Coin Bureau Insider

2022-05-19 11:49:15 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (19/05/22)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:

Ethereum’s Main Testnet Ready For PoS Merge In June

On June 8, Ropsten, Ethereum's main public testnet, will undergo "the merge," which is one of the final steps before the main Ethereum blockchain switches to proof-of-stake consensus. Ethereum DevOps developer Parathi Jayanathi has sent a pull request to the eth-clients GitHub repository with the configuration code for upgrading the testnet.

The Ethereum Foundation has also increased the awards available under its bug bounty programme as it prepares to upgrade the mainnet. For finding vulnerabilities that are in-scope for the programme, bug bounty hunters can now earn up to $250,000 in Ethereum or DAI.

At the moment, the maximum Ethereum prize for reporting vulnerabilities in upgrades that are already live on public testnets or are expected to be launched on the Ethereum mainnet has been doubled, bringing the total to $500,000.

https://decrypt.co/100823/ethereum-major-upgrade-testnet-merge-june

Aave Launches Decentralised Social Media Platform On Polygon

On Wednesday, DeFi Lending Platform Aave officially launched its Lens Protocol on Polygon. Lens Protocol is a decentralised Web3 social media platform powered by NFTs that aims to be an alternative to traditional social media platforms.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov made the announcement onstage at the Permissionless conference in Palm Beach, Florida. Users can now start minting their profile NFTs. These "profile" NFTs connect with the 50+ platforms available at launch and link to the user’s followers and communities.

According to Kulechov,

“All [Web 3] innovation has been driven by the idea of ownership. Web 3 social ensures that users are in control of their content which makes the applications and algorithms compete on bringing the best experience layer to the users.”

Aave has also announced a $250,000 grants program to support projects seeking to create decentralised applications (Dapps) on Lens.

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/05/18/aaves-decentralized-social-media-platform-arrives-on-polygon/

Meta Teases Crypto And Digital Payment Platform: Files Five Trademark Applications For 'Meta Pay'

Meta has filed five applications for its namesake to be used in a platform named Meta Pay, as per documents submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 13.

According to the filings, Meta Pay appears to be a payments platform that is described as an “online social networking service for investors allowing financial trades and exchange of digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, digital and blockchain assets, digitised assets, digital tokens, crypto tokens and utility tokens.”

In December 2021, the social media giant paid $60 million for the MetaPay.com domain name from the South Dakota-based MetaBank.

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/147581/meta-files-five-trademark-applications-for-meta-pay-teasing-crypto-and-digital-payment-platform/

Axie Infinity's Discord Hacked

On Wednesday, Axie Infinity, the popular play-to-earn NFT game, fell victim to yet another attack on its Discord server, resulting in the compromise of its MEE6 bot.

MEE6 is a popular discord bot that is used by many crypto projects for automating roles and messages. The attackers utilised the hacked bot to provide rights to a fake Jiho account, and then issued a fake mint announcement.

The developers were able to eliminate the malicious fake messages as well as the compromised MEE6 bot from the main server. However, the project's official Twitter account warns that many users may continue to see the fake message until they restart Discord.

The official MEE6 Discord support channel, on the other hand, refuted reports of a hack, claiming that they had checked with their engineers and found no traces of unusual activity. This has prompted many to believe that the hackers compromised the admin accounts first and then got access to the alternate admin account using MEE6. Open / Comment

2022-05-18 23:47:33 Hey Guys,

Just done putting the finishing touches on our Terra Video for tomorrow and something struck me - just how risky stablecoin FUD is to the ecosystem.

This is particularly relevant given that the UST collapse led to a de-pegging in USDT.

https://twitter.com/coinbureau/status/1524679256932065280

As I mentioned in the weekly crypto news, this led to a “run” on redemptions of over $7 billion being redeemed by Tether.

It was no doubt a scary situation and it got me wondering how severe the implications could be for a fall in USDT.

This scenario was recently postulated in Arcane Research's recent weekly report. Below is the most relevant section:

https://prnt.sc/W_z0tplpkiFa

Now it's important to also stress their disclaimer. It’s incredibly unlikely USDT meets the same fate as UST. They are completely different types of stablecoin and its important for people to understand that.

The CTO of Tether seems to think that part of the scare was because investors confused the two.

I seriously hope that this was the case because the last thing we need to hear is that large nefarious entities are trying to attack USDT. The same entities that may have been behind the UST depeg.

I will be covering this and more in the video tomorrow

So, until then, Gn! Open / Comment

2022-05-18 20:14:30 It's a sunny day in London

And that means that I can finally come out on the roof, pick up some rays and muse about about the state of the crypto markets.

I thought I would shoot a short clips update. Not only to give you my thoughts about the current state of the market but also to let you know what else you can expect on the channel in the coming days.

Enjoy!



Open / Comment

2022-05-18 17:39:21

Open / Comment

2022-05-18 17:39:18 Hey Guys,

Time for a bit of crypto education...

Despite how far we have come in recent years, there are still a lot of people that are getting burned by crypto scams.

Of course, you can't blame them. These are becoming pervasive, and they are permeating all corners of the crypto space.

Some of them you may have come across before, but some are able to fly under the radar and evade your own "scam filter"

In my video today, I look at some of the worst crypto scams out there today. I take you through how these scams operate, how you can spot them and what you can do to protect yourself from them.

I also have a few personal tales about these scams that need to be shared.

So, get those notebooks out and get ready to take some notes!

Enjoy! Open / Comment

2022-05-18 11:52:36 "Coinone, Korbit and Gopax stopped trading on May 10, Bithumb on May 11, but Upbit did not stop trading until May 13. Upbit, which was the last to stop trading even after seeing the crash, is the No. 1 company with an 80% share. In just those three days, it earned close to 10 billion won [$7.8 million] in commission income.”

https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/147269/south-korean-politician-calls-for-hearing-terra-do-kwon/

VeChain Foundation Inviting Terra Developers Over to VeChain After UST and LUNA Collapse

Following the demise of the Terra ecosystem, the VeChain Foundation has issued an invitation to Terra developers to join the VeChain blockchain.

The Vechain Foundation has a grant program for applicants that could have an impact with applications pertaining to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralised finance (DeFi), identity management, social media, and more

For developers to be considered for the grant program, applications have to be submitted through GitHub. Following submission, the application goes through a preliminary review, and then a committee review.

It’s unclear whether any Terra developers have, or will be migrating to VeChain, given the different focuses of each blockchain.

https://www.coinbureau.com/news/vechain-foundation-inviting-terra-developers-over-to-vechain-after-ust-and-luna-collapse/ Open / Comment

2022-05-18 11:52:35 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (18/05/22)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:

Nansen Acquires Defi Investment Tracker Ape Board

Nansen, a blockchain analytics platform, has acquired Ape Board, a tool that allows users to keep track of their non-fungible token (NFT) and decentralised finance (DeFi) assets. The deal's terms were not disclosed. According to a Nansen spokesperson, the payment was in the "eight figures," which means it was more than $10 million.

Nansen aims to integrate its analytics with Ape Board's portfolio tracking to create the "definitive information super app of Web 3." The app will be free to use. Nansen will use the acquisition to provide a more comprehensive perspective of the DeFi investment landscape, which has exploded in recent months.

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/05/17/nansen-acquires-defi-portfolio-tracker-ape-board-for-more-than-10m/

Covert Chinese Bitcoin Miners Account For 21% of Network Hashrate: Report

According to data from the Cambridge Digital Assets Programme (CDAP), China has re-emerged as a key Bitcoin mining hotspot, with covert miners accounting for 21% of the network's hash rate.

According to the report, a significant number of Chinese Bitcoin miners found ways to work around China's 'Crypto Mining Ban' by employing overseas proxy services (VPNs) to mask their mining activity rather than fleeing the country. The report indicates that China currently ranks second only to the United States in terms of Bitcoin hash rate.

https://decrypt.co/100668/covert-chinese-bitcoin-miners-still-account-for-21-of-network-hashrate-report

Cloudflare Plans To Run Ethereum Nodes

Cloudflare has announced a series of experiments to help overcome the scalability and environmental issues that blockchain technology face today. Over the following few months, Ethereum validator nodes will be launched on the Cloudflare global network as the network shifts from PoW to PoS during the merge.

Cloudflare states that the upcoming merge will lead to “significant energy efficiency improvements” for the network. It plans to stake and use the node for research on energy efficiency, consistency management, and network speed.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/cloudflare-to-run-ethereum-node-experiment-to-help-build-a-better-internet

Fireblocks Deploys Web3 Engine To Support DeFi, Games And NFTs

Blockchain infrastructure provider Fireblocks has released a set of developer tools and a customer portal aimed at attracting business from gaming studios, NFT services and financial institutions building products for web3.

The company’s new offering called ‘Web3 engine’ provides custody services, treasury management, risk mitigation tools and a tokenisation system for managing the whitelisting, minting, burning and transfer of NFTs.

It also allows institutions direct access to platforms such as OpenSea, Rarible, Uniswap, and dYdX through the Fireblocks console.

Fireblock’s current list of clients for the service include Animoca Brands, Stardust, MoonPay, Xternity Games, Griffin Gaming, Wirex, Celsius and Utopian Labs

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ninabambysheva/2022/05/17/beyond-crypto-custody-fireblocks-unveils-web3-engine-to-support-defi-games-and-nfts/?sh=421973fa1008

South Korea Cracks Down on Do Kwon and Crypto Exchanges

Rep. Yoon Chang-Hyeon from South Korea's ruling People Power Party has called for a parliamentary hearing inviting TFL’s Do Kwon and certain Korean exchanges after noting that the Korean exchanges reacted differently to the crash.

The parliamentary hearing aims to gather more information on the crash and frame measures to protect investors. Chang-Hyeon also wants crypto exchanges to account for their behaviour during the crash.

Chang-Hyeon stated, Open / Comment

2022-05-17 18:15:01

Open / Comment

2022-05-17 18:14:38 Onto a slightly more pleasant topic, and it's time for a new video!

Here's a question for you: Which cryptocurrencies are the most decentralised?

I bet many of you would give me a different answer, and at the end of it all I'd have almost all the cryptocurrencies in the top 100 by market cap! Jokes aside, decentralisation is an important, but also complex metric.

For example, if you have a cryptocurrency with 1000 validators spread around the world but the company who made all the hardware is the same, is it decentralised? What if the blockchain can only be interacted with using a single infrastructure provider?

Logically, this means there's much more to decentralisation than just how many miners or validators a blockchain have. As far as I can tell, there are five distinct layers of decentralisation, and too much centralisation at any layer can make the rest irrelevant.

When you look at decentralisation through kind of comprehensive lens, you realise most cryptocurrencies aren't that decentralised.

If you're wondering which ones make the cut, you'll have to stick around until the end! Open / Comment

2022-05-17 16:22:16 Hey Guys,

I am sure that there are many of you that may have been burned by the Terra collapse. That goes for those who either had a lot of money riding on LUNA or those who invested in the Anchor protocol.

Well, today someone emailed into the Coin Bureau with a personal story about their loss.

It's a heart-breaking story about a chap out in Sri Lanka who lost his life savings on both ANC & LUNA. On top of that, he went into debt to invest in crypto - never a good idea.

To add insult to injury, the country that he is in is going through a rough time economically. In case you have not been following the news, Sri Lanka's situation is getting progressively worse.

His blog post brings a personal touch to the Terra debacle and helps puts things in perspective for those who thought they lost a lot.

I am sure that there are many others out there that have similar stories so it's incumbent on us to make sure that these stories are heard.

We are, after all, one big crypto community

https://medium.com/@etchpea/luna-and-terra-ust-what-you-probably-didnt-know-3e3ce6be7872 Open / Comment