Crypto Shake

2022-05-27 19:00:06 ​​Meta Quantum Medicine WEB3
The medicine of the future.

Phayny Token $PHN
Pre-sale is live : $0.03

Website: https://www.phayny.com
Twitter : https://twitter.com/PhaynyMETA
Telegram: https://t.me/phayny
Telegram chat : https://t.me/PhaynyChat
Sign up : https://www.phayny.com/phn_ico/public/register

The project : Metaverse in the WEB3
+ DAO
+ NFT

Market : $30 billion a year.

Just like traditional allopathic medicine where the structures and foundations are well established. It is necessary to find an alternative, or rather a complementary medicine where patients will be able to find other ways towards the path of healing. Indeed, quantum medicine is more commonly called holistic or natural medicine because it treats the living being as a whole, the physical body and the consciousness.
For the understanding of all, the medicine of the future will be based on the Metaverse. As you already know, it is complicated to find a good naturopath because few of them are referenced. A virtual universe in the Web3 where everyone will be able to consult specialists from all over the world. The Phayny network will bridge the gap between the patient and the quantum doctor.
The patient’s data will be stored in the blockchain, secure and decentralized. The doctor will have a virtual world at his disposal, a cabinet, an avatar, all the tools necessary to dialogue with the patient. Slides, medical images, videos, sounds for a holistic approach.

Holistic market :

The World Health Organization estimates 65 - 80 percent of the population use holistic naturopathic medicine as a primary form of health care. Americans make more visits to holistic health care providers (some
600 million a year) than to M.D.s and spend more money out-of-pocket to do so about $30 billion a year by recent estimates. Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind,Body, Spirit healing has existed since the beginning of time amid religious beliefs and practices, along with themystery, superstition, fear, and misunderstanding Open / Comment

2022-05-26 20:30:00 ​​Improving Bitcoin Privacy With Silent Payments

The below is a direct excerpt of Marty's Bent Issue 1214: "Silent payments."Sign up for the newsletter here.

Here's an interesting proposal from Ruben Somsen that would help increase the privacy of those receiving bitcoin: Silent Payments. Somsen's proposal builds on concepts like BIP47, which allows individuals to create reusable payment codes that can be tweaked by others to create unique public addresses that only the sender and receiver are aware of. This allows the receiver to accept bitcoin in a more private fashion when compared to exposing a xpub or simply reusing a single address to receive payments.

BIP47 introduces the tradeoff of increased data usage as the reusable addresses it enables are produced by including OPRETURN messages, which require more data than your average bitcoin transaction. With silent payments, the tradeoff made by BIP47 in the form of extra data associated with the creation of a payment code using OPRETURN is eliminated and replaced with an increase in the scanning requirements of wallet software.

The way I understand it, senders take a silent payment public address provided by a receiver, use the private key of the input (UTXO) they will be using to send bitcoin to the receiver to create a new public address owned by the receiver and send the bitcoin to that address. The receiver then scans the blockchain for inputs and uses data associated with their silent payments address to identify where payments have been received.

This is an interesting tradeoff because it would reduce the long term data burden on those operating full nodes if it is adopted in favor of solutions like those enabled by BIP47, but requires buy-in from those building wallet software to ensure that their products are compatible with the silent payments design scheme. A heavy lift, no doubt, but one that may be worthwhile to try to get implemented across these wallet softwares.

This would provide increased utility for those looking to receive bitcoin payments with better privacy assurances and less interactivity with the chain. Think dissidents living under oppressive regimes who need to receive payments as privately and easily as possible.

Earlier today, someone initiated the first silent payments transaction on Signet, a bitcoin testnet. You can dig into that here. We will be keeping you freaks abreast of the developments of silent payments as they unfold. Open / Comment

2022-05-24 20:30:00 ​​Binance Sees Crypto Potential In India, But There's A Catch

The Indian Government has taken a strict stance on cryptocurrency adoption and trading in the country. However, the administration is yet to announce a regulatory framework over digital assets. Meanwhile, Binance, World’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, seeks a potential future of crypto in India.

India holds huge potential
As per reports, Leon Foong, Head of APAC at Binance, looks at many possibilities of evolving cryptocurrency industry in India. He mentioned that nation’s developing Blockchain startups have gained the recognition of Binance and other tech experts. Foong highlighted that India possesses some basic advantages over other countries. The country can be a very large crypto market while it has many well trained engineers.

Binance APAC head added that India’s tech venture capital investment grew over $44 Billion in 2021. The huge4 amount of crypto and Web 3 related projects can outflow from the country if correct blockchain entrepreneurs get matched with the required capital and talent.

Restrictive policies hinder crypto growth
India still awaits a proper regulatory framework to govern digital assets. Meanwhile, the government has imposed a straight 30% tax on the crypto gains and a 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on every trade. This has eventually resulted in huge a drop in the investors getting into the digital assets markets. The traders feel skeptical about its future in the country.

Leon Foong noted that restrictive policies prevent the ecosystem from flourishing to its full potential. The digital assets market is very large and as the Web 3 industry will develop it will certainly generate huge amounts of jobs for the country. Eventually, this will certainly help the Indian economy to boost the future.

The report mentions a survey done by Binance to identify the trends in the Indian population. The survey depicts that more than 50% of the indian population is under the age bracket of 25 years. While around 34% of the people recognize them as the Millennials. These are the perfect conditions for digital assets to prosper in a country as young generations tend to be good at adopting new technologies. Open / Comment

2022-05-22 20:30:00 ​​Coinbase Co-Founder Fred Ehrsam Buys the Dip, Purchases $75M of Company Stock

Over the past week Fred Ehrsam purchased more than one million shares of Coinbase (COIN) worth roughly $75 million, stepping in as the crypto exchange's stock price plunged following the company’s weak earnings report.

According to a Form 4 filing with the SEC, Ehrsam – through Paradigm, the venture capital firm he co-founded – purchased more than 706,000 shares of Coinbase on May 13 at an average price of about $70 each, or nearly $50 million worth. He then followed that up on May 17 with the purchase of another 385,000 shares at an average price of roughly $65 each, or about $25 million worth.

Coinbase Pares Back Hiring Plans Amid Weak Earnings, Poor Market Condition

The buys brought holdings of Coinbase by Paradigm to more than 3.6 million shares. Ehrsam also holds 1.1 million shares via a trust.

Last week’s purchases came with Coinbase shares tumbling more than 70% in 2022, and off more than 80% from the all-time high hit shortly after the company’s initial public offering 13 months ago. Ehrsam and related entities previously had been consistent sellers of Coinbase stock since that April 2021 IPO, unloading several hundred million dollars worth of shares.

Ehrsam was previously a co-founder of Coinbase, and is currently on the company’s board. He and Matt Huang are co-founders and managing partners of Paradigm. Open / Comment

2022-05-20 20:30:00 ​​Crypto Should Meet Same Norms as Regular Finance, G7 Says

Crypto assets should be held to the same standards as the rest of the financial system, the grouping of finance ministers from the world's seven largest developed economies said.

A statement released by the G7 called for tougher rules to counter money laundering and disclose reserves, after the collapse of stablecoin terraUSD (UST) last week.

"The G7 remains committed to high regulatory standards for global stablecoins, following the principle of same activity, same risk, same regulation," it said. The statement confirmed reports that the Financial Stability Board (FSB) has been asked to speed up work in the wake of the market shock.

The missive also called for implementation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) travel rule, a controversial anti-money laundering provision that jurisdictions, such as the European Union, are currently legislating for, and for "stronger disclosure and regulatory reporting, for instance, as regards reserve assets backing stablecoins." Open / Comment

2022-05-18 21:00:03 ​​US Courts Are Targeting Crypto Exchanges Avoiding Regulations

Investors can trade Bitcoin, Tether, Eth, and other digital assets on about 600 crypto exchanges available worldwide. As the importance of digital currencies increases, so do the rules and regulations put in place to govern them around the world.

Companies Designed to Circumvent Regulations Brews Confusion
Cryptocurrencies have long been considered the Wild West of remittances, but not online payments or money transfers companies have been as outspoken in their solicitation of illegal funds as the one featured in a recent report.

According to experts in the crypto law sector, the company is headquartered in a “comprehensively sanctioned country”— possibly North Korea — and it touted its services as circumventing US financial sanctions. As per court records, it was developed with the aid of a US cover firm that enabled domain name purchases.

The platform, created to help pariah regions avoid financial restrictions, has handled more than $10 million in bitcoin transfers between the United States and the sanctioned country via a US-based crypto exchange that, according to the opinion, was unaware that it was assisting users in avoiding sanctions.

Judge Faruqui Says Illicit Crypto Financial Dealings Will Be Traced and Prosecuted
Someone has been arrested for operating the crypto platform, hence Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui’s decision was likely unsealed. It’s all part of a larger trend in how US law enforcement—and the law—deals with cryptocurrencies.

“First, is virtual currency untraceable? WRONG…. Issue Two: virtual currency is exempt from sanctions? “WRONG,” Faruqui concludes, referencing two Saturday Night Live skits parodying TV anchor and political pundit John McLaughlin, who was noted for his straightforward style.

“We’ve heard a narrative for a long time that bitcoin may be used to evade sanctions,” says Ari Redbord, head of legal and governmental affairs at TRM Labs, which tracks crypto fraud and financial crime. “This is the first time the DoJ has brought a criminal case related to the fraudulent use of cryptocurrencies to evade punishment,” the statement said.

While the court’s decision establishes a legal precedent that authorities can and should track crypto transactions, it is otherwise unremarkable. The judgment warns crypto exchanges that they may be held accountable for aiding users to avoid sanctions, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and it serves as a warning to those attempting to do so.

Faruqui also added that the question is whether fiat currency rules will keep up with seamless and transparent blockchain payments.

State of Crypto Regulation
The potential consequences of cryptocurrencies for global financial stability, as well as the unique character of the underlying technology, highlight the need for regulatory conversations and prioritizing decisions both in countries and globally.

There has been no integrated and sustainable regulation of cryptocurrencies, according to the WEF Global Future Council on Cryptocurrencies, despite international groups working on analyzing risks and suitable policy responses to the rise of cryptos.

Central banks and authorities throughout the world are already keeping an eye on this rising trend. They all have the same goal in mind: to stabilize their monetary systems and foster innovation and economic progress. Open / Comment

2022-05-17 22:00:04 ​​US Solidifies Its Status as Biggest Bitcoin Mining Hub

The U.S. now accounts for 37.84% of the global Bitcoin mining hashrate, according to new data published by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.

In October, the U.S. appeared in first place for the first time after China's share of the global hashrate dropped to virtually zero due to the Communist Party of China's crackdown on the energy-intensive industry.

FoundryUSA also ended up becoming the biggest mining pool in the world.

Georgia is the biggest mining hub in the U.S. by a wide margin, accounting for more than 30% of the country's hashrate. It is followed by Texas (11.22%) and Kentucky (10.93%). What is more, New York and California, two deep blue states, are also responsible for a significant share of mining activity (9.77% and $7.9%, respectively), despite the fact that many progressive Democrats are opposed to Bitcoin.

Surprisingly enough, the new report published by the CCAF states that China has managed to reemerge as one of the top global players with a 22.29% share of the global market. The data all but confirms that there is underground mining activity, with local miners successfully circumventing draconian restrictions imposed by local authorities. Chinese miners rely on foreign proxy services in order to cover their tracks, according to the CCAF.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan, which emerged as one of the top Bitcoin mining destinations, saw a major decline in its share of hashrate, which has dropped to 13.22%.

Canada comes in fourth place with a 6.48% share of Bitcoin's global hashrate. Open / Comment

2022-05-15 22:00:03 ​​Insurance protocols are paying out millions to UST holders

InsurAce, a DeFi insurance platform that offered cover against a UST de-peg event, has confirmed that they will be paying out $12 million in USDT to users who hold a valid policy. The CMO of InsurAce, Dan Thomson, confirmed to us directly that “we’ll payout and recover fast.” Thomson went on to say,

“This shows the importance of insurance in the industry and in any smart investor’s strategy.

Crypto is never risk free but there are ways to reduce risk. This is why we founded InsurAce, to make crypto safer for everyone.”

InsurAce explains what happened and how to make a claim if you hold a valid policy in a blog post. A claim can be made when “the Time–Weighted Average Price (TWAP) 10-day average drops below $0.88.”

This event occurred at 5:00 am UTC on 13th May 2022 and has been acknowledged by InsurAce. The process for making involves proving ownership of both a valid policy and either UST or UST derivative tokens such as aUST at the time of the de-peg.

InsurAce also asks customers who bought a policy and did not have UST in their wallet at the moment of purchase to contact them if they did hold it at least ten days before the de-peg event. While it is not guaranteeing it will pay out to these customers, it states,

“whilst not explicitly covered by the policy, we aim to keep open communication with this issue, particularly due to the complex nature of the event.”

All eligible cover holders must submit their claim request by May 20th, 2022, 23:59:59 UTC via the email found on their website.

Protocols that aren’t paying out (yet)
This compares extremely favorably to the other leading UST de-peg insurer, Unleashed Finance, which is not yet paying out. This is because their policy states that UST must trade below TWAP of $0.87 for two weeks.

Investors who have taken that policy will have to wait a while to be able to start their claim process. A community moderator from Unslashed Finance has informed us that claims will still be eligible after two weeks if the Terra blockchain is halted again, and thus trading stops.

On Twitter, Unleashed Finance state that they are “likely” to pay out in the next two weeks but urges users; “do not sell your UST as the conditions of the claim are not yet fulfilled.”

Another DeFi platform, Nexus Mutual, offers protocol insurance “against a loss of funds, not a loss of value.” Therefore, its Anchor insurance is unlikely to payout. It does not offer UST de-peg insurance. Open / Comment

2022-05-13 22:00:04 ​​ECB lays out ‘anonymous’ digital euro as public opposes ‘slavecoins’

The ECB released another working paper on the digital euro, providing an extensive technical analysis of a potential European CBDC and its position in the existing financial system.

Issued on May 13, the working paper aims to study issues like financial intermediation, payment choices and privacy in the digital economy, providing a large number of related algebra-based conclusions.

The study suggests that a “CBDC with anonymity” is preferable to traditional digital payments like bank deposits but it “may become supplanted” by digital currencies, or “payment tokens” issued by technology giants.

“This risk would be particularly tangible if those platforms compete with banks in the market for financial services. However, an optionality for data sharing features may result in a widespread CBDC adoption,” the working paper reads.

According to the ECB, one of the main problems of cash is that it cannot be used for more efficient online transitions while it still preserves anonymity. In contrast, bank deposits can be used online but do not provide enough anonymity.

Finally, digital currencies issued by tech platforms “allow merchants to hide from banks but enable platforms to stifle competition,” the ECB wrote, adding:

The European Central Bank (ECB) continues pushing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project despite Europeans apparently not feeling too much positive about a digital euro.

“An independent digital payment instrument — a CBDC — that allows agents to share their payment data with selected parties can overcome all frictions ... The introduction of a CBDC with anonymity enables merchants to prevent banks from extracting information from payment flows.” Open / Comment

2022-05-10 21:00:03 ​​Nigeria’s Central Bank to Allow Bill Payments in eNaira (Report)

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will reportedly enable locals to pay their bills, TV subscriptions, and flight tickets using the eNaira. The move is part of a campaign that aims to popularize the financial product and encourage people to employ it more often in their daily transactions.

The Upgrade of Nigeria’s CBDC
It is safe to say that the most populated country in Africa – Nigeria – is among the leaders in terms of CBDC efforts. Last year, the authorities introduced the eNaira under the slogan “Same Naira, more possibilities.” The nation’s central bank raised hopes that the product will make financial transactions “easier and seamless for every strata of the society.”

According to a recent coverage, the CBN will upgrade its CBDC next week, allowing members of the public to use it as a payment method for bills, flight tickets, or TV and Internet subscriptions. To do so, the financial institution partnered with the mobile banking firm – Bizi Mobile. Providing more details was Bariboloka Koyor – Branch Controller at the CBN:

“Starting from next week, there is going to be an upgrade on the eNaira speed wallet app that will allow you to do transactions such as paying for DSTV or electric bills or even paying for flight tickets.“

The bank asserted that more Nigerians will become aware of the product as a result of the upgrade. They should also start using it more often as a means of payment and thus, strengthen its presence around the country.

“This is a project that the CBN has rolled out to reach out to every Nigerian in terms of financial inclusion and in terms of efficiency, reliability, and safety of banking transactions so that we can do banking transactions very easily and safely and the people in Nigeria can enjoy the benefit of the eNaira,” Koyor concluded.

Nigerians Are Keen on Crypto
Despite the CBN’s attempts to introduce the eNaira to the locals, it remains uncertain how successful that move would be. The reason is that Nigerians are highly intrigued by cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (which are entirely different from CBDCs).

A recent study estimated that over 33 million of Nigeria’s adults have owned or traded digital assets in the past six months. 52% of those have invested more than half of their wealth into the market, while 70% vowed to increase their exposure by the end of 2022.

The research determined that the high interest in the asset class is fueled mainly by the accelerating inflation levels. Many locals decided to convert their devaluating fiat currency into crypto, hoping to preserve their wealth during the financial turmoil.

The fact that a considerable chunk of Nigerians lacks access to basic financial services is another reason why they have jumped on the digital asset bandwagon. Open / Comment