Autor Cointelegraph By Brian Quarmby

Top secret Julian Assange and Pak NFT collaboration is wikileaked

Top secret Julian Assange and Pak NFT collaboration is wikileaked

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 3, 2022 |

A collaborative NFT project from belagued Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and pseudonymous digital artist Pak is set to drop next week. Assange has been confined in a London prison since April 2019 after his asylum status in the Ecuadorian embassy of London was terminated. The following month he was indicted on 17 counts of espionage in the Eastern District Court of Virginia relating to classified documents he published on Wikileaks. His legal team is currently fighting an extradition case which could see him face the charges in the United States and spend the rest of his life behind bars. The project with Pak — who generated a whopping $91.8 million last year on Nifty Gateway last year from his project dubbed the “The Merge” — is set to come out on Monday, coinciding with the deadline for Assange’s legal team to plead its case. The name of the NFT drop is called “Censored” and refers to Assange’s journalistic history of reporting on classified material relating to corruption, crime, war and spying. It is unclear if the proceeds from the sale will go towards supporting Assange, or whether it is purely focused on bringing attention to such a highly monumental day. “Censored” reminded me of why I designed the open edition mechanism in the first place….to reach.— Pak (@muratpak) February 2, 2022Unlike Wikileaks in which private information is freely shared with the public, specific details of the project such as pricing, the content depicted in the NFTs and the platform used for the sales have not been revealed. However, it will involve a one-of-one up for auction and an open edition open to anyone. In late Jan, Wikileaks provided a hint, sharing an image on Twitter that reads “one thousand” which could suggest how many open edition NFTs there will be.Censored is a collaboration with Julian Assange.It’s about you.It consists of two parts, a dynamic 1/1 and a dynamic open edition, for you all to participate.It will be here on February 7th. https://t.co/QvKlk3oIs8— Pak (@muratpak) January 30, 2022

Decentralized application (DApp) focused data aggregator DappRader has earmarked the project as something to keep a keen eye on, noting in a Tuesday blog post that: “This collaboration makes a lot of sense. Pak is among the most revolutionary artists of the day. At the same time, Assange aims to shine a light on international affairs and political problems through WikiLeaks.”“Details about the contents and ideas of the Censored collection have not been revealed. However, considering the two partners in crime, it will definitely attract attention,” the post added.Related: Grammy-winner John Legend launches new music and art NFT platformAssange is not the first controversial figure to flock to NFTs to shine a light on a cause. Cointelegraph reported in December that Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the dark web marketplace the Silk Road, generated $6.2 million via the auction of his first NFT. The NFT depicting Ulbricht’s original hand-drawn artwork was purchased by the FreeRossDao, a decentralized autonomous organization set up to help free Ulbricht from imprisonment.

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UK tax agency cracks down on rules around DeFi lending and staking

UK tax agency cracks down on rules around DeFi lending and staking

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 3, 2022 |

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the U.K.’s tax agency, on Wednesday, has released a controversial set of guidance that could affect innovation in Decentralized Finance (DeFi).The updated regulation focuses on the treatment of digital assets specifically for DeFi lending and staking in the UK, and whether returns or rewards from these services are deemed as capital or revenue for taxation purposes. Owing to the cutting edge nature of DeFi these services had fallen into a grey area with tax professionals unsure of how the existing rules apply. “The lending/staking of tokens through decentralized finance (DeFi) is a constantly evolving area, so it is not possible to set out all the circumstances in which a lender/liquidity provider earns a return from their activities and the nature of that return. Instead, some guiding principles are set out,” the HMRC update stated.HMRC has updated its guidance on the treatment of crypto and digital assets, specifically for decentralised finance (DeFi) lending and staking in the UK, significantly altering their classification and treatment. Full report and our response here – https://t.co/8XXD0bm34O pic.twitter.com/Q3N7La5FVX— CryptoUK (@CryptoUKAssoc) February 2, 2022The guidance outlined that returns via staking and lending of DeFi assets will not be treated as “interest” as digital assets in the UK aren’t considered currencies, but rather property for tax purposes.However, this approach could create tax problems for stakers with the guidance suggesting that in many cases it would indicate that “beneficial ownership of those tokens” had been passed to the platform. This would mean they were disposed of for tax purposes and incur Capital Gains Tax.Ian Taylor, executive director of CryptoUK asserted the new regulations would create an “unnecessary burden” for crypto investors that stock market investors do not face when lending shares: “HMRC treats crypto assets as property for tax purposes. However, this is inconsistent with the approach currently being adopted by Government and other regulatory bodies in the UK, including the Treasury and the FCA”Right,so if i have to pay taxes on staking, isn’t that double taxing….Let’s say i stake 200 000 pounds worth of crypto on 10% APY, that will be worth 20 000,so i will have to tax as i earn it and after that tax it again once i exchange it for fiat/different asset?— Dalek Alpha (@vlad_ned) February 2, 2022

Taylor added that the new rules add “undue reporting requirements for the consumer, and create tax compliance confusion” as investors will have to report on hundreds or even thousands of transactions. “This is out of step with the Government’s stated aim for the UK to be open and attractive as a destination for investment and innovation post Brexit,” he said. Related: SEC’s proposed rule on exchanges could threaten DeFi, says Crypto MomLast week, former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care current U.K. Member of Parliament (MP) Matt Hancock urged the House of Commons to introduce progressive crypto policy to make England the “home” of crypto.In November last year HMRC laid out regulations concerning the introduction of digital services tax levied on crypto exchanges operating in the UK

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Nifty News: Coachella lifetime pass, WildEarth’s wildlife, Worms ditches NFTs after backlash

Nifty News: Coachella lifetime pass, WildEarth’s wildlife, Worms ditches NFTs after backlash

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 2, 2022 |

The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival has partnered with FTX US to launch a series of NFT collectibles that includes tokenized lifetime access passes to its annual music festivals.The iconic music festival is held over two consecutive three-day weekends every April in California, and is being headlined by Harry Styles, Billy Eilish and Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West) in 2022. The partnership was announced on Feb. 2 and it will see the duo launch a Solana-based Coachella marketplace and NFTs that offer real world and virtual benefits. Coachella FTXOne of a kind NFTs for lifetime passes? Photobook w/ 20 years of iconic photos? Redeemable experiences available for the first time?That’s just the start. To say we’re excited about this partnership would be an understatement.Explore: https://t.co/PDV9zeprXH pic.twitter.com/anB2PBZ6qI— FTX – Built By Traders, For Traders (@FTX_Official) February 1, 2022The first batch of Coachella’s NFTs will go up for auction or sale on Feb. 4 and the drop features 10 unique lifetime access passes (for live and virtual events), 10,000 tokenized photos and 1,000 digital posters that can be redeemed for a physical copy of the “Coachella | The Photographs: 1999-2019 photo book.”The tokenized access passes dubbed the “Coachella Keys Collection” grant the holder lifetime access to Coachella’s festival experiences but all contain different VIP benefits such as secret parties, backstage access, accommodation and fine dining. They will all go up for auction and do not have a starting price for bids. Coachella has also teased that the partnership with FTX will see the launch of virtual events that are likely to be in the metaverse. WildEarth supports wildlife conservation via NFTsWildEarth, the team behind a live streamed nature-focused TV channel, has launched NFT collections that directly support individual animals and wildlife conservations that are under its global footprint. The first 25 collections went live on WildEarth’s Polygon-based marketplace on Jan. 2 and come in varying max supplies ranging from 150-900. Each NFT depicts a specific animal under the care of the partnered conservation efforts, and costs 120 MATIC ($196) to mint. There are still plenty of tokens available at the time of writing. In an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, WildEarth stated that 40% the funds generated from its NFT sales will go towards “habitat custodians of parks and reserves to continue conservation efforts.” Once the initial sales have been completed, WildEarth will collect 10% royalties on all secondary sales and donate 80% of those royalties to the wildlife habitat custodian of the specific animal depicted in the NFT. Later this month, the WildEarth TV channel’s Search and ID show will also introduce a “watch-to-earn” feature that enables viewers to mint NFTs related to specific nocturnal-animals that are added to the animal registry via a thermal drone at the time. Once the minting window closes, no further NFTs will be created related to those animals. Wax lyrical about Rick Flair’s NFTs World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) great Rick Flair is set to be featured in the Wax-based Blockchain Brawlers NFT game next month.Blockchain Brawlers is a play-to-earn game slated to launch in Q2 which features a wrestling battle mode that enables users to earn BRWL tokens and NFTs from their fights with other players. The partnership with WAX will see Flair’s persona tokenized across 100 NFTs in varying rarities that can be used in the Blockchain Brawlers games. The announcement said:“Each NFT celebrates Ric Flair’s exuberant character and unique appeal – they’re all masterfully designed by WAX studios portraying his celebrated flowing locks, diamond-studded robes and off-the-charts enthusiasm.”The NFTs will come in 100 packs that include a legendary Flair NFT and one fighting ring NFT (of varying rarity). Some buyers will also have a slim chance of obtaining ultra-rare gear NFTs depicting championship belts that can be added to their wrestler NFTs. Team17 gives up on NFTs after community pushbackAnother popular gaming firm has walked back its NFT plans after receiving strong pushback from the community. Team17, the company behind the widely popular Worms video game franchise that spans back over two decades with more than 75 million copies sold, announced on Feb. 1 that its MetaWorms NFT project has been canned. The game was set to bring the Worms series to blockchain via NFT integrations, however the firm noted yesterday on its website that: “We have listened to our Teamsters, development partners, and our games’ communities, and the concerns they’ve expressed, and have therefore taken the decision to step back from the NFT space.”NFTs have developed a bad rep in the gaming world, with passionate gamers raising concerns with the energy intensive nature of cryptocurrencies, along with potential scams related to the industry. User Mechmouse’s response to Team17’s announcement was fairly typical of the response: “Thank you However Every, and I mean EVERY, beloved franchise or well standing company that has done this before has been met with the exact same level of upset and indignation. What on earth convinced you to go down this route in the first place?”Team17 is today announcing an end to the MetaWorms NFT project. We have listened to our Teamsters, development partners, and our games’ communities, and the concerns they’ve expressed, and have therefore taken the decision to step back from the NFT space.— Team17 (@Team17) February 1, 2022

Other Nifty NewsIn a strongly worded Instagram post made on Monday, Ye or Kanye West shut down the prospect of hopping on the NFT bandwagon, stating “Do not ask me to do a f*cking NFT.” The message in the photo, shared with his 10.5 million followers, explained he is focused on “building real products in the real world.”According to Coin Metrics’ “State of the Network” report on Feb. 1, the number of transactions involving smart contracts on Tezos has surged over the past 12 months to more than 50,000 per day from less than 10,000 per day in January 2021. The firm attributed the rapid growth primarily to NFTs.

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Willy Woo: 'Peak fear' but on-chain metrics say it’s not a bear market

Willy Woo: 'Peak fear' but on-chain metrics say it’s not a bear market

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 2, 2022 |

Bitcoin analyst and co-founder of software firm Hypersheet Willy Woo believes that on-chain metrics show that BTC is not in a bear market despite observing “peak fear” levels. Speaking on the What Bitcoin Did podcast hosted by Peter McCormack on Jan. 30, Woo cited key metrics such as a strong number of long term holders (wallets holding for five months or longer) and growing rates of accumulation suggest that the market has not flipped the switch to bear territory:“Structurally on-chain, it’s not a bear market setup. Even though I would say we’re at peak fear. No doubt about it, people are really scared, which is typically […] an opportunity to buy.”I guess BTC is in demand lately pic.twitter.com/5h1IeMT2lK— Willy Woo (@woonomic) January 29, 2022In the short term, Woo noted that “you don’t often get this kind of pullback without it relief bouncing” and that a potential capitulation down to the $20,000 doesn’t appear feasible as it would replicate the 2018 crash into a bear market in the space of just three months as opposed to a year. The price of BTC has declined around 44% since its all-time high levels of $69,000 in November, and the analyst cited institutional futures trading as a key reason behind this steady decline and flat performance over the past three months. Woo suggested that the increasing influx of mainstream traders and roll out of BTC futures markets over the past few years has significantly changed the market structure of BTC in which the price directly correlates to “risk-on risk-off from macro traders looking at traditional stocks.”“You know back in 2019 to 2020, if you looked on-chain at what the investors were doing, they were accumulating but you just couldn’t see any impact of price because the price was really dictated by traders on the futures exchanges,” he said. The analyst cited a large number of long-term hodlers who haven’t sold for more than five months, traders who stopped selling around the $40,000 region along with a steady rate of accumulation as key reasons to remain bullish. Related: Bitcoin price closes in on $40K, but pro traders are still skeptical“Most of the coins have been sitting there for longer than five months and people who do that, they’ve held on for five months, they’re not selling at a loss, they will sell when there’s profit to be had and you’ll see that whenever it breaks out of like all-time highs and does a really strong rally.”In terms of adoption, Bitcoin has roughly the same users as the Internet had in 1997.But Bitcoin’s growing faster. Next 4 years on current path will bring Bitcoin users to 1b people, that’s the equivalent of 2005 for the Internet. pic.twitter.com/Np9yTR3WkL— Willy Woo (@woonomic) February 1, 2021

He also argued that a key indicator for bear markets is usually when “newbs” or new coin hodlers are in the majority:“The 2018 bear was at peak new guys holding the coins, and the cycle repeats. Those guys either sell, or the ones that don’t become hardened hodlers and they sell on the next rally when it goes even higher.”

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Disgraced MP tells Parliament UK can be the 'home' of crypto

Disgraced MP tells Parliament UK can be the 'home' of crypto

Uverejnil používateľ | jan 28, 2022 |

The former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and current U.K. Member of Parliament (MP) Matt Hancock urged the House of Commons to make England the “home” of crypto. Hancock has served as an MP for West Suffolk since 2010 but stood down from his role as the Health Secretary in mid-2021 following controversy surrounding COVID breaches tied to an alleged extramarital affair. Which is to say his endorsement, while welcomed by the industry, may not hold as much cachet as it once did. Following up from his speech at the House of Commons on Jan. 27, Hancock emphasized the disruptive potential of crypto and fintech on Twitter, noting that: “The UK can be the home of new innovations like FinTech and Cryptocurrency. Done right we can increase transparency and lead in new world-changing technology.”During his speech, he pointed to the benefits of crypto and fintech adoption in terms of economic stimulation and even financial crime reduction as he urged the government to “ensure” it develops progressive policy in these areas. “[Fintech and Crypto] can not only be an economic driver, but also help cut fraud and financial crime because of the transparency that it brings,” he said, adding that “these innovations have the potential to disrupt finance, just as social media has disrupted communication, or online shopping has changed retail.”The UK can be the home of new innovations like FinTech and Cryptocurrency. Done right we can increase transparency and lead in new world-changing technology. My question in the Commons earlier ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Hsr8QtLxqB— Matt Hancock (@MattHancock) January 26, 2022Hancock’s comments come just a couple of weeks after several MPs and members of the House of Lords banded together to launch the Crypto and Digital Assets Group, which aims to ensure forthcoming regulation of the sector supports innovation as opposed to stifling it. The group is chaired by Scottish National Party MP Lisa Cameron, who noted around the time of the group’s launch that, “We are at a crucial time for the sector as global policymakers are also now reviewing their approach to crypto and how it should be regulated.”“We are at a crucial time for the sector as global policymakers are also now reviewing their approach to crypto and how it should be regulated.”Earlier this week, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond stated that it was “frankly quite shocking” that the U.K. had fallen behind the European Union in providing clear regulation over the crypto sector. Related: UK Economic Affairs Committee unconvinced by prospect of retail CBDCHammond warned that if the government fails to catch up in 2022 and end up “manifestly behind the curve” next year, top U.K. based crypto and blockchain tech firms will look to shift headquarters over to countries with friendlier stances on crypto such as Germany and Switzerland, along with Monaco in France.

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