypto casinos</a> are created equal. In order to ensure that you’re playing at a trustworthy site, there are a few things you should look for.</p>
<p><strong>1. Look for casinos that are licensed and regulated</strong></p>
<p>When it comes to gambling with cryptocurrencies, it is important to be cautious and only play at licensed and regulated casinos. While crypto casinos are not subject to the same regulations as traditional casinos, there are still a few things to look for when choosing a reputable site.</p>
<p>Firstly, check to see if the casino is licensed by a gaming commission. This will ensure that the casino is following fair gaming practices. Second, look for casino sites that use industry-standard <a href="https://www.cloudflare.com/en-gb/learning/ssl/what-is-encryption/" rel="noopener">encryption technologies</a> to protect your personal and financial information.</p>
<p>Secondly, make sure that the casino offers customer support in case you have any questions or concerns. By following these simple tips, you can help ensure that your experience gambling with cryptocurrencies is safe and enjoyable.</p>
<p><strong>2. Make sure the casino has a good reputation and is well-reviewed</strong></p>
<p>When choosing a bitcoin casino, always make sure to check the reviews first. A good reputation is important for any casino, but it’s even more important when dealing with bitcoins.</p>
<p>Because <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin" rel="noopener">bitcoins</a> are not regulated by any government or financial institution, there’s a greater risk of fraud. That’s why it’s essential to only play at casinos that have been well-reviewed and have a good reputation. Otherwise, you could end up losing your bitcoins to a scammer.</p>
<p>So before you start playing, always do your research to make sure you’re dealing with a reputable casino.</p>
<p><strong>3. Read the terms and conditions carefully before signing up</strong></p>
<p>Before signing up for any service, it’s important to read the terms and conditions carefully. This is especially true for crypto casinos, which often have complex rules and regulations.</p>
<p>By taking the time to read the terms and conditions, you can ensure that you understand the risks involved and are comfortable with them. In addition, reading the terms and conditions can help you spot any red flags. For example, some casinos require players to wager their winnings multiple times before they can be withdrawn, while others prohibit players from using certain payment methods.</p>
<p>By familiarizing yourself with the points discussed in this guide, you can choose the Bitcoin casino that best meets your needs</p>
                            
	                        
                                                    </div>

How To Spot a Trustworthy Crypto Casino

<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p class="p2">The recent crash of the UST stablecoin had rocked the market to its core. This depegging was credited for most of the market crash and the incredibly low momentum that has trailed most digital assets in the space since then. Most other stablecoins, although challenged, had been able to maintain their peg. That is, all but one, which has now become the second stablecoin to lose its peg in less than a two-week span.</p>
<h2 class="p2">DEI Stablecoin De-Pegs</h2>
<p class="p2">Another dollar-pegged stablecoin known commonly as DEI has lost its peg and is now trading significantly below a dollar. This stablecoin seems to be suffering from the <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/terra-loses-more-form-do-kwon-faces-tax-evasion/">aftereffects of the UST crash</a>, which has seen investors put less faith into stablecoins.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="p2">DEI is the second algorithmic stablecoin backed by cryptocurrencies that have lost their dollar peg in a two-week period. This digital asset in particular was backed by the native cryptocurrency of the Deus Finance ecosystem, DEUS, up to 20%, and the majority of its reserves were in a variety of other stablecoins.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading |&nbsp;<a href="https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-fees-remain-low-despite-increased-activity/">Bitcoin Fees Remain Low Despite Increased Activity, What’s Driving This?</a></strong></em></p>
<p class="p2">Unlike the UST crash though, the depegging of the DEI had to do with multiple hacks that had rocked the ecosystem. A $3 million hack back in March left the protocol unable to adequately provide enough USDC to back the DEI. Mainly the hacks have been a number of flash loan attacks that coupled with the value of DEUS dropping, had seen the DEI lose its peg.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-medium" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653103778320.com/x/ehoPMlrp/" alt="DEI price chart from TradingView.com" width="3284" height="1760" data-pin-no-hover="true"></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">DEI trading at $0.58 | Source: <a href="http://TradingView.com" rel="noopener">DEIUSD on TradingView.com</a></pre>
<p class="p2">Following the depegging, the Deus Finance team had taken to Twitter to assure its community that it was working on restoring the 1:1 dollar peg. However, faith in the token had declined very low and there has not been much recovery in the stablecoin. By Tuesday, the value of the DEI had declined to 60 cents. At the time of this writing, it is trading at 58 cents. These prices indicate that the measures being implemented by the Deus Finance team may not have been effective so far.</p>
<p class="p2">One of the measures it had put in place was a bond program. This <a href="https://twitter.com/DeusDao/status/1525861058866552840?s=20&amp;t=m7ArN3hTMS641oll3xFfdw" rel="noopener">bond program</a> is basically a treasury bond that will remove 35 million DEI from circulation, reducing the supply in an effort to recover the peg. According to the last post on their Twitter account, the Deus Finance team continues to work in order to restore the peg.</p>
<div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 500px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 500px; height: 879px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=bitcoinist&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1525861058866552840&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fbitcoinist.com%2Fanother-stablecoin-takes-a-bow-following-ust-crash%2F&amp;sessionId=5faa1191c9def27dddf3ae10dcc938bdf6031ab7&amp;siteScreenName=bitcoinist&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=500px" data-tweet-id="1525861058866552840"></iframe></div>
<p></p>
<p class="p2">Elsewhere, the UST peg has recorded some recovery. This stablecoin which had been the market trigger saw investors lose billions following its crash, which had inadvertently led to the collapse of LUNA.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading |&nbsp;<a href="https://bitcoinist.com/bitcoin-open-interest-nosedives/">Bitcoin Open Interest Nosedives, But All Hope Is Not Lost</a></strong></em></p>
<p class="p2">The decline of both these digital assets has now led many in the space to come to the conclusion that stablecoins backed by cryptocurrencies are not feasible. One major reason is that these cryptocurrencies are very volatile and when their prices fluctuate as they have been in recent times, the dollar peg of the stablecoins they back are threatened.</p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Featured image from DataDrivenInvestor, chart from TradingView.com</pre>
<p><span class="s1"><b><i>Follow </i></b><a href="https://twitter.com/BestOwie" rel="noopener"><b><i>Best Owie on Twitter</i></b></a><b><i> for market insights, updates, and the occasional funny tweet…</i></b></span><span class="s2">&nbsp;</span></p>
                            
	                        
                                                            
                                                    </div>

Another Stablecoin Takes A Bow Following UST Crash

<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p class="p2">Dogecoin has been on the decline ever since it hit its all-time high back in May of 2021. This was at the height of the bull market when billionaire Elon Musk was at his peak of shilling the meme coin. Since then though, the digital asset has not fared as well. It has hit one of the worse declines that have seen it lose almost 90% of its all-time high. Interestingly, its investors are not faring as bad as one would think considering such a decline.</p>
<h2 class="p2">53% Remain In Profit</h2>
<p class="p2">For some, investing in a meme coin such as Dogecoin can be likened to gambling. This is why a lot of holders have been advised to take their profits. Nevertheless, there are millions who continue to hold and believe in the meme coin. For a large portion of these investors, it is still paying off almost a year after the all-time high as their holdings still see them in profits.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading |&nbsp;<a href="https://bitcoinist.com/s40-of-americans-want-metaverse-gym-memberships/">Survey Shows 40% Of Americans Want Metaverse Gym Memberships</a></strong></em></p>
<p class="p2">A total of 53% of all investors are still in profit according to data from <a href="https://app.intotheblock.com/coin/DOGE" rel="noopener">IntoTheBlock</a>. This means that even though Dogecoin is down 88.23% from its all-time high, it is still one of the most profitable ventures for investors, mainly those who had gotten in earlier. This figure puts it ahead of the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin, whose investors are only 51% in profit, and slightly below Ethereum, which still sees 59% of all investors in profit.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-medium" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653103776623.com/x/B04Gcfdt/" alt="Dogecoin price chart from TradingView.com" width="3284" height="1760" data-pin-no-hover="true"></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">DOGE market cap trending at $11.5 billion | Source: <a href="http://TradingView.com" rel="noopener">Market Cap Doge on TradingView.com</a></pre>
<p class="p2">An important distinction is a fact that those in profit are those that have usually held their tokens for more than one year. This puts them at a buying price much lower than the current price. For shorter-term holders, they are either currently in the neutral territory (1%), or in loss (46%).</p>
<h2 class="p2">Optics For Dogecoin</h2>
<p class="p2">Dogecoin price has now fallen below 10 cents after holding above this level for the longest time. This puts it among some of the highest losers among the largest coins in the last year. As a meme coin, it usually relies on hype for any significant movement and since that has been scarce, the digital asset has had a hard time holding its value.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em><strong>Related Reading |&nbsp;<a href="https://bitcoinist.com/shiba-inu-holdings-of-ethereum-whales-decline/">Shiba Inu Holdings Of Ethereum Whales Decline Almost 50%</a></strong></em></p>
<p class="p2">This recent downtrend has put it below the 50-day moving average. It paints an all-around bearish picture for both the short and long-term given that its ability to stay above this point would have been an indicator that a recovery was in play. Instead, it looks like the digital asset is headed for more losses before the market enters the next bull cycle.</p>
<p class="p2">Dogecoin is trading at $0.087 at the time of this writing. It remains the largest meme coin with a market cap of $11.5 billion.</p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Featured image from MarketWatch, chart from TradingView.com</pre>
<p><span class="s1"><b><i>Follow </i></b><a href="https://twitter.com/BestOwie" rel="noopener"><b><i>Best Owie on Twitter</i></b></a><b><i> for market insights, updates, and the occasional funny tweet…</i></b></span><span class="s2">&nbsp;</span></p>
                            
	                        
                                                            
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Majority Remain In Profit Even As Dogecoin Is Down 88% From ATH

<div class="content-inner ">
                            <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a women-led organization in the Web3 space, UnicornDAO has been shaking barriers and was able to raise a staggering $4.5 million in support of women and/or LGBTQ artists.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The feminist movement called UnicornDAO led by Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot together with Rebecca Lamis and John Caldwell was launched in March 2022 rallies for equality in the space.</span></p>
<h2><b>Yuga Labs Donates Its UnicornDAO Seat</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yuga Labs CEO is in full support of the thrusts of UnicornDAO and is in fact opening its seat for donation to any woman of LGBTQ artist or leader who cannot afford the investment or costs. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The funding was supported by World of Women, Flamingo DAO, Collab Currency, MoonPay, Tribute Labs, The LAO, Polygon, Wave Financial, Big Sky Partners, Quantum, SIA, and Mike Winkelmann a.k.a. Beeple.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">More so, UnicornDAO is greatly supported by artists all over the world who have been moved by their vision such as the following: Yulia Shur, Priyanka Desai of Tribute Labs, Charli Cohen, Tolokonnikoca, C Verdults, Diana Sinclair, IX Shells, Sophie Cohen of Gagosian Gallery, PPl Pleasr, and others.</span></p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-181907 aligncenter" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653103774537.png" alt="" width="635" height="420" srcset="https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/PU-635x420.png 635w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/PU.png 647w" sizes="(max-width: 635px) 100vw, 635px" data-pin-no-hover="true"></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Members of Pussy Riot flee Russia following repeated arrests and a crackdown (The Art Newspaper).</pre>
<h2><b>UnicornDAO Now Open For Membership</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unicorn DAO was launched in March 2022 and is now open to new members of varied backgrounds. They are now even open to males who want to join the force. Their membership is growing as more people are attracted to the organization’s mission and vision for equality and diversity.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Their current members are Beeple, Blake Kathryn, True Ventures, World of Women, SIA, Polygon, MoonPay, Art Blocks, Yuga Labs, Grimes, Wave Financial, ConsenSys Mesh, and Collab+Currency; to name some.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Suggested Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/shiba-inu-seen-by-experts-to-go-extinct/">Shiba Inu Extinction: Finder Panel Predicts SHIB To Have Zero Value By 2030</a></em></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Members will be contributing 50 ether to UnicornDAO and receive 1% interest. The membership contribution earns him or her 1% of revenue and voting rights. The membership is currently capped to a maximum of 540 ether or 9% for every member.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recording artist Grimes has announced that she has also joined the board of UnicornDAO. Further, she has also donated the “New Gods” video to the women-led organization.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">UnicornDAO’s main thrust is that art investment funds can enable equal distribution of visibility to women and LGBTQ individuals at all points of the world. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Pussy Riot CEO, Nadya Tolokonnikoca, shares that UnicornDAO and Pussy Riot have the same vision or ethos which is “to bring equality, justice, and joy to communities that have been historically underrepresented.”</span></p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-medium" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653103774693.com/x/HmU8iBkD/" width="1824" height="870" data-pin-no-hover="true"></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Crypto total market cap at $1.28 trillion on the daily chart | Source: <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/ajrdy9Lf/" rel="noopener">TradingView.com</a></pre>
<h2><b>Launch Of Unicorn Riot</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">UnicornDAO has announced its opening to new members this week. It will now be open to the general public, which means male allies can join as well. An in-person launch will be held on June 21 at the NFT NYC.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meanwhile, UnicornDAO has also announced the upcoming launch of UnicornRiot, a group intended for organizing fundraisers for uplifting reproductive and political rights in the United States.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Suggested Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/microstrategy-ceo-sees-btc-hitting-1-million/">MicroStrategy Stock Rallies 10% As CEO Saylor Predicts Bitcoin Will ‘Go Into The Millions’</a></em></strong></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Featured image from TIME, chart from <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/ajrdy9Lf/" rel="noopener">TradingView.com</a></pre>
                            
	                        
                                                            
                                                    </div>

UnicornDAO Rallies For Women And LGBTQ Artists; Raises $4.5 Million&nbsp;

<p>After a grueling two weeks for the Terra community, the team behind the project announced revisions to their proposed revival plan for Terra (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/terra-price-index">LUNA</a>) and TerraUSD (UST).&nbsp;</p><p>In a Tweet, Terra shared three major revisions to the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/breaking-do-kwon-purposes-terra-revival-including-token-redistribution-plan" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/breaking-do-kwon-purposes-terra-revival-including-token-redistribution-plan/amp">proposed Terra revival and redistribution plan</a>. These include increasing the genesis liquidity, introducing a new liquidity profile for pre-attack LUNA holders and decreasing the distribution to post-attack UST holders. </p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 480px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1527486972268367872&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fterra-s-amended-revival-plan-would-decrease-the-allocation-for-post-attack-ust-holders&amp;sessionId=166c8a185805c2f250bdd2a8b92399c10539c803&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1527486972268367872"></iframe></div>

<p>The announcement noted that pre-attack Anchor UST (aUST) holders, post-attack LUNA holders and post-attack UST holders’ initial liquidity parameters are modified. The change will be from 15% to 30%, and according to Terra, this may "mitigate future inflationary pressures" and increase the token’s supply during the launch. </p><p>Apart from this, wallets that hold less than 10,000 LUNA will get the same liquidity as the aforementioned groups. Moreover, 70% of their LUNA will be vested in over two years, with a cliff of six months. Terra said it believes that this new liquidity profile will ensure that small token holders will have similar initial liquidity.</p><p>Lastly, the allocation for post-attack UST holders decreased from 20% to 15%. According to Terra, this “dpeg related allocation is on par with the original stakeholder (pre-attack $LUNA) allocation.” The 5% will be moved to the community pool. </p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/terra-fallout-stablegains-lawsuit-hashed-loses-billions-finder-wrong-and-more" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/terra-fallout-stablegains-lawsuit-hashed-loses-billions-finder-wrong-and-more/amp"><strong><em>Terra fallout: Stablegains lawsuit, Hashed loses billions, Finder wrong and more</em></strong></a></p><p>The aftermath of the UST collapse gave the community reasons to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ust-aftermath-is-there-any-future-for-algorithmic-stablecoins" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/ust-aftermath-is-there-any-future-for-algorithmic-stablecoins/amp">doubt the future of algorithmic stablecoins</a>. According to university assistant professor Ryan Clements, purely algorithmic stablecoins are "inherently fragile" and rely on many assumptions, that are neither certain nor guaranteed, to be stable. </p><p>Meanwhile, as some use the UST collapse to take a dig at the entire industry, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/terra-crash-not-a-risk-to-the-broader-crypto-ecosystem-says-huobi-global-ceo" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/terra-crash-not-a-risk-to-the-broader-crypto-ecosystem-says-huobi-global-ceo/amp">some have tried to defend crypto</a>. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Huobi Global co-founder Jun Du said that "one bad apple in the short run will not affect [the] long-term demand for crypto." </p>

 Terra’s amended revival plan would decrease the allocation for post-attack UST holders 

<p>Has there ever been a worse time to be in crypto? It depends on how you look at it. Amid Terra’s death spiral, Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) recording seven-consecutive weekly red candles, over $1 trillion in lost market cap across the ecosystem and an <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-senate-confirms-jerome-powell-for-another-four-years-as-fed-chair" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/us-senate-confirms-jerome-powell-for-another-four-years-as-fed-chair/amp">aggressive Federal Reserve</a> hell-bent on reversing the chaos it created, major banks are quietly increasing their exposure to the sector. You’re going to love this: Goldman Sachs — once the most passionate Bitcoin detractors — and Barclays are doing some strategic buying as they prepare for the future of crypto trading.&nbsp;</p><h3>Early polling from Terra vote indicates 91% are in favor of ‘rebirth’</h3><p>The Terra saga took an interesting turn on Wednesday after Terra co-founder Do Kwon managed to convince network validators to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/early-polling-from-terra-vote-indicates-91-are-in-favor-of-rebirth" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/early-polling-from-terra-vote-indicates-91-are-in-favor-of-rebirth/amp">accept a proposal</a> that would salvage the blockchain without the algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST). More than 91% of community votes were in favor of “rebirthing” the Terra network and doing away with UST entirely. The “old” blockchain would continue to support so-called “residual UST” holders and operate under the name — wait for it — Terra Classic. All is not well for the Terra ecosystem, however. Kwon has been <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/do-kwon-summoned-to-parliamentary-hearing-following-ust-and-luna-crash" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/do-kwon-summoned-to-parliamentary-hearing-following-ust-and-luna-crash/amp">summoned for a parliamentary hearing</a> regarding his failed project, while three members of <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-users-react-to-terraform-labs-legal-team-purportedly-leaving-company" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-users-react-to-terraform-labs-legal-team-purportedly-leaving-company/amp">Terraform Labs’ legal team</a> resigned this week. </p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 627px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1526896786685583360&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fcrypto-biz-amid-crypto-carnage-goldman-and-barclays-fill-their-bags-may-12-18-2022&amp;sessionId=7501d8c4ce024692a196034fbe06344a2605f738&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1526896786685583360"></iframe></div>

<h3>Goldman Sachs and Barclays invest in UK crypto trading platform Elwood</h3><p><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/goldman-sachs-and-barclays-invest-in-uk-crypto-trading-platform-elwood" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/goldman-sachs-and-barclays-invest-in-uk-crypto-trading-platform-elwood/amp">Goldman Sachs and Barclays</a> made headlines this week after they revealed a strategic investment in United Kingdom-based crypto trading platform Elwood. Why is this important? Aside from the fact that I like to dunk on Goldman every chance I get for its past <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-shrugs-off-goldman-sachs-criticism-with-price-spike" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-shrugs-off-goldman-sachs-criticism-with-price-spike/amp">anti-Bitcoin propaganda</a>, the investment further cements the fact that major banks view crypto as a new asset class with a strong institutional appeal. That’s basically what Goldman’s global head of digital assets said. You can read about Elwood’s $500 million funding round below. </p><h3>Bitcoin investment giant Grayscale debuts ETF in Europe</h3><p>Grayscale has finally launched an <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-investment-giant-grayscale-debuts-etf-in-europe" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-investment-giant-grayscale-debuts-etf-in-europe/amp">exchange-traded fund</a> (ETF). Okay, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-gears-up-for-legal-battle-with-sec-over-bitcoin-etf" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-gears-up-for-legal-battle-with-sec-over-bitcoin-etf/amp">not the one we’re all waiting for</a>, but it’s still a notable achievement nonetheless. Grayscale Future of Finance UCITS ETF is the digital asset manager’s first European ETF and will track the performance of the Bloomberg Grayscale Future of Finance Index. The fund doesn’t invest in crypto outright but provides exposure to companies directly involved in the digital asset ecosystem — miners and trading apps especially. </p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 440px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1526105124577353729&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fcrypto-biz-amid-crypto-carnage-goldman-and-barclays-fill-their-bags-may-12-18-2022&amp;sessionId=7501d8c4ce024692a196034fbe06344a2605f738&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1526105124577353729"></iframe></div>

<h3>BitMEX launches spot crypto exchange following $30M penalty</h3><p><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-launches-spot-crypto-exchange-following-30m-penalty" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-launches-spot-crypto-exchange-following-30m-penalty/amp">Crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX</a> — home of the now-infamous liquidation cascades — is moving beyond offering just derivatives by launching a spot trading platform. BitMEX Spot Exchange gives investors the ability to trade seven crypto pairs, including Bitcoin, Ether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price">ETH</a>), Chainlink (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/chainlink-price-index">LINK</a>) and Tether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index">USDT</a>) — without the ability to get absolutely wrecked in the process. BitMEX recently cleared $30 million in civil penalties after the company’s cofounders, including Arthur Hayes, pleaded guilty to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-founders-plead-guilty-to-bank-secrecy-act-violations" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/bitmex-founders-plead-guilty-to-bank-secrecy-act-violations/amp">violating the Bank Secrecy Act</a>. </p><h3>How will you survive the bear market?</h3><p>I’ll be honest: Crypto’s implosion over the past few months has been unlike anything I’ve ever seen. A lot of investors are in extreme pain right now. Trust me, I’ve been there. I’m not going to sugarcoat your losses or fill this page with cliches, but as famed value investor Benjamin Graham once observed: “Abnormally good or abnormally bad conditions do not last forever.” This week’s edition of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0etDYwdEyXs" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">The Market Report</a> dissects the current bear market and gives you a few survival tips to come out the other side stronger than ever. </p><iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0etDYwdEyXs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><p>Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse of the business behind blockchain and crypto delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday. </p>

 Crypto Biz: Amid crypto carnage, Goldman and Barclays fill their bags, May 12-18, 2022 

<p>New York-headquartered crypto mining firm Bit Digital reported two of its hosting partners ceased operations to more than 4,800 rigs following power disruptions at different facilities.&nbsp;</p><p>In a Thursday announcement, Bit Digital <a href="https://bit-digital.com/press-releases/bit-digital-inc-announces-interruptions-to-certain-hosting-partners-operations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">said</a> a substation in Niagara Falls was damaged by “an explosion and subsequent fire,” necessitating its partner Blockfusion USA to take 2,515 Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) miners and 710 Ether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price">ETH</a>) miners offline at the site. In addition, the mining firm reported its Digihost partner experienced a similar cut in power to a facility in North Tonawanda, New York, resulting in 1,580 crypto miners going offline. </p><p>According to Bit Digital, the damage from the explosion and fire did not directly <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/stranded-no-more-bitcoin-miners-could-help-solve-big-oil-s-gas-problem" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/stranded-no-more-bitcoin-miners-could-help-solve-big-oil-s-gas-problem/amp">affect any mining rigs</a> — just the substation providing electricity. In addition, the mining firm did not suggest any of its rigs were the cause of the accident, which was attributed to “faulty equipment owned by the power utility,” and will be seeking reimbursement for the lost revenue from mining crypto.</p><p>“Blockfusion is working with its insurer and the utility to restore power as quickly as possible,” said Bit Digital. “Operations are hoped to resume within a few weeks, but at this time there can be no assurances as to timing.”</p><p>The mining company and its partners have six facilities across the United States, with three in New York and one each in Texas, Nebraska and Georgia. With the roughly 4,805 rigs offline, Bit Digital reported its operating hash rate had dropped 46.8%.</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/protesters-burn-bitcoin-atm-as-part-of-demonstration-against-el-salvador-president" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/protesters-burn-bitcoin-atm-as-part-of-demonstration-against-el-salvador-president/amp"><strong><em>Protesters burn Bitcoin ATM as part of demonstration against El Salvador president</em></strong></a></p><p>Publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, the price of Bit Digital shares <a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/btbt" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">fell</a> more than 6% over the last 24 hours to reach $1.59 at the time of publication. The firm has made moves toward <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/controlling-17-of-btc-hash-rate-report-on-publicly-listed-mining-firms" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/controlling-17-of-btc-hash-rate-report-on-publicly-listed-mining-firms/amp">having greener operations</a>, reporting that 67% of its energy for mining is from renewable sources.</p>

 3K+ Bit Digital hosting partner's crypto miners go offline after explosion and fire 

<p>The past week in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem was dominated by Terra's collapse and its aftermath on various ecosystems it was connected. Now BNB chain has come to the rescue of several stranded projects on Terra by offering financial and technical assistance.</p><p>After its spiral collapse, Terra co-founder Do Kown proposed a revival plan and a hard fork to revive the blockchain. Chainalysis introduced new tools to monitor and track stolen funds across multiple blockchains. Swiss asset manager Julias Baer is eyeing crypto and DeFi potential.</p><p>Top DeFi tokens saw another week of bleeding, with the majority of these tokens trading in red over the past week. </p><h3>Do Kwon proposes Terra hard fork to save the ecosystem</h3><p>Do Kwon, co-founder of the troubled Terra Luna blockchain, announced a revised plan to restore the ecosystem after significant market volatility and inherent protocol design flaws wiped out a vast majority of the blockchain's market cap. As told by Kwon, Terraform Labs proposed a new governance model on May 18 to fork the Terra Luna blockchain called Terra (token name: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/terra-price-index">LUNA</a>). </p><p>However, the new chain will not be linked to the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin. Meanwhile, the old Terra blockchain will continue to exist with UST and be called Terra Classic (LUNC). Under Kwon's plan, if passed, the new LUNA blockchain will go live on May 27. </p><p><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/do-kwon-proposes-terra-hard-fork-to-save-ecosystem"><strong>Continue reading</strong></a></p><h3>BNB Chain offers another lifeline to Terra ecosystem projects</h3><p>Binance will welcome migration and provide support to projects from the Terra ecosystem following this month’s unraveling of the DeFi platform and its algorithmic stablecoin.</p><p>BNB Chain (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/binance-coin-price-index">BNB</a>) has committed to providing investment and support to projects considering migrating from the Terra ecosystem in the wake of the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/analysts-assess-the-aftermath-of-the-terra-luna-collapse-cointelegraph-interview">biggest black swan event</a> to hit the cryptocurrency space in recent years.</p><p><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bnb-chain-offers-another-lifeline-to-terra-ecosystem-projects"><strong>Continue reading</strong></a></p><h3>DeFi-ing exploits: New Chainalysis tool tracks stolen crypto across multiple chains</h3><p>Chainalysis launched a beta version of its Storyline software on Wednesday. Touted as a “Web3-native blockchain analysis tool,” Storyline aims to track and visualize smart contract transactions with a focus on nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and DeFi platforms. This is <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/nft-market-well-positioned-to-grow-35-into-a-13-6b-industry-by-2027">in line with the growing popularity</a> and prevalence of NFTs and DeFi in the cryptocurrency space over the past year.</p><p>Chainalysis provides blockchain analysis and annual reports on cryptocurrency crime trends and other analytics. The ever-changing landscape has seen DeFi and NFTs become important cogs in the ecosystem, with Chainalysis estimating the two sectors account for more than half of global cryptocurrency transactions.</p><p><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/defi-ing-exploits-new-chainalysis-tool-tracks-stolen-crypto-across-multiple-chains"><strong>Continue reading</strong></a></p><h3>Swiss asset manager Julius Baer eyes crypto and DeFi potential</h3><p>The 132-year-old Swiss asset management firm, Julius Baer, intends to offer exposure to cryptocurrencies and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/defi-101/defi-vs-cefi-comparing-decentralized-to-centralized-finance">decentralized finance</a> for its high net-worth clients. The firm’s CEO Philipp Rickenbacher confirmed the move into the cryptocurrency space during his delivery of the company’s strategy update for the next three years.</p><p>Rickenbacher noted that the recent slump in the cryptocurrency markets presented a watershed moment for its clients to gain exposure to the nascent asset class.</p><p><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/swiss-asset-manager-julius-baer-eyes-crypto-and-defi-potential"><strong>Continue reading</strong></a></p><h3>DeFi market overview</h3><p>Analytical data reveals that DeFi’s total value locked remained under the $100 billion mark, falling to $84.2 billion. Data from <a href="https://pro.cointelegraph.com/users/sign_up">Cointelegraph Markets Pro</a> and TradingView reveals that DeFi’s top 100 tokens by market capitalization registered a week filled with volatile price action and constant bearish pressure.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653085930039.png" pinger-seen="true"></figure><p>Majority of the DeFi tokens in the top-100 ranking by market cap traded in red, barring a few. Kyber Network Crystal v2 (KNC) was the biggest gainer with a 74% rise over the past week, followed by <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/kava/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Kava</a> (KAVA) at 25% and PancakeSwap (CAKE) at 5%.</p><p><em>Thanks for reading our summary of this week’s most impactful DeFi developments. Join us again next Friday for more stories, insights and education in this dynamically advancing space.</em></p>

 Finance Redefined: Lifeline for Terra projects, proposed Terra hard fork and more  

<p>Sarah Pritchard, the executive director of markets at the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, reportedly said the regulator will look at the recent volatility in the crypto markets when creating rules for the space in 2022.</p><p>According to a Friday Bloomberg report, Pritchard <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-20/uk-regulator-scrutinizes-terra-fallout-as-it-mulls-crypto-rules" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">said</a> the financial regulator will “absolutely” take into account stablecoins like TerraUSD (UST) and Tether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index">USDT</a>) depegging from the U.S. dollar in drafting regulatory guidelines with Her Majesty's Treasury for release later this year. While the USDT price only briefly dropped to $0.97 on May 12, UST’s has fallen more than 93% since May 9 to reach roughly $0.06 at the time of publication.</p><p>“It really shows at front of mind the really significant issues that exist here, both in terms of a well-functioning market and obviously consumer protection,” said Pritchard. “In the last week where we saw significant price movements, it brings that into the fore and it shows the importance of making sure that people understand that that is a risk of where they put their money.”</p><p>The United Kingdom's Economic and Finance Ministry announced in April that it would work to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/uk-government-moves-forward-with-regulatory-framework-on-stablecoins-for-payments" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/uk-government-moves-forward-with-regulatory-framework-on-stablecoins-for-payments/amp">incorporate stablecoins into a regulatory framework</a> on digital assets, given they could become “a widespread means of payment” for retail customers. In addition, HM Treasury said it would move forward with initiatives including reviewing tax legislation as applied to crypto assets, commissioning a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/nonfungible-tokens-for-beginners" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/nonfungible-tokens-for-beginners/amp">nonfungible token</a>, or NFT, for the Royal Mint, and exploring distributed ledger technology for use in U.K. financial markets.</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-new-hm-treasury-regulations-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/the-new-hm-treasury-regulations-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/amp"><strong><em>The new HM Treasury regulations: The good, the bad and the ugly</em></strong></a></p><p>U.K. regulators as well as the Bank of England Financial Policy Committee said in March they were <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bank-of-england-and-regulators-assess-crypto-regulation-in-raft-of-new-reports" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/bank-of-england-and-regulators-assess-crypto-regulation-in-raft-of-new-reports/amp">assessing crypto regulations</a> in the country, specifically noting they “welcomed” HM Treasury’s proposals for incorporating stablecoins into the existing framework. The FCA also announced it had <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/uk-financial-watchdog-extends-registration-deadline-for-some-crypto-firms" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/uk-financial-watchdog-extends-registration-deadline-for-some-crypto-firms/amp">extended the temporary registration status</a> of some firms offering crypto services beyond its original March 31 deadline. At the time of publication, five companies are <a href="https://register.fca.org.uk/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=0154G0000062BtF" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">permitted</a> to “carry out crypto asset activities” under this temporary status, including Copper, CEX.IO, and Revolut.</p>

 FCA will 'absolutely' consider recent stablecoin depegging when drafting crypto rules: Report 

<p>Satoshi Nakamoto left a large pair of shoes to fill after releasing the code for Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) to the world, helping to establish the network, then vanishing without so much as a trace.&nbsp;</p><p>Over the years, the crypto ecosystem has seen many developers and protocol creators rise in stature to become crypto messiahs for faithful holders who eventually have their best-laid plans end in catastrophe when the protocol is hacked, rugged or abandoned by whimsical developers.</p><p>2022 is hardly halfway complete and the year has already seen a particularly bad stretch of good intentions gone awry, which have collectively helped plunge the market into bear-market territory. Here’s a closer look at each of these instances to help provide insight into how similar outcomes can be avoided in the future. </p><h2>Some developers are anonymous for a reason</h2><p>Satoshi may have successfully remained anonymous while launching Bitcoin, but in most instances since then, having anonymous developers has turned out to be a red flag. </p><p>Many anonymous developers cite personal safety reasons for taking this route. While this is a valid reason in some cases, sometimes anon developers are hiding from previous misdoings or pre-planning to cover their tracks in the case of future offenses. </p><p>A flagrant example of this was Squid Game (SQUID), a Netflix-show-inspired memecoin that rallied 45,000% within a few days after launch, only for traders to realize that they were <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/users-not-able-to-sell-squid-game-token-clocking-45-000-gains" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/users-not-able-to-sell-squid-game-token-clocking-45-000-gains/amp">unable to sell the tokens</a> on any exchange.</p><p>Investors eventually discovered that all the developers were anonymous and all social media channels were blocked from comments. </p><p>The crypto community has grown to be rather distrustful of anonymous developers and this can be seen in the negative reaction to the revelation that the founder of the Azuki <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/nonfungible-tokens-for-beginners/what-are-nfts-and-why-are-they-revolutionizing-the-art-world" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/nonfungible-tokens-for-beginners/what-are-nfts-and-why-are-they-revolutionizing-the-art-world/amp">nonfungible token</a> (NFT) project was involved with three other NFT projects that were ultimately abandoned, leaving their holders with little to show except worthless jpegs. </p><p>Another instance of an anonymous developer going rogue occurred in 2022 when it was revealed that the anonymous Wonderland (TIME) treasury manager @0xSifu turned out to be <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/co-founder-of-defunct-exchange-quadrigacx-allegedly-runs-wonderland" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/co-founder-of-defunct-exchange-quadrigacx-allegedly-runs-wonderland/amp">an alleged financial criminal</a>, along with QuadrigaCX co-founder Michael Patryn.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 409px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1486591436233404421&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2F3-red-flags-that-signal-a-crypto-project-may-be-misleading-investors&amp;sessionId=49fb488f89f63f20cb20cf69afef4d7dfa97aa1c&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1486591436233404421"></iframe></div>

<p>The revelation of this connection resulted in the collapse of several popular projects including Wonderland and Popsicle Finance, while a significant amount of criticism was directed at Abracadabra.Money creator Daniele Sestagalli. </p><p>Prior to the @0xSifu revelation, all three protocols were seeing increased adoption, but , each protocol is a mere shadow of its former success.</p><p>Having anonymous developers removes accountability from the equation and is increasingly becoming a red flag when dealing with multi-million dollar cryptocurrency protocols. </p><h2>Beware of cult personalities</h2><p>Finance is no stranger to cult personalities and crypto is not immune to this phenomenon.</p><p>Long-time crypto pundits will recall Roger Ver being called “Bitcoin Jesus” and hileading the charge to fork Bitcoin Core and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/altcoins-for-beginners/what-is-bitcoin-cash-and-how-does-bch-work-a-beginners-guide" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/altcoins-for-beginners/what-is-bitcoin-cash-and-how-does-bch-work-a-beginners-guide/amp">create Bitcoin Cash</a> (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-cash-price-index">BCH</a>). Billionaire Dan Larimer also comes to mind, and investors will recall his helping EOS (EOS) raise $4 billion during the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/funding-for-beginners/ico-101-a-beginners-guide-to-raising-capital-using-cryptocurrencies" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/funding-for-beginners/ico-101-a-beginners-guide-to-raising-capital-using-cryptocurrencies/amp">initial coin offering</a> (ICO) boom of 2017 to 2018. In each instance, it was a fervent flock of followers that propelled each project forward. </p><p>Neither BCH nor EOS managed to reclaim their all-time highs during the 2021 bull market despite all the hype about their future when first launched. This is possibly because a portion of the hype is centered around the personalities behind the projects. </p><p>A more recent example includes the collapse of Fantom ecosystem token prices after <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/defi-101/defi-a-comprehensive-guide-to-decentralized-finance" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/defi-101/defi-a-comprehensive-guide-to-decentralized-finance/amp">decentralized finance</a> (DeFi) developer Andre Cronje deactivated his Twitter account and informed the community that he was <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/defi-godfather-cronje-quits-as-tvl-and-tokens-tank-for-related-projects" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/defi-godfather-cronje-quits-as-tvl-and-tokens-tank-for-related-projects/amp">leaving the crypto space entirely</a>.</p><p>Cronje had become so popular that many people would buy a token just because he was involved, and when he left, many of these investors dumped their holdings, which negatively affected the tokens' prices. </p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 345px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1523030900224655361&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2F3-red-flags-that-signal-a-crypto-project-may-be-misleading-investors&amp;sessionId=49fb488f89f63f20cb20cf69afef4d7dfa97aa1c&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1523030900224655361"></iframe></div>

<p>While Cronje was doing what he thought was right and had no ill intentions toward the community, his actions appear to have negatively affected the crypto market due to his popularity within the community and the dedication of his followers. </p><p>The main takeaway is to be vigilant when a developer is seen as incapable of doing wrong and remember that cult-like followings can have outcomes that ripple beyond their community. </p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/court-documents-reveal-do-kwon-dissolved-terraform-labs-korea-days-before-luna-crash" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/court-documents-reveal-do-kwon-dissolved-terraform-labs-korea-days-before-luna-crash/amp"><strong><em>Court documents reveal Do Kwon dissolved Terraform Labs Korea days before LUNA crash</em></strong></a></p><h2>Decentralization requires involving the community</h2><p>Another red flag to be on the lookout for ar&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/decentralized-automated-organizations-daos-guide-for-beginners/what-is-decentralized-autonomous-organization-and-how-does-a-dao-work" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/decentralized-automated-organizations-daos-guide-for-beginners/what-is-decentralized-autonomous-organization-and-how-does-a-dao-work/amp">decentralized autonomous organizations</a> (DAOs) and DeFi protocols that operate in a manner that appears to be more centralized than their name would suggest. </p><p>It’s common for many protocols to claim that they are decentralized, yet they rely on centralized service providers like <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/finance-redefined-aws-turns-crypto-exchanges-offline-and-sushi-cto-resigns-dec-3-10" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/finance-redefined-aws-turns-crypto-exchanges-offline-and-sushi-cto-resigns-dec-3-10/amp">Amazon Web Service</a> to ensure that they function properly. </p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 393px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1468293558360805381&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2F3-red-flags-that-signal-a-crypto-project-may-be-misleading-investors&amp;sessionId=49fb488f89f63f20cb20cf69afef4d7dfa97aa1c&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1468293558360805381"></iframe></div>

<p>Another pertinent example is when a project that claims to offer token holders governance rights makes a major protocol decision without consulting the community for feedback and approval. </p><p>The move by Terra (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/terra-price-index">LUNA</a>) to add BTC to its treasury as collateral for the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin made headlines and was lauded by many, but the move was never put to a vote within the Terra community to see what token holders thought. </p><p>While there is a good chance that the plan would have been approved and the collapse of Terra still would have occurred, the blame might have fallen more on the community and less on Do Kwon, the project’s leader. It’s also worth mentioning that Do Kown had developed quite the cult following and was frequently insulting a variety of people on Twitter.</p><p>One of the main tenets of the cryptocurrency sector is adherence to decentralization and failure to do so often leads to a compromised network and dissatisfied investors.</p><h2>Want more information about trading and investing in crypto markets?</h2><ul><li><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/terra-buys-200m-in-avax-for-reserves-as-rival-stablecoins-emerge" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/terra-buys-200m-in-avax-for-reserves-as-rival-stablecoins-emerge/amp">Terra buys $200M in AVAX</a> for reserves as rival stablecoins emerge</li><li>Andre Cronje sees a "<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/andre-cronje-sees-a-necessity-for-regulation-ahead-of-crypto-s-new-era" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/andre-cronje-sees-a-necessity-for-regulation-ahead-of-crypto-s-new-era/amp">necessity for regulation</a>"&nbsp;ahead of crypto’s new era</li><li>Daniele Sestagalli discusses Wonderland’s future <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/daniele-sestagalli-discusses-wonderland-s-future-after-quadrigacx-co-founder-dox" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/daniele-sestagalli-discusses-wonderland-s-future-after-quadrigacx-co-founder-dox/amp">after QuadrigaCX co-founder dox</a></li><li><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/fantom-foundation-issues-clarification-statement-about-departure-of-andre-cronje-and-anton-nell" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/fantom-foundation-issues-clarification-statement-about-departure-of-andre-cronje-and-anton-nell/amp">Fantom Foundation issues clarification</a> statement about departure of Andre Cronje and Anton Nell</li><li>LUNA meltdown sparks theories and more than one&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/luna-meltdown-sparks-theories-and-told-you-sos-from-crypto-community" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/luna-meltdown-sparks-theories-and-told-you-sos-from-crypto-community/amp">told-you-so from the crypto community</a></li></ul><p class="post-content__disclaimer">The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
</p>

 3 red flags that signal a crypto project may be misleading investors 

<div><h4>Quick Take</h4>
<ul>
<li>Do Kwon has made several amendments to his Terra revival plan.</li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">The changes were made while the proposal is being voted upon.<br>
</span></li>
</ul>
</div> <div class="articleIAB"><div in-article-ad="" track-impression="" ga-event-action="ad-impression" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle" class="d-flex d-print-none flex-column justify-content-center"><div class="my-1 text-uppercase font-meta font-size-6" style="text-align: center; opacity: 0.5;"><small>advertisement</small></div> <div class="mobileView" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 30px; width: 100%; text-align: center;"><a ga-on="click" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-action="ad-clicked" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle,url:https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" href="https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" target="_blank" rel="sponsored"><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653090527246.png" style="width: 100%; max-width: 300px;"> <span></span></a></div></div></div> <div><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon has amended his proposal to revive the Terra blockchain — in the middle of a vote on whether it should be implemented.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After the implosion of the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin, Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon suggested a </span><a href="https://station.terra.money/proposal/1623"><span style="font-weight: 400;">“rebirth” plan</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in which he <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/147289/terra-community-seems-dead-set-against-do-kwons-fork-proposal">proposed</a> creating Luna (LUNA) 2.0 tokens on a new blockchain.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today he amended the proposal despite the fact the original plan is currently going through an <a href="https://station.terra.money/proposal/1623">on-chain vote</a>. While this so-called “rebirth” proposal still stands, Kwon </span><a href="https://agora.terra.money/t/terra-ecosystem-revival-plan-2-amended/18498"><span style="font-weight: 400;">stated</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> he edited a few distribution parameters “to accommodate community feedback.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The first change reduces the distribution of LUNA 2.0 tokens to UST holders who had their tokens staked on Anchor when the depeg occurred. Their distribution share was reduced from 20% to 15%.</span></p><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" track-impression="" ga-event-category="In-Article" ga-event-action="impression" ga-event-label="newsletter-article-impression" class="newsletterArticle-pitch"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle-message"><h2 data-v-301b2fcc="">
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<p>Second, Kwon altered the vesting schedule for two of the stakeholder categories that have been proposed to receive a share of the new tokens. Here, Kwon increased the initial token unlocks of allocations of LUNA 2.0 tokens from 15% to 30% — with the remaining 70% locked for a two-year vesting period.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s unusual for a proposal to be amended amid an on-chain vote. This is why today’s changes from Kwon have led some to question its validity. Usually, whenever there is a change made to a proposal, it's done beforehand and not during the vote. FatMan, an anonymous Terra analyst and commentator, highlighted the fact that a new proposal should come with a fresh vote.</span></p>
<p>“How can you make significant amendments to a proposal *mid-vote* when most people have already voted (for the original document)?,” FatMan <a href="https://twitter.com/FatManTerra/status/1527541220553146368">said</a>. He added that “significant changes should be posted as a brand new proposal.”</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kwon’s original proposal went to a validator vote on Wednesday. At the time of writing, a large majority of votes (80%) are in favor of it, with only 15% that are opposed to it with a veto. It's too early to say if the vote for Kwon’s proposal will pass given there are five more days to go. If the ‘no with veto’ percentage crosses the 33.4% level, the entire proposal would be scrapped despite the fact it has majority support from validators.&nbsp;</span></p><br><span class="copyright"><p><span class="font-body font-size-7;">© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</span></p>
</span></div>


		Do Kwon amends Terra 2.0 proposal during the vote on it
	

<div><h4>Quick Take</h4>
<ul>
<li>Terra’s popular lending platform Anchor saw more than $1 billion in liqudiations last week, as the Terra project collapsed.</li>
<li>
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<div class="p-rich_text_section">This is the largest liquidation event to happen on a DeFi lending protocol.</div>
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</div>
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</div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</div> <div class="articleIAB"><div in-article-ad="" track-impression="" ga-event-action="ad-impression" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle" class="d-flex d-print-none flex-column justify-content-center"><div class="my-1 text-uppercase font-meta font-size-6" style="text-align: center; opacity: 0.5;"><small>advertisement</small></div> <div class="mobileView" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 30px; width: 100%; text-align: center;"><a ga-on="click" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-action="ad-clicked" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle,url:https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" href="https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" target="_blank" rel="sponsored"><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078730107.png" style="width: 100%; max-width: 300px;"> <span></span></a></div></div></div> <div><p>Terra-based lending protocol Anchor saw more than $1 billion in liquidations last week, the largest liquidation event for a single protocol. This happened as both the crypto market collapsed and the Terra project — including its tokens luna (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST) — largely collapsed.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/data/decentralized-finance/cryptocurrency-lending/lending-market-liquidations-daily">The Block’s Data Dashboard</a>, $1.048 billion worth of staked crypto collateral deposited by borrowers on Anchor was liquidated on the platform between May 7 and May 12.</p>
<p>Luna (LUNA) accounted for over $750 million — or close to 75% of the liquidations — on Anchor during the period. Liquidations of avalanche (AVAX) came in at $261 million, with the remainder spread across ether (ETH), solana (SOL), and cosmos (ATOM).</p>
<p>The last time a large liquidation event like this happened was a year ago. This was when DeFi lenders Compound and Aave saw a total of $633 million in liquidations amid a general market crash at the time.</p>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="420" src="https://embed.theblockcrypto.com/data/decentralized-finance/cryptocurrency-lending/lending-market-liquidations-daily/embed" title="Lending Market Liquidations" width="100%"></iframe></p><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" track-impression="" ga-event-category="In-Article" ga-event-action="impression" ga-event-label="newsletter-article-impression" class="newsletterArticle-pitch"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle-message"><h2 data-v-301b2fcc="">
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<h2>What caused this?</h2>
<p>In Anchor’s case, the crash of UST was the main instigator. To understand how it happened, we need to know how Anchor worked.</p>
<p>Anchor is a lending platform on the Terra ecosystem. Users can borrow from Anchor by putting up collateral in the form of bonded crypto assets, which can be LUNA, ETH, AVAX, SOL, or ATOM.</p>
<p>Borrowing on Anchor is at a 10% interest rate and borrowers can take loans of up to 60% of the collateral they deposit on the platform. Anchor provides these loans in the form of the UST stablecoin. Liquidations occur on Anchor when the value of the staked collateral falls to a certain point that exceeds the threshold required to pay back the loan.</p>
<p>Luna lost almost 99% of its value during this period of liquidations, falling from $73 to as low as $0.83. The other assets offered as collateral also dropped in value.</p>
<p>Borrowers who deposited Luna as collateral saw their positions become increasingly at risk as the price of the coin fell last week. The same also applied to borrowers who put the other assets as those tokens began to plunge amid a wider crypto market downturn.</p>

<div id="attachment_148004" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 2282px;">
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        <img target-image="" class="has-caption wp-image-148004 size-full" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078730223.png" alt="Anchor liquidations" width="2272" height="1090">
        <img class="icon" src="get image fail" style="height: 20px; width: 20px;">
      </div><p class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Anchor liquidations during last week's market crash. Source: The Block Research.</span></p></div>

<p>When the value of the tokens used as collateral fell low enough, it meant that the positions had became underwater and were able to be liquidated. The above image shows that the bulk of the Luna liquidations occured between May 9 and May 10, when the price of the coin was in <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/146309/luna-terra-ust-terrausd-markets-crypto-blockchain">free fall</a>.</p><br><span class="copyright"><p><span class="font-body font-size-7;">© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</span></p>
</span></div>


		Anchor saw $1 billion of liquidations during UST and Luna's death spiral
	

<div><h4>Quick Take</h4>
<ul>
<li>TAG Heuer makes luxury Swiss watches, and will now accept cryptocurrency as payment on US websites only.</li>
<li>This comes after recent moves by luxury brands, including Gucci and Off White, which started accepting crypto payments this year.</li>
</ul>
</div> <div class="articleIAB"><div in-article-ad="" track-impression="" ga-event-action="ad-impression" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle" class="d-flex d-print-none flex-column justify-content-center"><div class="my-1 text-uppercase font-meta font-size-6" style="text-align: center; opacity: 0.5;"><small>advertisement</small></div> <div class="mobileView" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 30px; width: 100%; text-align: center;"><a ga-on="click" ga-event-category="Advertisement" ga-event-action="ad-clicked" ga-event-label="banner_id:146794,banner:iab_medium_rectangle,url:https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" href="https://invest.matrixport.com/newRegister/en?channel=blockbanner0515&amp;invite_code=A8G5Q6" target="_blank" rel="sponsored"><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078736719.png" style="width: 100%; max-width: 300px;"> <span></span></a></div></div></div> <div><p>Luxury Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer will now accept cryptocurrency as payment on US websites.&nbsp;</p>
<p>TAG Heuer will accept 12 cryptocurrencies at checkout, including Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Shiba Inu, and 5 USD-pegged stablecoins. The brand will work with the support of BitPay, a bitcoin payment services provider, on transactions up to $10,000, with no minimum spend required.&nbsp;BitPay works by converting cryptocurrency to fiat money, which is ultimately what TAG Heuer receives.</p>
<p>“We have been following cryptocurrency developments very closely ever since Bitcoin first started trading. As an avant-garde watchmaker with an innovative spirit, we knew TAG Heuer would adopt what promises to be a globally integrated technology in the near future despite the fluctuations— one that will deeply transform our industry and beyond," said Frédéric Arnault, CEO of TAG Heuer, in a statement.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Fashion brands have increasingly been experimenting with crypto payments, despite recent instability and risk involved in the space. Last week, TerraUSD stablecoin and its sister token Luna <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/145871/ust-stablecoin-falls-to-record-low-amid-continued-market-tumult">fell to a record low</a>. Bitcoin's price also fell to a low of $30,311.99, down over 30% since the start of the year.</p><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" track-impression="" ga-event-category="In-Article" ga-event-action="impression" ga-event-label="newsletter-article-impression" class="newsletterArticle-pitch"><div data-v-301b2fcc="" class="newsletterArticle-message"><h2 data-v-301b2fcc="">
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<p>Gucci and fashion label Off White also started accepting crypto as a payment method this year. For fashion brands, including TAG Heuer, this can be a challenge when considering refunds. Returning a TAG Heuer watch means BitPay would convert the dollar amount to cryptocurrency at the going market rate to give it back to the customer. Gucci, <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/145188/select-gucci-stores-to-accept-bitcoin-dogecoin-and-more-as-part-of-ongoing-experiments-in-web3">which announced</a> accepting crypto in select stores across the US earlier this month, also issues returns using the same cryptocurrency an item was purchased, but converts the value to the going rate at the time of the refund, according to detail obtained by <a href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/lvmh-owned-watchmaker-tag-heuer-to-accept-crypto-payments">Vogue Business</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Despite the volatility in crypto, this is just one of many upcoming Web3 experiments for TAG Heuer, and LVMH brands more broadly.</p>
<p>“As a luxury brand we had to ensure that our entrance into Web3 would meet our standards of excellence and thanks to our nimble teams in-house and with the support of BitPay we are able to dive into this new financial world in the best way possible. This new crypto payment feature is just the beginning of many exciting projects for TAG Heuer in the Web3 universes," said Arnault, son of billionaire Bernard Arnault, who serves as the chief executive of LVMH.</p>
<p>TAG Heuer will support more than 100 different crypto wallets and exchanges, including Coinbase, Ledger Wallet, Metamask, Crypto.com, Gemini Wallet, Binance, and others.&nbsp;</p><br><span class="copyright"><p><span class="font-body font-size-7;">© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</span></p>
</span></div>


		Luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer inks deal with BitPay to accept crypto online in the US
	

<p>Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) may fall more than 40% from last week's bottom, new data warns as one analyst confronts what he says is now a bear market.</p><p>In a series of tweets on May 20, popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital <a href="https://twitter.com/rektcapital/status/1527608112076795906" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">argued</a> that BTC/USD should dive to near $20,000 to conform to historical norms.</p><h2>Death cross BTC price target now $22,700</h2><p>Much debate has surrounded <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/here-s-how-bitcoin-s-impending-death-cross-could-be-a-contrarian-buy-signal" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/here-s-how-bitcoin-s-impending-death-cross-could-be-a-contrarian-buy-signal/amp">the so-called "death cross" constructions</a> on the Bitcoin chart. These involve the declining 50-period moving average (50MA) crossing under the 200MA.</p><p>Often in the past, such an event has triggered considerable price downside, this then going on to mark what Rekt Capital calls "generational bottoms."</p><p>"More often than not, the depth of a $BTC correction pre-Death Cross is similar to retrace depth post-Death Cross," he summarized.</p><p>Both March 2020 and May 2021 broke the rules when it comes to post-death cross losses, however — in both instances, the death cross, itself, marked the bottom.</p><p>In January 2022, the historical trend seemed to return, as a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/will-this-time-be-different-bitcoin-eyes-drop-to-35k-as-btc-price-paints-death-cross" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/will-this-time-be-different-bitcoin-eyes-drop-to-35k-as-btc-price-paints-death-cross/amp">death cross event</a> came after BTC/USD had already declined 43% from its November 2021 all-time highs of $69,000.&nbsp;</p><p>Another 43% from there, however, puts the pair at $22,700.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 1443px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1527608207069396992&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fbitcoin-death-cross-data-hints-43-drop-due-in-btc-price-bear-market&amp;sessionId=4492c4e802d41a18925fedccf58851bed1dd02b9&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1527608207069396992"></iframe></div>

<p>"What's interesting about the scenario of a -43% post-Death Cross crash however is that it would result in a $22000 BTC," the concluding tweet read, alongside a chart highlighting key return on investment (ROI) opportunities during generational bottoms. </p><blockquote>"Which ties in with the 200-SMA (orange), which tends to offer fantastic opportunities with outsized ROI for $BTC investors (green circles highlight this)."</blockquote><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078733346.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>BTC/USD annotated chart with 200-week MA. Source: Rekt Capital/ Twitter</em></figcaption></figure><h2>Facing up to the bear market</h2><p>Elsewhere, fellow analyst Filbfilb, co-founder of trading suite Decentrader, said the time had come to admit that Bitcoin is in a bear market.</p><p><strong><em>Related:&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-must-defend-these-price-levels-to-avoid-much-deeper-fall-analysis" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-must-defend-these-price-levels-to-avoid-much-deeper-fall-analysis/amp">Bitcoin must defend these price levels to avoid 'much deeper' fall: Analysis</a></em></strong></p><p>In his latest market update on May 20, Filbfilb <a href="https://www.decentrader.com/market_updates/where-next-for-bitcoin-and-crypto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">flagged</a> the one-year MA as the key level to regain to exit the quagmire which resulted after losing it as support in early April.</p><p>"Ultimately we continue to sit in a bear market. This has been the case since price retreated away from the 1yr moving average which we highlighted as a key risk [...] when price got rejected off that level," he wrote.</p><blockquote>"Until we can reclaim that level we have to face the reality that we are in a bear market for $BTC."</blockquote><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078733479.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>BTC/USD 1-day candle chart (Bitstamp) with 50, 200-day MAs. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p class="post-content__disclaimer">The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
</p>

 Bitcoin 'death cross' data hints 43% drop due in BTC price bear market 

<p>Crypto markets remain volatile and a handful of seasoned traders believe that the bearish trend will continue as long as stock markets are chasing new lows.</p><p>Most investors would agree that crypto is now in a bear market and the current price action for Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) and Ethereum (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price">ETH</a>) suggests that capitulation and consolidation are a ways away.</p><p>Data from <a href="https://pro.cointelegraph.com/?via=markets">Cointelegraph Markets Pro</a> and <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">TradingView</a> shows that Ether still struggles to reclaim the $2,000 level as support and this zone has been a notable support and resistance since February 2021.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078137792.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>ETH/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><h2>Ether needs a monthly close above $2,250</h2><p>Insight into the major support level Ether needs to clear by the monthly close to regain a bullish outlook was touched on by market analyst and pseudonymous Twitter user Rekt Capital, who <a href="https://twitter.com/rektcapital/status/1525955645958148096" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">posted</a> the following chart indicating the area near $2,269 is a key level. </p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078137875.jpg" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>ETH/USD 3-day chart. Source: Twitter</em></figcaption></figure><p>Rekt Capital said, </p><blockquote>“ETH is climbing closer and closer towards the key ~$2,250 level. The main question is whether that monthly level will flip into new resistance once reached.”</blockquote><h2>Traders target $1,650</h2><p>The possibility of a breakdown from the current support level was outlined in the following chart <a href="https://twitter.com/CryptoTony__/status/1526489701103808513" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">posted</a> by crypto trader and pseudonymous Twitter user Crypto Tony, who is “expecting another drop further into the OB” where they are looking to have some orders filled. </p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078137991.jpg" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>ETH/USDT 3-day chart. Source: Twitter</em></figcaption></figure><p>Crypto Tony said, </p><blockquote>“This move will be needed to engineer liquidity to propel us into the corrective wave. From there we see how it goes.”</blockquote><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/huge-testing-milestone-for-ethereum-ropsten-testnet-merge-set-for-june-8" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/huge-testing-milestone-for-ethereum-ropsten-testnet-merge-set-for-june-8/amp"><strong><em>‘Huge testing milestone’ for Ethereum: Ropsten testnet Merge set for June 8</em></strong></a></p><h2>Ether's head and shoulders structure is complete</h2><p>A potentially bearish sign appeared with the completion of a head and shoulders pattern on the weekly chart, a point highlighted in the following chart <a href="https://twitter.com/cryptocharts/status/1527383003491495936" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">posted</a> by CryptoCharts.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078138084.jpg" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>ETH/USD 1-week chart. Source: Twitter</em></figcaption></figure><p>CryptoCharts <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/ETHUSD/2FR2fRcZ-ETH-Will-Bounce-or-Break-on-this-Support/?offer_id=10&amp;aff_id=5962" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" data-amp="https://www-tradingview-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.tradingview.com/chart/ETHUSD/2FR2fRcZ-ETH-Will-Bounce-or-Break-on-this-Support/?amp">said</a>, </p><blockquote>“With the recent sideways crypto market, we can clearly spot it out as if it's a bounce or a breakout on the support highlighted. Here on the short-term timeframe, I will be keeping an eye closely to spot the breakout, or reversal breakout on the current support will lead the price towards the next support formed close to $1,300. Any bounce back will be continuing to rise toward $2,450.”</blockquote><p class="post-content__disclaimer">The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
</p>

 Bearish head and shoulders pattern forces Ethereum traders to re-adjust their price targets  

<p>Bitcoin’s (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price-index" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price-index">BTC</a>) tight correlation with the legacy markets continues to be a drag, especially as the United States equity markets remain in a firm bear trend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is on track for its eighth consecutive negative week and the S&amp;P 500 is close to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/19/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" data-amp="https://www-cnbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2022/05/19/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html">plunging</a> into the bear market territory.</p><p>Celsius (CEL) CEO Alex Mashinsky believes that the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/mashinsky-says-sharks-of-wall-street-circling-around-celsius-and-other-projects" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/mashinsky-says-sharks-of-wall-street-circling-around-celsius-and-other-projects/amp">short sellers on Wall Street</a> are looking for any weakness in crypto companies to “short and destroy.” Mashinsky blamed “the Sharks of Wall Street” for bringing down Terra (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/terra-price-index">LUNA</a>) and trying to destabilize Tether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index">USDT</a>) and Maker (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/maker-price-index">MKR</a>) and “many other companies,” including Celsius.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078144571.png" alt="" title="" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: </em><em>Coin360</em></figcaption></figure><p>Bear markets, though painful in the short term, tend to be good buying opportunities for long-term investors. However, it's important to remember thatwhen the next bull phase starts, not all coins will return to their former glory. </p><p>Every bull market generally has a new set of leaders; hence, traders should try to identify the cryptocurrencies that are leading the market rather than buying the laggards. Nic Carter put it nicely when he said that <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-veterans-extend-a-helping-hand-to-bear-market-newbies" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-veterans-extend-a-helping-hand-to-bear-market-newbies/amp">everything will not make a comeback</a> and “some things die permanently.”</p><p>Could Bitcoin and altcoins break below their recent lows or will bulls defend the supports successfully? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.</p><h2>BTC/USDT</h2><p>Bitcoin rebounded off the strong support at $28,630 on May 19 but the bulls could not push the price above the downtrend line. This suggests that bears have not yet given up and they continue to sell on rallies.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078144775.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>BTC/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>The bears will try to pull the price below $28,630. If they manage to do that, the BTC/USDT pair could drop to the May 20 intraday low at $26,700. This is an important support for the bulls to defend because if they fail to do that, the pair could resume its downtrend. The next support on the downside is $25,000 and then $21,800.</p><p>Contrary to this assumption, if the price rebounds off $28,630 and rises above the downtrend line, it will suggest strong accumulation at lower levels. The buyers will then try to push the price to the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) ($32,332). If bulls clear this hurdle, the pair could rise toward the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level at $34,823.</p><h2>ETH/USDT</h2><p>The bears pulled Ether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price">ETH</a>) below the immediate support at $1,940 on May 18 and 19 but they could not capitalize on this move. The bulls bought the dip but could not push the price to the overhead resistance at $2,159. </p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078144846.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>ETH/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>Strong selling at higher levels has pulled the price to the uptrend line on May 20. If the ETH/USDT pair breaks below the uptrend line, the decline could extend to the crucial support at $1,700. The bears will have to sink the pair below this level to suggest the start of the next leg of the downtrend.</p><p>Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns up from the current level or $1,700, it will suggest buying on dips. The pair will then make one more attempt to clear the overhead hurdle at $2,159. If they manage to do that, it will suggest that the pair may have bottomed out. </p><h2>BNB/USDT</h2><p><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/binance-coin-price-index" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/binance-coin-price-index">BNB</a>&nbsp;has been consolidating near the overhead resistance at $320 for the past few days. A tight consolidation near a stiff resistance indicates that bulls are not dumping their positions as they expect the recovery to continue.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078144915.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>BNB/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>If bulls thrust the price above the overhead resistance zone between $320 and the 20-day EMA ($326), it will suggest that the BNB/USDT pair may have bottomed out. The pair could then start its northward journey toward the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) ($381).</p><p>Conversely, if the price turns down from the overhead resistance and breaks below $285, it will suggest that the bulls have given up and may be closing their positions. That could pull the pair to $265 and thereafter to the critical support at $211.</p><h2>XRP/USDT</h2><p>Ripple (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/xrp-price-index" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/xrp-price-index">XRP</a>) bounced off the $0.40 to $0.38 support zone on May 19 but the bulls could not clear the overhead resistance at $0.45. This suggests that while bulls are buying on dips, the bears have maintained their selling pressure near overhead resistance levels.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078145004.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>XRP/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>If the price continues lower and breaks below $0.38, the XRP/USDT pair could drop to $0.33. This is an important level to keep an eye on because a break below it could resume the downtrend. The pair could then drop to $0.24.</p><p>Contrary to this assumption, if the price rebounds off the support zone once again, the buyers will try to push the pair to $0.50. A break and close above this level will be the first indication that the pair may be bottoming out. The next stop on the upside could be the 50-day SMA ($0.64).</p><h2>ADA/USDT </h2><p>The bulls are attempting to defend the $0.50 support in Cardano (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ada-price-index">ADA</a>) but the bears are in no mood to let go of their advantage and they continue to sell on every minor rally.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078145063.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>ADA/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>If the price slips and sustains below $0.50, the ADA/USDT pair could retest the critical support at $0.40. This is an important level for the bulls to defend because a break below it could signal the resumption of the downtrend. The pair could then drop to $0.33 and thereafter to $0.28.</p><p>Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns up from the current level, the buyers will attempt to push the pair above the 20-day EMA ($0.63). If they manage to do that, it will suggest that the selling pressure could be reducing. The pair could then rise to the breakdown level at $0.74.</p><h2>SOL/USDT</h2><p>Solana (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/solana-price-index">SOL</a>) is in a strong downtrend. Attempts by the bulls to start a recovery on May 19 failed as bears continue to sell at higher levels. The bears pulled the price back below the psychological level at $50 on May 20.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078145143.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>SOL/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>If the price continues lower, the SOL/USDT pair could drop to $43. This level may act as a strong support but if bears pull the price below it, the next stop could be $37. If this level also cracks, the decline could extend to $32.</p><p>On the contrary, if the price turns up sharply from the current level or the support, it will suggest accumulation by the bulls. The buyers will then attempt to push the pair to the 20-day EMA ($64). A break and close above this level could open the doors for a possible rally to $75.</p><h2>DOGE/USDT</h2><p>Dogecoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/doge-price-index">DOGE</a>) bounced off the immediate support at $0.08 on May 18 but the recovery continues to face selling at higher levels. This suggests that the sentiment remains negative and traders are selling on every minor rise.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078145213.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>DOGE/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>If the price continues lower and breaks below $0.08, the bears will fancy their chances and try to pull the DOGE/USDT pair below the May 12 intraday low at $0.06. If they manage to do that, the next leg of the downtrend could begin and the pair may drop to $0.04.</p><p>This negative view could invalidate in the short term if the price turns up from the current level or the support beneath and rises above the psychological resistance at $10. Such a move could open the doors for a recovery to the 50-day SMA ($0.12).</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-preparing-a-bear-trap-ahead-of-the-merge-eth-price-to-4k-next" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-preparing-a-bear-trap-ahead-of-the-merge-eth-price-to-4k-next/amp"><strong><em>Ethereum preparing a 'bear trap' ahead of the Merge — ETH price to $4K next?</em></strong></a></p><h2>DOT/USDT</h2><p>Polkadot (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/polkadot-price-index">DOT</a>) slipped below $10.37 on May 18 but the bulls purchased this dip and tried to push the price back above the level on May 19. However, the bears stood their ground and are attempting to flip $10.37 into resistance.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078145359.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>DOT/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>If the price slips below $9.22, the DOT/USDT pair could retest the support zone between $8 and $7.30. The bears will have to sink and sustain the price below this zone to indicate the resumption of the downtrend. The next support on the downside is $5.</p><p>Conversely, if the price rebounds off the support levels, the bulls will attempt to push the price to the 20-day EMA ($12). This level may act as a strong resistance but if bulls overcome this barrier, it will suggest that the sellers may be losing their grip. The pair could then attempt a rally to the 50-day SMA ($16).</p><h2>AVAX/USDT</h2><p>Avalanche (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/avalanche-price-index">AVAX</a>) is in a downtrend. The price action of the past few days has formed a pennant, which usually acts as a continuation pattern. </p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078145467.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>AVAX/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>If the price breaks below the support line of the pennant, the AVAX/USDT pair could retest the critical support at $23.51. A break and close below this level could signal the resumption of the downtrend. The pair could drop to $20 and thereafter to $18.</p><p>Alternatively, if the price rises from the current level, the buyers will try to push the pair above the pennant. If they manage to do that, the pair could pick up momentum and rise to the 20-day EMA ($42.35). The bulls will have to clear this barrier to challenge the breakdown level at $51.</p><h2>SHIB/USDT</h2><p>Shiba Inu (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/shiba-inu-price-index">SHIB</a>) has been stuck between $0.000010 and $0.000014 for the past few days, indicating indecision among the bulls and the bears. This indicates that bulls are attempting to form a bottom but the bears are not allowing the rebound to sustain.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078145548.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>SHIB/USDT daily chart. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>If the price rises above $0.000014, it will suggest that bulls have absorbed the supply. That could clear the path for a possible rally to $0.000017 where the bears may again pose a strong challenge. The bulls will have to clear this resistance to indicate a potential trend change.</p><p>Contrary to this assumption, if the price slips below $0.000010, the pair could drop to the May 12 intraday low at $0.000009. If this support cracks, the decline could extend to $0.000007 and then to $0.000005.</p><p><em>The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.</em></p><p><em>Market data is provided by </em><a href="https://hitbtc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow"><em>HitBTC</em></a><em> exchange.</em></p><div class="article-subscription-widget"><div class="article-subscription-widget__form"><form class="article-subscription-widget-form"><div class="article-subscription-widget-form__delivery"> DELIVERED EVERY FRIDAY </div><div class="article-subscription-widget-form__title">Subscribe to the Finance Re<span>defi</span>ned newsletter</div><div class="article-subscription-widget-form__input-wrap"><input id="input" type="text" class="article-subscription-widget-form__input"><label for="input" class="article-subscription-widget-form__input-label">Email Address</label></div><div class="article-subscription-widget-form__btn-wrap"><button type="submit" class="article-subscription-widget-form__btn"> Subscribe </button></div><div class="article-subscription-widget-form__tos">By subscribing, you agree to our <a target="_blank" href="/terms-and-privacy">Terms of Services and Privacy Policy</a></div></form></div><div class="article-subscription-widget__image-wrap"><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078145642.svg" alt="" class="article-subscription-widget__image article-subscription-widget__image_defi_newsletter" pinger-seen="true"></div></div>

 Price analysis 5/20: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, SOL, DOGE, DOT, AVAX, SHIB 

<p>On May 12, the total crypto market capitalization reached its lowest close in 10 months and the metric continues to test the $1.23 trillion support level. However, the following seven days were reasonably calm while Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) gained 3.4% and Ether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price">ETH</a>) added a modest 1.5%. Presently, the aggregate crypto cap stands at $1.31 trillion.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078131155.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>Total crypto market cap, USD billion. Source: TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>Ripples from Terra's (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/terra-price-index">LUNA</a>) collapse continue to impact crypto markets, especially the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/terra-peg-mechanism-in-doubt-as-ust-crashes-to-67-cents" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/terra-peg-mechanism-in-doubt-as-ust-crashes-to-67-cents/amp">decentralized finance industry</a>. Moreover, the recent decline in traditional markets has led to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/analysts-note-parallels-with-march-2020-will-this-time-be-different" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/analysts-note-parallels-with-march-2020-will-this-time-be-different/amp">a loss of $7.6 trillion</a> in market cap from the Nasdaq&nbsp;Stock Market Index, which is higher than the dot-com bubble and the March 2020 sell-offs.</p><p>On May 17, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/2-key-ethereum-price-metrics-suggest-traders-will-struggle-to-hold-the-2k-support-level" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/2-key-ethereum-price-metrics-suggest-traders-will-struggle-to-hold-the-2k-support-level/amp">confirmed their intention to suppress inflation</a> by raising interest rates but he cautioned that the Fed's tightening movement could impact the unemployment rate.</p><p>The bearish sentiment spilled to crypto markets and the "Fear and Greed Index," a data-driven sentiment gauge, hit 8/100 on May 17. This is the metric’s <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/fear-greed-index-hits-lowest-since-march-2020-even-as-bitcoin-price-hits-30-5k" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/fear-greed-index-hits-lowest-since-march-2020-even-as-bitcoin-price-hits-30-5k/amp">lowest value since March 28, 2020</a>,&nbsp;two weeks after the generalized crash that sent oil futures to negative levels and brought Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) below $4,000.</p><p>Below are the winners and losers from the past seven days. While the two leading cryptocurrencies presented modest gains, a handful of mid-capitalization altcoins rallied 15% or higher.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078131274.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>Weekly winners and losers among the top 80 coins. Source: Nomics</em></figcaption></figure><p>Monero (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/xmr-price-index">XMR</a>) rallied 22% as investors awaited the "tail emission" to be implemented at block 2,641,623 or sometime around June 4. The community <a href="https://twitter.com/monero/status/1521841252429451265" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">decided</a> to include a 0.6 XMR minimum reward in every block, so miners are not 100% reliant on transaction fees.</p><p>Cosmos (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/cosmos-price-index">ATOM</a>) gained 16.5%, a movement that seems a part of a broader retracement that started on May 12 when ATOM fell to its eleven-month low near $8. It is worth noting that its parent chain, Cosmos Hub, witnessed <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cosmos-price-rebounds-45-in-one-week-despite-terra-s-debacle-what-s-next-for-atom" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/cosmos-price-rebounds-45-in-one-week-despite-terra-s-debacle-what-s-next-for-atom/amp">massive capital outflows from its liquidity pools</a>, according to reporting from Cointelegraph.</p><p>Klaytn (KLAY), a blockchain-backed by South Korean internet giant Kakao, announced on May 16 that it would provide infrastructure, and initial nodes, and develop early use cases for the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), providing an entry into the Chinese market</p><h2>The Tether premium shows slight discomfort</h2><p>The OKX Tether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index">USDT</a>) premium is a good gauge of China-based retail trader crypto demand. It measures the difference between China-based peer-to-peer (P2P) trades and the United States dollar.</p><p>Excessive buying demand tends to pressure the indicator above fair value at 100% and during bearish markets, Tether’s market offer is flooded and causes a 4% or higher discount.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078131347.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>Tether (USDT) peer-to-peer vs. USD/CNY. Source: OKX</em></figcaption></figure><p>The Tether premium peaked at 5.4% on May 12, its highest level in more than six months, but the movement could have been related to the Terra ecosystem’s massive outflows, which were mainly the USD Terra (UST) stablecoin.</p><p>More recently, the indicator showed a modest deterioration as it currently holds a 1.8% discount. The lack of retail demand is not especially concerning because the total cryptocurrency market capitalization lost 34% in the past month.</p><h2>Altcoin futures reflect disinterest in leverage</h2><p>Perpetual contracts, also known as inverse swaps, have an embedded rate that is usually charged every eight hours. Exchanges use this fee to avoid exchange risk imbalances.</p><p>A positive funding rate indicates that longs (buyers) demand more leverage. However, the opposite situation occurs when shorts (sellers) require additional leverage, causing the funding rate to turn negative.</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078131434.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>Accumulated perpetual futures funding rate on May 20. Source: Coinglass</em></figcaption></figure><p>Perpetual contracts are reflecting mixed sentiment as Bitcoin and Ethereum hold a slightly positive (bullish) funding rate, but altcoins signal the opposite. For example, Solana's (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/solana-price-index">SOL</a>) negative 0.35% weekly rate equals 1.5% per month, which is not a concern for most derivatives traders.</p><p>Considering that derivatives indicators are showing little improvement, there's a lack of trust from investors as the total crypto market capitalization battles to keep the $1.23 trillion support. Until this sentiment improves, the odds of an adverse price movement remain high.</p><p><em>The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the </em><a href="https://twitter.com/noshitcoins" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow"><em>author</em></a><em> and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.</em></p>

 Altcoin prices briefly rebounded, but derivatives metrics predict worsening conditions 

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                            <p>According to Thursday’s reports, the recent decline in bitcoin’s value has not altered the investment tactics of MicroStrategy.</p>
<p>MicroStrategy surged more than 10 percent on Thursday alongside Bitcoin, which was trading about 5 percent higher despite the S&amp;P 500 struggling to trade flat.</p>
<p>Saylor is evidently still optimistic about bitcoin despite the recent market decline. Since March 29, the business intelligence and cloud services company has held 129,218 BTC though it&nbsp;has been trading in a sharp downturn.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Suggested Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/shiba-inu-seen-by-experts-to-go-extinct/">Shiba Inu Extinction: Finder Panel Predicts SHIB To Have Zero Value By 2030</a></em></strong></p>
<h2>Bitcoin To Be Worth Over A Million Dollars</h2>
<p>Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, stated in an interview with Yahoo Finance Live on Thursday that he expects Bitcoin will surpass $1 million in value in&nbsp;the future and that he believes it&nbsp;is the “currency of the future.”</p>
<p>Saylor stated, “There is no pricing goal.&nbsp;I anticipate that we will forever purchase bitcoin at the local peak. And I anticipate bitcoin to go into the&nbsp;millions. So we’re really patient. We believe that it is the future of money.”</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-181901 aligncenter" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078136201.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/sa-640x360.jpg 640w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/sa-980x551.jpg 980w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/sa-768x432.jpg 768w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/sa-750x422.jpg 750w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/sa-1140x641.jpg 1140w, https://bitcoinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/sa.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" data-pin-no-hover="true"></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Michael Saylor has a very bullish prediction for the "currency of the future" (TheStreet).</pre>
<p>The billionaire stated that the fact that the majority of cryptocurrencies are not registered securities creates a barrier that can deter potential investors and hinder the asset class as a whole.</p>
<h2>Microstrategy Believes Bitcoin Is The ‘Superior Crypto’</h2>
<p>Saylor stated, “Once people understand why bitcoin is superior to everything else, institutions will invest large quantities of money, and we won’t have to battle through this lengthy explanation of how we differ from 19,000 other crypto currencies.”</p>
<p>Bitcoin, according to Saylor, has declined alongside other risk assets, such as stocks, as the Federal Reserve has pushed to raise interest rates and investors have sold off riskier assets or assets with soaring prices.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-medium" src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653078136291.com/x/xthfQLWf/" width="1824" height="812" data-pin-no-hover="true"></p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">BTC total market cap at $576 billion on the daily chart | Source: <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/ajrdy9Lf/" rel="noopener">TradingView.com</a></pre>
<p>This, according to the CEO, is distinct from the collapse of the stablecoin TerraUSD and its sister token LUNA, which he believes will expedite regulatory efforts for stablecoins and security tokens.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Suggested Reading | <a href="https://bitcoinist.com/russia-to-legalize-cryptocurrency/">Russia To Legalize Cryptocurrency As Form Of Payment, Minister Says</a></em></strong></p>
<p>Saylor has been positive on bitcoin for some time. In February, he stated that there is evidence of a significant increase in institutional acceptance. In November of 2017, he predicted that bitcoin would become a $100 trillion asset class.</p>
<p>“Over time, as people get more educated and comfortable, I believe we will recover from this drawdown,” he said.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, MicroStrategy’s new chief financial officer, Andrew Kang, told Bloomberg that the company has no plans to liquidate any of its bitcoin holdings despite the current sell-off frenzy caused by unpredictable bitcoin prices.</p>
<pre style="text-align: center;">Featured image from YouTube, chart from <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/chart/ajrdy9Lf/" rel="noopener">TradingView.com</a></pre>
                            
	                        
                                                            
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MicroStrategy Stock Rallies 10% As CEO Saylor Predicts Bitcoin Will ‘Go Into The Millions’

<p>Ethereum's native token, Ether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price">ETH</a>), continues to face downside risks in a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-in-danger-of-25-crash-as-eth-price-forms-classic-bearish-technical-pattern" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-in-danger-of-25-crash-as-eth-price-forms-classic-bearish-technical-pattern/amp">higher interest rate environment</a>. But one analyst believes that the token's next selloff move could turn into a bear trap as the market factors in the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-strives-to-migrate-into-a-brighter-future-report" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-strives-to-migrate-into-a-brighter-future-report/amp">possible release of the Merge</a><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-strives-to-migrate-into-a-brighter-future-report" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-strives-to-migrate-into-a-brighter-future-report/amp"></a>&nbsp;this coming August.</p><h2>ETH to $4K?</h2><p>Ether's price could reach $4,000 by 2022's end, <a href="https://twitter.com/IamCryptoWolf/status/1527206334441078784" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to a technical setup shared on May 20 by&nbsp;Wolf, an independent market analyst.</p><p>The analyst envisioned ETH moving inside a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cosmos-price-rebounds-45-in-one-week-despite-terra-s-debacle-what-s-next-for-atom" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/cosmos-price-rebounds-45-in-one-week-despite-terra-s-debacle-what-s-next-for-atom/amp">multi-month ascending triangle&nbsp;pattern</a>, which comprises a horizontal trendline resistance and rising trendline support. </p><p>Notably, ETH's latest retest of the structure's lower trendline could initiate a big rebound toward its upper trendline, which sits around the $4,000-level, as shown below.&nbsp;</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653075184381.jpeg" alt="" title="" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>ETH/USD three-day price chart featuring ascending triangle setups. Source: Wolf/TradingView</em></figcaption></figure><p>Wolf took his bullish cues from a similar triangle setup from 2016, whose formation preceded a major bull run from $1 to $27. Similarly, another ascending triangle occurrence in 2017 coincided with a bullish follow-up, wherein ETH/USD rose 270% to over $1,500.</p><h2>The Merge vs. low liquidity "death spiral"</h2><p>Wolf's fractal-based analysis came as Preston Van Loon, one of the Ethereum core developers, confirmed that the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-devs-tip-the-merge-will-occur-in-august-if-everything-goes-to-plan" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-devs-tip-the-merge-will-occur-in-august-if-everything-goes-to-plan/amp">blockchain project's much-anticipated upgrade</a> to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism would occur sometime in August.</p><p>Wolf <a href="https://twitter.com/IamCryptoWolf/status/1527604088900304896" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">noted</a> that Ethereum was setting up a "bear trap," which would make sense prior to the upgrade, complimenting his technical setup, as discussed above.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" class="" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 297px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NlbnNpdGl2ZV9tZWRpYV9pbnRlcnN0aXRpYWxfMTM5NjMiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoiaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd190d2VldF9yZXN1bHRfbWlncmF0aW9uXzEzOTc5Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InR3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1527604088900304896&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fcointelegraph.com%2Fnews%2Fethereum-preparing-a-bear-trap-ahead-of-the-merge-eth-price-to-4k-next&amp;sessionId=7d8715b26a6c83e78d1d58e9edb55adcbc18e918&amp;siteScreenName=cointelegraph&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=c8fe9736dd6fb%3A1649830956492&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1527604088900304896"></iframe></div>

<p>The pending upgrade was <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/a-fair-comparison-ethereum-growth-outpaces-bitcoin-in-2021" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/a-fair-comparison-ethereum-growth-outpaces-bitcoin-in-2021/amp">one of the key catalysts</a> behind Ether's price rally in 2021, as many investors believed it would improve the long-standing scalability problem in the Ethereum blockchain while cutting transaction and gas costs. Nonetheless, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/vitalik-buterin-outlines-endgame-roadmap-for-eth-2-0" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/vitalik-buterin-outlines-endgame-roadmap-for-eth-2-0/amp">Ethereum Foundation kept delaying the launch</a>.</p><p>"Undoubtedly, this lack of progress has played a major role in Ethereum's recent price decline,"&nbsp;&nbsp;Bitfreedom Research, a tech-stock and crypto research entity,&nbsp;<a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4507965-ethereum-liquidity-driven-death-spiral" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" data-amp="https://seekingalpha-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/seekingalpha.com/amp/article/4507965-ethereum-liquidity-driven-death-spiral">noted</a>&nbsp;while predicting ETH's price to decline toward $950–$1,900 by October 2022. </p><p><strong><em>Related:&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/analysts-note-parallels-with-march-2020-will-this-time-be-different" data-amp="https://cointelegraph-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/cointelegraph.com/news/analysts-note-parallels-with-march-2020-will-this-time-be-different/amp">Analysts note parallels with March 2020: Will this time be different?</a></em></strong></p><p>The firm cited higher interest rates as the core reason behind its bearish outlook for Ethereum, noting:</p><blockquote>"The crypto market moves extraordinarily fast, which means crypto companies need LOTS of cash to power rapid growth. With no cash available, this can lead Ethereum's ERC20-token economy to move in a death spiral."</blockquote><p class="post-content__disclaimer">The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
</p>

 Ethereum preparing a 'bear trap' ahead of the Merge —&nbsp;ETH price to $4K next? 

<p>Laurentino Cortizo, the president of Panama, has said he won’t sign off on a crypto bill recently approved by the country’s National Assembly without additional Anti-Money Laundering rules.</p><p>Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Latin America conference on Wednesday, Cortizo <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5CcDkDiFog" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">said</a> the bill recently passed by Panama’s legislature must go through legal checks before reaching his desk, but added he needed more information before potentially signing it into law. Describing the legislation as an “innovative law” and a “good law,” the president said he approved of certain aspects of the bill but hinted at possible illicit uses of cryptocurrencies that needed to be addressed.</p><p>“I will not sign that law at this moment,” said Cortizo. “If the law has clauses related to money laundering activities — Anti-Money Laundering activities — that’s very important for us.”</p><figure><img src="https://imagesofcmsprod.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/post/1653071646617.png" pinger-seen="true"><figcaption style="text-align: center;"><em>Panama President&nbsp;Laurentino Cortizo speaking at the&nbsp;Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Latin America conference on Wednesday</em></figcaption></figure><p>Panama’s “Crypto Law” <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/panama-s-legislature-approves-bill-regulating-crypto">passed in the National Assembly</a> following the third debate on April 28. According to the legislative body, the bill was <a href="https://twitter.com/asambleapa/status/1519713318440734723" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">aimed</a> at regulating “the trading and use of crypto assets, the issuance of digital value, the tokenization of precious metals and other assets, payment systems and other provisions.”&nbsp;</p><p>In contrast to El Salvador’s Bitcoin Law, which required local businesses to <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-for-beginners">accept Bitcoin</a>, the Panama Crypto Law, if passed, would likely give residents and businesses the option of using and accepting cryptocurrency. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DYbgDOLj0ZQHJ1xBAl4KqgtBK2Zz4lFf/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">According</a> to an early draft of the bill, many businesses would not need a special license to accept crypto.</p><p>Pro-crypto lawmaker Gabriel Silva has <a href="https://twitter.com/gabrielsilva8_7/status/1519713899230158851" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">suggested</a> passage of the Crypto Law would help foster financial inclusion in Panama and create additional opportunities for employment. However, economist Ernesto Bazán has <a href="https://twitter.com/ernestobazan/status/1527266166233874434" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">called</a> for President Cortizo to veto the bill, claiming the lack of clear regulations in the country was unlikely to inspire trust in cryptocurrencies, risking the financial stability of banks and the local economy.</p><p>“It is essential to have competent professionals, supervisory capacity and sufficiency, even more so in such a novel and specialized subject,” <a href="https://twitter.com/ernestobazan/status/1527266197074497537" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">said</a> Bazán. “Weak regulation would open a window of opportunity for greater fraud, cyberattacks and criminal activities that would imply a loss of confidence in the country and its International Banking Center [...] We await the veto of the law and that a comprehensive analysis of the risks that this regulation implies be carried out. For the good of the country.”</p><p><strong><em>Related: </em></strong><a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ukraine-s-president-signs-law-establishing-regulatory-framework-for-crypto"><strong><em>Ukraine's president signs law establishing regulatory framework for crypto</em></strong></a></p><p>Silva helped <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/republic-of-panama-introduces-bill-for-regulating-crypto">introduce the Panama Crypto Law</a> to the National Assembly in September 2021, on the same day El Salvador officially began recognizing Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) as legal tender. The bill moved out of the Economic Affairs Committee on April 21 before being approved by the National Assembly on April 28 and is currently awaiting approval or veto from President Cortizo.</p>

 Panama’s president says he won’t sign crypto bill into law ’at this moment’ 

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                            <p>Naughty MOAI is a Moai-themed NFT collection that aims to promote the exchange of art, ideas, and creative activity. The team embraces the unlimited possibilities of NFT in facilitating the exchange of art, content, and real-world merchandise by creating a metaverse supported by unique MOAI NFT assets and contents.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.naughtymoai.com" rel="noopener">The Naughty MOAI</a> is developed by sophisticated creative algorithms with over 100+ MOAI features and over 10 billion combinations driven by 10+ specified traits such as expressions, colors, backgrounds, clothing, accessories, symbols, art forms, and so on.</p>
<p>Naughty MOAI is more than an NFT collectible because it comes with metaverse bonuses and rewards. Further, MOAI Token will allow you to trade virtual lands and other assets! MOAI is undoubtedly creating a creative library of digital assets that will impact the future for everyone.</p>
<p>The project also aims to create a sustainable and community-focused ecosystem in the real-life and metaverse, to develop 2D and 3D art that connects people emotionally, and to create digital asset libraries that promote the penetration of MOAI NFTs in different use cases.</p>
<p>Through self-sustaining and community-centric value sharing mechanisms, the team aims to provide a nurturing atmosphere for creators and artists to display their creativity. Individuality and Inclusiveness a key edge that makes it stand out.</p>
<h3>Naughty Moai Project Is the Go-To Platform for Artist</h3>
<p>The idea behind Naughty Moai is to create a creative ecosystem and uncover new ways for artists to interact with the actual world through Metaverse activities.</p>
<p>Naughty Moai’s major goal is the metaverse access. <a href="https://twitter.com/naughtymoai/" rel="noopener">MOAI</a> aims to create an immersive virtual universe built on blockchain virtual hubs like the Sandbox and Horizon Worlds, where NFT holders can turn their Moai into metaverse avatars.</p>
<p>Users can engage with each other through Virtual Reality and/or Augmented Reality, which is solely available to the MOAI community, by extending the use case of Naughty Moai into the Metaverse.</p>
<p>Furthermore, each MOAI holder will be able to interact with the gaming environment on a deeper level, allowing them to buy virtual properties.</p>
<h3>Merging the Virtual and Real World</h3>
<p>Every NFT is a voyage of color, beauty, and culture, and each MOAI is unique. As a result, Naughty MOAIs naughtiness echoes a fun interpretation of a lost paradise. Each MOAI’s hedonistic and entertaining appeal depicts the many facets of the artistic realm.</p>
<p>Having a lovely motif; always naughty, always entertaining, never too serious. The platform’s goal is to bring the virtual and real worlds together.</p>
<p>MOAI NFTs are 6000 unique, naughty, cheeky MOAI NFTs that live on the Ethereum blockchain and are looking to make a splash in both the virtual and real worlds!</p>
<h3>Consensus and Community</h3>
<p>The MOAI community comes to life on Metaverse platforms, where anyone interested in MOAI can hop on.</p>
<p>MOAI merchandise is now available in physical stores, thanks to the collaboration with retail partners. Every MOAI NFT holder may now sit back and reap the benefits of his or her virtual and physical journey through the licensing and merchandising of MOAI brand assets.</p>
<p>MOAI NFT holders will also receive first access to upcoming MOAI tokens and the MOAI metaverse, as well as priority in any future MOAI digital and physical offers.</p>
<p>Participants in the initial minting of Naughty Moai NFT will receive a limited edition Naughty Moai statue as well as the first set of MOAI trading cards.</p>
<p><a href="https://t.me/naughtymoaiEN">Naughty Moai</a> also supports collaborations with other projects and art-related organizations both inside and outside Metaverse.</p>
<p>Collaborations with art centers, galleries, and museums will lead to more significant future paths for the community.</p>
<h3>The Uniqueness of Naughty MOAI</h3>
<p>To stay loyal to its aim and orders, the Project intends to take a balanced approach to create an ecosystem and community that spans both the physical and digital realms.</p>
<p>Voxel assets in the Moai metaverse, Seniorities in VR/AR Web3 gameplays, 3D toys and collectibles, and Whitelist priority to all future drops are just a few of the NFT’s major features.</p>
<p>The team aspires for the Public Mint of Naughty MOAI NFT after reaching a milestone by inviting MOAI enthusiasts and partners to join the dynamic community of Naughty MOAI and the whitelist for NFT services.</p>
<h3>The MOAI Team</h3>
<p>The team is made up of young, free-spirited, and quirky individuals that want to achieve something unique, original, and enjoyable.</p>
<p>The team is hoping to utilize long-standing relationships with product developers, licensors/licensees, and retailers throughout the world, with over 50 years of combined experience in merchandising, licensing, and distribution of gifts, collectibles, and toys.</p>
<p>As a result, a MOAI kingdom will emerge, not only in the virtual world but also in the actual world.</p>
<p>With their true art style, the team seeks to blend the old and the new, the real and the digital, the classic and the modern.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
                            
	                        
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Naughty MOAI – The Ecosystem For Real World Impactation on Metaverse

<p>TerraUSD (UST) is an algorithmic stablecoin that is pegged at $1.00. But, on the evening of May 19, it was <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/terrausd/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">trading</a> for $0.083.</p><p>This isn’t supposed to happen, of course, but last week UST, along with its affiliated coin Terra (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/terra-price-index">LUNA</a>), performed a sort of death spiral that “wiped nearly $50 billion of investor wealth in a few short days,” according to NYDIG’s May 13 newsletter.</p><p>The crash shook the crypto sector, but it also raised some questions: Is this about a single flawed project or is it also about an entire class of cryptocurrencies — algorithmic stablecoins — which use an arbitrage mechanism instead of fiat reserves to keep their market price stable? That is, are algo stables inherently unstable?</p><p>Also, how have last week’s events affected more traditional stablecoins, like Tether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/tether-price-index">USDT</a>), the industry’s largest, but which also briefly lost its 1:1 peg to the United States dollar? And, what about implications for the cryptocurrency and blockchain space generally — has it too been tarred by UST’s fall? </p><p>Finally, what lessons, if any, can be drawn from the week’s tumultuous events so that this doesn’t happen again?</p><h2>Can algo stables survive?</h2><p>As the dust settles, some are asking if the UST/LUNA flatlining spells the beginning of the end for algorithmic stablecoins as a class. For the record: Some algo stables, including UST, may be partially collateralized, but algo stables rely mainly on market maker “arbitrage” activity to maintain their $1.00 market price.&nbsp;</p><p>Pure algo stables, which put up no collateral at all, are “inherently fragile,” according to Ryan Clements, assistant professor at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law. They “rely on numerous assumptions for operational stability, which are neither certain nor guaranteed.” As he further explained to Cointelegraph:</p><blockquote>“Specifically, they require ongoing demand, willing market participants to perform arbitrage and reliable price information. None of these are certain and all of them have been tenuous during times of crisis or heightened volatility.”</blockquote><p>For these reasons, last week’s bank run on LUNA and UST and the ensuing “death spiral” that resulted could have been predicted, said Clements, who indeed <a href="http://www.wakeforestlawreview.com/2021/10/built-to-fail-the-inherent-fragility-of-algorithmic-stablecoins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">warned</a> of something like this in an October 2021 paper published in the Wake Forest Law Review.&nbsp;</p><p>“Prior to the failure of UST, I argued that algorithmic stablecoins — those that are not fully collateralized — are based purely on confidence and trust in the economic incentives of the stablecoin issuer’s underlying ecosystem. As a result, there is nothing stable about them.”</p><p>“I don’t see how algorithmic stablecoins can survive,” Yves Longchamp, head of research at SEBA Bank — a Swiss regulated digital assets bank — told Cointelegraph. Last week’s drawdown in the stablecoin space showed that:</p><blockquote>“Not all of them are created equal and that quality matters. Relatively transparent, fully-collateralized fiat stablecoin USD Coin does better than somewhat opaque fully-collateralized fiat stablecoin Tether, which, in turn, does better than partially collateralized, algorithmic stablecoin UST.”</blockquote><h2>Is more collateral the answer?</h2><p>Others, like Ganesh Viswanath-Natraj, assistant professor of finance at Warwick Business School, agreed that algo stablecoins are “inherently fragile,” but only insofar as they are under-collateralized. They can be shored up by “dollar reserves or an equivalent in stablecoins on the blockchain. Alternatively, they can adopt a system of over-collateralization through smart contracts.” The latter is how decentralized stablecoins like Dai (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/dai-price-index">DAI</a>) and Fei (FEI) work.</p><p>Kyle Samani, co-founder of Multicoin Capital, largely agreed. “The problem with UST wasn’t the algorithm, but the lack of collateral.”</p><p>“An algorithmic stablecoin is very challenging,” Campbell Harvey, Duke University finance professor and co-author of <em>DeFi and the Future of Finance</em>, told Cointelegraph. “Every time you’re under-collateralized, you run the risk of a so-called bank run.” </p><p>What was worse in the UST case is that it used an affiliated cryptocurrency, LUNA, to help keep its price steady. LUNA was “highly correlated with the fate of UST,” said Harvey, and when one began to sink, the other followed, which drove the first token’s price down even more, and so on. He added:</p><blockquote>“Does this mean it will be difficult to launch another algorithmic stablecoin? Yes. Does this mean the idea disappears? I’m not sure about that. I’d never say never.”&nbsp;</blockquote><p>What is more certain is that UST was using a flawed model, insufficiently stress-testing and lacking in circuit breaking mechanisms to break the fall when the death spiral began, said Harvey.</p><p><strong><em>Recent:&nbsp;‘<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/defi-in-europe-has-no-lobby-says-co-founder-of-unstoppable-finance">DeFi in Europe has no lobby,’ says co-founder of Unstoppable Finance</a></em></strong></p><h2>Are algo stables even needed?</h2><p>One hears again and again that algorithmic stablecoins are a “fascinating” experiment with important implications for the future of global finance. Indeed, a purely algorithmic stablecoin that sustains operational stability without reserves is sometimes viewed as the “holy grail” in <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/defi-101/defi-a-comprehensive-guide-to-decentralized-finance">decentralized finance</a> (DeFi) development, Clements told Cointelegraph, adding:</p><blockquote>“This is because, if it could be attained, it could scale in a capital efficient manner and still be ‘censorship resistant.’”&nbsp;</blockquote><p>“We need a decentralized stablecoin,” Emin Gün Sirer, founder and CEO of Ava Labs, <a href="https://twitter.com/el33th4xor/status/1523968918934728709?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1523968918934728709%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcryptoslate.com%2Favalanche-founder-claims-only-one-algorithmic-stablecoin-can-succeed-defends-terras-ust%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">declared</a> last week. “Fiat-backed stables are subject to legal seizure and capture. A decentralized economy needs a decentralized stablecoin whose backing store cannot be frozen or confiscated.”</p><p>Are stablecoins subject to seizure? “This is certainly true,” commented Samani, “but it hasn’t been much of a problem historically. In general I think most people overstate this risk.”</p><p>“I see the argument,” Todd Phillips, director of financial regulation and corporate governance at the Center for American Progress and a former Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation lawyer, told Cointelegraph.</p><p>What he can’t understand, however, is how decentralized assets get around this conundrum: Decentralized assets are invariably more volatile than traditional assets, and so to pledge that their assets will hold a stable value — and not back them with stable assets like U.S. dollar but with other decentralized assets, like LUNA, or an arbitrage mechanism — is ultimately just asking for a UST-type scenario. </p><p>Many were deploring Terra and its “flawed” stablecoin model last week, but maybe the notion of an algorithmic stablecoin in itself isn’t so outlandish, especially if one takes a more historic view of money. Look at how the U.S. dollar and other currencies evolved in terms of their backing or “reserves,” Alex McDougall, the president and COO of Stablecorp — a Canadian fintech firm, told Cointelegraph — further explaining:</p><blockquote>“Fiat currencies started out as ‘fully-backed,’ like by gold, silver, etc, and evolved into basically algorithmic currencies with the central banks being the opaque algorithm underpinning and managing their value.”</blockquote><h2>Consequences for crypto generally</h2><p>In the longer term, will the TerraUSD collapse have a lasting impact on the larger cryptocurrency and blockchain world?</p><p>“It will help formulate clear principles on stablecoin design and the need for stable and liquid reserves to back the peg at all times,” said Viswanath-Natraj. “For regulators, this is an opportunity to introduce rules on auditing and capital requirements for stablecoin issuers.” </p><p>Clements already sees some changes in the stablecoin environment. “In light of Terra’s failure and the contagion that it caused across crypto markets, demand has moved to fully or over-collateralized forms.” </p><p>Stablecoins are largely a U.S. phenomenon, but the UST crash could have implications in Europe, too, Oldrich Peslar, legal counsel at Rockaway Blockchain Fund — a Swiss venture capital firm — told Cointelegraph. For example: </p><blockquote>“In the EU, there is a discussion about whether there should be a real claim for redemption by law for all stablecoins, whether they should always be backed at least 1:1, and whether the issuance of stablecoins can be halted if they grow too big, or even whether the regulation should apply to decentralized stablecoins.”&nbsp;</blockquote><p>“The UST saga,” Peslar continued, “could serve as a pretext for stricter regulation rather than for a softer approach.”</p><p>Longchamp predicted that “algorithmic stablecoins will be under pressure and are unlikely to be part of coming regulation” in Europe — which is not a good thing for algo stables because in Europe, regulation is tantamount to acceptance. “My prediction would be that only audited asset-backed stablecoins will be regulated and encouraged.”</p><p>Last week’s events could even “chill” institutional and venture capital formation for stablecoin and DeFi projects, at least in the near term, suggested Clements. It will also likely hasten regulatory policy formation in the U.S. and internationally around all stablecoin forms, “identifying taxonomic forms, and distinguishing operational models.” This is needed because algorithmic versions of stablecoins “are not stable and should be distinguished from the fully collateralized forms.”</p><p>It may even discourage retail investment in crypto markets at large “given the impact of the failure of Terra on the larger market,” added Clements. </p><p>On the positive side, Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>), the oldest and largest cryptocurrency by market cap, often viewed as a bellwether for the entire industry, held up relatively well last week. “Even though the market collapsed and BTC lost most of its value, its price has remained close to $30,000, which is high,” said Longchamp. “The value offered by blockchain and crypto in the market remains strong.”</p><p>In the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/altcoins-for-beginners/stablecoins-101-what-are-crypto-stablecoins-and-how-do-they-work">stablecoin</a> sphere, performances were mixed. “What was the impact on DAI? There was no impact,” said Harvey, referencing the leading decentralized stablecoin. “What was the impact on FEI, another decentralized stablecoin? There was no impact. There was no impact because those coins were over-collateralized and have multiple mechanisms to make sure the peg stays as close as possible to one dollar.” </p><p>“What happened to USDC? Nothing,” continued Harvey, alluding to USD Coin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/usdc-price-index">USDC</a>), the centralized stablecoin with a 1:1 USD backing. “But, what about Tether? Tether is a centralized stablecoin backed by fiat, but Tether is so opaque that we don’t know what the collateral is.” The result: “Tether took a hit” because “people said, ‘Well, maybe this is just a situation similar to UST.’” Its opaqueness was held against it, he suggested. </p><p>Tether, in its defense, <a href="https://tether.to/en/assurance-opinion-once-again-re-affirms-tethers-reserves-fully-backed-reveals-significant-reductions-in-commercial-paper-and-increase-in-us-treasury-bills/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">claimed</a> in a May 19 statement that “Tether has never once failed to honor a redemption request from any of its verified customers.” And, on the reserves front, Tether said it was reducing its commercial paper investments, for which it has been criticized, and increasing its U.S. Treasury Bill holdings.</p><p><strong><em>Recent:&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/indian-government-s-blockchain-not-crypto-stance-highlights-lack-of-understanding">Indian government's ‘blockchain not crypto’ stance highlights lack of understanding</a></em></strong></p><h2>Lessons learned?</h2><p>Finally, what lessons, if any, can be learned from the UST tumult? One can probably assume that the “quest” for a pure algorithmic stablecoin will continue among DeFi developers, Clements told Cointelegraph. But, it is important that it be “done within a regulatory environment that has sufficient consumer and investor safeguards and disclosures.”</p><p>The last week has brought us closer to crypto regulation in the U.S., according to Phillips, “at least I hope so, because we need regulation so investors don’t get hurt.” At a minimum, they should be forewarned about the risks. </p><p>Overall, given that the crypto and blockchain industry is still in early adolescence — only 13 years old — periodic failures like UST/LUNA probably should be expected, Harvey added, though “we hope the frequency and the magnitudes decrease.” </p><p>A certain amount of philosophical calm might be in order too. “We have to take the position that we’re 1% into this disruption using decentralized finance and blockchain technology, and it will be a rocky ride,” said Harvey, adding:</p><blockquote>“The problems that DeFi solves are very substantial. There’s a lot of promise. But it’s early and there will be a lot of iterations before we get it right.”&nbsp;</blockquote>

 UST aftermath: Is there any future for algorithmic stablecoins?  

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