Autor Cointelegraph By Felix Ng

ZED RUN founder envisions user narrative-driven Metaverse

ZED RUN founder envisions user narrative-driven Metaverse

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 14, 2022 |

Chris Laurent, the founder of the popular-digital horse racing game ZED RUN, envisions a future where people will spend their free time developing their own unique narratives within the Metaverse. This virtual world will contain a mix of gaming, entertainment, and social experiences underneath an overarching storyline, he believes. “My perception of the metaverse isn’t just a meeting [of people], it’s coming home after work and not turning on Netflix, but seeing what happens to yourself and your friends in some type of storyline that is flexible.”The ZED RUN founder spoke to Cointelegraph following the launch of its first Metaverse platform, Human Park, on June 13. It features fully-customizable user avatars and an aesthetically pleasing 3D world built using the Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, the same platform used in top gaming titles such as Fortnite and Borderlands. In an interview on launch day, Laurent and his team at Virtually Human Studio (VHS Labs), including Human Park executive producer Steven Na and Rick Pearce of Spectre Studios, stressed that Human Park was different from other Metaverse projects as it focuses on story-telling rather than just plopping users into a 3D world to roam around aimlessly. “We are storytellers at heart, so we’re here to empower players to tell their own stories. In this way, we believe we will be transforming the way people engage with and express themselves in this new internet we are all building,” said Pearce, co-founder and creative director of Spectre Studios. Steven Na told Cointelegraph that they didn’t want to create a platform that white-boxed users into particular gaming experiences.“We really want to empower users to tell their own story within the metaverse, so we don’t want to be heavy-handed and say like, hey, you’re going to play RPG, and that’s the metaverse, or you’re going to play a sandbox game, and that’s the metaverse.”Laurent added that the Metaverse will offer “many different types of game experiences, entertainment, and social environments.”Related: US trademark filing hints at Arizona State University planning classes in the Metaverse“Much like you would see if you look at something like Roblox or Minecraft or even Fortnite where they’re almost like a social platform,” he added.“We’ve built @FreeHumanPark to become more than just a gaming experience but a platform for digital ownership to flourish…We are here to disrupt the space and bring something new to our community,” said @iamchrislaurent, CEO of @V_H_Studio.https://t.co/5JquCzxwSV pic.twitter.com/VCV7gZrReq— Virtually Human Studio (@V_H_Studio) June 14, 2022When asked whether the vision companies such as Meta and Microsoft have laid out for the Metaverse, such as virtual-reality powered work meetings, or entire businesses run out of the virtual world, will come true, Laurent said he believes anything is possible at this stage.“[In regards to] the experimentation some of these bigger entities are making, obviously, they’re doing it for a reason, and we can’t ignore that, so our theory is that weird stuff is going to happen in the space.”The launch of Human Park on June 13 has been accompanied by the drop of its first themed release. Season Zero, a retro-cyberpunk world, will come with limited-time-themed NFT drops. The game is free-to-access, with optional gameplay modes that can be accessed by user-owned NFT avatars and wearables.

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Ripple counsel slams SEC for trying to bulldoze and bankrupt crypto

Ripple counsel slams SEC for trying to bulldoze and bankrupt crypto

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 14, 2022 |

Ripple general counsel Stu Alderoty has slammed the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for trying to “bully, bulldoze, and bankrupt” crypto innovation in the U.S. in the name of expanding its own regulatory territory.“By bringing enforcement actions–or threats of potential enforcement–the SEC intends to bully, bulldoze, and bankrupt crypto innovation in the U.S., all in the name of impermissibly expanding its own jurisdictional limits.”Alderoty shared his views on June 13 amidst an ongoing lawsuit between Ripple and the regulator, which he says is part of the “SEC’s assault on all crypto in the U.S.” by treating every cryptocurrency as a security. “Like a hammer wanting everything to be a nail, the SEC is keeping everything murky so it can argue every crypto is a security.”Ripple Labs has been embroiled in a legal battle with the SEC since December 2020, when the securities regulator filed a lawsuit alleging that Ripple executives had used Ripple (XRP) tokens to raise funds for the company starting in 2013, claiming it was an unregistered security at the time.Ripple fought back, claiming that a 2018 speech delivered by Robert Hinman, then-Director of Corporation Finance for the SEC, had categorized Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) and by-association, XRP, as a non-security due to being “sufficiently decentralized”.Ripple argued that the speech was in contradiction with the SEC’s claims against Ripple and the XRP token, but the SEC countered the argument by claiming that the speech was the director’s own personal views and not the official view of the regulator. This nuance has been one of the most pivotal aspects of the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit. 4 years since the (in)famous Hinman speech, and we’re nowhere closer on knowing how to classify digital assets in the US – keeping every crypto, including ETH, in regulatory limbo. I penned some thoughts for @Fortune why enough is enough, @SECGov. https://t.co/FB16cceaia— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) June 13, 2022“Despite disclaimers that the speech was Hinman’s personal opinion and “not necessarily that of the Commission,” the market took Hinman’s speech to heart,” wrote Alderoty. “For Ripple, Hinman’s speech affirmed the conclusion that XRP – a cryptocurrency that exists on an open, permissionless, decentralized blockchain ledger – was a commodity and/or a virtual currency. Certainly not a security,” he added.Related: Brad Garlinghouse says NFTs ‘underhyped,’ sees new use cases | Cointelegraph interviewAlderoty said the speech epitomized SEC’s deliberate muddying of the regulatory waters for crypto. “Here in the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has deliberately muddied the regulatory waters for crypto […] To unlock crypto’s true potential, we need to finally clean up this regulatory sludge.”During a Washington Post event on June 8, United States Senators Kirsten Gillibrand agreed that most cryptocurrencies would likely be classed as securities under the Howey Test, with the obvious exception of Bitcoin and Ether. Rostin Behnam, chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) took a slightly different view, saying that while there are “probably hundreds” of coins that replicate security coins, there are also many commodity coins, such as BTC and ETH that would be regulated by his commission.The court battle between Ripple and SEC is expected to set a precedent for the treatment of cryptocurrencies, particularly altcoins under U.S. securities and commodities laws.

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Pennsylvania pharmacist feeds thousands of homeless using crypto

Pennsylvania pharmacist feeds thousands of homeless using crypto

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 13, 2022 |

Pennsylvania-based pharmacist Kenneth Kim had always “wanted to do something with crypto” that could “make the world a better place”. In 2019, he founded what is known today as Crypto for the Homeless (CFTHL), a New Jersey registered non–profit organization, which has fed more than 5,000 homeless people around the world through the use of digital currencies. “I always had the desire to get involved with some kind of project in crypto… if it made the world better that would be the best possible scenario,” Kim told Cointelegraph. Whilst he was a pharmacy student at Temple University in Philadelphia between 2018 and 2021, Kim would walk past scores of homeless people just on his route between the campus and his home. It was also around this time that the new Blade Runner 2049 movie was released, depicting a dystopian future where people are augmented by technology, but the gap between rich and poor are as wide as ever. Instead of begging for money, the homeless were begging for digital credits.“I guess the movie is trying to convey that we’re so far in the future that even the homeless people have completely adopted this new way of using currency.”How crypto fits into the pictureIt was then that Kim got the idea of using crypto to collect and distribute funds to help those in need.“Basically, after that, I was thinking what if I can utilize that to more efficiently collect funds for the homeless people, and maybe I can go out and give them food?” On April 28, 2019, Kim delivered his first four meals to the Philadephia homeless. Three years later, this organization has celebrated its third anniversary, feeding thousands globally through the help of crypto donations and a tireless volunteer network. Source: Crypto For The HomelessKim said one of the main reasons he chose to use crypto was because of its decentralized nature. Funds can’t be frozen or locked away by authorities. “The main reason I actually began the project with crypto is that I had really bad experiences with PayPal.”The pharmacist said there have been more than a few occasions where PayPal would shut down or freeze accounts for varying reasons. “I didn’t like the idea that there’s a central power that at any moment can do that […] So I was thinking, if I use crypto, it’s literally impossible for that to happen. I have ultimate control of it.”The secondary reason, is that it significantly cuts down the hurdles to reimbursing his volunteers internationally, said Kim. Volunteer from nicaragua doing great deeds. This is what crypto can do to better the world#Crypto #cryptocurrencies #bitcoin #BitcoinCash #philadelphia #ethereum #Philanthropy #BCH #BTC #homeless #homelessness #charity pic.twitter.com/AiChElkNFq— Crypto for the homeless (@CRYPTOFTHL) March 22, 2022CFTHL’s model works by reimbursing volunteers who buy hot meals and hand-deliver them to homeless people in their local regions. Volunteers would provide receipts to evidence the food they purchased, and pictures of the homeless people receiving it. Upon verification that the act was authentic, Kim’s organization would reimburse the volunteers with the crypto of their choice. “We’ve had a pretty significant amount of people volunteer for us overseas, and because we use crypto, I was able to just not really worry about any kind of wiring fee or anything like that.”The human aspect In a statement about CFTHL’s three-year anniversary, Kim said his organization “never set out to solve homelessness”, but rather to re-introduce the human aspect of charity – something which was “sorely missing from most other projects.”CFTHL volunteers are required to seek out homeless people and deliver food to them personally in order to be reimbursed. “[It’s about] physically [being] there handing the food out, like no matter where they are, especially if it’s the middle of the highway, or like under a bridge in their tent.”“There’s one thing that bothered me about a lot of charities out there,” Kim told Cointelegraph.“It felt like a lot of them were really cold, you know, they lacked the human aspect to it. If I donate to a soup kitchen or Red Cross, I wouldn’t really see the effects of it. I don’t think they post on social media or post pictures or anything like that, you know, so I’m not even sure what’s happening with the money.”CFTHL tracks every donation received by the organization from its beginnings and provides a public ledger allowing those to see how the funds are being spent. New post: Data at a Glance: Total Donations https://t.co/0tNM5zegtz #Crypto #cryptocurrencies #bitcoin #BitcoinCash #philadelphia #ethereum #Philanthropy #BCH #BTC #homeless #homelessness #charity— Crypto for the homeless (@CRYPTOFTHL) June 6, 2022

Crypto for the Homeless is still a relatively small organization, with only two full-time workers and around 10-20 volunteers operating on a regular basis. His organization has collected close to $75,000 in donations since being founded.Related: NFTs: Empowering artists and charities to embrace the digital movementKim runs the organization alongside working as a full-time pharmacist at CVS Pharmacy in Pennsylvania. The founder is hoping to push for an additional 3-5 volunteers over the next few years and to expand his operations to more countries. To date, his organization has fed homeless people in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Thailand, India, and many others.

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Global Bitcoin adoption to hit 10% by 2030: Blockware report

Global Bitcoin adoption to hit 10% by 2030: Blockware report

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 10, 2022 |

The adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) could occur more rapidly than the adoption of past disruptive technologies such as automobiles and electric power, with global take-up likely to hit 10% by 2030 according to a new report.In its June 8 report, Blockware Intelligence said it arrived at this forecast by examining historical adoption curves for nine past disruptive technologies, including automobiles, electric power, smartphones, the internet, and social media, along with the growth rate of Bitcoin adoption since 2009.“All disruptive technologies follow a similar exponential S-curve pattern, but […] newer network-based technologies continue to be adopted much faster than the market expects.”Using the average and weighted average of historical technology adoption curves, as well as the growth rate of Bitcoin adoption, the report was then able to arrive at its prediction.It said that based on a metric called Cumulative Sum of Net Entities Growth and Bitcoin’s predicted “CAGR of 60% we forecast that global Bitcoin adoption will break past 10% in the year 2030.”Blockware Intelligence is the research arm of Blockware Solutions, a Bitcoin mining and blockchain infrastructure company, so you might expect it to be bullish on adoption.The intelligence unit said it expects Bitcoin adoption to reach saturation quicker than many other disruptive technologies, given direct monetary incentives to adopt, the current macro-environment, and because adoption growth will be accelerated by the internet. “From a consumer perspective, past technologies had convenience/efficiency-related incentives to adopt them: adopting automobiles allowed you to zoom past the horse and buggy, adopting the cell phone allowed you to make calls without being tied to a landline,” the report explains. “With Bitcoin direct financially incentivized adoption creates a game theory in which everyone’s best response is to adopt Bitcoin.”Bitcoin, like the internet, smartphones, and social media, also derives benefits the more people that adopt the technology, which is known as the “network effect”.“Case in point if you were the only user on Twitter would it be of any value? It would not. More users make these technologies more valuable.”Related: 75% of retailers eyeing crypto payments within 24 months: DeloitteHowever, the authors of the Blockware report stressed that the model used to predict the rate of adoption was only conceptual at this stage, adding it is neither meant to be used as investment advice nor a short-term trading tool and it would continue to be refined. However:“The general trend is clear; there is a high probability that Bitcoin’s global adoption will grow significantly into the future and thus so will price.”The report and model was reviewed by several crypto investors and analysts, including executives from Ark Invest, Arcane Assets, AMDAX Asset Management, and M31 Capital. Cryptocurrency adoption has been growing rapidly over the last few years. In 2021, global crypto ownership rates reached an average of 3.9%, with over 300 million crypto users worldwide, according to data from TripleA, a global cryptocurrency payment gateway. Blockchain data platform Chainanalysis last year revealed that global adoption of bitcoin and cryptocurrency surged 881% from July 2020 to June 2021. It found Vietnam to have the highest cryptocurrency adoption, leading 154 countries analyzed, followed by India and Pakistan. In April, a survey conducted by cryptocurrency exchange Gemini found that crypto adoption skyrocketed in 2021 in countries like India, Brazil, and Hong Kong as more than half of respondents from its 20 countries polled stated that they started investing in crypto in 2021.

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Anchor dev claims he warned Do Kwon over unsustainable 20% interest rate

Anchor dev claims he warned Do Kwon over unsustainable 20% interest rate

Uverejnil používateľ | jún 9, 2022 |

Anchor protocol was originally designed to offer an interest rate of 3.6% but this was dialed up to 20% just a week before release to attract more investors, a core developer alleged in an interview with Korean media outlet JTBC. “I did not know that this would go out with such a high-interest rate. Set to 20% just a week before the release,” said the employee, referred to only as Mr. B in the Korean-language report.   “I thought I was going to collapse from the beginning. (I designed it), but it collapsed 100%”Mr. B said the platform was designed to only offer an interest rate of 3.6% and this was a key component of keeping the Terra ecosystem stable as it took into account the available funds in Anchor’s war chest. Mr. B revealed however that a week before launch, the developers found out that the plans had been changed, giving investors access to a very high 20% interest for locking up their UST stablecoins in the Anchor Protocol instead. The JTBC also claims it had obtained internal design documents made by Terraform Labs, which wrote about attracting investors with high-interest rates. The developer said he attempted to take this issue up with Terra Luna founder Kwon Do-Hyung (Do Kwon) just ahead of the launch in April 2019. “Just before the release, I suggested to CEO Kwon Do-Hyung that the interest rate should be lowered, but it was not accepted.”Related: Law Decoded, May 30–June 6: Terra’s aftermath in China, Japan and South KoreaThe dramatic fall of Terra (LUNA) and the algorithmic stablecoin UST has led to plans by the South Korean government to launch a new Digital Asset Committee in June, to serve as a watchdog over the country’s crypto industry responsible for policy preparation and supervision.Do Kwon has been summoned to attend a parliamentary hearing on the matter in South Korea in mid-May.He has also found himself in hot water after court documents revealed he dissolved Terraform Labs Korea just days before the LUNA crash.In May, South Korean authorities also reportedly issuing subpoenas to employees of Terraform Labs, looking into whether there was intentional price manipulation and whether the tokens went through proper listing procedures. Despite this, the Terra co-founder has managed to relaunch the collapsed network on May 28 with a new chain called Terra 2.0 (Pheonix-1), aimed at reviving the fallen Terra (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST).

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