Autor Cointelegraph By Brian Quarmby

Telegram founder suggests 'NFT-like smart contracts' to auction usernames

Telegram founder suggests 'NFT-like smart contracts' to auction usernames

Uverejnil používateľ | aug 23, 2022 |

Pavel Durov, the founder of encrypted messaging app Telegram, has floated the idea of a marketplace that could utilize “NFT-like smart contracts” to auction highly-sought after usernames. Durov made the suggestion after the “success” of domain name auctions by The Open Network (TON), a layer-1 blockchain originally designed by the Telegram team. The blockchain project launched the TON DNS service enabling users to assign human-readable names to crypto wallets, smart contracts, and websites in mid-July. In a message to his personal Telegram group named “Durov’s Channel” on Aug. 23, he noted that he was “really impressed by the success of the auction TON recently conducted for their domain/wallet names.”“Imagine how successful Telegram with its 700 million users could be if we put reserved @ usernames, group and channel links for auction,” he said. Durov suggested that Telegram could tap into similar technology to roll out a new marketplace that could be used to buy and sell “catchy t.me addresses like @storm or @royal, and all four-letter user names.”“This would create a new platform where username holders could transfer them to interested parties in protected deals — with ownership secured on the blockchain via NFT-like smart contracts.”“Other elements of the Telegram ecosystem, including channels, stickers or emoji, could later also become part of this marketplace,” he added. The first auctions on TON DNS went live on July 30, and much like the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) “.eth” domains, the “.ton” variant allows users to access decentralized applications in a simple way without needing to type a long string of letters and numbers from their wallet addresses. The TON network utilizes the FunC programming language for the TON Virtual Machine and to launch specific smart contracts on the blockchain. If Telegram were to launch NFTs, they would most likely be based on this standard. A similar integration would likely be quite simple for Telegram, given that Durov and his team developed TON, formerly known as the Telegram Open Network, alongside the messaging app back in 2018. “Our team can write bullet-proof smart contracts for TON (since it was us who invented its smart-contract language), so we are inclined to try out TON as the underlying blockchain for our future marketplace,” he wrote. TON was initially developed to function as a digital payments platform for Telegram, however, it promptly ran into trouble with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding an unregistered preliminary sale of $1.7 billion worth of Gram tokens. Related: Prosecutors want to claim NFTs as securities, alleges legal team of former OpenSea employeeAfter losing the court battle with the SEC in mid-2020, Durov stepped away from the project to focus on Telegram. Since then, open source developers have revived the project under the banner of The Open Network. The TON network utilizes a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, and it supports various features such as staking, NFTs, and decentralized applications. According to data from CoinMarketCap, its native asset Toncoin (TON) has pumped 14.70% over the past 24 hours to sit at $1.33 at the time of writing.

Čítaj viac
GameStop NFT daily fee revenue plunges under $4K as gloom infects markets

GameStop NFT daily fee revenue plunges under $4K as gloom infects markets

Uverejnil používateľ | aug 22, 2022 |

Daily revenue for GameStop’s NFT marketplace has plummeted to under $4,000, suggesting that interest in the platform has waned significantly since launching in mid-July. According to data from DappRadar, GameStop NFT has generated roughly $166,800 worth of sales volume over the past 24 hours. With the platform charging only a 2.25% fee on NFT sales, the figure equates to just $3,753 worth of revenue during that time. DappRadar’s limited data on GameStop appears to confirm figures actually plunged down to around $2000 as trading volume has pumped 91.23% over the past day. The latest figures mark a significant decrease from the project’s first full day of business on July 13, with an NFT sales volume of $1.98 million equating to about $44,500 worth of fees. At the time of writing, the HyperViciouZ project on GameStop has generated the largest 24 hour sales volume of 29.78 Ether (ETH) worth roughly $47,841. In comparison, OpenSea’s top selling project during that time frame is Pudgy Penguins with 860.8 ETH, or $1.37 million. Broader doom and gloom GameStop isn’t the only part of the NFT world struggling at present. According to data from NFT Price Floor, the BAYC floor price has dropped a hefty 19% since the start of August to sit at 68.48 ETH ($109,900) as of Aug. 22, while the MAYC floor has plunged 28.6% to 11.2 ETH ($17,986). Since the BAYC and MAYC’s respective all-time floor price highs of 153.5 ETH and 41.2 ETH in May and April, the floors have dropped 55% and 72% each. NFT analysts warned that $55 million worth of blue chip NFTs were at risk of liquidation on BendDAO last week. The BendDAO platform enables users to deposit their NFTs and take ETH loans out against the floor price of their assets. The loans total around 30-40% of the deposited NFT floor price, however if the price drops so low that the loan equates to 90% of the floor price, the depositor has 48 hours to pay the loan down to avoid their NFT being liquidated and sold off via auction. The platform represents this threshold as a health indicator in which a score below 1 triggers the NFT liquidation proceedings. As of last week there were at least 20 loans against BAYC NFTs that had a health indicator fall perilously close, below 1.01, and a lot more for Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) NFTs as well. At the time of writing, two BAYC NFTs have been liquidated this week and put up for auction, while 10 are playing with fire with health indicators ranging from 1.01 to 1.06. However that’s half the number from last week, suggesting the situation has improved. In terms of loans against MAYC NFTs, there are currently 14 in severe danger of liquidation with health indicators ranging from 1.01 to 1.03. There are also 13 that have recently been liquidated and are up for auction on BendDAO. Related: Web3 games incorporate features to drive female participationSo far this month, the floor price for other top NFT projects such as CryptoPunks has tanked a fair amount as well. Despite surging from 68.3 ETH on Aug. 1 to 77.4 ETH on Aug. 4, the CryptoPunk floor has since retraced back down to 66.45 ETH ($106,518).

Čítaj viac
Aussie exchange Swyftx cuts staff by 21% amid bear market

Aussie exchange Swyftx cuts staff by 21% amid bear market

Uverejnil používateľ | aug 19, 2022 |

Australian crypto exchange Swyftx has had to lay off 21% of its staff to lower costs as it wades through the current bear market. According to an Aug. 17 note from co-CEOs Alex Harper and Ryan Parsons stated that 74 colleagues had to be let go, as the current economic climate that they were hired in has shifted dramatically to what it is today: “As you’re all aware, we are operating in an uncertain business environment, with levels of domestic inflation not seen in over two decades, rising interest rates, highly volatile markets across all asset classes, and the potential for a global recession.”“We want to be very clear that impacting our teammates in this way is a last resort and is not, in any way, a reflection of the talent or commitment of those individuals,” they added. A spokesperson from Swyftx explained the decision a little further to Cointelegraph, noting that “this was a hard decision but a prudent one that ensures our costs are compatible with this extended period of economic uncertainty.” “We are deeply grateful for everything the team members who are leaving us have done and we’re working to support them through this extremely hard period,” they said. Swyftx joins a long list of crypto firms to have suffered growing pains as a result of the hefty downward trend in crypto this year, with U.S. exchanges Coinbase and Gemini both slashing their headcount by 18% and 20% over the past couple of months.In June, the crypto exchange announced it will be merging with the Australian online investing platform Superhero as part of a $1.5 billion merger which is expected to complete around mid-2023. At the time, Superhero co-founder John Winters said that the two platforms will operate independently of each other and that no job losses are expected as part of the merger. Related: Crypto ad spending may be down, but awareness remains critical: ExpertsThe announcement also follows a major employee cull from Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com which laid off 260 people in June equating to 5% of its employee base. According to various unconfirmed reports online this week, the figure could be as high as 1,000, although it’s worth noting that this information was supplied by unnamed sources that claim to be close to the matter.

Čítaj viac
Nifty News: NFL All Day opens to the public, Boss Beauties go to Hollywood and more…

Nifty News: NFL All Day opens to the public, Boss Beauties go to Hollywood and more…

Uverejnil používateľ | aug 19, 2022 |

NFL fans at large will now be able to get their hands on digital keepsakes of their favorite football stars after Dapper Labs’ NFL All Day NFT finally opened to the public after a seven-month-long closed beta. On Aug. 18, The National Football League (NFL), the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), and Dapper officially launched the project and announced the first public NFT drop, a pack of four NFTs dubbed “Headliner” consisting of four different new player moments.Users will have the chance to get their hands on NFTs depicting popular players such as Tom Brady, Trevor Lawrence, Javonte Williams, and Jalen Ramsey. There will be a total of 22,500 packs on sale for $59 a pop. The NFTs come in different rarity tiers of common, rare and legendary, with just 187 packs containing a highly sought after legendary NFT. Welcome to #NFLALLDAY ‼️Own the best Moments, featuring exclusive digital video highlights from your favorite players & teams. Our first public Pack Drop is Friday! Sign up and get a limited edition NFL collectible, starring @PatrickMahomes. ➡️ https://t.co/sol88uYqUS pic.twitter.com/xJKu8SoZSC— NFL ALL DAY (@NFLALLDAY) August 18, 2022Much like Dapper’s first officially licensed NBA Top Shot project, NFL All Day offers tokenized player and team collectibles depicting various in-game video highlights known as “moments”. There are also GameFi elements added to the experience via avenues such as collector challenges to earn rewards in NFTs, game tickets, VIP experiences, Jersey’s etc. The project has been in closed beta since February, and has generated more than $37 million worth of sales to date according to data from CryptoSlam. “Last year’s soft launch brought in a surge of early adopters who began collecting video highlight NFTs of NFL plays and we plan to grow the number of users significantly with the official launch of the platform,” noted Joe Ruggiero, the senior vice president of consumer products at the NFL.NFT start up pens Hollywood deal NFT start-up Boss Beauties has penned a representation deal with major Hollywood talent agency WME. As part of the deal, WME will rep the company across the entertainment sector as it works to secure Boss Beauties intellectual licensing (IP) deals in film, Wb3, gaming, events, brand partnerships etc. The Boss Beauties project consists of 10,000 unique tokenized digital art portraits depicting female avatars with various career choices such as CEOs, pilots, doctors and astronauts. The collection reportedly sold out in 90 mins after launch in September. JUST IN! ⚡️Boss Beauties signs with world renowned @WME to push BB and Super BB out into film, TV, digital and gaming. Exclusive story on @Variety https://t.co/VmLf2ydH3O pic.twitter.com/krewii3wDB— Boss Beauties (@BossBeautiesNFT) August 17, 2022

The project has generated more than $48.3 million worth of sales to date, with a portion of the proceeds from primary and secondary sales going towards empowering women via mentorships and scholarships. CryptoPunks creators Larva Labs signed a similar deal with competing agency UTA back in September. Metaverse Art Week 2022 Decentraland, one of the biggest Metaverse platforms in the blockchain sector, is set to host the third-annual Metaverse Art Week event in its virtual world between Aug. 24 and Aug. 28. The event will see a wide array of curated NFT art being featured from big names such as Sotheby’s, OpenSea, Artnet, while there will also scheduled panel discussions, a virtual outdoor sculpture garden and a 3D interactive art wall. “The third annual Metaverse Art Week will explore how the human spirit is hardwired to elicit an emotional response when presented with art inspired by mathematical designs present in nature, and how metaverse technology is pushing the boundaries of programmatic art and redefining what an immersive experience is,” the Decentraland team wrote in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph. Related: Celebrities called out for shilling NFTs: Nifty Newsletter, Aug 10–16From Golden Globes to NFTs: Sir Anthony HopkinsRenowned 84-year-old actor Sir Anthony Hopkins has jumped aboard the NFT gravy train by announcing The Eternal Collection, a set of 10 digitally animated NFT pieces depicting Hopkins as various Jungian psychological archetypes. The various 1-of-1 NFT artwork pieces feature realistic digital renderings of Hopkins’ face as the Hero, the Rebel, the Magician, the Sage, the Ruler, the Explorer, the Lover, the Creator, the Giver, and the Jester. The auctions are set to go live on OpenSea on September 16. The Face of each art piece will also be used to create 100 profile picture NFTs for each of the 10 pieces, equating to 1,010 NFTs in total. The project is in collaboration with Web3 media company Orange Comet. The Eternal Anthony Hopkins: Orange CometOther Nifty News: The Australian Football League (AFL)’s first limited edition drop of NFTs sold out in just under 12 hours on Wednesday. The project is called AFL Mint, and follows a similar format to NBA Top Shot and NFL All Day. The first “Ripper Skipper 2022” drop consisted of 3,800 packs which generated more than $130,000 in revenue for AFL Mint. Solana-based wallet provider Phantom launched a new burn feature on Thursday which enables users to remove spam NFTs sent by scammers.

Čítaj viac
Aussies buy fuel and chips with crypto across 175 fuel outlets

Aussies buy fuel and chips with crypto across 175 fuel outlets

Uverejnil používateľ | aug 18, 2022 |

Convenience store and petrol station brand On The Run (OTR) has launched crypto payment support across all 175 of its petrol stations and convenience stores across Victoria, South Australia (SA), and Western Australia (WA) as of Thursday. As previously reported, the move is part of a collaboration between OTR, Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com and DataMesh, a Sydney-based payment systems provider. The exchange has provided its Pay Merchant service as a payment settlement layer, while Datamesh has provided the point of sale terminals. Speaking with Cointelegraph, Crypto.com’s Asia & Pacific general manager Karl Mohan noted that it only took “eight weeks to from the time of proof of concept to the point of actually getting a full scalable production-ready environment.” Mohan noted that while 175 OTR stores have initially been outfitted with the infrastructure, the crypto payments service is operationally ready to scale much further. “What happens now is any merchant, whether you’re a cafe owner or someone who runs thousands of stores, could just plug and play,” he said. Adding to the 175 stores, OTR’s parent company Peregrine Corp intends to roll out the crypto payments service to another 250 retail sites across the country such as Subway, Oporto and Krispy Kreme. Mohan also stated that Crypto.com charges zero fees on the transactions in this context. However, there will be fees on the merchant’s end, which will set their own rates. Such may suggest that transaction costs could be similar to that of card payments with fiat. Questioned on what is needed to make crypto payments widely adopted in Australia, especially given the tax obligations of paying with crypto assets, Mohan opined that the utilization of an Australian dollar-backed stablecoin could be the key: “So of course, Bitcoin and Ethereum because of their market capitalization are already on the top of the list. But an overwhelming number of consumers have said they are ready to accept and actually start paying with Australian stablecoins.”“We’ve made the system available and if you’ve seen ANZ announce the Australian dollar stablecoin, and we see these types of stablecoins becoming available, I really believe that it will become mainstream,” he added. Related: Australian Securities Exchange takes step towards tokenized asset tradingSo far, the ANZ bank has pilot tested its A$DC stablecoin purely for private institutional purposes, but if it eventually does get opened up to the retail market, Mohan stated that “we would love the opportunity to work with any financial or any Australian deposit-taking institution that is keen to introduce a stablecoin.”

Čítaj viac

Získaj BONUS 8 € v Bitcoinoch

nakup bitcoin z karty

Registrácia Binance

Burza Binance

Aktuálne kurzy