Crypto Mountains

2022-02-25 21:00:21 ​​OpenSea disables features temporarily as contract migration completes.

Bids and purchases are unavailable to ensure that listings are protected until the migration completes.

The week-long period that OpenSea gave users to migrate their nonfungible token (NFT) listings ended on Friday. Following the deadline, the platform announced that some features on the site may be unavailable temporarily due to the migration.

On Saturday, OpenSea pushed a new smart contract and urged users to start the migration of their NFT listings from the old contract to the new one. The NFT marketplace mentions that the upgrade brings new features such as bulk listings and more descriptive signatures while ensuring that all inactive listings expire.

However, hours after the announcement, the platform reported phishing attacks leading to some users losing their NFTs. After this, the OpenSea team launched an investigation to find out what happened. Devin Finzer, co-founder of OpenSea, urged affected users to contact the support team.

NFT platform Mintable made a pledge to return NFTs that were stolen in the recent OpenSea phishing exploit. The team noticed that some of the NFTs lost were listed on another marketplace called LooksRare. Mintable decided to purchase the NFTs and return them to their original owners, according to Mintable founder Zach Burks.

On Friday, the contract migration ended, with the platform informing users that active listings on the website may be invisible and that floor prices may vary. However, the platform said that this is only temporary. To protect listings, OpenSea temporarily disabled bids and purchases until the migration completes.

Meanwhile, the blockchain community has been vigilant with regard to NFTs. An alleged NFT scam believed to target $20 million worth of digital assets was stopped by YouTuber Coffeezilla and community members. An anonymous user published a detailed report bringing to light the existing claims against the team members running the alleged NFT scam. Open / Comment

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2022-02-22 20:00:49 ​Kazakh ministry halts illegal crypto mining operations.

Government efforts to identify and disconnect mining farms from the electrical networks will continue, according to the announcement.

The Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan announced that it had discovered and terminated 13 cryptocurrency mining operations. The government executed the shutdown as part of its efforts to regulate the Bitcoin (BTC) mining sector, which has grown increasingly popular in recent years.

As per the official statement, the miners were using a lot of energy, with a total power consumption of 202 megawatts. According to the Kazakh government, efforts to identify and disconnect mining farms from the electrical networks will continue. Following the discovery of illicit mining operations, authorized bodies will take operational and investigatory actions.

As the planet’s second-largest Bitcoin producer after China’s crypto crackdown, power consumption in Kazakhstan has skyrocketed. As reported by Cointelegraph, Kazakhstan was home to over 18% of the world’s Bitcoin hash rate as of August 2021, trailing only the United States. In April, before China’s mining crackdowns, the figure was just 8%.

In June 2021, the president of Kazakhstan approved the creation of a tax category for Bitcoin mining, which was perhaps motivated by China’s anti-Bitcoin attitude. In 2021, due to Chinese authorities’ hostility, Chinese BTC mining businesses such as Canaan and BTC com relocated to Kazakhstan.

Although the mining industry has been largely concentrated in the country for some time, it looks set to lose its hash rate share due to various reasons, according to several sector executives as reported by Cointelegraph. This would most likely cause Kazakhstan to depart from the top three BTC mining countries in the index update, expected next month.

Related: Kazakhstan's central bank reports results on CBDC pilot project

On Feb. 8, the Kazakh president ordered a cabinet-level investigation of cryptocurrency mining, with Kazakh First Vice Minister of Finance Marat Sultangaziyev proposing power price hikes for crypto miners. According to reports, although President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is not against mining, miners must obtain licenses, pay electricity bills on decent terms, and pay taxes. Open / Comment

2022-02-22 18:00:51 ​ HODL BABA NFT

The HodlBaba has a philanthropic mission to solve global warming issue by planting 100K trees also, HodlBaba will launch its own token and staking in phase 1.
Every mint of HodlBaba NFT will donate funds for the X number of trees which shows on the left bottom of NFT so that the hodlers can save the environment and live in a clean and green place (Earth).

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Official mint site: https://hodlbaba.com/
Join us: https://discord.com/invite/AKhC5cgQJv
Price: 0.06ETH

See you! Open / Comment

2022-02-22 16:00:58 Catch a great opportunity to earn on the NFT and GameFi market growth!

On February 22, the developer of the infrastructure-level solution for the GameFi market, Meta DAO Guild, is launching the first closed token sale when participants will be able to purchase the project’s tokens – MDGG – at the most attractive price of $0.048.

By the second round which will be held on March 13, the price of the coin will grow 40%. By the time of the listing on the cryptocurrencies exchanges, the Meta DAO Guild developers expect the MDGG price to reach $0.40.

That is why those who catch the coins during the first round, will get the fattest profit.

Sale Type: Direct
Token volume: 50 000 000 $MDGG
Price: 0.048$
Minimum bid: 100$
Maximum bid: 10 000$

For weeks, Meta DAO Guild has been actively discussed in the media. But in case you have not heard, the project developers have found solutions for two main GameFi problems:
High entry barrier to GameFi projects;
Gaming NFT idle time.

The project team is creating a platform for renting gaming NFT – MetaRent that will allow gamers to start earning on GameFi with minimum investments. The gaming NFT owners will get an opportunity to reach passive income.

Also, Meta DAO Guild develops a series of other sought-after products, including the following:
The educational system that teaches how to earn on GameFi projects Scholarship;
The service to exchange gaming NFTs MetaExchange.

Another product of Meta DAO Guild that deserves special attention is a decentralised venture fund DAO Launchpad. Through the fund, MDGG owners can invest in the most promising GameFi projects at early stages, and thus get access to opportunities to earn maximum. This is yet another reason to get some Meta DAO Guild tokens.

To participate in the closed token sale, it is needed to leave an email on the official Meta DAO Guild website.

Do not forget to set up a reminder for the first sales round when MDGG will be available at the best price. Open / Comment

2022-02-19 21:00:31 ​Layer 2 in 2022: Get Ready for Rollups, Bridges, New Apps, Life With Ethereum 2.0, and Layer 3.

2022 is estimated to be the year when Ethereum (ETH) -- the biggest smart contract-capable blockchain in terms of total value locked in -- finally moves to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. If it’s not delayed again. For some observers, such a transition could mean that layer 2 (L2) solutions built on top of Ethereum, such as Polygon (MATIC), Loopring (LRC), Arbitrum, Optimism, and StarkWare (to name only a few) become more or less redundant, insofar as Ethereum will be able to scale for itself.

However, figures working within the sub-sector all unanimously claim that L2 platforms will not only remain relevant after Ethereum 2.0’s (which is now being rebranded to “consensus layer”) arrival, but will have a strong 2022. Demand for such platforms will grow this year in tandem with the use of Ethereum itself, as smaller transactions and business applications seek the fastest and most cost-effective mechanisms.

At the same time, particular L2 trends might emerge this year, from the growth of zero-knowledge rollups (ZK rollups) and interoperability between platforms to native L2 applications and even the emergence of ‘layer 3.’

Ethereum 2.0 = The end of L2?
Pretty much no one seems to believe that the arrival of Ethereum 2.0 (due at some point in the first half of this year) will make L2 solutions unnecessary. Instead, one of the prevailing trends for this year might be their continuing -- and growing -- relevance.

“Even if Ethereum 2.0 archives its full scaling potential of offering a 64-fold improvement, it will still likely fall short of expected demand,” said a spokesperson for Polygon.

Crypto is currently in the early stages of the adoption curve, with gaming studios, brands, financial institutions, and Web 2 players just getting started with Web 3. Enterprises are only beginning to explore this space, and for the team at Polygon, the demand is already an order of magnitude more than the expected scaling that will be achieved with Ethereum 2.0.

In other words, L2 will only become more necessary as crypto and blockchain attract substantial real-world adoption.

“The Ethereum main chain will remain the settlement layer, while scaling solutions will emerge as the execution layer for the ecosystem. All the smaller business transactions will run on the scaling solutions and submit cryptographic proofs back to Ethereum,” Polygon’s spokesperson told Cryptonews com.

As an example, the spokesperson notes that the number of Aave (AAVE) users on Polygon has grown to more than double those on the Ethereum main chain in the last few months. For them, this means “that scaling solutions and higher adoption of the Ethereum ecosystem go hand in hand.” Open / Comment

2022-02-16 20:00:26 ​​Banning Bitcoin in Russia is 'same as banning the internet,' minister says.

Bank of Russia governor Elvira Nabiullina previously argued that banning Bitcoin in Russia was “quite doable."

Banning cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) is impossible, Russia’s finance minister Anton Siluanov declared as the Bank of Russia keeps calling on the state to ban crypto in the country.

Placing a ban on crypto in Russia is the “same as banning the internet, which is impossible,” Siluanov declared at the ministry’s briefing with the central bank, Forbes Russia reported Wednesday.

The finance minister reportedly said that starting regulating the cryptocurrency industry as soon as possible is way better than banning it as this would allow the government to finally monitor the market and grow the country's budget using taxes from crypto mining.

“What’s wrong with that, I don’t understand why it should be banned,” Siluanov said at the briefing, adding that there is an easy solution for taxing the market. According to the minister, the government should hold taxes from the realized gains on the amount of deposited and withdrawn fiat assets.

“The Central Bank wants to put an outright ban on crypto assets, arguing that this creates risks, primarily for citizens and can “infect” financial institutions, banks as well as create an opaque settlement market,” Siluanov said.

He added that the finance ministry admits these concerns and thus finds it necessary to limit cryptocurrency exposure by non-professional investors as part of its concept of crypto regulation released in early February. As such, the maximum amount for inexperienced investors can be set within 50,000 Russian rubles ($660) to 100,000 rubles ($1,300), the minister reportedly said. Previously, Siluanov’s deputy Alexei Moiseev suggested limiting such purchases to $660.

The officials did not specify whether the potential limit would refer to monthly investments or any other period. The ministry's press office did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

In the meantime, the Bank of Russia does not support the idea of letting non-professional investors buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin at all, citing common risks like fraud and money laundering. Open / Comment

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2022-02-13 20:00:53 ​​Hungary's central bank chief wants EU-wide crypto trading and mining ban.

Governor György Matolcsy reciprocated the need for a crypto ban, currently imposed by China and proposed by Russia's central bank.

György Matolcsy, Governor of the Hungarian National Bank, has proposed a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency trading and mining operations across the European Union.

Governor Matolcsy cited the recent crypto ban imposed by China in a blog post shared by the Hungarian central bank a.k.a. Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) titled “Time has come to ban crypto trading and mining in the EU.”

He also pointed out the Russian central bank’s proposal that calls for a blanket ban on domestic cryptocurrency trading and mining. Reciprocating the proposals for a crypto ban, Matolcsy said:

“I perfectly agree with the proposal and also support the senior EU financial regulator’s point that the EU should ban the mining method used to produce most new bitcoin.”

The governor strongly believes in cryptocurrency’s potential to “service illegal activities and tend to build up financial pyramids.” Matolcsy also highlighted concerns raised by the Russian central bank — that the market value in crypto is determined by the “speculative demand for future growth, which creates bubbles.”

On an end note, governor Matolcsy calls for an outright blanket ban on cryptocurrencies to counter the investor’s risks related to financial pyramids and bubbles:

“EU citizens and companies would be allowed to own cryptocurrencies abroad and regulators will track their holdings.”

On Sept 2021, a bronze statue of legendary Bitcoin (BTC) creator Satoshi Nakamoto was unveiled in Graphisoft Park in Budapest, Hungary.

As Cointelegraph reported at the time, the sculpture shows the upper half of a figure with a featureless face wearing a hoodie with the BTC logo. Debreczeni Barnabás, the CEO of Hungarian crypto exchange Shinrai was among the numerous crypto entrepreneurs who spoke at the ceremony:

“Satoshi Nakamoto has created an independent money free of any middlemen that empowered people with financial sovereignty. We have erected this statue to remind ourselves courage is virtue. We need to keep on dreaming big.” Open / Comment

2022-02-10 20:15:00 ​​Fitch lowers El Salvador’s rating due to Bitcoin adoption.

“Policy unpredictability” and “adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender” are part of the reasons why the country received a downgrade from Fitch.

El Salvador faces another whipping from a traditional finance firm for its "forbidden" love for Bitcoin (BTC).

American credit rating agency Fitch Ratings lowered El Salvador’s long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) from B- to CCC, mentioning “policy unpredictability” and the “adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender” as some of the factors that led to the downgrade.

Apart from these, the statistical rating organization explained that reliance on short-term debt, an $800 million Eurobond payment due in January 2023, and a high fiscal deficit gets in the way of a better rating for the country.

Additionally, El Salvador’s increased short-term debt is perceived by Fitch to cripple the government's ability to pay its overall debts, and this expands the risks of a roll-over. With nearly $1.3 billion due in August, September, and October, Fitch mentions that financial constraints will be more difficult for the country to deal with.

According to Fitch, the country also faces increased risks from “high and growing financing needs” in the coming years. The firm mentions that the country using BTC as legal tender contributes to uncertainty on a potential program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that could provide the financing that the country needs in 2022-2023.

The country's rating can still go up in time if it meets Fitch's criteria, including consistency in settling debts by "unlocking predictable sources of financing" and a fiscal adjustment focusing on debt sustainability.

Meanwhile, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele recently predicted that a BTC price increase might come very soon. Citing the number of millionaires globally, the president says that if they decide to own at least 1 BTC, there won’t be enough Bitcoin for all of them.

Back in January, Fitch Ratings issued a warning to energy suppliers across the United States regarding crypto miners. According to the firm, not many states are capable of supplying the energy needs for mining. The company adds that mining operations are price sensitive and may be shut down when profits decline. Open / Comment